I was sent this great question about planning your buying schedule, and I thought it would be helpful for any other future store owners out there:

Question:

I’m planning on opening a online fashion boutique in October and I’ve been learning a lot…your site has been so helpful! Thank you. I just realized that with the timing of my launch I should have completed, or at least started my fall buying by now. Is it possible for me to place orders closer to my launch date, or can you tell me what you think the latest date would be for purchasing fall ‘08 apparel? Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated and thanks again for the wonderful resource!

-J

 Answer:

Thanks J!  Fall buying just started in February, so I think there’s plenty of time.  It really depends on when the line closes, and there’s really no rule of thumb.  Some just closed about a month ago for summer buying, and then there are some lines that have immediate deliveries and are very flexible with their delivery dates (meaning you can buy at the absolute last minute).  I did my spring buying last October and in January so it’s definitely possible to buy 2-3 months ahead of the season.  Just check with the sales rep as far in advance as possible!

As always, if you have a question, feel free to email me.  I don’t mind at all!

Mannequin Drama

Well I announced that my boutique is set to launch April 15th in my last post.  Yesterday I spoke to the distributors of the particular mannequin I wanted and they let me know it wouldn’t be in until April 20th.  Great.   This place (called Acme Display, and I’m not linking to them!) really has terrible support and they don’t even mention on their site when things are out of stock.  So always be sure to get the full information on whether what you want will be in stock or not.  Sometimes you have to extract information from these people, because they won’t volunteer the fact that ordering before March 15th won’t necessarily get you merchandise from a March 15th shipment they’re expecting.

Luckily, I’ve found another distributor.  I just hope I can get it before my photoshoot next Saturday!