Elves & Angels Co-op *Update*

[jec2]

I got word back from my contact. We have a deal, it is not great :( but it is something. I'd love to get your feedback in the next few days so I can let him know whether we are going to go ahead with this.

First, let me mention that E&A is now only selling directly for wholesale customers. All retail sales are now handled through their partner, Nova Natural (novanatural.com), which is where my contact is. So, the "deal" we have is more usefully compared with Nova Natural's prices than the prices at the E&A site. Also, although I added the other, non-kitchen pieces to my email to him, he hasn't included them in his response to me. It looks like he is not offering those at a discount :( I sent an email double-checking this and to confirm that the 12% discount is included in the prices he sent below. I am waiting to hear back from him.


DETAILS:

Hi Juliet,

Please find the new pricing for each of the items below. Some of the
items
will be available in April (they are *-ed), the other will be available
in
June or July. Items not on the list will not be available this year.

***ETA: these prices are PRE-DISCOUNT


price ship total
Julianna 179 20 199
*Victoria 269 30 299
*Lucy 189 20 209
Papa 159 20 179
*Jacob 144 20 164
*Suzanne 239 30 269
Suzanne Ex 249 30 279
Seri Sink 109 20 129
Seri Stove 109 20 129

We can give you a 12% discount on an order of 25+ pieces. We can add 3%
to
the discount if it is pre-paid by money order.

By the way, Lucy's Kitchen is similar to Julianna's Kitchen except it
has
2 shelves and an oven door. You can see it on our website.

Let me know what you would like to do. If you would like to go ahead,
please send me a spreadsheet with each person's address, pieces they
would
like, and how they will be paid for.
`

[LBW]

Hmm. I'm not thrilled, but it's something! Thanks so much for doing this!

I actually *really* like Lucy's Kitchen. I hadn't seen that one before. I'm not sure if I'll order, though, unless it's 12/15% off the prices he listed. If I do order, I'll probably get just the kitchen and hold off on the fridge. If the discount had been better I would have odered both peices.

[Mermanaid]

Juliet -

Thank you so much for taking the time to try and put this together for us. Unfortunately, that is just not enough of a discount for me to consider ordering at this time (this was going to be a Christmas present). Not to mention that now we would have to pay additional shipping charges.

I cannot find anything on the E&A web site that specifies they only sell to wholesalers. As a communicator IRL, I have an issue with not noting this *small* detail on the Web site since this is how consumers find information about their prodcuts.

Anyway, I started an online cart at E&A and it let me add the Juliana kitchen for the price quoted on their Web site ($185). If I decide to move forward, it's a better deal than the prices quoted through Nova Natural. I'm not sure if the E&A site will let me complete the purchase this way, but if not I would sure make sure my opinion is known about their business practices.

[jec2]

I know, it's not great. But, I am with you, I LOVE Lucy's kitchen and had not seen that either! That is what I would want too. I *might* get that and hold off on the fridge too.

[jec2]

Jenn, this "wholesale only" selling is completely new. Remember that E&A's is still recovering from their fire. They are not even producing products right now. Their partnership is also very very new. So, I guess I would like to say that I am cutting them a break b/c they haven't yet updated their website with this information. Perhaps E&A will allow you to complete that order, perhaps not. I'd be interested to find out.

[brittone2]

Hmmmm....I was of course hoping for more but I'd be interested at those prices. It is something, and I just keep going back to their kitchens over all the others.

I'm trying to read/type with DS crawling all over me, but are the prices listed in your first post (the middle numbers) the shipping costs? I'm confused about whether those are after discount or before. I'm sure I'm just not looking at it corrrectly as DS is climbing on me ;)

I agree...looooove Lucy's kitchen. Love it. I was going to go w/ VIctoria's, so just finding out about Lucy's kitchen saves me $$ right there :) It looks adorable.

Thanks again for going through the trouble to set this up. I hope we end up w/ enough pieces to do the co op. I'm bummed they are selling only wholesale now, which explains the absence of the E&A kitchens from the Maukilo website now (they were less expensive at Maukilo when she had the prices up than they were if you bought directly through E&A originally).

