I have been in business for nearly 8 years (at the time of writing) and one of the main problems I had when I started my craft business was the sourcing of high quality products that would enhance the finished pieces I was making.
Early on, I started making Hardwood Hanging Ornaments as Christmas Tree decorations and I discovered there was a lack of affordable, quality satin ribbon around Ireland. At least it wasn't very apparent what Quality was and what Brand was leading the way. Many retailers were selling ribbon by the meter which is an expensive way of buying ribbon. I ended up buying some ribbon from the US which were only available in 10 foot lengths on cardboard reels and they were a bit expensive I have to say.
While on holiday in the US I managed to find the same brand reels and I bought a good few to keep me going. The quality of these ribbons were good but not great and I kept a constant eye out for a better product. I managed with these for a while but they did nothing for my products. Ordinary people might not know the difference but I sure did.
Buying Satin Ribbon in Ireland
Eventually, I discovered the Italian Options Satin Ribbon range, nearly by accident. I took a chance and ordered from 2 different Irish sellers not knowing they were the same brand and the same size ribbons. The quality was there, finally and over 40 different colours to choose from.
Unfortunately, both of these sellers sold mostly on backorder with about 7 to 10 business day turnaround. Italian Options is a UK based company which means a bit of a delay between ordering from an Irish website and the company dispatching from the UK to arrive at the Irish sellers place of business and then shipped on to me. This of course was before Brexit and all the resultant Customs issues and delays! One of these sellers decided to change their business model after a while and stopped selling ribbon altogether. This, together with the backorder issues pushed me to contact the company directly.
If you can't wait to get to the stock, simply go to my Satin Ribbon page and you will see the links to all the individual pages. Please feel free to read on a bit if you have time!
I dislike backorders and drop shipping
I dislike businesses that advertise products as in stock when they are in fact out of stock and only available for backorder so I tend not to do business with those websites for very long. I feel that it is a dishonest way of selling goods and traps a Customer into a sale where they have to wait for many days or a week or more to receive their order. I also found that when ordering so called 'in stock items' from these kinds of Vendors, that they could only fill half of my order from stock and I still had to wait for some backorders for the remainder.
Over time I needed higher quantities of Satin Ribbon without delays so I made a direct approach to the company to become a reseller. If something is marked as 'In Stock' on my website, it is actually in my store and ready to be shipped. As I add new products to my website, I will add stock that I don't yet have as Pre-order so you know up front that I don't have them yet. I do of course make the odd small stock keeping mistakes from time to time resulting in something being out of stock when it shows that it it in stock. I'm only human.....
Wait, you're a Woodturner?
If you had ever wondered why a Woodturner would be selling Satin Ribbon, the above paragraphs are the reasons why. I sometimes wonder about the people who find my website after a Google search and realise what I do for a living and what they must be thinking. It was probably the last thing I ever thought I would be selling but here I am. Fast forward a few years and I now have a few steady crafters buying from me. That didn't happen overnight, it took a long while to build up the customer base. This is not a get rich quick scheme, just another arm of my business enterprise. It is a pity though, that Ireland is such a small market, I'd love to be selling more.
Why Buy from me?
I take great pride in the running of my website, accurate & honest quantities and very quick shipping turnaround. As I mentioned before, I can't stand backordering or dropshipping so when I say there are 3 items in stock, there are 3 in stock. Red Faced Disclaimer; Sometimes however, I will add a backorder option for certain products like when I am adding a product for the first time and am unsure if I will be going ahead with that product line. I generally add a note explaining this. If in doubt, you can always ask me through the site Contact page.
Actual Shipping Time
When I send out the shipping confirmation email, it means your package is actually in the Couriers Van and going off to the first Depot in Farranfore. Years of online shopping has taught me that when many companies say 'your order has been dispatched', it is actually sitting in a postal bin waiting to go out and not actually on its way to you. For me, if I say it's on the way, it's on the way! Fast, honest shipping is one the reasons I have attracted and maintained customers over the last few years.
Where do I go to buy from you?
Simply go to my Satin Ribbon page and you will see the links to all the individual pages. If you managed to make it to the end of this Blog Post, I thank you for your patience. I'm not a great writer but I do try to make my Posts flow a bit so that they are not too torturous to read. There are more posts you may find interesting if you want to browse.......Thanks for reading, David
Ads are Going Soon
I used to run ads on my website but they were slowing things down and generally annoying everyone. I have since removed them in favour of the 'Buy me a Coffee?' button.
If you didn't use the links in this post but found it interesting or helpful at all, you could maybe use the 'Buy me a Coffee' link below and make a gesture that way. There's no pressure though it all counts and is always appreciated! My business isn't a huge moneymaker so I have to bring in supplementary income where I can. Thank You!
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