How to Get Bulk Orders for Your Laser Engraving Business
Bulk orders are what took my laser engraving business past onesie-twoosie Etsy sales. In this one: a 12-set coaster order from a bank, buying materials in bulk, Etsy vs Shopify for makers, and which businesses actually order in volume.
I’ve been running laser and CNC woodworking projects for almost a decade, and the biggest shift I made was going from business-to-individual to business-to-business. One sign for one person is fulfilling, but it also meant coming home from work and putting in another eight hours in the shop. Batching 12 coaster sets on the laser at once with a template gets the same revenue in a fraction of the machine time.
The materials side matters just as much. Boxes bought by the 200s, blanks from JDS or Amazon in bulk instead of one at a time, and bubble wrap on perforated rolls so packing isn’t its own part-time job. Buying in volume only makes sense when you’re selling in volume, which is exactly why the sales channel decides everything downstream.
On selling: I’ve been on Etsy about 8 years with 318 sales, and I’ll say plainly that it’s a race to the bottom. The equipment is cheap and used machines are everywhere, so anybody can undercut you, and a lot of sellers on there are pricing without accounting for machine time, materials, labor, or shipping. I did the same thing when I started and sold at a loss without knowing it. Shopify costs more up front, around $30 a month plus a domain, but you control the storefront and you’re not competing on price against 40 identical listings. From there the real growth came from walking into local businesses. Realtors, banks, mortgage lenders, and title companies all have revolving clients and annual staff gifts, and they order in sets, not singles.
Chapters
0:00 The bank order that got batched in one shot
0:45 Who I am and why I went B2B
1:08 Time is money: the problem with one-off work
1:45 Buying materials in bulk
2:27 Where to sell: the Etsy reality check
3:02 Pro tip: buying used laser and CNC machinery
4:06 The pricing mistake that cost me money
4:28 Reopening the shop after a year off
5:09 Why I moved to Shopify
6:05 Marketing your own store
6:20 Businesses that actually order in bulk
7:23 Packaging: perforated bubble wrap rolls
7:41 Wrap-up
Gear I Use (affiliate links)
*Mics Maono T5 — https://geni.us/AkHFZTZ
*Camera Xtra Muse — https://geni.us/WspKf
*Camera Sony ZVE10 — https://geni.us/0eg5ZDY
*Macbook Pro M1 Pro — https://geni.us/Fid0b
*Cable — https://geni.us/hlNwP
*SSD Sandisk 1TB — https://geni.us/rQBDS
*Gimbal Hohem iSteady — https://geni.us/lwxjXjN
Other Affiliate Links
*Amazon Business Account — https://geni.us/ZE1Em
*10 Free file downloads (Creative Fabrica) — https://www.creativefabrica.com/ref/9646768/
*VidIQ – https://vidiq.com/JackalopeCustom
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links above are affiliate links — at no extra cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you click through and buy. Thanks for supporting the channel.
Mentioned in this video
*Coaster boxes: https://amzlink.to/az07i2qBD0FWO
*Bubble wrap rolls: https://amzlink.to/az0xuGmkPIyd6
*JDS Industries (business license required to open an account): https://www.jdsindustries.com/
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