Firstly I would like to thank all of you who are buying unique items. However current & past situations are raising my concerns where the future for unique is taking us. For past years many of us have been struggling to make ends meet. Economically it has been tough. There is no confidence in politics, inflation is high, gas prices, rent & employee costs are considerably up. In general, the cost of living has gone up for everyone and consumers are spending less.
Old stock has been sold to pay the bills, without buying new stock. Customers entering a shop did not see anything new & walked out. This supported the downfall in turnover. A popular economist solution would be to invest against this cycle…
Keep on buying fresh & new goods, make your shop beautiful, give the customer a good experience when they do walk into your shop. Realistically this could work for a few months or seasonally but this downfall is lasting already for last 3 years. Above all online shopping is taking over & growing day by day. Buying famous brand names which attracts customers is for sure not the answer. Those brand names are the most visible and price competitive in the online market.
Solution
My suggestion is, to buy more unique items! You will stand out from the rest, there is no competition & the customers get their positive experience in your shop. Just mix in the old with the new. Even a modern home decorated with only brand names, looks better and special with that unique cabinet. Unique items tell their own story & stand out from the rest. House guests will acknowledge those items, a lot more then those mass produced items.
Importance
My request is also to think a bit more deep about the importance of uniqueness. If we stop buying unique items, we break an age old cycle. We as wholesalers will stop buying them as well, due to no sales. Local wholesalers in faraway countries stop collecting them. The runners, whom are going to the small villages stop buying and so it all falls apart.
Soon on my visits what I get offered is less quality and what is available is selected and demanding high-end prices. As a result, we have to raise our prices and for sure I do not want to be a gallery, nor a high-end antique dealer. The short end of it is, no more heritage items, no more stories, no more cultural exchanges, and next step is to close all our museums.
New year’s resolution
At Raw Materials we want to continue to offer clients good & special unique pieces for affordable prices in 2025. This is my personal new year’s resolution! We will be investing against the economical cycle.
A container full of nice unique items just arrived in our warehouse. End of Januari a new container comes and mid Feb again and March and April. Every few weeks we will be posting online new unique items. If you want that unique buying experience, do visit our warehouse.
For those who want to stand out and mix in the old with the new and offer unique items to their customers and improve their turnover: We are ready!
Unique items for sale
All our unique items are available on our B2B portal at: b2b.rawmaterials.eu. Please note that you need a login to browse the B2B website and to see all the prices. Please request a login by using the button below.
