Here’s a photo of the 5 ml purse sprays I’m using to make spray testers for the studio. I thought these sprays might be nice to offer for fall and the holiday season on my website, both as unboxed singles and in boxed sets of two, in any choice of scents (two fit perfectly in my black perfume boxes). These cased purse sprays are more expensive than the clear glass kind with no surrounding case housing, but I love how the black case protects the juice from light and they look more elegant. They are refillable so if someone purchased a larger bottle after liking the 5 ml spray, the 5 ml could be refilled to carry along in a purse or pocket. These purse sprays also spray much better than any of the smaller 1-2.5 ml sprayers I’ve tried.
The 5 ml sprays of Sonoma Scent Studio perfumes sell for $16.25 at TPC so it’d make sense to offer the same price for them as unboxed singles on my site (a bit less for a couple of the less expensive scents). In boxed sets of two the price would be about the same as the 17 ml bottles. As sizes go smaller the price per ml goes up because the bottle and label costs are similar and labor is the same, so the smaller sizes cost proportionately more to make. Yet, sometimes small sizes can be economical for the perfume collector to buy no more than really needed at one time even though the cost per ml is higher.
If there is interest in these it’d be easy to offer a few this fall/winter and see how it goes. The 17 ml size that I offer already on the site is a nice size when you already know you like a scent, but the 5 ml would be more of a trial size and might make nice little gifts too.
I’m hoping to get the lotion on the site tonight. I need to do a few more things today to be ready though.
14 comments
Hi Laurie,
Fantastic idea! I agree that they make will make lovely gifts. The bottles are cute, 5 mls is a good amount, and I think a lot of fragrances smell best when sprayed.
I hope they turn out to be a great success for you.
-Ann C.
Yay, I love this idea! And they’re so elegant. Looking forward to trying a couple of new scents this way, thank you!
Hi Ann C and Rosarita! Thanks for input! i’ll go ahead and add this option. I may be able to get them on the site by the end of the week, will see.
Laurie:
Great idea and these are beautiful! But… as much as it pains me to say this, your prices are too low! As beautiful as your fragrances are and these are, you really need to charge more. You’re worth it!
Hi Rappleyea,
You’re sweet and from a business standpoint you’re right. The reason I can offer these prices is that I’m not yet wholesaling. If and when I begin to sell to boutiques I’ll need to bump prices up a little bit to allow enough room for the boutique’s portion (they only pay a fraction of the website retail price, usually about half, and I simply can’t afford to sell for half my current prices). Often small business owners don’t build padding into the price to look to the future for retailing, and I have been guilty of that. At some point when I take the step to wholesaling prices will need to go up a little on the products that go to boutiques, but I’ll try to keep that reasonable and at that point I can also set up some coupon codes to help offset the increase.
With the economy ailing I haven’t felt it’s the right time to make a move like that, and I have lots of work to keep doing on my scent list in the meantime. It’s a win-win for me and my customers now because I’m learning so much as I go along and by staying small and simple I can pass on the savings.
I’d sure love to have enough in the budget for a helper though, and that’s an issue that may be more important in the short-term than the wholesale issue. With a little help I could make much faster progress on new scents by freeing up some time currently spent on packing orders and tasks that could be easily done by someone else.
Lots to think about with a little business! That was probably more than you wanted to hear, lol, but it’s an honest answer. 🙂
I love those bottles. The design is so minimalist and chic and classy. Would love to buy them as gifts!
Hi Melissa,
Looks like this is a popular idea so I’m glad! Thanks for input! I like the black ones too. I’ll put these on the site later this week.
Laurie
Laurie, those 5ml purse sprays look great. Thank you for offering the smaller size options!
Hi Amy H! Glad you like them! Thanks for feedback, it helps to know the small sizes are important to people. 🙂
Hi Laurie,
I think the purse spray looks fantastic! Very elegant and convenient, and it will make buying from your range more affordable too (very important for a hoarder like me!).
I think they will do well in the holiday season – could be very popular in the stocking-stuffer category!
Keep creating!
Cheers,
Liza
Hi Liza,
Thanks! I just added them to the menus on the Fragrance page yesterday, so they’re up now. They do seem like stocking stuffer size. 🙂
Laurie
Brilliant as stocking stuffers but especially good as a deluxe ‘enjoy choosing’ gift. Wrap a selection of the scents you think might be the recipient’s favourite along with a gift card for a full bottle of whichever one they decide on.
Great idea Wordbird! We’ve done that in past years with sample sets accompanied by a gift card, but the purse sprays would work well that way too. I’m just ordering some gift boxes tonight so I can offer more options for wrapped gift sets. Thanks for stopping by!
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