what kind of pagan supplies are in demand??

j2u

hi i am planning on detting up a website about paranormal activities.now i know there is a world of difference from the paarnormal and paganisnt.on this website i was planning on having a shopping cart area for paranormal stuff but then i thought why not have an area for witchcraft snd pagan supplies, so now i want to know what kind of things people need

Nevyn

why would your site be different then any of the others that are out there ?

j2u

well the difference would be that it would be an irish based site so if someone was to order something it would get to them quicker than a site in the uk or us,how many sites are there in irelannd that sell pagan supplies??i have read here before that there are people looking for pagan shops in ireland and mot of the time there is only two or three shops catering specifically for pagan supplies.so do you think it would be a handier option if there was a established website with a wide array of pagan supplies and other things that people could shop for online.

Nevyn

Well what do you mean by pagan things ?

akari no ryu

You know, pagan food, pagan alcohol, pagan clothes.

Nevyn

Alcohol made of pagans ? Yuk!

scorplett

Thaedydal wrote:

Alcohol made of pagans ? Yuk!

I would have thought that one a very marketable concept... nyom nyom!!!

Nevyn

Soylent Greenman Brew ?

Tabnabs

I can't help but feel it's a bit on the lazy side asking us what we want then charging us for the privilege... As it's been pointed out before, pagans aren't a moneyless pit and will happily go to Dunnes to buy candles etc. instead of going to a "specialist" shop and paying through the nose for the same product.

If you were to make the items yourself, then this would add authenticity to your site. But a shop selling pagan food? It's called my back garden and persistence and libation to the wights is the only price I pay!

If you want a moneyless pit, try the christian board, they're much more gulli... sorry, marketable then us!

j2u

i never mentioned pagan food??and correct me if im wrong(which i know im not)but have there or have there not been people on this forum asking about shops that supply pagan goods??i would sell pagan spell packs,books,also advertise pagan related things free of charge,(which i know can be done here) and when did i say i would be charging loads and people would be paying through the nose??i`ll try my best to sell things at an affordable price
i cant possibly see why people would have a problem with this??its ok for someone to go to a shop and look for pagan tools but if they go to a website that has all they need somehow you think that thats completly different and wrong????i fail to see how this could do anything but help the pagan community,what do you think of the people of house of astrology??i mean they set up a shop similar to the website im planning,so do you have any negative objections to them?i just dont see the problem and i can only say for now that i`ll sell candles,tarot cards,scents and oils,books,cauldrons and other things,so if people could tell me what kind of things they need i could add further to the list.Thank You

Nevyn

Well with a shop you can go in and check it out and the owners and those who work there and see if you are happy with the ethics and vibe of the shop and those who run it ( Personally I have never bought anything from the house of astrology ).

You can have a look and be in the same physical space and in many cases physically and energy wise interact with the items you are considering buying.

Yes there was a thread about pagan “stuff” but if you read it all you will see that a lot of “stuff” and trappings are not needed.


How much research have you done into product lines and what will be available?
Have you even looked at Llewellyn’s publishing schedule for the next two years?
Have you any idea how much trouble you may have exporting certain items into the country ?
How will you explain 5 kilos of dragons’ blood to customs ?

scorplett

j2u wrote:

i never mentioned pagan food??

We know you didn't mention pagan food, thats called a sense of humour and personally I found the reply in question very very funny. You asked what sort of 'stuff' pagans need and all of us need food and clothing etc just like any other normal human being. The point being made is that there is very little 'stuff'that pagans need that your average joe soap doesnt have use for.

j2u wrote:

and correct me if im wrong(which i know im not)but have there or have there not been people on this forum asking about shops that supply pagan goods??

Yes there have been such questions and if you check the replies the answers given were that for the main items that someone might need you can buy in any department store, supermarket or even your local centra (for the way you live today!!! lolz tee hee lolly lol) Outside of that you should check what happened to said thread... it was split into magical tools thread and then again into second hand tools thread.

j2u wrote:

i would sell pagan spell packs,books,

As far as spell packs your aiming at totally the wrong market. Spell packs are not bought by pagans. Through our own individual practices we would work for things in our own way and would be very weary about buying such things for our own use. You would do much better checking out who really buys the sort of things you wish to sell because its not here. There would be a few young people new to their path that might consider it but then they would likley be too young to have a credit card and too embarassed to ask their parents to use theirs for such a purchase. You might want to look at the more vague strands of spiritualism for a market for such things. As for books there is a very small market but then the primary market for books that would be available are again to the younger market and likewise the middle aged female demographic.
If you wish to target the pagan market I would suggest that you understand a little more about our varied and many spiritual and religous belief systems and the ethics and morals of same as they differ greatley from tradition to tradition.

j2u wrote:

i cant possibly see why people would have a problem with this??its ok for someone to go to a shop and look for pagan tools but if they go to a website that has all they need somehow you think that thats completly different and wrong????i fail to see how this could do anything but help the pagan community,what do you think of the people of house of astrology??i mean they set up a shop similar to the website im planning,so do you have any negative objections to them?i just dont see the problem and i can only say for now that i`ll sell candles,tarot cards,scents and oils,books,cauldrons and other things,so if people could tell me what kind of things they need i could add further to the list.Thank You

