I came across a site called Elsewares the other day. Their blog caught my attention. They had a post on the topic of pricing, marketing and getting wholesale accounts (directed at independent fashion designers). I don't normally like to just copy and paste other bloggers content, but I thought this was worth mentioning to you fashionCEO readers. I've copied their post below. Visit Elsewares to read more about them.

from Elsewares:

1) Pricing
The principle rule of pricing is that everybody needs to make money - and that includes you. So know your margins, and be sure to base them on wholesale prices.
A mistake designers often make is setting their prices so low (e.g. on their own web site) that they can’t afford to halve them for stores. And nothing is as good for your business as having a long list of happy and active wholesale customers.
Beyond that, anything goes. Pricing is a black art. People love affordable products. But some expensive things sell well because they cost a lot. (To wit: my weird desire to get one of these.) And theoretically, the same product can be sold at different prices to different people.
The key is to make sure it’s your product’s innovation or sheer awesomeness that customers fall for, not the price. If you’re goods really stop people in their tracks, the price should make them feel like they have discriminating taste.

2) Marketing and 3) Landing wholesale accounts
I’ve lumped these together because they’re really two sides of the same coin.
Your chances of interesting a buyer decrease every time you call or email them directly and increase every time they hear someone say your name or see you in print or on the blogs. Go out and make stores come to you. Get exposure, get press, be a known entity. Don’t walk into stores with your products under your arm.
In general, trade shows are a bad place to start. They can be more valuable as your business matures, but not all trade shows are worth the bus fare. Most store buyers don’t take chances on newfangled things - they want you to show them something that’s already hot but that their customers just don’t know about yet. Choose carefully, and invest in a booth when you have a healthy wholesale business you want to augment with new accounts, not when you’re trying to get a foothold in the industry.
Fairs & markets, on the other hand, are usually fun & inexpensive and put you in face-to-face contact with the real people who buy your stuff. And when they have laser-like focus on a particular niche (Renagade Craft Fair. Brooklyn Designs, etc.) they create buzz and get people talking and that can lead to all kinds of good things. If the perfect fair or market doesn’t exists for your niche, you can always start it yourself.

Lastly, remember that context is important. Be wary of putting your products into any milieu that doesn’t set the bar as high you would. Customers, buyers, and journalists will all make judgments about your brand based on the company it keeps. If you’re an indie fashion designer, does appearing on the same web page (or store shelf) as homemade fudge send the right message about your products, your business, or your brand?

I really agree with the last paragraph. Many people told me "you should sell your bags at the craft show at the senior center." My bags are $450 leather satchels. I don't think an arts and crafts fair is going to be the right place to sell them, or to build my brand.

When you are starting out, its tempting to want to sell to any store that will take on your line. But make sure its the right fit your brand. Does the store represent your product properly? What kind of clientele does the store have? I think its important to shop in the store and see what their customer service is like. You should be selective about the stores that carry your line. That's hard in the beginning, but important as you create the "story" around your brand.

Good luck!

S