Thanks again. I hope we can place an order.

[jec2]

Hi Beth,

I know, it is a slightly disappointing discount. I am still waiting to hear for certain whether those figures he gave me are PRE or POST the 12% discount.

Yes, the figure in the middle column (his columns didn't cut and paste very pretty) are the shipping prices.

And, again, Lucy's kitchen is my favorite. It is a nice compromise between Papa's/or Julianna's and Victorias. That is definately the one I have on my list.

[brittone2]

Yes, the pricing is confusing, but that isn't your fault. The Lucy's is listed at 199 on Nova, so that's why I'm confused because unless I'm more math-deficient than I realized, the prices he listed don't seem to reflect the discount. Also, when I put the Lucy's kitchen in my shopping cart (just to check shipping), the shipping came up as only $15.

In any case, I'm happy w/ the addition of Lucy's kitchen, as that saves some serious money for me, and any discount on top of that is still very very appreciated. I am so thankful to you for organizing this. I don't want to complain that 12% isn't "enough." Of course, I would love more, but...this is a quality product and I'm sure the demand is high enough that they didn't
*have* to offer us a discount. So if we can generate enough interest, I'm ALL for 12% :)

Anyway, thanks again. I'm just trying to figure out exactly what they are charging either pre or post discount. I just wasn't sure if I was interpreting what was listed correctly, but assumed it was because DS was trying to use me as his human jungle gym at the time ;)

[jec2]

If you look under the shipping info on their site, you'll find that they state, "We ship through the US Post Office and UPS. As a
rule of thumb, we use the Post Office for lighter
orders, and UPS for heavier orders. For some products,
there is an additional shipping fee due to their unusual
size or weight and this is noted on the product pages."

The $15 charge you saw when loading your cart is probably the baseline and then they might add additional $ on top of that b/c these pieces are oversized.

I know, the math must be that "new math" that people are talking about. I tried to calculate the prices he gave us vs. those listed on their site, but I didn't come up with 12%. I hope he emails me back soon b/c I am so curious as to what the prices are.

[Mermanaid]

Good point re: prices. I assumed they were post-discount. I'd be curious to know which way they are. Maybe when I get home I'll put pen to paper and try to figure it out.

ETA: I really do love the Lucy kitchen, which is why I can't quite pull the trigger on my E&A shopping cart!

ETA2: This math does not make sense! Take Jacob's Ice Box.

Coop price: $164
Full price: $163 ($148 + $15 shipping -- page does not note it's oversized so I'm assuming $15).

[jec2]

The prices above are PRE-DISCOUNT!

Here is my mssg. from my contact,

Hi Juliet,

Those are the prices before the discount. Take 12% or 15% off of those
prices for the discounted prices. The discount will appy to all of the
pieces listed. If a piece is not listed, it will not be in production
this
year.

[LBW]

Yay!

So, Lucy would be $186.32 shipped, right? I'm taking the 12% off of the price of the kitchen w/out shipping.

Do you think that individuals would get 15% off if they paid with a money order? Or, does he mean that as a group we'd only get 15% off if we paid with one huge money order?

[jec2]

I think that he means that if somebody pays with a money order that person will get the 15%.

[pixelprincess]

Juliet, thanks for posting this. i am just starting to check out kitchen's and might be interested.

does anyone know if one can paint the kitchens? they have an unfinished wood appearance. i realize that is a part of the charm, but might want to paint some areas.

thnx.

[brittone2]

Wooohooo!! Glad to know those prices are prediscount. That makes me feel much better!! I would have been slightly annoyed if they were not as it seemed like there was no discount the way they listed prices in the email, kwim? I'm thrilled with 12% off that price. Woohooo! How many pieces are we up to...I'm ready to order LOL :) If the item is listed as available in April, I assume we'll be getting the item shortly after? I'm moving in June, that's why I'm wondering. I would imagine it would be here before then but I'd like to be sure before I order.

