Hey everybody, I’m M21 and I just launched my new product about 3 days ago with the expectation that I’m just on time with Christmas coming up. I had about 200pcs of stock, but once I turned on Facebook Ads, the sales went crazy and I’m selling about 40/day…

On one side I’m extremely excited, on the other, what do I do when I sell out? Since I’m private labeling, restock will take about month and a half. I’m afraid that if I stop the ads, I won’t be able to start running after new years again. Is this a big deal? I’m totally fine with missing on profits throughout Christmas, however, I really believe in this product and I’m not sure if it will have the same momentum if I stop the campaign right now.

Should I sell out? Or should I lower the ad budget so much that I get just a couple of sales/day until I restock? And also, how big of a impact do Christmas have on sales at this time? I’m sure about beginning of December, has it already gone crazy now? What amount should I expect after new years in comparison to now? I think I just need reassurance. Thank you so much.

  • TheSexyIntrovert@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Yep, you should always ask yourself if you can scale when this happens.

    As others pointed out, some options are:

    Raise the price, restock in the meantime, lower the ad budget, sell what you have, and take preorders if you can make it.

  • AnimalZombie45@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Rule number one in sales : never stop to sell

    What you can do is to reduce your ad spends and provide a pre-order button directly on your product page. This pre-order option will inform your customers is not available currently and then can be notified when it will be again by giving you their email.

    • al_x85@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Totally agree 👍🏼

      If you’re out of stock at some point, make sure you let everyone know that the product is scarce and they can pre-order today to be among the first to get the product, once it’s back in stock.

      I would also suggest to take a look at your pricing strategy.

    • 126270@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Problem is, holiday spending is very impulse and specific date oriented

      Sure, pre order or “expected delivery” will continue to capture some sales but the more prominent that “won’t arrive by Christmas” is displayed, the less conversion op will experience… and on the flip side, if it’s not displayed prominently enough, lots of CC Chargebacks will be filed 12/22/23

      • drewster23@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        Well the advice you seeing is on top of, 100% not making an actual sale for product you don’t have.

  • mattpga@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Can your vendor send you unbranded product via air?

    That would allow you to keep selling. Customer won’t care if it doesn’t have your logo.

  • baminblack@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Take the sales, always. Being sold out proves you have a desirable product.

    I own a coffee cafe/roastery and I love when customers are to the door, or are asking for a coffee we just sold out of. Having to wait a couple of minutes on a latte, or a couple of days on the roast you insist on validates the quality of the service and product.

  • bumblejumper@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I can put you in touch with a sourcing agent who can get product to you in as little as 3 days - even if it’s currently in China.

    Let me know if you’d like to talk - he started the sourcing business because he ran into this problem himself. Was selling through shopify, blew threw inventory, and had to re-stock quickly. Over the years he learned how to make it happen.

    Don’t do pre-orders! Not only are they against the terms of some credit card processors, if your stock doesn’t arrive in a timely manner you’re going to get HAMMERED with chargebacks. This will cause you to lose the ability to process, and you’ll also lose your advertising accounts.

    Pre-orders without inventory in hand around this time of year is a VERY bad idea.

  • AnshulYadav@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I think you are looking for a demand side solution for a supply side problem.

    Do you have other options for quicker restocking? It’s okay if those options are costlier. As everyone is suggesting are in a position to put a surge price.