Are Repurposed Baskets Okay for Gift Basket Designing?
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?
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
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:
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.
