$20/bag after all overhead.
Another Ontario supplier charges $55 for 1 lb of Red Worms – with tax that is about $62. Add shipping to that and you are looking at upwards of $80 on average.
AND it’s important to note that the 1 lb of worms won’t be coming with all that wonderful habitat/ecosystem material.
UWC: Does this price attract buyers in your opinion?
BC: That’s a good question! Hard to say for sure. One thing I do know is that I seem to have “converts” – a fair bit of repeat business.
I think part of my success is that I am very confident in my product. I know the facts, and I am utterly and completely mellow about the business (it is MEANT to be a fun, side business that helps to supplement my income). So I tend to have a very “easy come easy go” attitude with customers. I would MUCH rather have someone realize ahead of time that the product is not what they are looking for, than after they receive it and this is a big part of why I put so much emphasis on education.
I have no clue how many people have come to the site and then went to buy worms elsewhere. Regardless, I am happy with the amount of business I get. Not so much that I can’t focus on my other projects (although spring can be challenging), and certainly not so little that I treat it as a “hobby business.”
on education.
I have no clue how many people have come to the site and then went to buy worms elsewhere. Regardless, I am happy with the amount of business I get. Not so much that I can’t focus on my other projects (although spring can be challenging), and certainly not so little that I treat it as a “hobby business.”
UWC: How did overall sales go this spring for you? Any comparisons you can make to 2015 or previous years?
BC: What’s funny is that I assumed the past couple of springs were very similar to this year. It definitely felt like I put in about the same amount of time and effort anyway.
Upon closer inspection, however, it looks as though early sales (up to and including April 30th) in 2015 were basically double those in 2014 (and I even opened earlier that year). And this year they are significantly higher (than last year) once again.
Kinda strange, but I guess it comes down to my continual tweaks and efforts to streamline. I think I am able to fill a lot more orders in the same amount of time (and with similar effort) as in previous years, so it just “feels” like I’ve been bringing in about the same amount of business.
I know for sure that the switch over to a single, larger bag of “Easy Worm Mix” has definitely helped – and it’s nice to see that it not only didn’t hurt sales, but it actually may have provided an extra boost (but I’m sure there are a variety of factors at play).
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