Is Drop Shipping Helpful or Harmful?
Every October, gift baskets are one of the main topics in Florists’ Review magazine.
The editor asks me about the trends in drop shipped gift baskets, a service that can be advantageous to gift basket designers and florists.
The benefits are numerous depending on your situation.
1. You cannot make gift baskets due to state restrictions on home-based businesses, so drop shippers provide you with a way to make money without breaking the law.
2. Your inventory is broad, and you cannot buy another thing, so drop shippers who stock alternative products fulfill orders with items you do not carry.
3. You are so overwhelmed with orders that in order to satisfy customer demand, you’re forced to outsource the overflow to a drop shipper.
On the flip side, many designers have little use for drop shipping because their clients prefer the unique appearance of customized gift baskets. They view ready-made designs as cookie-cutter replicas that have no place in their customers’ hands.
What’s your take on drop shipped gift baskets? Do you swear by the service or swear at it?
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Why It’s Time to Start Drop Shipping
After speaking with Emmitt Holtzclaw, president and CEO of Gift Marketing Alliance, about how his firm elevates gift basket businesses into a brand new category of excellence, he nearly convinced me to re-enter the industry full time.
When my business opened in 1990, everything revolved around what I purchased, designed, delivered, and service provided to clients after the sale.
This is still true for most of us, but never did I imagine that joining ranks with a gift basket drop shipping firm could open so many doors of opportunity.
Customers who order gift baskets will also require cookies, cheesecakes, and bouquets. What happens when you cannot deliver these goods?
1. Customers go elsewhere.
2. They give someone else the sale.
3. You are considered a “gift basket retailer” rather than a “gift solution specialist.”
Why let clients go to another firm for their non-gift basket gift items when a drop shipper makes you the one and only person they call or Email every time a gift is needed?
I could go on, but Emmitt spilled all of the details on a one-hour CD we recorded yesterday.
Wednesday’s Basket Biz newsletter featured the call information and a deadline of Thursday for ordering the CD, but this is so important for you that I’m extending the pre-order pricing.
Until Sunday, the Drop Ship Report and CD interview with Emmitt are available for just $47. You can order through this link.
If you want to increase your business and sales without the hassle of ordering lots of inventory, this information is for you. Best of all, it’s not hype; it simply makes sense to let another company handle all of the details while you make money.
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How to Outsource Your Gift Basket Sales
It’s disheartening to learn, from some aspiring gift basket designers, that the cities in which they live continue to prohibit them from making gift baskets and selling them from an organized, home-based workspace.
You would think, in these days of mass layoffs and workplace challenges, that laws would be modified. Unfortunately, city rules and regulations are slow to change.
I’ve spoken with a few designers who are working with their local mayors or councilmen to change the laws. As I’ve mentioned in the past, we’re not creating businesses to harm children or animals, nor are U.S. based designers employing individuals who may not own proper residence documents.
The bottom line is that gift baskets bring individuals and corporations together in times of joy and comfort, strengthening ties and acting as the link to multi-million dollar deals. There’s no doubt that the product you create is responsible for jobs and business growth.
It may take some time for city charters to change, allowing you to operate a home-based business, one that does not encourage walk-in customers.
Until then, it may be wise to create sales through drop shippers, companies that will create and ship gift baskets for you and share the profits.
Some designers maintain long-term relationships with these firms to generate increased online income and to also ensure that any overflow business is still satisfied, especially during the holidays.
You can read the introduction to the Drop Ship Sources directory here. Then consider starting a relationship with one of these firms so that you can capitalize on gift basket sales whether you’re able to make them yourself or outsource the entire operation to an able firm.
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New Year Babies Get Gift Baskets
With every year change comes many stories about first babies and gift baskets. Here’s one such story published on KY3.com of Missouri.
You’ll see a photo of the newborn but not the gift basket mentioned in the article.
New babies are one occasion that keeps some designers very, very busy. As you read this, thousands of infants are born, and a gift basket will be ordered for many of them.
This is why some designers specialize in this gift and drop ship sources exclusively for baby gift baskets also exist. This specialty will always be requested worldwide.
I made two videos about baby gift baskets. One shows a large design, and another displays pre-made gifts in cute containers available from Stephan Enterprises. You’ll also find a list of potential products for babies on the products and supplies page.
If you still want to dabble in gifts for babies and want to offer something other than traditional baskets, this diaper gift at RetailWraps.com may be a great alternative.
Many of my baby gift designs, especially the ones created in upturned umbrellas, are topped with fans. One designer asked me about fan toppers at Ask The Gift Basket Expert, which is answered here.
Which of your baby gift baskets is ordered most often?
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Welcome, from Shirley George Frazier
