Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 March 14

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March 14

Userbox

Where can I find a userbox for the East Coast Hockey League's South Carolina Stingrays? Allen (talk) 02:15, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Have you looked through the relevant links on WP:USERBOX? It's possible that there isn't one yet and you may need to make one. Dismas|^(talk) 02:22, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Messi Vs Ronaldo

On how many el classico (Barcelona Vs Real Madrid) matches have Lionel Messi & Chrstiano Ronaldo each have featured? And how many goals they scored each up to now? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.103.14 (talk) 08:36, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

The article El Clásico has all the goal-scorers, but not the teams. --Colapeninsula (talk) 12:24, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Retail profit margins in toy stores.

I'm thinking of starting a business selling toys that we can manufacture in a small industrial unit and sell to online retailers and small bricks-and-mortar toy stores in the USA. As a part of the business plan, I obviously need to know how much I can sell my toys for. I have a good idea how much the retailer could charge for them - because there are similar kinds of toys on the market. But I have no idea what kind of gross profit margins those places expect to get from toys in the $100 price range.

I tried calling up competitors and ordering similar products from them in order to figure out how much they charge - but they are extremely picky about who they give that information to - they want all sorts of business licence numbers and sales tax licence numbers before they'll tell us anything. Since we're still at the business-plan writing stage, we can't do that. We also tried contacting retailers directly and asking them - but they too are super-cagey about it.

Without this very basic knowledge, I have no idea how to proceed with my business plan - or even if I have a viable business at all!

How much can I charge an online retailer or a bricks-and-mortar store for a toy that they can sell for $100 that suits the 5 to 12 year age range for both boys and girls?

216.136.51.242 (talk) 13:26, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

First, I think you're going about the pricing backwards; you should probably start by determining your costs and then working forward to see what that means your prices ultimately need to be (and whether the market is likely to bear them). Second, it's unlikely that you're going to be able to successfully sell directly to brick and mortar stores; instead, you'll probably be selling to distributors who will in turn sell to B&Ms, and that's yet another cut of the money you won't be getting when you determine if you can make toys and make a profit. This article looks to be a good rough overview of how costs and prices break out. — Lomn 14:17, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Obviously, I know my costs - I also know what the market will bear from looking at other, similar, products. So I already know how much profit will be made (RetailPrice - ManufacturingCost). What I don't know is how much profit margin I'll have to give to retailers (and possibly distributors). Is it the case that online stores would buy direct from us - or is there a distributor involved there too? The jldcreative.com article is interesting - it's saying 60 to 70% margin for distributors and 40 to 60% for retailers. Is that typical for toys - and it is likely to apply to online retailers also? 216.136.51.242 (talk) 15:07, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Rough estimates: Master wholesalers would likely pay about $30 with a right of return. Small retailers with right of return would pay about $55, Larger retailers would pay about $40 with "mark-down rights" making their final cost slightly lower (making their likely average in the $33 to $37 range depending on how hot the item is). Clothing items have a larger mark-up due to customer damages etc. and store greed :). And you certainly can try being your own wholesaler - but watch out for fraudulent orders and credit card charge-backs. Cheers. Collect (talk) 23:51, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

With margins like that working against you, I'd think you'd do better to sell over the web. Even with shipping costs considered, you should still be able to offer a cheaper price, and make more profit, from direct sales, with money left over for advertising. StuRat (talk) 23:55, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

The trouble with selling over the web is getting known to consumers. Without a big advertising budget, it's hard to imagine someone typing in the name of my product (or even a bunch of related keywords) to find my brand new web site. Unless the web site has a large page-rank, it won't even show up very high in Google searches for the exact words used to describe my product. So initially (at least) I need be on existing sites where people regularly browse for toy purchases. Which means I can put up a store-front to sell via Amazon or eBay or whatever - or I can sell to online stores that already make a good living selling the kinds of thing that I make. (Sorry, I'm being evasive about that...we're not ready to go public with this yet). Having other people put my product into their stores (either online or bricks-and-mortar) is a way to have customers see my product right next door to my competitors' - which ought to get me lots of sales. 216.136.51.242 (talk) 19:05, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

