The clock on my car dash says 19.40. I’m just arriving home having left Mr Redhound at The Barn finishing off the admin on a huge online retail order (more about that soon). By 9pm dinner is done, then we are onto emails and more admin. We crawl into bed at 11 to be fresh to start all over again at 6 the next morning. This is normal for us and many many independent small businesses at this time of year. All working hard behind the scenes ensuring that our customers get the best service possible.
It’s November, traditionally our busiest month, it’s also the week of Black Friday.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally a day when retailers discount stock to boost themselves back into ‘the black’ in the run up to Christmas, a quarter of the year when many retailers have to pay rent for January, February and March - not the busiest months for many.
Black Friday now, in the internet shopping world we live and rely upon, is a completely different event. The internet has turned it into a retail monster, in my opinion. Your email inbox has probably already been bombarded by your favourite online shops telling you that their ‘Black Friday’ deals are already live - many make it a 7 day event!
I’m sure that the bargain hunters among you will seek out the best deals and get yourself a great price on something you have had your eye on for a while. But it won’t be found on our website or on those of many other small businesses who are just not in a position to offer massive discounts on prices.
So, why is Black Friday not for us? It is, after all, a massive opportunity to maximise income on a well publicised day ( or week )? Well, here are some of the reasons we don't take part, in no particular order:
- Our shelves are not full of stock of each and every item to satisfy a bargain frenzy
- There is a cost for the time it takes to process the extra work load
- Our loyal customers who willingly wait for our beautiful products to arrive, would end up waiting even longer than they do now
- Our cutters and sewers are already working flat out to keep up with demand for our hand crafted products
- We produce carefully considered products made with love and care, they carry a fair price for the customer and the person who makes them
- We would rather offer consistent prices all year round, than inflate our prices just so we can discount at key times such as Black Friday
- We don’t have a team of packers working around the clock in shifts
- We are proud to be joining a growing number of retailers, including Fat Face and Jigsaw, who are boycotting this Bargain Hunting Bonanza
So, if it’s bargains you seek on Friday you won’t find them here. Or I suspect, on any other online shops making each item with care and consideration with quality and customer satisfaction top of their list.
However - if you want to get a little reward for choosing to buy from us, you might like our multi-buy option and two new colours to be found here:
Or if you've had your eye on one of our Going Going Gone colours these are also available with a multi-buy reward.
Now, as much as I want to believe we still have 3 months before Christmas, we don't!
A few dates that might be useful are:
JUST 7 more days to get MADE to ORDER items for OVERSEAS customers and 28 days to the LAST OVERSEAS posting date
21 days to buy MADE to ORDER items for UK customers and JUST 35 days to the LAST UK posting date. Now, if like me you tend to leave everything to the last minute, you will likely have a limited choice and your little whippet might not get your first choice of colour or style, but my guess is that they won't actually complain!
Thank you for supporting our growing business and helping us on mission to keep the Worlds Whippets warm, dry and happy in style.
Debbie
