I started designing and creating eco bookmarks back in October 2021. Quite a few weeks of designing, trials and finding eco responsible materials took place until I was finally ready to release them for sale.
Two years on, I have decided to stop selling bookmarks. It hasn't been an easy decision, but you will understand the reason why.
The stock of eco responsible card which I sourced has just about ran out and the cost of buying more just doesn't seem to weigh up. Having said that, one of the major factors has been the rising costs of selling on third party websites - the selling fees have increased quite a bit since I set out on this adventure, and as such I make very little in the way of profit from the sale of these bookmarks.
It's not hard to do that maths (in my case which is good):
A bookmark is sold for £5.
Take off that: -20p for listing the item, -60p for 'selling fees', -£1.25 postage = £2.05 costs. This doesn't take into account the card, ink, envelope, my time and fuel to go to the post office. It's easy to see that these bookmarks aren't worth 30 minutes of my time.
In some cases I have had to pay for someone clicking on an advert and then buying the product, which means I've actually made a loss of a couple of ££.
So, what does this mean?
Well, the end is neigh for the bookmarks. BUT there are new and exciting things happening at Dainty Bee Design HQ. Out with the old and in with the new.
Running a small business isn't for the feint hearted. Keeping up with trends, making sales, doing finances and keeping on top of social media is all a daily challenge. Everything Dainty Bee Design is done be one person and that's me - that's something I'm proud of each and every day! New customers, returning clients, comments and shares are all what makes doing this worthwhile. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along this journey so far.
Live, learn and always move forward :)
THE END (of a bookmark)
