New Card Making Enthusiast!

[jadah77]

Hi there fellow crafters,
I have been making handmade cards for friends and family for years but recently decided to try and sell some. Can anyone help me with the following questions?

1/ Where to find a well priced wholesaler in Melbourne or Australia that supplies ready cut and scored, 250-300 gsm 2 fold cards in white and pink with matching envelopes.
2/ What is a good wholesale price for the cardstock, scoring, printing and envelopes?
3/ Where can I find polybags to fit my cards?
4/ Should I buy the cardstock as sheets and pay to have it cut and scored into C6 size? If so who does the scoring?
5/ When should I approach card shops etc. to buy my Valentines Day range of cards? First Week of January?
6/ I have 10 Valentines Day designs...should I make say 50 of each and foot slog around to shops or should I make one of each and put into a display book and take orders?
7/ If I take orders, should I ask for money to cover materials?
8/ I am not sure what the cheapest form of printing is. I would only need black and white printing on one side of my cards.

Wow...so many questions I know but I am a single Mum trying really hard to get this little business of the ground and I am really floundering!

Can anyone help?

Cheers and smiles,

Nita

[Mandy]

Hi Nita and welcome to craft mad. I can't help you with suppliers in Melbourne, we do ship all over the country and our prices are very reasonable for bulk cards. We ship out thousands a week so worth a look at our site.

It is hard to start out, I know there are a few old posts in one of the forum sections, I'll look them out and bump them up, the information is old but still really relevant.

We have all our cards and card stock scored and cut - ie we outsource it all, you can do it yourself and save money although it does take quite a time. Our usual order is for 10,000 at any one time of one type of card - you can imagine how many huge sheets we get thru. You will also find it tough to get a company to supply you at first, its one of the worst things about getting established, they like to see a big order followed by lots more regular orders.

With the shops, I'd say the earlier you start the better make sure you have samples to show and give yourself time to make them up. I'd also ask for a deposit payment up front and never do consignment - people don't seem to respect your cards as much if you've given them to them, if they buy them outright then any damage or theft is down to them. I could tell you a few tales about goods and hand made stuff going on consignment - very disappointing when it comes back ruined or even worse, doesn't come back at all.

Depending on how many orders you get, you'd be better off getting a black and white laser printer and printing them yourself, although be aware that some of the printers do not take thicker card stock. Ie they struggle or jam up and wreck everything if its 250gsm or over.

Most of all enjoy what you are doing and have fun, don't get too stressed about it all. I've been making cards and enjoying paper crafts for over 17 years now and never get tired of seeing new stuff.