Guy, thanks so much for that post. It was really useful.

As a publisher, could I have my cards in various retailers? I wouldn't have to sign any exclusivity contract? Would that be the case for the bigger retailers, such as Clintons etc?

How do you feel about supplying cards to Card Factory, with their really affordable mark-ups? I guess I have to print massive volumes to even get a decent RSP.

I receive PG trade mag every month. I've been to the Winter Fair in NEC too.

So, if you could put everything in points to clarify my approach.

1. Do a few mock designs before printing in bulk to show retailers.
2. Find agents to work for me. Ask retailers who they use.
3. Sell cards on my website.
4. Attend trade fairs. Approach other publishers to see what they are doing.

Anything else?

How about marketing? What advice would you give?

Raka, An alternative approach would be to find a publisher whose style of cards is complementary to yours and see whether they would publish on a licensing/royalty basis. You won't make as much margin (typically 10% of net wholesale) but you pass off the risk to a third party who already has distribution. Some publishers might alternatively want to pay a flat fee per image so they own the copyright in the design.

The hard part here obviously is finding a publisher to take on your designs - it's a bit like newbie authors looking for a book publisher!

Returning to your numbered points (and assuming you want to be a publisher):
1. It's always worth testing your designs on some local independent retailers and then, if you get positive feedback, get a quantity digitally printed, bagged with envelopes and ready for sale in outer packs of 6. You'll need at least 12 designs in the range to make it of interest to retailers (they may not take all 12, but simply like to be able to pick their favourites from a reasonable spread of choice).
2. You won't easily find premier division agents, but there's probably no harm in sticking a small "wanted" ad in back of PG see what falls out. Do your homework on any applicants (what other card publishers do they carry? what other products do they sell? who do they sell to? how many active accounts he they got? - this is a whole separate area in its own right) - and put them on a 6 months trial period to evaluate how they perform; and finally don't be afraid to cull them if they're not working for you (it probably means it's not working for them either). Typically you'll need to pay them around 17.5%-20% of the net wholesale price of every order.
3. Yes - a no-brainer.
4. If you're serious as a publisher, you'll need to be seen so will need to take space at key trade fairs. If you've got a lot of stuff for spring seasons (Valentines, Mothers, Easter, Fathers) then go to Autumn Fair. Otherwise, book a small stand in the Fresh section in Hall 3 at Spring Fair - it's for up-and-coming new publishers and artists.

Finally you can have your cards in lots of different retailer so long as they don't compete geographically. If you get into somewhere big like Clintons, they'll want an exclusive for a period of time, but I wouldn't waste my time trying to bang on those particular doors more than once. With the likes of Card Factory, it will - as you indicated - come down to £££ which means volume, and start-up publishers generally don't have the wherewithal to compete on that basis.

Guy

The issue you will have is that the large retailers buy with scale and therefore the unit price is very low. Most card ideas have been done, are your cards really that different? You will probably need to very targeted, probably to a local area (selling through local shops) but the margin will be very small.

Helo Raka,

Unfortunately i cannot offer you much advice withint this industry, but i do support what the other have said in the form that it should be unique, alternatively you could set up your own website, where you display your cards and create an affiliate programme where other people can advertise your card on your behalf and you give them a snippet of the profit, this will help spread your product further. You could also do a survey on your site to find out what cards are the most appealing and print a sample batch for starters.

if you are seeking a great web designer ( e-commerce) and printers i have afew contacts and pass those on to you.

Overall i think its a fantastic idea i would be eager to see what sort of card you do, i may be able to put you in contact with a company that promotes other products and services for a small kick back fee they have a large client base and are alsways seeking new and innovative services or products.

Hebe, thanks again for your invaluable info.

Susan, will you PM me? I can't seem to get to your PM link!

Hello Raka,

Unfortunately i am a newbie here, how you do PM

Lol! I have no idea Susan.

It should have an option when the username is clicked. But nothing!

you can e-mail me on: smnsh4@hotmail.com

Wow this is all awesome stuff. I'm desperatley trying to find out how to get in touch with agents. Could anyone provide me with a contact please?

Agents don't generally advertise themselves! There are two routes you could go down: (1) find some local card retailers whose product profile suits what you a trying to sell, and see if they would be prepared to give you the contact details of the best card agent who visits them - that will at least get you started in your area; and (2) put a small Wanted ad in a trade mag.
Just be aware that not all agents are equal - a few are very very good, and they tend to have full portfolios (but obviously do need fresh stuff from time to time); many are average at best, so be prepared to part company with the ones that don't perform (see point 2 in my post above of 17/6).

hi guys i too are starting out a greeting card business and have read all ur comments which have been really greatful. i do have a question if anyone could answer i would be really greatful. i want to put a logo at the back of my cards a pic and some writing saying my company name do i have to register this as a trademark or can i just copywrite this? also if so does anyone no of any trademark companies that do it for a reasonable price? has anyone else registered their greeting card company and tradmark/logo? your comments will be greatly appreciated thanks, dimitra (",)

Hi Raka

In a previous role I distributed greeting cards along with other gift items and it looks like Guy has covered all the important steps, really great advice.

To add my experience to the mix I didn't use agents I did it myself with some very niche cards, not occasion specific just lots of imagery and blank inside. I began with a 1x 0.5 metre stand because it was the cheapest in the card hall at the Harrogate trade show www.homeandgift.co.uk I prepared and made sure I was included in any free PR or promotion which the trade show was involved in to get my cards noticed. To invest this money I wanted a return. I made sure my stand was professional and well presented.

