Ask The Gift Basket Expert » Products and Supplies

Is There a Better Place than Retail Stores to Buy Enhancements?

Shirley George Frazier — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:15:25 +0000

Ruby asks:

“I go to retail craft stores to buy picks and other enhancements, but there must be another place where I can get them for a better price. Where do I look?”

Start by finding a local floral supplier in your area. You’ll find this resource by learning where wholesale flowers are delivered for distribution to local florists.

These companies are usually open for trade business (not the general public) selling baskets, containers, enhancements, ribbon, and other supplies to retail companies just like yours.

A Yellow Page directory will help you locate these wholesalers, which are usually listed under “floral suppliers.” If you no longer receive the directory and are in the United States, look for the same term within a search engine. For example, if you’re located in Maryland, you enter the search in this exact manner:

“floral supplies”+Maryland

If outside of the U.S., this same search term may be helpful by typing the name of your city, province, or country in the space where the word Maryland is shown above.

This is how I found four floral suppliers in my area. You may not find as many, but there’s a good chance you at least find one that sells low-cost, high-quality enhancements and other items to create gift baskets.

© 2008-2010 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the leading authority on the gift basket industry. She is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

Are Repurposed Baskets Okay for Gift Basket Designing?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:13:20 +0000

Carey asks:

“I got a great deal on baskets from a woman selling them at a garage sale. The baskets are beautiful, but what do I do to make sure that they’re clean and ready to use?”

There were long, ranging discussions on the Internet, probably before you began making gift baskets, about this topic.

Some designers were against buying baskets in the way you chose, while others said they were thrilled to find baskets through the same sources you found.

The main treatment for these baskets is a power wash. That includes cleaning the baskets with warm water and a dab of dish washing liquid.

If possible, allow water from a hose and spray gun attached to a water source outside of your home (gardening hose, for example) to act as the power cleaner.

After the baskets dry in the sun, each one is ready to hold the contents of your choice.

There may be other information on the Internet or in basket-specific books related to washing wicker. A list of several basket reference books is found on the site GiftBasketBooks.com. Be sure to checks these books and other places for additional help.

If anyone has another method of cleaning repurposed baskets, you are welcomed to share your suggestions here.

A Customer Cancels a Custom Order. Now What?

Shirley George Frazier — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:40:53 +0000

Tammy asks:

“A new customer asked me to add some items in her gift basket order that I didn’t have in stock. I agreed to buy it for her, but when I told her the basket was ready, she said that she found something else and didn’t need the basket. Now I have a basket with a special item that I paid for and no way to sell it. How do I handle this better next time?”

Try not to beat yourself up about this, because this situation happens more often than new designers care to admit, me included when I was new.

You feel foolish, but such mistakes helps remind you of what you won’t allow to happen in the future. That’s one reason why I wrote Creating a Private Label Program.

First, determine if you want to purchase custom products. If not, you simply won’t do it. If so, a rule of having the customer pay in advance for the product, through cash or a credit card, is one you’ll follow.

Second, account for all expenses associated with buying the custom product. That includes travel and time in addition to the item. The customer pays for all of it.

Last, recognize that it’s a blessing when customers decline the order because they won’t pay for custom products ahead of time. One look at the custom product that now sits in your inventory reminds you that it’s better to let this person look elsewhere for a gift.

Collect monies for custom products before you begin your search. That way, you’ll be paid in advance, and the customer will have a vested interest in having you finalize the order.

Selling Gift Baskets with No Foods

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:30:33 +0000

Anna asks:

“I want to make baskets with gifts rather than with just food. Can I make money with that?”

Absolutely. When I began my business in 1990, I started by including all gift items. The only edible product in my baskets was a handful of lollipops with my business name pre-printed on the candy.

I launched with all gifts because I wasn’t sure, at the time, if my city’s laws allowed me to store and sell pre-packaged foods from my home base.

Some of my most-popular items included:

Plush animals (these sold very well for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day)

Tea pots, tea cups and saucers (everyone loved the patterns)

Soaps and spa accessories (grooming products are still very popular)

Baby items (difficult to keep in stock because they sold fast)

Corporate desk gifts (paperweights, frames, and specialty Post-its were favorites)

As with food baskets, the marketing you choose to promote your all-gift baskets must be positioned to help you reach the intended audience.

That’s what I did, and my baskets sold quickly.

I constantly reminded customers that the gifts would last a lifetime. That’s what worked for me. Perhaps that same type of message will also work for you.

How to Find State Products

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:41:30 +0000

Cynthia asks:

“I can’t find manufacturers here in Arkansas that sell products for my baskets. I want to approach hotels and groups, and I need items that are made right here. Do companies exist in my state?”

There are 38 companies I found in Arkansas using an easy online search, selling items from cookies to non-alcoholic beverages to candles and more. All of these products create fabulous gift baskets for the market you serve.

You can decrease your search time in several ways:

1. Yahoo.com’s “U.S. States” link groups wholesalers and suppliers selling packaged products. You’ll have to drill through several screens to find the listings. If I can find them, I know you can, too.

2. Review the listings at GiftBasketWholesaleSupplies.com, or use the search page to find what you want. The same advice works at OrganicWholesaleSupplies.com if certified organic products are on your inventory list.

3. The CD, How to Find Products In and Around Your State, uncovers numerous ways to locate product sources. You can listen to the CD while traveling to clients or running errands. Look for more information about the CD on this page in the “CD” section.

You’re closer than you think to finding state manufacturers. I bet you’ll have several on your resource list by next week.