For whoever asked about painting the kitchen, I believe the E&A are finished with a lovely beeswax finish, which is non toxic and very pleasant smelling. So it isn't truly "unfinished." Beeswax supposedly really makes the wood look very warm from what i've read. I'm not sure if you could request an unfinished one. I'm sure before when he was a freestanding maker you could, but now that they are hooked into Nova Natural I'm not sure if they could do that.

If you definitely want an unfinished one, toysfromthebarn.com sells unfinished pieces. I'm not sure if it would be possible to paint over the beeswax. Maybe someone else will know for sure.

HTH.

[zuzu]

Thanks so much, Juliet!

What's our deadline here?

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[papal]

Am i being dense?? where is it?

[Mermanaid]

Go to www.novanatural.com and choose imaginative play/house. It's the first picture. It's so darn cute.

[Mermanaid]

Since it's not on the E&A Web site, do you think this is a discontinued model? Or, maybe it's an exclusive NN product?

I really like this kitchen and would hate to regret not getting it if it won't be available in the future. Can you hear me talking myself into this?!

[pixelprincess]

here's the link http://www.novanatural.com/product.phtml?pr=4375&sec=112

although, it says it is out of stock and won't be available due to a fire at the manufacturer's.

[papal]

I was looking at teh E&A website! Doh!

[papal]

The children in the pictures seem to be 4-5 years old and about 3 feet tall or taller. My baby is pint-sized. By two years, she might be 34 inches. I am wondering if the Lucy Kitchen or any of the others would be too tall??? I am now thinking I should get Seri's kitchen.
Anyone have any insight? Have you seen these IRL? What do you think? I know my dd would be frustrated if she could reach the shelves and such.

[papal]

Just did a calculation with the discount. Here is a list:
(I kept the shipping price the same and just calculated discount on actual piece).

With 15% Discount:
Julianna 152.15 + 20
Victoria 243.15 + 30
Lucy 162.15 + 20
Papa 132.52 + 20
Jacob 117.15 + 20
Suzanne 212.15 + 30
Suzanne Ex 222.15 + 30
Seri Sink 82.15 +20
Seri Stove 82.15 +20

With 12% Discount
Julianna 157.52
Victoria 247.52 + 30
Lucy $167.52 + 20
Papa 137.52 + 20
Jacob 122.52 + 20
Suzanne 217.52 + 30
Suzanne Ex 227.52 + 30
Seri Sink 87.52 + 20
Seri Stove 87.52 + 20

[marinkitty]

We are definitely in for the icebox and either Juliana's or Lucy's kitchen (I just have to decide if I think Lucy's is too tall, but I like the oven/cabinet combo). I'll send you an email, Juliet, once I know for sure which ones we want. Thanks again for spending all this time getting this going!

Holly
Mom to Mia (3.17.03)
Another March baby EDD (3.22.05)

http://lilypie.com/days/050322/0/0/1/-6/.png

[jec2]

Let's see, I will post-in the co-op forum so we can get a better idea. Once we have reached the # needed, you all can email me your addresses to add to the spreadsheet.

[jec2]

No, it is a newer model per Novanatural's website. If you notice in the initial thread I posted these are all the pieces that are available. All other pieces have been discontinued.

[jec2]

Let's give it about 1 week to see if we get the required inimum 25 pieces.

[jec2]

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php

Thanks :)

[new_mommy25]

Rashmi, maybe the Seri sink and stove would be better?

[LBW]

I don't want this thread to get "lost."

[luvtoshop]

HI--where is the co-op forum? What a great idea. I'd love to post the Waldorf doll info there...

Thanks!

[jec2]

Here you go sandra,

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=173

Also, if you click on the "Baby Bargains book!" link towards the top of the page, ( it looks like this...

Top > BABY BARGAINS book! > Around the House > Post a message

it will take you to all a list of all the forums. The co-op forum is one of them.

Or, there is a drop down window on the bottom right of each page and you can click and scroll through all the baby bargains forums and all the forums on the Alan & Denise's other sites. Clicking on that just jumps you to another forum.

HTH