Cozy Cottage Wholesale: January 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Drop Ship and Wholesale Differences at Cozy Cottage Wholesale

Anyone wanting to have their own online store or ecommerce site, as it is called, has to have a product to sell. Some people have their own inventory and use pictures they have taken of the inventory to place the products they have for sale online. This is one type of seller. Then there are the people who do not want the overhead expense of a warehouse to keep the products in and the financial burden to purchase the products and hope they will sell. This is the 2nd type of seller. We do business with both types of seller.

We have a Wholesale Company that works with stores who need inventory in their stores. Most of these store owners are "brick and mortar" stores. This means there is an actual physical building you shop at with the products on hand for you to view and handle. We love our store owners and have even gotten to see some of their stores first hand. This is exciting for us and is fun to see how they have the products displayed. Each store has its' own personality even if they sell some of the same products. It is all in the look and feel.

Look and feel... hmmm... This is where it gets hard for the 2nd type of seller. They need the product to display it online in their store. The difference is they don't have the product on hand. We offer a way for them to show the product and describe it as well. They choose how they want their site to look and which products and types to sell. This is where they have to get creative if they want their store to have a certain look and feel to it. Once the product is sold we ship the product to the customer. Our Company stands behind the quality of our products and offers a 30 day return policy. We take care of the product, shipping it and the seller takes care of their customer's, the returns (with us) and their store. It can be a match made in heaven if both parties are on the same page. This means they are both working with the same goal for quality of service and goods.

This is why we like to take an application for drop shipping. Since we can't physically see the store by travel, we need to ensure that we are being represented by responsible, caring, honest business men and women. We refuse to sell to anyone with a get rich quick scheme on the Internet. You hear of horror stories of bad drop shippers and bad sellers. Our job is to prevent both.

The main reason both types of sellers succeed with us is profit margin. We are not charging retail to our stores who then have to mark the prices up to make a living. You find this a lot so please shop around and ensure that the price point is right.

We are here for the public as well. We sell home furnishings specializing in Shabby Elegant, Cottage Chic, Country French, Tuscan and lodge decor. We offer home accents for every room and don't stop there, we offer lawn and garden products as well. We have all types of items to make gift baskets with and there is not a gift that you can't find when you are shopping for every occasion.

Please stop by and shop a bit. If you have any questions about our wholesale services or drop shipping memberships please contact us at info@cozycottagewholesale.com

Cozy Cottage Wholesale
info@cozycottagewholesale.com
360-358-5039

Friday, January 28, 2011

Valentine's Day Gift Idea's Video

VASES, VASES AND MORE VASES

See all of these vases and more featured on our website @

Cozy Cottage Wholesale

Watch for our next blog on 58th Street Promotions!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Cozy Cottage Wholesale Outside Fountain Video

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

We have a special program for dropshippers

If you are looking for a qualified dropshipper to handle all of your product needs, look no further. We have over 3,000 items to chose from and new items weekly. We offer special dropship pricing and you never have to purchase the items until they sell. Once you are approved, you will have pictures and descriptions to use on your site as you would like. Your store will remain personalized as it is your own store and taste, yet our products you are selling. We will package and ship the items to your customers for you. You can contact us for more information. We service a lot of stores on the internet and our services can not be beat. We guarantee our products for 30 days after the item reaches your buyer. There are many more benefits and we are currently updating the information on our site. You can still contact us and we will get the info to you.

We still sell to brick and mortar stores who need to carry inventory. We offer wonderful display ideas and can recommend items that are in demand in your area. We always have top sellers and wholesale pricing especially for these stores. Contact us if you would be interested as we do have bulk pricing and special pricing on quantity and shipping. We have even visited some of the stores we sell to. It is so nice to put a face on a store, so we enjoy meeting all of our store owners. For those who we haven't had the opportunity to visit, we like to exchange photo's as we like to be personally involved. We want you to succeed and are always available for new ideas and trends.

***Just wanted to let store owners know that we have special programs for them as well as consumers who are purchasing from our site. We are so excited to be able to sell our products at wholesale pricing. We aren't talking about cheap products, just cheap prices. As our motto goes, " Expensive taste ~ Inexpensive Prices".

Happy new year to all and may this year be a time to make new friends, hold those you have closer and become selfless in our relationships. Sometimes the best feelings you will ever have are when you do something for others without needing any attention for it. Surprise someone with something and leave your name off of it. Let us also not forget those families who are struggling and those who are living on our streets. Coats and blankets at this time of year are priceless. Get together and do a coat drive. Just think what our world would be if we all chipped in just a little. Food for thought...

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Story of St. Valentine

The story of St. Valentine has two different versions - the Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men and was executed by the latter. During the lifetime of Valentine, the golden era of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Education declined, taxation increased and trade witnessed a very bad time. The Roman empire faced crisis from all sides, from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia. The empire had grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Naturally, more and more capable men were required to to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from takeover. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding marriage to assure quality soldiers.

The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor.

The kindly bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree. He saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. He planned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy. Whenever lovers thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. And thus he secretly performed many marriages for young lovers. But such things cannot remain hidden for long. It was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.

While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that Valentine had some saintly abilities and one of them granted him the power to heal people. Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers of Valentine he requested the latter to restore the sight of his blind daughter. The Catholic legend has it that Valentine did this through the vehicle of his strong faith, a phenomenon refuted by the Protestant version which agrees otherwise with the Catholic one. Whatever the fact, it appears that Valentine in some way did succeed to help Asterius' blind daughter.

When Claudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by the dignity and conviction of the latter. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution of Valentine.

Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius' daughter. It caused great grief to the young girl to hear of his friend's imminent death. It is said that just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after. As per another legend, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his jailer during his imprisonment. However, this legend is not given much importance by historians. The most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14, 270 AD.

Thus 14th February became a day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint. It began to be annually observed by young Romans who offered handwritten greetings of affection, known as Valentines, on this day to the women they admired. With the coming of Christianity, the day came to be known as St. Valentine's Day.

But it was only during the 14th century that St. Valentine's Day became definitively associated with love. UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of "Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine", credits Chaucer as the one who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance. In medieval France and England it was believed that birds mated on February 14. Hence, Chaucer used the image of birds as the symbol of lovers in poems dedicated to the day. In Chaucer's "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are related:

"For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."

By the Middle Ages, Valentine became as popular as to become one of the most popular saints in England and France. Despite attempts by the Christian church to sanctify the holiday, the association of Valentine’s Day with romance and courtship continued through the Middle Ages. The holiday evolved over the centuries. By the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts began to be created on this day and handed over to the man or woman one loved.

This tradition eventually spread to the American colonies. It was not until the 1840s that Valentine's Day greeting cards began to be commercially produced in the U.S. The first American Valentine's Day greeting cards were created by Esther A. Howlanda Mount Holyoke, a graduate and native of Worcester. Mass. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap". It was when Howland began Valentine's cards in a large scale that the tradition really caught on in the United States.

Today, Valentine's Day is one of the major holidays in the U.S. and has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are "valentine"s. The "valentines", as Valentine's Day cards are better known as, are often designed with hearts to symbolize love. The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest valentines was sent in 1415 AD by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

There may be doubts regarding the actual identity of Valentine, but we know that he really existed because archaeologists have recently unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to a Saint Valentine.