Grizabella
Well, after all the flack they've been getting, if I were them, I wouldn't run another good sale like that at all.
$5 deck sale at Llewellyn
weaver
Sadly, I concur with your sentiments, Lyric.Lyric said:
weaver
Deana
Lyric said:
I would. Look at it this way: they sure moved a lot of inventory, and it was stuff that would have taken ages to sell out without the sale.
magpie9
Sure, they moved a lot of Inventory...at a loss. I bet those decks cost them more than $5. each just to stock. And the way it worked out, even if they only cost them $5. each, they lost money on the sale, the way it went. There's no way they even broke even on this sale.Deana said:
Grizabella
Exactly, Magpie, and then to take a bunch of flak on top of it all----I wouldn't do it again. I'd just put them out on the street in a sidewalk sale or something. I don't believe they were that desperate to move the inventory. If that had been so, they could have just given it to charity or sold the lot of it wholesale to someone. Next time if they put inventory on sale, they'll probably not put it at such rock-bottom prices. They'll just discount it somewhat and keep the price higher to make it worth their while as well as to prevent the free-for-all brawl that this one brought. They don't want bad press for their company like what resulted from this sale, I'm sure.
weaver
Once again, I agree. I imagine the central driving force behind the Llewellyn sale was twofold:
1. To get rid of a lot of "deadwood" decks languishing on their shelves in order to make room for new products that would hopefully generate more robust sales.
2. In terms of public relations the sale laid the groundwork to connect with customers in a very positive, concrete manner. In otherwords, it afforded great advertising for their company and products.
Lacking that key second component, I can't see why they would offer such a sale again. Heck, as a result of what was basically a deck giveaway, there are people who have indicated they are irate enough to not want to do business with them in the future.
weaver
1. To get rid of a lot of "deadwood" decks languishing on their shelves in order to make room for new products that would hopefully generate more robust sales.
2. In terms of public relations the sale laid the groundwork to connect with customers in a very positive, concrete manner. In otherwords, it afforded great advertising for their company and products.
Lacking that key second component, I can't see why they would offer such a sale again. Heck, as a result of what was basically a deck giveaway, there are people who have indicated they are irate enough to not want to do business with them in the future.
weaver
Netzach
weaver said:
Although, to be fair, they have redeemed themselves by cancelling the whole cost of postage in some cases or giving gift vouchers in others. I had all my postage cancelled so, although I told them in my initial email that I wouldn't buy from them again, I think it would be rather churlish now to stick to that.
Deana
Llewellyn has these sales every year. They are not just, or even primarily, a Tarot company. The sale was not just, or even primarily, on decks. And the decks were not published by them, they were Lo Scarabeo decks. If anyone took a loss on those, I'm betting it was LS, not Llewellyn.
Every year Llewellyn marks down prices to move things like calendars, books that are going OOP, almanacs, things that just aren't selling well. They do this before the end of the year so they don't carry deadweight into another tax season.
They moved all this stuff just in time to sell the things they knew were going to be huge for them. The Llewellyn Tarot, as far as decks go. So far everyone is raving and no one is criticizing it. Silver Ravenwolf's new book, for another thing (and she takes a lot of criticism as a writer, but she consistently outsells every other writer in her genre. She was mentioned in Publisher's Weekly for her unusually high sales in her genre).
I don't think they are crying into their teacups over this sale, and I don't think they're going to stop doing sales. They have been around more than 100 years and they have intentionally kept their company small enough to work hands-on with all of their projects but they are still large enough that they recently moved to new offices. They aren't hurting from the feedback from this sale, nor are they hurting from all the people who post all over the internet that "Llewellyn sucks. I never buy anything with the little moon on the side." I'd guess they are actually having a good month and probably a good sales year overall.
