Gift Basket Drop Shippers – A Good Business Option?
Annette asks:
“I’m considering starting a gift basket business by working solely with drop shippers. What do you think about that?”
Gift basket drop shippers are a viable option for:
Many business owners succeed by working with drop shippers, but there are caveats to making this relationship profitable.
The drop ship pages at GiftBasketBusiness.com provide insight, and the Drop Ship Vendors Report is newly updated with more than 25 drop ship sources, saving you time from looking up these not-easy-to-find firms.
Good luck with your plans, and be sure to research this sector before you start.
Designers – if you currently have a relationship with a drop shipper, you’re welcomed to share your experiences here.
Related Posts:
5 Must Haves That Make Selling Gift Baskets Easy
Consider Gift Basket Drop Shipping This Holiday
Making Gift Baskets for Warehouse Clubs
Susanna asks:
“How do companies get to make gift baskets for places like Costco and Sam’s Club? Is that kind of opportunity open to me?”
I don’t know the exact method companies use to get wholesale club accounts, but I do know that if this is the type of client you wish to pursue, there are certain things you must have in order to satisfy these accounts.
1. A staff to create assembly-line gift baskets. This feat is one that cannot be accomplished by one designer. You must have employees, part-time or full-time, ready to create these gifts.
2. Warehouse space. This is different than a workspace, as kitchen tables and home basements are not large enough to store these baskets. Once the gift baskets are made, there will be a lag time between placing them on a truck and shipping them to the delivery facility.
3. Lots of capital and inventory. You’ll probably have to fund the project unless your contract states that the warehouse club will pay some monies up front.
Still, you’ll need cash for a large portion of the account. Also, you need to prepare a plan on where to buy and store the goods.
4. Space to receive leftover baskets. I don’t know if warehouse clubs keep gift baskets that don’t sell, but I have a feeling they don’t. That means you’ll have to accept leftover baskets when the selling season is over.
5. Persistence to get the final check. This is the part that puts many businesses out of business. If you’re not well capitalized, a club order has the potential to make you money or drain it from your pockets.
Such a huge order can be a blessing or a curse. It all depends on whether or not you’ve researched how other firms get the job done so that you’re ready for practically anything.
There are other considerations, but these five are enough to fortify your commitment or dash your hopes.
I hope it’s the former.
Are the Holidays a Good Time to Open for Business?
Ruby asks:
“I’m thinking of starting a gift basket business next year, but I want to make money now so that I have some extra cash to officially start making baskets. So are the holidays a good time to jump into this business?”
Wally Amos, the man who put Famous Amos Cookies on the map, once said something similar to, “If you don’t start your business now, when will you?”
The way your question is posed makes me think that there is some underlying reason why you’re hesitant, but if you have enough capital (cash) to buy inventory and enough contacts who will buy, why not start business by selling holiday gift baskets?
You wouldn’t be the first. In 2002, I worked with a designer who started business on November 12. She was confident that her business would make $5,000 gross (income before expenses are deducted) because of her business connections.
We crunched numbers, determined the inventory, and she started marketing a few days before Thanksgiving. On December 31, we checked her financials. Her gross sales were $4,893.78, and she continues to thrive today.
Some of the marketing tactics in her plan are documented in 101 Ways to Market Gift Baskets.
If your research convinces you to start now, do it without hesitation. Or wait. The choice is up to you.