I created some offer/sales sheets and set a free delivery threshold 'spend xx and get free delivery' these were aimed specifically at small Independant retailers.

I asked for minimum quantities for the first order, 8 designs in quantities of 6. I then promised they could order only the cards they required after that and asked for payment upfront with no returns, this really helped with cash flow and worked for the business I was in. I worked on a 16 card cycle so I would drop 6 cards each quarter these were the low volume sellers and replaced them with another 6 keeping the range fresh.

This small stand put my cards in front of Independant retailers and multiple buyers it gave me hundred of leads some placed an order immediately others I followed up with after the exhibition.

It's important that you don't saturate towns with your cards be selective who you supply but always take the details of anyone who is interested. Retailers like to have a unique range selling the same card to all the gift shops on the High Street will saturate the market and prevent repeat sales.

I used the Independents to trial card designs and feedback on what did and didn't work. Independent retailers are the bread and butter business for any small businesses and completely invaluable.

During the Harrogate show I managed to get the interest from a couple of buyers including Sainsbury's, John Lewis and Whsmiths. In each case I looked to trial cards in each of the stores. The buyers know what there looking for and will request samples of a particular style if they're interested. It was through sheer perseverance and 8 months of following up that eventually John Lewis took the cards in a trial, they still stock them now in various branches and that was five years ago!

I suggest you join the Greetings card association and get a copy of Greeting's Today to see what the competition is doing and get a feel for the market. If you're going to be part of the greetings market you need to know it inside out.

Good luck with your business,

Elaine
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Hi Dimitra
Bottom line is that you do not have to trademark your company name and/or logo, but you should take some preliminary (free) steps to check that no-one else is using it or something very similar. Check Companies House (www.companieshouse.gov.uk) and the Trade Marks Office (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm.htm), and you can also do a member search with the Greeting Card Association (http://www.greetingcardassociation.org.uk/members/GCA-members-search).
Also, if you haven't registered your own internet domain, do a quick domain name check by typing in your company name + .co..uk and then + .com to see what (if anything) comes up.
If all clear, starting to trade your company name is its best protection, and your logo will be protected by design right (asusming it's not too much like anyone else's!!).
You really only need to worry about trademarks when you've got a big brand to protect or you've got a particular name and/or word or image mark which you need to protect because you think others might copy what you've done. I don't know of any small greeting card company which does that - it tends to be that the brand names which some of them take licences for are what is protected by trade marks, and then it is done by the brand owners not the card company.
Good luck with your venture.
Guy

thanks guy u have been very helpful (",) i have designed a logo saying the company name that i want to put at the back of my cards so people will see it and remember my company for future card purchases if i copywrite it a poor mans copywrite and send it to myself will that be enough if anyone tries to copy it in future will i be the one with rights even if someone tries to register it as their own trademark?you also said "starting to trade your company name is its best protection" what do you mean by that? ur help is very much appreciated
dimitra

Hi,

Is there much profit in card production nowadays? I am always shocked at the incredibly cheap prices that cards are being sold for. I imagine its extremely hard to obtain buyers due to the sheer quantity of supply in the market?

Thanks

Hi, I have just found this site and this post. I am also considering starting a greeting card business (yes, another one). I am a graphic designer with a flair for humorous illustration, good ideas and witty one-liners. I also have an extensive knowledge of the print trade, so the 'creating side of the business I am quite confident about. However, the marketing side I know little about and have been interested in what has been said. I hope I am not hijacking this post! Apologies if I am!

The thing is, I think I may have come up with quite a different approach. It's not ground-breaking but simple and effective (aren't all good ideas). I have not seen this approach anywhere on the market and cannot find it on the web.

My question is; is there anyway I can protect my idea before I publish it? I have been told it is not a totally original idea but just a different way to present a greeting card - it would be a niche market. I have been told I cannot patent it
in anyway. If it is a new approach, I would be fairly miffed if, once I had advertised it, the likes of Hallmark could just copy it and flood the market. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance

Hi Candyman, Highly unlikely you can patent it unless you are using a unique production technique which has never been used before. If it's simply a different style of card or has different embellishments or cut-outs or enclosures, for example, then the only way is to publish (or approach a publisher with the right level of distribution - though making sure they sign a NDA before you put your idea in front of them). Being first in the market with any idea is often the best protection. That said, if Hallmark or one of the other big boys want to copy it, they'll find a way!
If you want to run the specifics past me (as I mentioned at the top of this post, we're a small greeting card publisher), I'm happy to give you some feedback. You can contact me at info@firebrandart.co.uk
Guy

Good day,

I am in the process of setting up my business. I was wondering if anybody knew what the official way of approaching and pitching to the larger retailers?
I have read the above comments and they are very helpful. My cards target a niche market and a niche product so I think I tick all the boxes for addressing the likes of Clintons plc etc...

How do I approach them?

Thanks in advance ; )

Amz

Hi Guys
Thanks for some very useful information. I’m a landscape photographer and thinking of starting to sell some greetings cards (I have a company that sells a small range for me and I’m very happy to continue this, but I’m thinking of taking the plunge for myself with a different range).

Anyway, I plan on starting small and printing them digitally 16cm x 16cm but does anybody know of a good quality printer that I can trust?
Many thanks
Jason

you need to prove to the big chain retailers you are more than capable of printing a certain amount at a price they are willing to take. I think you should start out at small businesses and grow your reputation from thereon then should you approach the big retailers with the documents success.
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