How to Remove “Handling” Costs for Wholesale Baskets
Today’s Wholesaler Wisdom Guest Writer is Sarah Botchick of Pioneer Wholesale Co., Berea, OH.
Every gift basket designer needs to save money on baskets. There is one simple way to save money that many gift basket designers are not aware of – avoid buying single sized baskets with top handles!
Gift basket design magazines love to show gift baskets with top handles. And they certainly make beautiful designs. However, the top handles make baskets more expensive. Why? Because single size top handle baskets are more expensive to ship, both to the United States via the importer, then again to the gift basket designer.
Since these baskets cannot nest, only a small number can fit in each box. Basically, you are paying to ship air.
We ship our baskets all over the country and we have found that it is incredibly expensive to ship single size baskets with top handles since UPS and FEDEX have gone to charging by the cubic feet of the box instead of by the weight.
At times we have found that the freight on some single sized top handle baskets is as much as 50% of the cost of the basket!
So, what can designers do? There are three options that not only save you money, but also, as Shirley George Frazier pointed out in last week’s post, they save you on storage space in your shop.
1. Purchase baskets without a top handle.
Choose baskets without handles or with side ear handles. Don’t feel you need to sacrifice style when choosing this option – there are many baskets available without top handles in beautiful rich finishes and designs.
2. Look for a unique type of gift basket with “drop down” handles.
These handles fold down for shipping and allow the baskets to nest, but then can be pulled up when creating your designs to give you the look of the top handles, without the additional shipping cost.
3. If your designs absolutely require top handles, buy nested sets of baskets.
These save you money on shipping, as well as allow you to have a variety of sizes on hands for different design needs.
Pioneer Wholesale Co. is an experienced wholesaler and importer who can help you find the baskets you need. Visit www.pioneerwholesaleco.com or call 888-234-5400.
DESIGNERS: I encourage you to ask questions and share feedback for Sarah in the comments section. She’s happy to answer your questions!
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New Feature on Gift Basket Business Blog
Wholesalers are critical to your business’s success, as they offer and deliver quality foods and gift items to your door.
Today, I introduce a new section entitled Wholesaler Wisdom.
You’ll hear from wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers who want to communicate expert information and ideas to grow you business.
These ideas will allow you to make better buying decisions and spend money wisely.
It’s wonderful that retailers and wholesalers come together here to discuss issues that ultimately raise revenue for and understanding between both groups.
Read the first Wholesaler Wisdom entry, and share your comments and feedback on this issue and future topics.
You can also recommend subjects and wholesalers to hear from by commenting here.
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Gift Basket Snacks Can Also Be Healthy
Is a Snack Attack gift basket a theme you offer?
It’s one basket I show on the 10 Dazzling Designs DVD.
I chose it as one of the 10 because it’s very popular worldwide.
Snack Attack includes all types of high-calorie, fun, “I don’t eat this all the time but this time it’s okay” items, such as:
This sweet-and-salty combination makes a perfect pairing for delivery on a sunny or rainy day. Companies that sell this traditional mix are found at GiftBasketWholesaleSupplies.com.
Customers order this gift basket for three reasons:
1. They know the receiver loves to snack.
2. They’re not sure what to buy, so the snack basket is a good default.
3. They love the basket’s appearance (colors, fun container, etc.) and know that it will put a big smile on the receiver’s face.
One gift basket company featured in HealthNewsDigest.com is focusing on all-healthy snacks - fruits, nuts, organic chocolates - to position themselves as offering healthy alternatives to the above-mentioned snacks. You’ll find many organic items at OrganicWholesaleSupplies.com.
This is something you can also offer your customers, but be cautious before buying lots of healthy treats. If your customers aren’t ready to buy, it’s not time for you to invest your money on items that won’t sell.
I suggest that you buy just one or two items in this category, create designs, and add photographs to your Web site. I also suggest that you ask customers if such products are of interest.
It’s not that customers aren’t interested in being healthy. Many of them get their health-based products elsewhere while considering gift baskets as fun and frivolous.
The bottom line is to focus on what customers want, not what trends suggest.
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Gift Basket Books
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Welcome, from Shirley George Frazier
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Drop Shipping Sources