You would be entering very dogey territory here. There are a number of shops that do sell broadly occult goods (and to an equally broad market) Point one being that the people selling those things understand what they are and often to a point are experts in their field (for example bob in the yellow brick road has published a guidebook on crystals and can recognise what a stone is by looking at it (though I also add that he has little understanding of other aspects and his knowledge is largley academic)) To Pagans there is usually great value in the personal approach. Not only do the people selling things need to be knowledgeable about not only their market but their merchandise too but the value of my being able to see someting and hold it and know where it has come from has huge value and I am afraid that is lost when sellling on the internet. I personally have not bought anything from any of the shops in over two years as they have not had anything that I needed that wasnt cheaper elsewhere. I have never bought anything over the COMBINED value of 5euro (outside of books) and probably never will. Tools are not often bought by practicing pagans as you would know from reading many threads here there is more value in making them yourself or often there are traditions of gifting, which goes for tarot too. It is customary for a person to be gifted a set of tarot cards and in exchange for a penny or copper coin (maybe youll sell tarot cards for five cent????!!!

All in all I would say you should do more research. Untill then you will not understand who your market really is. I would suggest that you read up not only here on boards but get a general grasp of paganism and what it is and how it works and what people who practice are like...

Talliesin

Spell packs are more likely to repel Pagan customers than attract them. The same would be true of Ceremonial Magicians. You'd get the wannabe crowd with them, and from a purely business point of view that's arguably a better crowd to go for - selling crap to those who don't know better is a tried and proven technique. People would understand that you have to reach a few markets to stay in business if you have quality items also, but in general the fact that you sell spell packs counts against you image wise.

Items that can be used as tools are a potential area, but very very tricky. E.g. to have a knife in stock that would suit someone as an athamé you're going to have to stock a hell of a lot of very different knives for their to be a chance that you'd have one that would suit any particular customer. This is why you might see a stall with knives at a Pagan conference (and then you have the advantage that you might be able to have a chat with the smith and get a feel for them), but aren't likely to see very many in occult-orientated shops (some of the blades on offer at Auld Pine are clearly intended by their makers for the Pagan market, but one's as likely to be drawn towards one that isn't - or a knife made purely as a normal knife - they get their money because some people really do buy them for the decorative purposes they primarily sell them for).

j2u wrote:

what do you think of the people of house of astrology??i mean they set up a shop similar to the website im planning,so do you have any negative objections to them?

I like the House of Astrology, but mostly what I buy there would be one or two crystals I have a need for, and to stock up on candles, charcoal and incense that I could get elsewhere. Actually, mostly I go in, look around and don't buy anything. They do have a few items that count more as "pretty things" than anything else that I might buy as presents, or prizes for a competition. I do very much like their moon calendars, it has to be said.

I think with just people like me as their market, they'd be screwed. They also have a big astrology market - you can't cast a horoscope without an ephemeris, and there's a lot of "book learning" in astrology. They have a big tarot market, primarily outside of the Pagan community (I will qualify scorplett's point about gifting tarot decks, someone still has to buy them, and also if you don't have anyone likely to give you one soon you'd be better heading to a shop and buying one that sitting around forever waiting - all the same though, the people with more than a couple of decks are either buying decorative items, or serious enough that they'd regularly explore new decks [not a big market] they'll still have only one or two they actually use regularly). They have a very big New Age market, and the New Agers probably outnumber Pagans, and definitely are freer with their money (as a rule there isn't the same ethos that something you make yourself is better, that something very expensive is best avoided because what you're paying for isn't the important bit, and that certain things should never be paid for, that you'll find in various different ways amongst different Pagan paths).

akari no ryu

scorplett wrote:

We know you didn't mention pagan food, thats called a sense of humour and personally I found the reply in question very very funny.

For a second there, I was worried I hadn't been obvious enough in the response.
Note to self: more smileys leads to less misscommunications.

Other than that, I agree with your post scorplett.

FranknFurter

lol
Godess, Buffy The Vampire Slayer has a lot to answer for.
Much as I love the show it really does.

"Supplies" do not have to be bought, nor (imho) should they have a financial "value" placed on them.

"my nepeta cataria cost more than yours, so there!"

Sorry, cant help but smile

B

(As for books, most are translations on a theme, but there are plenty of people willing to pass on knowledge and experience (real learning imho) for free).

skateing dragon

Good BOOKS! I am a new to this so i dont know which book is good or not but i do know scott cunninghamm is good so supply books by respected authors and i will buy a load off you.

Nevyn

Most books can already be bought on line or ordered trough a decent book shop.

scorplett

skateing dragon wrote:

Good BOOKS! I am a new to this so i dont know which book is good or not but i do know scott cunninghamm is good so supply books by respected authors and i will buy a load off you.

I would suggest hitting the library first... If anyone is 'new to all this', then it might be true to say that you would be unsure of what path you wish to follow and from that what books would suit for you... No point in throwing your money at things so hastilly.