Why Taking Inventory is a Worthwhile Investment
Like you, I enjoy browsing through favorite stores to see what’s new and different.
I don’t always find something, but one product usually says to me, “You’ve been waiting to take me home.”
This weekend as I browsed, a familiar paper tag was hung or placed on shelves and hooks, and I immediately knew that merchandise in the area had been inventoried.
I first became aware of the inventory process when I worked at Alexander’s, a former east coast department store. Inventory was always completed in January to account for merchandise value, uncover slow sellers, and track shortages (both what needed to be ordered and theft).
Taking inventory of our own products is just as important, allowing us to track items that:
I’m a firm believer in taking the best of the corporate world’s procedures and transferring those processes into our own businesses. That’s what inventory control is reviewed in chapter 9 of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business.
Review the quantities and styles of your baskets, snacks, and supplies before visiting this month’s trade shows so that you’re on track and ready to buy exactly what customers want.
If you’re having trouble understanding the inventory process, what’s the one thing you want to know so that you can complete this task and move forward confidently?
Buy Gift Basket Products According to Color, Not Occasion
Right now, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year are the main reasons for gift basket creation, and with that comes buying choices that will either make or break your post-New Year’s sales.
Veteran designers know all too well about what to select, as they’ve graduated from the school of hard knocks and don’t plan on returning in the future. Here’s what they’ve learned for your benefit.
1. Purchase products with foil packaging or appropriate colors that do not include special occasion words such as Happy Holidays or Happy New Year.
If these products don’t sell, you cannot return them, which means it’s either thrown away or added to your own dinner or snack menu.
2. Enhancements in colors of red and green or blue and white can be purchased in abundance, as you’ll add these supplies to gift baskets during the year.
Valentine’s Day baskets will absorb many of the red-colored enhancements, while the others will be added to Administrative Professionals Day, Easter and Mother’s Day themes.
3. Buy sleighs and drums in moderation. Clients appreciate receiving holiday containers, so shapes reflecting those themes are plentiful right now.
Do your best to estimate the quantity required. When the containers are sold, return to offering generic baskets that you turn into holiday gifts through color choices. This is better than looking at sleighs and drums in your inventory during the summer months.
When I first started my business, I was stuck with holiday inventory when the season ended. What’s one product that you carried into another season because you bought too much?
Gift Basket Finds at Flea Markets – Good or Bad?
In the late 1990s there was an energetic discussion on the former AOL message board about whether buying baskets and other supplies from flea markets, swap meets and garage sales was good or bad.
Some designers expressed their outrage about re-purposing used items, while others expressed happiness that there was little competition for these products from the designers against this practice.
Ten years later the debate continues on Internet forums.
Where do you stand? Are you for or against second-hand items in gift baskets, and why?
Make Plush a Part of Your Product Line
The first time I saw a stuffed shark peeking above an open can’s rim, I knew that plush animals would become part of my gift basket designs.
The shark was displayed at a trade show and was perfect for a corporate gift created for an attorney. Its appearance showed that it had bit through the can which was wrapped with a label stating “Canned Shark.”
I immediately wrote an order for canned sharks, bears, moose and other assorted animals.
Most of these plush pets sold well, and I was lucky because I didn’t determine ahead of time which animals would be paired with specific designs (this is a project I encourage you to complete before buying any product).
One reason why plush is a great staple is that it doesn’t expire. Other reasons include the ease of placing them in baby baskets, Valentine’s Day themes, and men’s baskets. That covers a lot of ground and ensures turnover and profitability.
Which types of plush animals sell quickly for you?
How to Fix Gift Baskets on the Go
Popped balloons. Slashed cellophane. The strangest things happen to baskets when they’re traveling to clients.
Maybe you’re going to a presentation, or perhaps you’re making a delivery. In either case you must be ready for whatever can happen to that gorgeous basket enroute to its destination.
To solve the worst problems, designers carry their own version of a doctor’s bag. The contents promise to remove all the pain associated with the smallest things going wrong to ruin the event.
Your bag doesn’t have to be an actual bag. It could be a toolbox, a wired carryall or a small cardboard box. Choose whatever works for you and fill it with supplies and replacements such as scissors, tape, curling ribbon, raffia, and pull bows.
You’re a savvy gift basket designer who always carries these tools in case of emergency. Keep these supplies handy and always available in your vehicle. It’s a great investment in time and against headaches.
What’s in your doctor’s bag?
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