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2marshall8

Small Business side of this...?

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As a new comer to the hobby my aim is to start out and save money by not buying all the name brand baits which have super high markups, but eventually want to look into selling to others. can those ahead of me share their experiences with this, both positive and negative on moving into selling baits? I'm not looking to become a large bait company, but would like to hear some advice from those of you who have gone into selling. thanks

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 1st off , it will be tough to save any money by making your own baits.  It is a great hobby, but can get expensive to buy all the neat molds and colors and such .

Now  to sell --

It is a very tough competitive market . Even tougher now that Facebook has brought in hundreds of new bait makers. Make sure you have a market for your stuff before you start. Be prepared to pay the 10% excise tax + your state sales tax if you are at the retail end .

You will get a few more guys to chime in and give you more info on the Pros and Cons.  

 You can make it work but it will take time and money .

Good luck on what ever you do .

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Yes 10% fet on all product you produce, bulk buying all raw material is a must for maximum discount, check your state tax guidelines for small business. ( raw material is a tax write off, finished product is taxed as it is a saleable product here in Ky..) Marketing in any way you can is a must, never pay pro staff when starting off. Never ever put product into a store on consignment ( if they have no money tied up into your product, there is no incentive to sell it.) Packaging needs to stand out from the other guys, and remember, this is a very cut throat business, you will get hammer the bigger you get. There is a lot more and others will chime in. One more thing, when you own your own your own business  you only have to work 1/2 a day, just pick which 12 hours you want to work. Good luck.)

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good advice. thanks regarding saving money making yur own baits, I'm surprised to hear it's tough to save. Yes I get there are up front costs but when you get those cleared away yur just talking dyes, glitter, plastic, correct? does this still out weigh the costs when paying $4.99 for a pack of baits? I would guess a gallon of plastisol would get ya close to 200-250 baits and that gallon would be around $30.

 

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Once you start selling baits, it will become a business, no longer a hobby. If you are successful, you will have to work long hours to keep up with demand. How many styles and/or colors are you going to offer? Will you be doing custom work? Molds can add up if you have to have them custom made. Don't forget packaging supplies. 

 

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19 hours ago, 2marshall8 said:

good advice. thanks regarding saving money making yur own baits, I'm surprised to hear it's tough to save. Yes I get there are up front costs but when you get those cleared away yur just talking dyes, glitter, plastic, correct? does this still out weigh the costs when paying $4.99 for a pack of baits? I would guess a gallon of plastisol would get ya close to 200-250 baits and that gallon would be around $30.

 

if you are very , very disciplined on only buying and making baits you would buy .. Just a few colors , a few molds , ( molds can be very costly )  . Buying 5 gallons of plastisol not just a gallon.  ( its last a long time cost way less and you will need it ) you can save some money.  But 95 % of us can not just do that , we need to get a few new molds a few new colors to experiment with .  Before you get your up front cost covered you will need more stuff , It is a fun hobby and its nice to make your own stuff , Now how many $ 4.99 bags do you buy a year ?  Do you use the whole bag up or toss the extra a side and try a different color or style ? 

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On 10/8/2020 at 6:44 AM, Bass-Boys said:

if you are very , very disciplined on only buying and making baits you would buy .. Just a few colors , a few molds , ( molds can be very costly )  . Buying 5 gallons of plastisol not just a gallon.  ( its last a long time cost way less and you will need it ) you can save some money.  But 95 % of us can not just do that , we need to get a few new molds a few new colors to experiment with .  Before you get your up front cost covered you will need more stuff , It is a fun hobby and its nice to make your own stuff , Now how many $ 4.99 bags do you buy a year ?  Do you use the whole bag up or toss the extra a side and try a different color or style ? 

100 % true right here. I've got a few colorants that i'll probably never use & have sold & gave away  several molds that i just  had to have & then didn't use after i got them. As far as selling goes i could sale all i want, but  I already have a job i work 10 hours a day 6 days a week most times. I'll help a buddy out if i have time, but that's about it. I also enjoy making stuff  & swapping with others for their stuff which is pretty fun. You'll get some neat stuff doing it this way. :yay:

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I have been making baits (mostly carved lures, not plastics) and other fishing related stuff for about 3 years.  One of my goals is to make the hobby pay for itself.  I have a sole proprietorship, so I can operate legitimately.  I've found farmers markets and local vendor markets to be a great way to make the money I need to cover my materials and keep growing my collection of equipment. Its been a really fun process. I've learned a lot and met a lot of really neat people.  At some point I might focus more on profit margin, but I figure as long as I make enough to pay for the hobby and take my wife out to dinner or get her flowers I'm doing alright!

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