Sent out my first wholesale invoice today and immediately threw up a little
Okay so I've been telling myself for months that I'd approach some local shops about carrying my prints and cards, just small ones, the cute plant shop on my corner, a bookstore I love. And I kept chickening out because sending a cold email with prices feels so much scarier than just posting on Instagram where people come to you.
But last week I finally just walked into the bookstore with a little portfolio and asked if they had five minutes. The owner was so nice she almost made me cry?? She said yes on the spot, picked four designs, and I spent the weekend hyperventilating over formatting a proper invoice.
Sent it this morning. Then my partner found me on the kitchen floor and I had to explain that no I wasn't sad, this is just what success feels like apparently.
Anyway if anyone else has done the wholesale thing for the first time, how long until you stop feeling like you're going to get caught doing something you're not supposed to?? Asking for a friend who is me.
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Good for you. Cold emails are worse than walking in, people can ignore an email but they have to look at you in person. You did it the smart way.
One thing nobody tells you about wholesale: make sure your per-unit pricing actually covers your materials and your time before you start feeling good about the order. A lot of artists underprice their first wholesale run because they're used to retail margins and don't account for the cut the shop takes. Just something to check before you send the invoice.
oh man thank you for saying that, I was genuinely so nervous walking in I almost turned around twice 😭 but you're right, there's something about being physically there that makes it harder for them to say no, or maybe it's easier for me because I can actually show them the work instead of hoping a photo does it justice
and YEAH the pricing thing has been keeping me up honestly. I think I've got it right? I worked backwards from what the shop would sell them at and made sure my cut still covers materials + a decent hourly rate for myself but I keep second-guessing like... is there like a standard markup percentage I should be aware of? I just kind of guessed based on what I'd want to pay wholesale for similar stuff