Buying Satin Ribbon in Ireland
Buying Satin Ribbon in Ireland - A Buyers Guide
When I first started my craft business, one of the problems I kept running into was sourcing good-quality materials that would actually improve the finished pieces I was making.
Satin ribbon was one of those small things that turned out to matter more than I expected.
I started using ribbon on my hardwood hanging ornaments and Christmas tree decorations, but at the time it was not always easy to find affordable, good-quality satin ribbon in Ireland. Some retailers were selling ribbon by the metre, which can get expensive quickly, especially if you are using it regularly for craft work, packaging, gift wrapping, or handmade products.
Early on, I even bought some ribbon from the US. It came in short lengths on cardboard reels, and while the quality was acceptable, it still was not quite what I wanted. The ribbon did the job, but it did not really lift the finished pieces in the way I hoped.
That is the thing with ribbon. Ordinary buyers might not always notice the difference straight away, but as a maker, you do. The feel, width, colour, finish, and how it ties all make a difference to the final presentation.
If you are not sure what size ribbon you actually need, I have also written a simple guide on how to choose the right ribbon width for gifts, which may be a useful place to start before buying.
This post was originally published on my Woodcraft website on 10th January 2023. I later moved it here to David Condon Finds so that my main woodcraft site could stay more focused on woodturning, handmade pieces, tools, and tuition.
When you finish here, you may also find my related post on Buying Satin Ribbon Bows in Ireland useful, especially if you want a quick, neat finish without tying bows yourself.
Buying Satin Ribbon in Ireland
Eventually, I discovered the Italian Options Satin Ribbon range, nearly by accident. I took a chance and ordered from 2 different Irish sellers not knowing they were the same brand and the same size ribbons. The quality was there, finally and over 40 different colours to choose from.
Unfortunately, both of these sellers sold mostly on backorder with about 7 to 10 business day turnaround. Italian Options is a UK based company which means a bit of a delay between ordering from an Irish website and the company dispatching from the UK to arrive at the Irish sellers place of business and then shipped on to me. This of course was before Brexit and all the resultant Customs issues and delays! One of these sellers decided to change their business model after a while and stopped selling ribbon altogether. This, together with the backorder issues pushed me to contact the company directly.
If you can't wait to get to the stock, simply go to my Satin Ribbon page and you will see the links to all the individual pages. Please feel free to read on a bit if you have time!
I dislike backorders and drop shipping
I really dislike businesses that advertise products as in stock when they are in fact out of stock and only available for backorder so I tend not to do business with those websites for very long. I feel that it is a dishonest way of selling goods and traps a Customer into a sale where they have to wait for many days or a week or more to receive their order. I also found that when ordering so called 'in stock items' from these kinds of Vendors, that they could only fill half of my order from stock and I still had to wait for some backorders for the remainder.
Over time I needed higher quantities of Satin Ribbon without delays so I made a direct approach to the company to become a reseller. If something is marked as 'In Stock' on my website, it is actually in my store and ready to be shipped. As I add new products to my website, I will add stock that I don't yet have as Pre-order so you know up front that I don't have them yet. I do of course make the odd small stock keeping mistakes from time to time resulting in something being out of stock when it shows that it it in stock. I'm only human.....
Wait, you're a Woodturner?
If you had ever wondered why a Woodturner would be selling Satin Ribbon, the above paragraphs are the reasons why. I sometimes wonder about the people who find my website after a Google search and realise what I do for a living and what they must be thinking. It was probably the last thing I ever thought I would be selling but here I am. Fast forward a few years and I now have a few steady crafters buying from me. That didn't happen overnight, it took a long while to build up the customer base. This is not a get rich quick scheme, just another arm of my business enterprise. It is a pity though, that Ireland is such a small market, I'd love to be selling more.
Why Buy from me?
I take great pride in the running of my website, accurate & honest quantities and very quick shipping turnaround. As I mentioned before, I can't stand backordering or dropshipping so when I say there are 3 items in stock, there are 3 in stock. Red Faced Disclaimer; Sometimes however, I will add a backorder option for certain products like when I am adding a product for the first time and am unsure if I will be going ahead with that product line. I generally add a note explaining this. If in doubt, you can always ask me through the site Contact page.
Actual Shipping Time
When I send out the shipping confirmation email, it means your package is actually in the Couriers Van and going off to the first Depot in Farranfore. Years of online shopping has taught me that when many companies say 'your order has been dispatched', it is actually sitting in a postal bin waiting to go out and not actually on its way to you. For me, if I say it's on the way, it's on the way! Fast, honest shipping is one the reasons I have attracted and maintained customers over the last few years.
Where do I go to buy from you?
Simply go to my Satin Ribbon page and you will see the links to all the individual pages. If you managed to make it to the end of this Blog Post, I thank you for your patience. I'm not a great writer but I do try to make my Posts flow a bit so that they are not too torturous to read. There are more posts you may find interesting if you want to browse.
Thanks for reading,
David
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About the Author
I’m David Condon, a small business owner and blog writer based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Running my own woodcraft business means I’ve seen first-hand how much confusion there can be around shipping times, delivery dates, and what “business days” actually mean. That’s why I wrote this post — to share a bit of what I’ve learned and hopefully save you some frustration.
Every so often I step outside the workshop to write about wider business topics like this one. If you’d like to know more, you can follow the link in the Note from the Author section below or visit my About Me page to learn more.
I’m David Condon, a small business owner and blog writer based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Running my own woodcraft business means I’ve seen first-hand how much confusion there can be around shipping times, delivery dates, and what “business days” actually mean. That’s why I wrote this post — to share a bit of what I’ve learned and hopefully save you some frustration.
Every so often I step outside the workshop to write about wider business topics like this one. If you’d like to know more, you can follow the link in the Note from the Author section below or visit my About Me page to learn more.
💬 Note from the Author
This post was written specially for David Condon Finds. If you enjoyed it, you might also like my other projects:
Phoenix DVD Blog – where I write about DVDs, Blu-rays, and life as a collector
David Condon Woodcraft – my main site focused on woodturning and handmade Irish pieces
If you’d like to support my writing, you can do so through the Buy Me a Coffee button below. It helps keep these side projects going — thank you!
💬 Note from the Author
This post was written specially for David Condon Finds. If you enjoyed it, you might also like my other projects:
Phoenix DVD Blog – where I write about DVDs, Blu-rays, and life as a collector
David Condon Woodcraft – my main site focused on woodturning and handmade Irish pieces
If you’d like to support my writing, you can do so through the Buy Me a Coffee button below. It helps keep these side projects going — thank you!
Like what you're reading? You can buy me a coffee — sure it’s cheaper than a pint!
Like what you're reading? You can buy me a coffee — sure it’s cheaper than a pint!
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