Oh no! It's time for that January sale again!

Don't Miss The Winter Sale!
Sale! Sale! Sale! Starts today!
Or does it?
These days, starts the moment Santa Claus wipes Rudolf's nose and puts the snow mobile to bed and tucks Mrs. Claus in with one more large glass of sherry and another mince pie.
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Get your sleeping bags out and queue for two days - it's really worth it!
(Thank God for online shopping, I say).
Phew! Christmas is over! And I don't know about you, but sales just annoy me.
May be theres something different between men and women (Men are from Mars...)?
Thank God my wife's stopped leaving home to join the cues for the Next sale at 5.30 in the morning, enough kids in toe to push through the crowds to get - well, what exactly?
That not-to-be-missed bargain?
That must-have handbag or fashion accessory? or
Last season's stock that will be sold at last at an affordable price that will do nicely for her or the kids, thank you?
Or, even more frightening, the new excuse for us:
To buy next year's pile of Christmas presents, even before the Christmas dinner's chipolatas have been used up for the Boxing Day cold buffet?
So why, then, am I so worried that, despite my best intentions not to do it again this year, I'm still all set for putting up a January Sale on Essentially Natural, despite the fact that our quarterly stock take isn't finished and it costs so much in time and postage charges to send out the extra orders?
Well, here are some of my thoughts of what sales mean.
Which of them ring true for you - or for us, do you think?
1) Sales are for getting rid of old stock. The salesmen are standing at the door, suitcase in hand, and you know you've got to see them (or send them away, and there but for the grace of God...)
2) There's all that new stock already waiting from the suppliers (or aforementioned salesmen you felt sorry for before Christmas)
3) You just need to get rid of the stuff that didn't sell last season
4) If you sell stuff cheaper, then people will buy it
5) You've got to show the shop next door that your stuff's better and the way to do that is to lower your prices so people come in and buy
6) You desperately need the business, and everyone, but everyone, just loves a sale and will come pouring through the virtual doors
7) You love the sound of virtual cash desks ringing as the orders come pouring in, even if they're at rock-bottom prices and your profit margins are slashed
8) You've made such wonderful profits with obscene markups that you can actually afford to sell at such low prices in a go-for-it sale
9) You know that not only your repeat customers but also all those not-quite-ready-to-trust-you-before-buying prospects will just not be able to resist a bargain
10) The staff all just love running around trying to cope, even in a virtual shop
(Entries, please, to the comments box. The winner will receive...) :)
OK, so where does an ethical, even green, small business like Essentially Natural stand - in truth and honesty?
Which of these points should I admit to, and if I do, will you, my loyal readers, ever cross our virtual threshold and deign to buy from our humble website?
1) This one does have some truth in it. We always either have too much or too little on the shelves - you just can't predict what people will buy in this game. So yes, sales are a good way of keeping the shelves stocked up with absolutely fresh soaps and skincare products. As a rider, though, we only put stock that is still in perfect condition into a sale - anything else goes down as Clearance.
2) Related to this of course is the new soaps that are curing and ready to go n the shelves. And the new products like our aromatherapy soya candles, some of which aren't even online yet, that we have to find room for.
3) Again this one is true. Some of our products don't sell as well as others, despite the fact that they're just oh, so good, and the customers who do buy them love them and come back for more. So selling them off cheaper is a good way of drawing people's attention to something they may have otherwise not thought about. So why not have a browse around and buy some of our... or our... :)
4) This is not one I subscribe to. Yes, people will buy at dirt cheap prices, but then they won't buy again at the true price, so you're doing yourself out of business.
5) This is related to the last one, and pricing, especially on the internet, is becoming so keen that this is a temptation. But again I think it's false economy. Having said that, I do think that a 'loss leader' can work miracles, but it's not something I feel too comfortable about.
6) Yes, everyone loves a bargain. This is the EBay mentality. But even on EBay you can get very good quality stuff and even on EBay people are prepared to pay for quality. But to me, there's no point in getting lots of new customers looking for something cheap unless you know they're going to come back for more, so we have to ensure that our products are of high enough quality, or our incentives are enticing enough, to keep those customers coming back.
7) This is related to 6) and again is just false economy. Put another way, it's false marketing.
8) Even My wife has a cynical streak although she believes the best of everyone. 'Just think how much they must make the rest of the year!' she'll say. But that, loyal reader, is definitely not the case for us! :)
9) Again, true, but we have to be careful not to shoot ourselves in the foot. I love giving that extra something to a new customer, and often add something when I send the parcel out, just because it makes me feel good, or as a way of building a relationship with an almost anonymous customer. In a 'real' shop you'd be able to chat, smile, even flirt, and leave the customer feeling good as he or she walked out of the door. I think this is a much better way than advertising 'free gift with every purchase', because, nine times out of ten, the free gift won't be worth much anyway, unless you're buying from a multi-national with millions to spare on promotion - and then we're back to those obscene profits again. :)
10) The buzz of being busy - like bees in a hive - ah yes. I must admit, actually running a sale is fun. It's a challenge - have we made the right decisions as to what to put into the sale, should we be saving some stock back as back-end offers for a later date, or to sell at craft fairs to introduce new customers who may not be internet shoppers or may even not be on the net?
And there you have it, folks, my own thoughts.
And I really would be interested in your comments.
So, having poured my heart out, I'll have a last cup of coffee (erm, chamomile tea?) and sleep on it.
And on Monday, after the stock take, we'll get the sale up and running on the website.
Because everybody does it!
See you there... I hope. :)