make your money count.....

we just saw our may numbers....not pretty..... but the good part was retail was still very good and mostly around smalls and gifts........ furniture and wholesale are still way off for us ..
so i have been trying to spend my money in the retail and gift area...instead of more furniture...
so...
big orders this week for
MORE LANTERNS, they sold out at the garden party
A BIG CREATIVE COOP ORDER, some black, locker baskets,bird stuff, some chandeliers, most will be good all year...
A BIG GARDEN STAKE ORDER ,this was mostly filling up the big gaps left after the garden party....
all 3 of these orders made sense to me and will add a few extra percents of profit when they sell.....because i got between 10 and 25% off because of the size of the orders..... in the long run that really will add to our profit... and help me keep the mark up good without pushing my prices into the clouds... i try not to go for lots of little orders..
im spending a lot, but im trying to really pay attention too...
im getting lots of old inventory out the door, by repricing lower or putting more in the half price room, but i sure dont want to look less than full, especially our staples, like stars, placemats, garden iron,....etc etc

talked to my buddy the show dealer yesterday and also another one....both reported upturns in the upper levels of the market....so thats good... also hearing lots of travellers are pushing up the prices at the auctions .....so there is good activity going on somewhere...