Group Buying for Matchsticks
Many people ask why we don't carry all colors of matchsticks, or if some matchstick color combos are available (like red tips on black stems), or if the matchboxes themselves can be different colors. The easy answer is - money! Whether we buy the matchsticks from a US importer or deal directly with manufacturers in China, the minimum order quantity starts at 1,000 boxes. We are a small business, and we are bootstrapping our growth while paying off a lot of debt. We also don't want to order match tip colors that may look cool but are not what customers want.
So, we are offering the option to participate in a group purchase of the colors that you are interested in, plus you'd get them at a lower price.
Our primary US importer is Maryland Match, and while you could certainly order from them yourself, most people don't want or need 1,000 of anything. Even other small businesses generally don't need that quantity but rather a few hundred. So, group purchasing is one way to ensure we carry what people actually want (like, black tips on black stems in black boxes). We would create a product link on this website where you can order a minimum of 100 boxes, and once enough people have ordered 1,000 boxes or more, we would then place the order with our importer. The 4" and 11" matchboxes take between 3 to 4 months to be produced and delivered, so this wouldn't be a quick process, but if we plan far enough ahead, and have an order deadline of June 30th, the boxes would be here by the fall and well ahead of the holiday rush. (That's just one example.)
These are the colors available through Maryland Match:
The links below have a little more information about their matches:
Another option is to participate in a group purchase that's directly from the matchstick manufacturers in China. This would involve a much larger quantity to be purchased up front and is probably more beneficial to fellow small business owners instead of individuals. The main benefit is that the purchase price would be almost of half of what a US importer would charge.
We have not created these special purchase links yet, but if you're interested and already know what color matchsticks and/or boxes you'd want, please go ahead and contact us, and we'll notify you when we're ready to move forward.
Image credit:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2010-08/05/content_11102786.htm