They had quite a scandal on their hands in early 2000, when Silver Ravenwolf's Teen Witch Kit came out. All over the internet, they were taking flack. And you know, it went on to sell, and not only that, but when she later came out with Solitary Witch (aimed at the same age group), it sold 75,000 copies in a matter of weeks. They are not a company that needs to worry that five or six people or even ten people on one bulltetin board are going to stop buying from them.
Every year Llewellyn marks down prices to move things like calendars, books that are going OOP, almanacs, things that just aren't selling well. They do this before the end of the year so they don't carry deadweight into another tax season.
They moved all this stuff just in time to sell the things they knew were going to be huge for them. The Llewellyn Tarot, as far as decks go. So far everyone is raving and no one is criticizing it. Silver Ravenwolf's new book, for another thing (and she takes a lot of criticism as a writer, but she consistently outsells every other writer in her genre. She was mentioned in Publisher's Weekly for her unusually high sales in her genre).
I don't think they are crying into their teacups over this sale, and I don't think they're going to stop doing sales. They have been around more than 100 years and they have intentionally kept their company small enough to work hands-on with all of their projects but they are still large enough that they recently moved to new offices. They aren't hurting from the feedback from this sale, nor are they hurting from all the people who post all over the internet that "Llewellyn sucks. I never buy anything with the little moon on the side." I'd guess they are actually having a good month and probably a good sales year overall.
They had quite a scandal on their hands in early 2000, when Silver Ravenwolf's Teen Witch Kit came out. All over the internet, they were taking flack. And you know, it went on to sell, and not only that, but when she later came out with Solitary Witch (aimed at the same age group), it sold 75,000 copies in a matter of weeks. They are not a company that needs to worry that five or six people or even ten people on one bulltetin board are going to stop buying from them.
Netzach
Deana said:
Maybe not but when we did complain they did the decent thing and compensated us. And bear in mind that it may only have been ten or so of us who were dissatisfied but many more people will have read this thread and taken note. (Some 6600 views are recorded which - even if everyone who has posted here has viewed four times for every one post they've made - leaves another 5600 views.)
Eco74
Well, now I'm just stumped.. And no longer waiting...
I sent another email asking what happened with my order since it was now about four weeks since it was sent (in full) and no arrival.
Turns out the package was returned with a postal label claiming it was a faulty adress. Never happened to me before, but sure, certainly not impossible and I'll accept that.
What got my goat is that Llewellyn apparently have as a policy to;
a) Not contact anyone whos package can not be delivered, seemingly regardless of the reason. Instead it has to be "refurbished" as quickly as possible and no followup.. I suppose unless the customer requests it.
b) Not return shipping fees even if the ordered items can not be delivered. So, what about the shipping fees that were waived on all those late deliveries?
Anyhow, still pondering how to reply to the latest email where the policy was explained.
A little miffed since the shipping (that I did not get refunded) was a higher cost than the three decks. $22 vs. $15.. Could do something more sensible with that money than just loose it into cyberspace and seriously it feels as though I'm paying for a broken promise since I did get a confirmation that my order had been sent in full.
Just needed to get that off my chest...
I sent another email asking what happened with my order since it was now about four weeks since it was sent (in full) and no arrival.
Turns out the package was returned with a postal label claiming it was a faulty adress. Never happened to me before, but sure, certainly not impossible and I'll accept that.
What got my goat is that Llewellyn apparently have as a policy to;
a) Not contact anyone whos package can not be delivered, seemingly regardless of the reason. Instead it has to be "refurbished" as quickly as possible and no followup.. I suppose unless the customer requests it.
b) Not return shipping fees even if the ordered items can not be delivered. So, what about the shipping fees that were waived on all those late deliveries?
Anyhow, still pondering how to reply to the latest email where the policy was explained.
A little miffed since the shipping (that I did not get refunded) was a higher cost than the three decks. $22 vs. $15.. Could do something more sensible with that money than just loose it into cyberspace and seriously it feels as though I'm paying for a broken promise since I did get a confirmation that my order had been sent in full.
Just needed to get that off my chest...
