Manufacturing In the US

Something struck me today that I want to explain how manufacturing works for furniture in the US.  And how pricing works in general.  We feel so blessed to have the partnership we do with our Amish manufacturer but with that said, it's still just not cheap to manufacture here in the States.  It's why most of your favorite furniture stores produce outside of the US.  I also want to explain how pricing works when you buy an item from a retail store.  It's something I never understood before I started selling my own furniture. I hope it's helpful!

Here's a breakdown costs to produce one toy box:

US-made - range is $110-$150 per toy box
Outside of the US (China, etc)  = range is $30-$50 per toy box.

Now, when you manufacturer, you sell to retail stores.  Those retail stores are charged a wholesale price by the manufacturer.  So let's say a toy box costs us $120 to make plus shipping then we have to charge close to double that to make our profit on it.  So we sell the toy box to retail stores for around $220-$240.  Then the retail store does something called "keystoning" where they expect to make double what they paid so they have to charge $440 for a toy box to make $220 on it.  Margins for retail stores are typically 50% otherwise they won't sell your items.

Like I mentioned before, we ADORE our Amish manufacturers.  They do amazing heirloom work that is shipped to you completely assembled (except for screw on legs).  This is not common in our market.  Most toy boxes are manufactured RTA (Ready to Assemble) so you have some work to do when it hits your doorstep. 

While we believe wholeheartedly in our products and their "grow with your child/heirloom quality," we also understand that those price-points are unattainable for some. We are working on creating a new line of furniture that will be ready to assemble so it will ship flat-packed and therefore we can lower the pricing a bit.   This way, you have the mod mom look and style but have the option to purchase designs that are RTA at a lower cost. They will still be made in the USA using eco-friendly products but because you put them together and they ship in smaller boxes, we can offer more affordable options.

I hope this helps to make clear what I truly didn't understand until I went into business selling goods.  We're working our little tails off over here to expand our lines and provide several different pricepoint options. We are so thankful you have supported us since 2007 and are truly excited to share what else we have up our sleeve in the coming months!!

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