14/11/2024
Hi all,
First of all, let me apologise for the long post, and thank you if you take the time to read it. I wanted to explain why this year Petiquette collars will be sitting out Black Friday.
It's that time of year when our inboxes are exploding with emails offering the "most amazing deals" or the "biggest discounts ever" from seemingly every website on the planet. What started as a way for big businesses like Walmart and Amazon to clear old stock has turned into a seemingly unstoppable behemoth which is ringing the death knoll for many small businesses, so I've decided, whether for better or for worse, to say enough is enough and won't be partaking.
Most of us are savvy enough now to realise that many of these "Black Friday deals" are products that have been bought in especially, and aren't actually discounted at all; it's just clever marketing that makes us as consumers feel that we're bagging a bargain, when in actual fact we're often spending far more than we normally would or can afford. Large companies that buy in mass-produced stock are able to offer these seemingly large discounts as the reality is, it doesn't really make much of a difference to their bottom line, but that is far from the case with small businesses that offer quality, handmade products.
If we try to keep up with the these offers, we're not buying in mass-produced products, it would be the same collars that are lovingly made by hand for you to your exact specifications, made using the finest materials we can source, which would mean that more often than not, we'd barely even cover the costs of making them so end up working harder with next to nothing to show for it, with the added Brucey bonus of then worrying about whether bills will be able to be paid.
Black Friday has become so ingrained in our society now that consumers actually stop buying for most of November as they fear that they may miss out on the Black Friday deals. For small businesses that make their own products, the Christmas season has always been crazy, it's where most of us make the majority of our income which then has to tide us over for the rest of the year, and will make or break future product plans.
But because of Black Friday, small businesses lose most of November's income due to "Fear of Missing Out". Crafters now have two to three weeks in December to frantically handmake every order to ensure they arrive by Christmas, when each year there are always delays and problems with delivery, which obviously adds stress. Add to this, if there are problems with sizing, it then makes it incredibly difficult to remake orders in time to reach customers for the big day.
For those of you that have followed Petiquette Collars for a while, you'll know that as a small, home-based business we've taken a long time to source beautiful Italian leather to make some of what we believe are the best collars in the UK. We've lost months of sleep when we were no longer able to offer Swarovski due to fear of losing what made our collars so beautiful, then rejoiced when we reintroduced it several years later. We know that our collars aren't the cheapest on the market, but we do believe that they are priced fairly for the cost of materials used and the time taken to make every single collar for your four-legged friends.
So while we know that times are hard and the excitement around Black Friday is real, it would mean the world to us if you join in supporting small business by saying no to Black Friday this year, you'll be making a lasting impression on small business owners all over the UK. Every purchase you make from small business is a vote for quality, craftsmanship, and the passion that goes into handmade work. When you shop small, you’re supporting someone’s dream—and we couldn’t be more grateful that you’ve chosen to support ours.