You could pay Google to list your ads when people do appropriate searches. For example "rocking horse with built-in radio", if that's what you make. You should have a fairly high success rate with people whose search is that specific, so paying Google just for those referrals would be well worth it. StuRat (talk) 02:48, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

I don't think you'd be able to tell the retailer how much they should sell your product for, that is up to them. What you have control over is what you can sell your product for, and the quality of that product, the quality of your customer service and (to some extent) how much you pay your suppliers. You'll find it easier to write your business plan if you concentrate on what you can control. Anything else is just knitting fog (as my business adviser once said to me). --TammyMoet (talk) 09:29, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Certainly I can't force someone to charge a particular amount for the product - but neither can I force them to buy from me if their profit margin is too slim. Why should I flush money down the drain to give them a larger profit margin than they expect/require? I know that my toy sits in the middle of several existing products - albeit at higher quality than most. So I can anticipate the minimum price to be exactly that of my competitors (around $125). If it gets more than that and the retailers are making a killing - then I can nudge my price up a bit - then that's great. But my formal business plan has to shoot for success in the worst case scenario - so I must assume that it'll sell for roughly the same price as my competitors' product.

If I were able to sell directly to customers then I could write my business plan along those lines and I wouldn't need to ask this question. But selling via wholesalers or direct to retailers, I have no direct way to know how much I can charge for my product to ensure that it'll be competitively priced when they add their profits without knowing their profit margin expectations. Unless I know whether I can sell my product (that costs $25 to make) for $30 or $60 - my profit margin and therefore my payback period on a loan has a 700% error bar on it! If I do have to sell for $30, then I can't make a living doing this - I wouldn't be able to repay my fixed costs and I would have no money left for speculative things like advertising and new product development. If I can sell for $60 - then providing I can sell some really small number of units per month, I can always size my workforce and lease machinery to make a good living and grow the business.

I already have a spreadsheet that shows my various business strategies depending on the actual demand: If we sell X units per month, we employ two staff and have four injection molding machines and one product packing/shipping station, if we grow to sell Y units per month, we employ another person and get another two more machines but we won't need another packing station, if we go viral and sell Z units a month then we need to lease a bigger industrial space and employ ten people with 20 machines and four packing stations. If we fail to sell X units after 4 months, we wind down the business, liquidate this and that hardware and repay this and that loans - so nobody loses their shirt and I have some credit card dept to show for my foolishness! That kind of thing. I know my costs and how they have historically changed, I have a good idea of a selling price, I know my competition - so the only variable should be sales volume - and I have a strategy for making money no matter how that fluctuates. But there is a missing number in the chart: How much I can charge retailers and wholesalers?

But without knowing the profit I can make from each unit I sell, I can't complete that spreadsheet - so with two unknowns (Profit margin per unit and sales volume) I wind up with a mountain of "what if" scenarios that is too big to sell to the money-men.

216.136.51.242 (talk) 19:05, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

eye color mythology

Is there any myths or legends on yellow or amber eye color in humans? Any culture is acceptable, but I would very much prefer Egyptian legends or mythology.Southernlegacy (talk) 16:02, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Here's one on a Hindu deity: Kubera. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 20:53, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

breast fake and real

Can you tell a woman's breast is either fake or real? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.95.106.193 (talk) 17:14, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Ask her. Politely. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:38, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, you can usually tell by squeezing it, but that might be a problematic solution. Looie496 (talk) 20:08, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

This is a common subject of guides (usually directed at men) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. Even subject to careful (naked eye and touch) examination while naked, I'm not sure you'll always be able to tell depending on the extent of the modification, the skill of the surgeon and of course your experience (a cosmetic surgeon likely has a far better chance then someone who just read 6 guides). Of course x-ray, MRI or other forms internal imaging should be pretty much a sure bet. Nil Einne (talk) 21:17, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

"Excuse me. Could you step into my DIY MRI scanner? It won't hurt a bit. Thanks!" --- Dismas|^(talk) 22:46, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

