![\"NSS](\"http:\/\/asnaggydime.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/NSS-2011-Patch.gif\")
<\/a>NSS 2011 Convention Patch<\/p><\/div>\n
This happened to us at a 2011 conference where we were told that only about 20% of the attendees would be interested in obtaining a conference embroidered patch and that it\u2019s really not a popular item. We ordered just enough to cover 20% of the attendees and on the first day of the conference \u2013 in the first few hours \u2013 our entire supply was gone. The demand was phenomenal. There were attendees mad that we ran out, there was gouging by those who managed to get a patch, but were willing to part with it for the right price. There were accusations of theft. The shortage nearly caused a riot. Looking back, we could have easily sold a patch or two to 50% or 60% of the attendees. A missed opportunity based on someone else\u2019s advice rather than our own experience.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, a retailer\u2019s nightmare is having inventory that no one wants. In 2007 a conference that was being held in Denver came to us to help them with merchandising. We love working with conferences because their attendees are a captive audience. We work with our vendors to get good prices on private label merchandise and in turn offer it to the attendees at a good price. Yes, the product liability stays with the merchant. Very few conferences actually buy the merchandise outright or make any guarantees.<\/p>\n
From our experience, no one wants a $10 shot glass with the conference logo on it, but $5 shot glasses tend to do pretty well. We base what we order on organizer requests and on past history. One of the items that the conference planners wanted was a stuffed toy buffalo (really, a North American bison) wearing a conference logoed vest. They assured us that historically about 50% of the attendees would pick up a convention mascot to take home as a conference keepsake or as a toy for their kids or as a gift for an associate who could not make the conference.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Billy the Bison<\/p><\/div>\n
We had several planning meetings with the designers at Stuffed Animal House and placed an order to cover just about 60% of the attendees. Two weeks before the conference we received several boxes of the North American bison, smartly dressed in his embroidered conference vest. Billy the Bison<\/a>, as the conference committee named him, was just too cute for words. Everyone who saw him immediately fell in love with him. Except for the conference attendees. Billy\u2019s sales were less than 1\/3 of what was predicted by the conference staff, leaving us with a whole herd of stylish stuffed animals.<\/p>\n