Your Feedback as We Move into Fall
Because I’m an author and frequent speaker at trade shows throughout the U.S. (designers in other countries - I’ll be in your area sooner than you think), it’s easy for me to write articles for this blog that I believe are beneficial for you.
However, this time I’d like to step aside and let you have your say.
We’re moving into the fall and holiday sales seasons. Tell me what ideas and information you’d like to read, learn about, and know more in depth to increase your gift basket sales in this last half of 2009.
Every question and topic is open, including advice in writing and in video formats. I have a list of what I’m planning, but my list means nothing if it’s not beneficial for you.
Give me your feedback by adding your comments, ideas, and feedback here. In return, I’ll choose 5 people at random who respond to receive several CDs and DVDs in my inventory. These items are listed on the newly-updated GiftBasketBusiness.com Resources page.
I look forward to reading your ideas and assisting you to create a bountiful business in the upcoming seasons.
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How to Turn a Dentist Visit into Gift Basket Sales
My dentist called me a few years back to say that a patient, an executive at a New York music station, needed 250 gift baskets for a CD launch.
The dentist recommended me to the executive and gave me his telephone number for follow-up.
Why was I recommended? When I started my gift basket business, I told the dentist about my plans.
He and the hygienist ask me about business whenever I visit because I make sure that directly after each cleaning, the conversation changes to promote what I do.
I truly believe in selling to those who provide me with services or at least reminding them about my business to encourage sales and referrals. That’s why I suggest you do the same in your circle of business and personal service providers.
At the end of your next dental appointment, tell your dentist and the receptionist, assistant, waiting room patients and whoever else is in the area, that your gift baskets open doors that once seemed shut, repair problematic relationships, increase sales, and make life’s bumps easier to manage.
I gained new sales because I dared to mix a dentist’s visit with business promotion, and it was worth a big smile.
How have you captured sales from people who provide you with service?
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Do You Charge Tax on Gift Baskets?
New Jersey, the state in which I live and work, has a sales tax law that’s easy to understand. If you buy something to wear, there’s no tax. But if you cannot wear the product, tax is applied.
There is an exception with toilet tissue and other commodities, but what’s written above is the main rule. This is one reason why many New Yorkers drive across bridges and through tunnels to shop in New Jersey, as New York applies tax to everything.
Gift baskets are taxed in New Jersey. Even if a T-shirt or baby’s bib is included within the gift, the design’s total cost is taxed.
Gift baskets in your state are also a taxable product, but don’t take my word for it. Check your state’s sales tax law for details.
Go to your state’s official Web site, look for the search box (most state’s offer a search box on the site), and type the words “sales tax” in quotes as shown here. That will take you to the correct information, including how to collect and remit the amount due.
Another frequently-asked question about taxes is, “Who gets charged sales tax?”
New Jersey’s sales tax law may be basic enough to understand, but here’s one part of the sales tax that’s different than other states: shipping is taxed.
So, if a designer based in New Jersey creates a gift basket for a client who also lives in New Jersey, shipping through any carrier (the postal service, UPS, a courier, or you, etc.) is taxed. That’s the law.
Your state or country may have a similar law, which is why I encourage you to check your area’s official Web site to ensure that you know, once and for all, when to collect sales tax.
Your accountant can also provide details, and the frequently-asked questions section of GiftBasketBusiness.com reveals answers to other common dilemmas.
I’m not an accountant or a financial adviser, so it’s wise for you to seek an accountant’s assistance to learn about collecting and submitting sales tax.
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Choosing Your Baskets
Baskets reign as the most-used vessel in our industry. Containers, boxes, wire-framed items and more also show off contents, but the basket is what’s made this business great.
That’s why designers are so choosy about sizes, colors, shapes, and pricing. It’s all to make sure that our customers and recipients are pleased with what they give and receive.
We’re also very careful to find the best basket sources in the closest locations.
If you’re located 3,000 miles away from the supplier, shipping charges will cost a pretty penny. But if you happen to live close to a facility, the cost per basket will stay low. That’s a big part of the profit potential.
Want to know more about your basket choices? Start here. There’s a link at the bottom of that page to a second page which explains more on selecting your vessels.
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Gift Basket Books
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Welcome, from Shirley George Frazier