...anyway, why should you want to know? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.211.130.94 (talk) 22:54, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Umm, isn't that kind of obvious? --Viennese Waltz 22:55, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Maybe for insurance reasons, like if he marries her and then they spring a leak and wreak all sorts of havoc. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:43, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Look when she is supine - if they stick up firmly, they are not likely to be real. Collect (talk) 23:45, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

As with this:[7] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:26, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Watch the following Howcast videos:

• How To Tell Real Breasts From Fake
• How To Ask a Girl If Her Boobs Are Real or Fake

Hope this helps! --SupernovaExplosion ^Talk 09:10, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Points made in the paint

Could basketball be made more exciting if all points made in the paint count as 1 point, even dunks? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.45.37.188 (talk) 22:03, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

How could making everything count the same possibly be more exciting ? StuRat (talk) 22:12, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Do you not follow basketball or am I not reading your response correctly, Stu? Right now, any shot made from "in the paint" is worth 2 points.

To the OP, how would we know if some hypothetical change would make anything more or less exciting? Dismas|^(talk) 22:44, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Also, more exciting for whom? Some people might get excited at such a change, others might experience quite negative feelings, and others might be completely indifferent. There is no "one-size-fits-all" with these things, and your question is unanswerable. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 23:07, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Oh, come on. A basketball fan can answer. I'm not even that much of a fan, and I can answer. I'd say no. I think that the race to the basket with a defender is more exciting than a 3-point shot from outside. Similarly, the proposed change would disincentivize layups and of course dunks, in favor of pulling up just outside the key and taking a shot, which I think sounds less exciting than letting the defender defend. One slight counterweight is that I think there would probably be fewer fouls under the proposed system; fouls are not exciting. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:18, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Right. And I suspect that most fans find slam-dunks to be more exciting, so they should be worth more. StuRat (talk) 23:25, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

This question seems to be a request for opinions, and so is out of order for the reference desk. --ColinFine (talk)

Basketball's fine the way it is. The real question is how to make soccer even interesting, never mind "exciting". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:41, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

We could return to using the heads of our enemies as balls :-) StuRat (talk) 23:50, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Proper football is exciting enough already. Now if only you could make football more exciting, it might gain an audience and fan base outside of the USA :-) Astronaut (talk) 11:02, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Though you don't have much American football, at least you have Rugby, which is a decided improvement over soccer. And if you added the forward pass to soccer, it might start to look interesting too. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:49, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

It beats golf, swimming, marathons, bicycle races and tennis -- I wonder how a combination of the six sports would fare? :) Collect (talk) 23:44, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

A sexathlon might be rather fun. :-) StuRat (talk) 23:48, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

The injury reports would be interesting, to say the least... "It seems like Johnson has a groin injury; looks as though he may pull out of the competition early." --Jayron32 14:04, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Could make for a stiff competition. StuRat (talk) 15:01, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

Surely, (wet) paint would be a serious hazard on a basketball court? Or perhaps you guys are talking about something else that you might like to enlighten the rest of the world about. Astronaut (talk) 11:02, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, a Wikipedia search for in the paint leads to articles on the danger of lead. I, too, would appreciate an explanation. Dbfirs 13:04, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Key (basketball). AJSham 13:20, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. I still don't understand the game, but at least that article explains the origin of the expression. Dbfirs 09:20, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

Basketball could become a lot more exciting and save a lot of space by eliminating the middle third of the court. Nothing happens there. HiLo48 (talk) 18:58, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

I thought the middle part of the court made sure that the ball had to travel to the other side before 3-pointers would be shot? Otherwise it would be harder to defend, if you can score, and your opponents get the ball and immediately score one too. If that occurred, it would be more boring. Heck froze over (talk) 00:12, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

HiLo's onto something though... a basketball court is about 90 feet long. Cutting it back to 60 feet could bring even more scoring, although it might get a tad crowded. Soccer, on the other hand, could definitely benefit by having a huge slice taken out of the middle of the pitch. Maybe reducing it from about 100 yards to, say, about 60-70 yards. That would make for a much more interesting game, with more scoring and maybe even the possibility of eliminating that goddess-awful feature called the "shootout". Oh, wait, we already have that game... it's called indoor soccer!... a much more exciting game than the "real thing". :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:27, 16 March 2012 (UTC)