IslandMix - Soca, Reggae, Zouk and Caribbean Entertainment

I observed for the New York Carnival Season that there were lots of Vendors in the hot spots. They were selling flags, clothing representing the different islands and other stuff. And most of them had huge quantities, nice laid out on their tables or hung up nice nice. What I noticed is these vendors bought a whole set. They won't be able to sell all their wares. I feel they want to have enough to get as much sales as possible and have enough in case buyers bought a lot but at the same time their investment did not make a huge turnover in many cases.

I believe many vendors and business owners make a huge miscalculation when selling. They don't read the market and observe other things.
What is your view?

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I sooooo agree with what u just said.................

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Yeh I agree..Some of their miscalculations are so big and obvious you wonder how they dont see it..

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: Music is my passion : http://www.imeem.com/airmanpromo

Not at all, this is the problem ! for a small vendor to turn a profit, you need to buy bulk to lower your cost, so it is kind of hard to go to a wholesaler and ask for 5 pieces, he himself is trying to dump it as fast as he can, selling 5 here , 5 there is not worth it for him, so they have no choice except to buy bulk to lower their cost and might even get stuck with it.



The bigger problem that i see is the over-kill in so many vendors selling the same thing. to turn a profit, you might have to run up to Philly, Boston, etc or wait until next year to make a profit.

Cool. If you would like to add anything else feel free to say. If not cool still.

What are some of the miscalculations you have noticed?

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President Barack Obama!!!!
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That is not my point. Sorry if I was not clearer. What I am saying is they buy flags for let's say 8 Caribbean islands. For each island they buy maybe 2, 3, or 4 dozen (maybe the amount depends on the island in some cases). They go to a location where others are selling similar flags. Not only do they buy the flags to sell. They buy the bracelets, chains, clothing, etc etc. Some stick with just a lot of flags and the bracelets, chains.

I do not recommend buying less than one dozen because you never know how much sales you might get. But at the same time do they test the market before they buy 1 dozen of anything? Do they observe where their competitors fall short? Do they pick the best location? Are they aggressive sellers to some degree or sit back at watch people as they pass with their arms folded or sit and old talk not really acting like they are trying to sell something?

Yep this is another point I have. Over kill definitely. So if they are at a location where 3 or 4 others are selling the same thing how can they really make a good profit or at least the money they spent to buy all their wares?

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President Barack Obama!!!!
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Let us work with others to change our communities.

For the parade in NY..I saw too many vendors selling the same item..for example flags, t-shirts...leaving them to go home with atleast half of what they put for sale. Meaning they should have spent less so they would not have lost more, or maybe sold more variety instead of the same items most of their neighbors are selling

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: Music is my passion : http://www.imeem.com/airmanpromo

Yeah I agree with the bolded.


What are your observations about other vendors?

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President Barack Obama!!!!
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I dont it matters, as the wears they typically sell are durable. If dont sell today, you will sell tomorrow, so buying in bulk is actually a major advantage.

In terms of some products, they are indeed durable. The flags, the socks other things will last and they can sell tomorrow. But why buy so much when you have not studied your market? I hate to have thing park up. Sometimes within reason because you know people will buy they next day or next year or I will have no choice so I have to store it. I know you might never know when someone will swoop in and buy quarter or 1/5th or 1/2 your inventory. Just like I like to be a wise consumer, well most of the time at least, I would hope to be a wise vendor, business owner.

But Oneshot I am not knocking the bulk aspect. When you buy in bulk you get a cheaper price but is it really wise to buy let's say 4, 5 or 6 dozen of something when you have stiff competition, when you chose a poor location, when you don't have much selling skills, and most importantly when you did not study your market?

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President Barack Obama!!!!
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Let us work with others to change our communities.