Ordered 12 Furbies, Received 1,200: The £47K Negotiation Masterclass

Toys & Tales, a small independent toy shop in Stockport (Greater Manchester), placed their Christmas order in early December 2018.

12 Furbies. Retail staple. £15 wholesale, £29.99 retail. Expected invoice: £180.

Delivery arrives December 7th. Driver unloads 12 cases.

100 Furbies per case.

1,200 total.

Invoice: £18,000.

Available credit line: £3,000.

Christmas: 18 days away.

Payment terms: NET 30.

This is where most small businesses panic.

Shop owner Emma Thornton calls the supplier (Leicester-based wholesale distributor):

"We received 12 cases. We ordered 12 units."

Supplier: "Oh god. That's our error. We'll arrange pickup and reship your 12."

Emma: "Here's the problem. We can't pay £18,000. Our credit line is £3,000. But we also can't wait for you to pick these up and reship. Christmas is in 18 days. And honestly? We can't let you lose this shipment either."

That last sentence is the key.

Most negotiations start with position defense:

• "This is your mistake."
• "We're not responsible."
• "Fix it immediately."

All legally correct. All economically rational. All relationship-destroying.

Emma started with constraint honesty:

• We can't pay (cash flow reality)
• We can't wait (time constraint)
• We don't want you to lose (shared interest)

Supplier, after 30-second pause: "What if you keep them all, pay for 12, sell the rest, and keep the profit?"

Emma: "Are you serious?"

Supplier: "It's Christmas. I can't get them picked up and redistributed in time anyway. You're in a good retail location. If you can move them, we both win."

Deal done in 3 minutes.

For the supplier:

• Cost to pick up, restock, redistribute: £4,500 (logistics + labor)
• Risk of not moving them in time: High (Christmas deadline)
• Cost of writing off 1,188 Furbies: £17,820
• Cost of Emma's deal: £180 (the 12 she pays for)
• Upside: Emma might move significant inventory

Emma's deal was cheaper than every alternative.

For Emma:

• Risk: If she can't move them, she's only out £180 (the 12 she committed to)
• Upside: If she moves them, £29.99 retail × 1,200 = £35,988 potential revenue
• Cost basis: £180
• Margin: Basically infinite on the 1,188 "free" units

No downside. Massive upside.

But she still had to move 1,200 Furbies in 18 days.

67 per day.

For a shop that normally sold 4-5 Furbies per week.

Emma and her two employees spent 6 hours building a window display.

All 1,200 Furbies. Stacked in a pyramid. Eyes glowing. Motion sensors triggered.

They called it "Furby Fortress."

Sign in window:

"We ordered 12. We got 1,200. Help us find them homes before Christmas. £24.99 (Save £5). One per family while stocks last."

Posted photo on Instagram with hashtag #FurbyFortress.

89 shares in first hour.

400 shares by evening.

Local Manchester Evening News picked it up next morning: "Stockport Toy Shop Buried in Furbies Seeks Help."

2,300 shares.

BBC Radio Manchester interview on Day 3.

By Day 4, there was a queue outside the shop at opening.

By Day 9, sold out.

1,200 Furbies. Gone.

Revenue:

• 1,200 Furbies × £24.99 = £29,988
• Paid supplier: £180
• Net: £29,808

But that's not the full picture.

Secondary sales:

• Customers buying Furbies also bought batteries, accessories, other toys
• Average basket increase: £17.40 per Furby customer
• 1,200 customers × £17.40 = £20,880 in secondary sales

Total revenue from the "mistake": £50,868.

Cost: £180.

Profit: £50,688.

Emma reported £47K in actual profit after accounting for staff overtime, shipping supplies, and credit card fees.

January 2019. Supplier calls Emma:

"That was brilliant. Can we do it again next year?"

Emma: "You want to deliberately send me 1,200 units?"

Supplier: "Different product. Same model. We split the profit 50/50 this time."

They've done it three times since:

• 2019: 800 LOL Surprise dolls
• 2020: 600 Paw Patrol playsets
• 2021: 1,000 LEGO City sets

What started as a mistake became a business model.

The supplier now uses Emma's shop as a rapid-distribution channel for overstock. Emma gets exclusive access to high-demand inventory at zero cost.

Both win.

For buyers: Supplier mistakes are negotiation opportunities

Your supplier over-ships. Your logistics partner misses a deadline. Your vendor sends the wrong product.

Default response: "Fix it. Now."

Alternative: "This is a problem for both of us. Here's what I can do if you give me space."

Suppliers WANT to minimize loss. If you can help them do that while benefiting yourself, they'll say yes.

For suppliers: Flexible buyers are strategic assets

The supplier turned Emma into a distribution partner by being flexible once.

Now they have:

• Rapid overstock clearance channel
• No logistics cost
• Relationship-based agreement (no complex contracts)
• Proven track record

Cost: One act of trust.

Return: Three years of ongoing collaboration.

For everyone: Honest constraints beat tough negotiation

Emma wasn't a skilled negotiator. She didn't have an MBA. She didn't read Getting to Yes.

She just told the truth:

• Here's what I can't do
• Here's what I can do
• Let's find the overlap

That's more powerful than any negotiation tactic.

1. When you can't afford the mistake, negotiate it — Don't default to refusal or blame.
2. Honest constraints create trust — Say what you CAN'T do, not what you won't.
3. Remove your downside, maximize upside — Structure deals as asymmetric bets.
4. Turn crisis into content — The story is as valuable as the outcome.
5. One act of flexibility creates ongoing partnerships — Suppliers remember who helped in crisis.

The next time a supplier makes a mistake that affects you, ask:

"How can we both minimize loss here?"

Not:

"How fast can you fix this?"

One question gets you a corrected order. The other gets you £47,000 and a strategic partnership.

Collecty helps B2B companies turn cross-border supplier disputes and delivery failures into negotiated solutions. When mistakes happen, we find the path that protects relationships while maximizing recovery.

Contact Collecty to discuss your supplier challenges.

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