You may have noticed that I haven’t shared any sales coming up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I’ve been running Tea Thoughts since 2016 and I have done these sales before. I did them because I felt I HAD to. I thought that if I didn’t participate, my customers would write me off and I would lose out. I felt like every year, I would read blog posts about from businesses and how amazing these shopping holidays were and that it would be silly not to participate. What I noticed however is that I ended up selling my product at a price that wasn’t good for my business. This was especially difficult when I was even smaller than I am now and had less products.

You’ve probably read that people inflate their prices so that they can afford these deep discounts. I can’t speak for other businesses but I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s like free shipping, I would make a bet most places that offer free shipping likely inflate the product prices to afford it because free shipping, even at a higher minimum is a killer!

Last year I decided that I would only participate in Small Business Saturday and I would provide deals that wouldn’t hurt me. The truth is, while my prices are likely higher than purchasing from a big brand it’s because I am ordering/making small amounts because I’m still growing versus their orders of thousands and thousands of pieces making the price per piece lower. I already try to provide prices that are fair and in line with other brands selling similar items whenever possible. I also have several volume discounts standard in my shop for things like stationery already. I try to also offer bundle deals now and again!

Deep discounts on an item or two for a flash sale is usually fine or if I really need to get rid of stock but discounting everything like 40% -60% or more would really hurt Tea Thoughts. So…I’m not going to do it!

I do love the spirit of Small Business Saturday though and I’ve decided to offer a couple deals as well as using my platform to raise up some of the small shops and retailers I’ve featured on my blog in the past!

As always, I appreciate your support! That includes orders, kind notes, encouragement, sharing my products and following along on my social channels!

If you need a gift for yourself or someone on your list and want a little treat, check out what will be happening on Small Business Saturday! None of these items will require a code but they are only valid for Saturday November 27th!