Saturday, July 24, 2010

Custom Plush Toys - Having Payment Terms

One of the issues that you have to face as a plush toy manufacturer is payment terms. This is a reality that you have to face if you are going to offer your custom plush toys to retailers. It's a challenge at first if you don't know how to play the game. But in order to succeed, you may need to offer payment terms for your plush stuffed toys and there are some bumps that you may encounter along the way.

If you want to be in the driver seat, you can offer your custom plush toys to new retailers. They're on the lookout for products to fill shelf space. Now, they haven't proven yet that they can pay so it would be logical to accept cash, check or credit card upfront. You really can't offer them payment terms because they haven't proven yet their ability to pay.

As a starting plush toy manufacturer, you really can't have retailers not paying you on time. Sure, you can perform a credit check with their permission. But it will be a hassle for you. So for the first sale, accept upfront payments for your plush stuffed toys. You can then offer a more flexible payment term as you continue to build on your relationship.

But of course, you can't focus on new retailers only. To be a successful plush toy manufacturer, you also have to offer to the big boys. Now as a "big boy", a big retailer can demand payment terms for the plush stuffed toys. Now, you have to understand them.

They're not being greedy at all. As successful retailers, they have a lot of people like you competing for shelf space. So it would be a matter of "scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". They also became successful retailers because they have great relationships with their suppliers.

After all, they wouldn't have people competing for shelf space if they didn't pay on time. Also, they deal with a lot of suppliers and you can't really expect them to pay everyone in 15 days. So if you want to offer to them, be ready to offer payment terms of 60 days or even more.

Why should you be willing to offer flexible payment terms? These big stores can give your custom plush toys the exposure it needs for you to be a successful plush toy manufacturer. There's a reason why a lot of people are competing for shelf space. It's because you can easily sell your plush stuffed toys with the help of these big retailers.

You also don't need to do a credit check. They're well known and it's public information if they're having financial troubles or not. Being ready deal and compromise with them can save you a lot of hassles and be great for your product. Work hard, and be polite, and you can find a payment term that works for both parties.

As a plush toy manufacturer, choose who you deal with. Be conservative with the payment terms for your custom plush toys if you're dealing with an unproven retailer. If you're going to offer your plush stuffed toys with the big retailers, be ready because they'll try to dictate when they can pay. Be prepared and be flexible, because it will ultimately be beneficial for you.

By : Rob_E_Bishop

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