Read all about the bestsellers at Neil and Sam’s full-size greeting card store
Greeting cards are one of the most-stocked products across a wide range of retailers, and the sellers always know their stuff when it comes to what’s hot with customers.
PG loves ferreting out the facts from those in the know – the indie retailers who make sure customers get just the right card to send with the perfect design or sentiment.
And, while Carnforth Bookshop may be the name over the door at the store in the Lancashire market town, owners Neil and Sam Woodcock also have a full-size card store inside too, as greeting cards are a major part of their business – here they reveal what’s selling well…
Everyday cards
Tracks, Sparkle Month Cards – “These are designs each month and people are stocking up for May, June and July. They’re beautiful. It’s a first for us, and I was bit dubious. Our ladies’ cards are quite floral, and these are really pretty. The price point is brilliant, £2.90, and the flowers are specific to that month, March has daffodils.”
Janie Wilson, general – “Janie has a large range and all the cards are beautiful. Some are floral, we’ve got some children’s, some with little birds. The small Ooh La La ones are really good. They sell all the time, but we’ve sold quite a lot recently.”
Relations and occasions
Jonny Javelin, wedding – “We’ve got quite a lot of people buying for wedding cards. While it’s not really wedding season for us yet, we’ve got a lot of wedding season cards going out right now. People do tend to go for Jonny Javelin, because they’re wordy, and our customers like a wordy card.”
Woodmansterne, wedding – “Woodmansterne publishes a lovely range of wedding cards, classy looking that just hit the right spot, really. We’ve sold quite a few of those.”
Paper Salad, Jumbo Jamboree – “Nice, big, trendy, snazzy, cards.”
Humour
Woodmansterne, Genius –“This is a really good range which I’ve not tried before. They’re selling really well.”
Paperlink, The Bottom Line – “They’re animal-related, very funny and are selling really well.”
Pigment, Etched – “People like them. I can’t do really rude humour, but these are all quite funny, you get a lot of people in your card section who are laughing, and it’s good. I love it – I just like listening to people laughing, choosing cards. And they go, ‘look at this, look at that’ and will be there for like, 15 minutes!”
Children’s cards
Rachel Ellen, General – “Gorgeous, really nice cards.”
Noel Tatt, general children’s – “I’ve got some that have just come in recently and we’ve sold quite a few in just two days. They’re lovely, bright cards. With the younger ages, you need more than just a number. It sounds ridiculous but as you get slightly older, nine upwards, you’re fine with a number but when it’s for a younger one they like something more of a nice picture.”
Hype, Badge cards – “We’ve just got these in and they’ve got a badge on. I tend not to not do badges, but I’ve just got these in. They do Pingu and others, they’ve gone really well.”
Toasted Crumpet, Mini Cards – “This is a nice little dinky range, which are lovely, just perfect.”
Art Cards
Anne Cotterill, general – “These are florals. She passed away and her daughter Catherine does the cards now so these are all Anne’s back catalogue, and they’re all based on paintings. They’re really nice, in three sizes. We’ve done those for the 11 years we’ve been here. They sell really well.”
Chris Ceasar, general – “The photographic views of Yorkshire, Lancashire, the Peak District, just views, because people know the area. They really like it. They’re lovely cards. They sell all the time.”
Woodmansterne, general – “They do a lovely selection of art cards, including the Sanderson and V&A collections, they’re really pretty and sell all the time.”
Cute
Ginger Betty, general – “So cute and so beautiful, really cute cards. They’re lovely. Some of the Tracks ones are cute. The Molly Mae ones are a lovely little card. Some of the Janie Wilson ones, they’re quite cute, but Ginger Betty’s are the cutest. They’re really popular. Do we do the little keepsake cards as well, a little tiny one on the counter. They sell all the time as little pickups.”
Photographic
Museums & Galleries, National Geographic – “These are lovely cards especially those of the animals.”
Noel Tatt, RSPCA – “People just like the images. They’re just so cute and, obviously, going to charity as well, which is good.”
3D/Pop-Ups
Second Nature, Pop-Ups – “We have two spinners of these. We’ve got numbers and occasions. And we do just the general ones of those. They’re beautiful.”
Noel Tatt, ZigZag – “We did these at Christmas, they fold out, quite cute.”
Giftwrappings
“We do quite a bit of flat wrap and roll wrap. In the flat wrap. I do Ginger Betty, Molly Mae, Rachel Ellen, Museums & Galleries, Artebene, I’ve got a bit of Caspari too. And then the roll wrap. I have Artebene and Penny Kennedy, which has got Emma Bridgewater and Sara Miller, Raspberry Blossom, Cath Kidston. And I also do a cheap range as well, three different price points. The Ginger Betty wrap matches the cards. We’ve got two designs, a dark blue with owls on, and a pale blue with hedgehogs, owls and rabbits, and they link in, because most of their cards have the animals on. They’ve got the gift tags as well so they match nicely.”
Gifts
Plush – “Jellycat, of course! Apart from Jellycat I do Warmies, the ones you put in the microwave or the fridge, I’ve just got some new ones in from the trade shows.”
Mugs – “We do a big range of mugs. We get mugs from different companies, Alex Clark, Widdop And Co, Wrendale. I’ve got some of the Museums & Galleries’ Angela Harding, and Berni Parker – we’ve got loads.”
These views also appeared in the March edition of Progressive Greetings magazine which can be read online here, or you can subscribe here to receive the magazine by post each month.
