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!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
How to Choose Beautiful Baskets
Baskets reign as the most-recognizable vessel in our industry.
Containers, boxes, wire-framed items and more also keep contents intact, 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 be a sizable cost. 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.
When you travel to trade shows in the coming weeks, my hope is that the basket styles you see in the aisles match what will please your customers.
I’ll be searching for attractive, sturdy baskets at the California Gift Show and Philadelphia Gift Show next weekend when I speak at each event. You’ll find more classes on this page. Which shows do you plan to attend?
Want to know more about your basket choices? Start with this page, and also visit the baskets Web site created for you that shows empty baskets and completed designs.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Five Design Tips that Deliver Sales
Summer is the season to review gift basket designs offered to customers now and later in the year. Here are five tips to increase your sales.
1. Add tall, slim designs to your offerings. Customers equate height with value. One example is shown on the Baskets site.
My newsletter recently went into detail about this. Sign up for your free weekly subscription.
2. Use gift basket designs featured in warehouse stores and large retail shops for research. Look at those designs to see how you might capitalize on what they offer.
3. Search through local floral wholesale supply firms for unique containers. Treasure chests, gold-brushed pots, and other expensive-looking tins can be found at prices that sometimes rival baskets.
4. Combine two ribbons together to make a large, impressive bow. Clients love the look of this enhancement, and it costs pennies to make.
5. Tier two matching boxes, smaller one on top, to create a large, attractive design. Hot glue added at the corners where the two boxes meet helps to stabilize the containers. The boxes are meant to stay together, so don’t worry about them not coming apart when the contents are removed.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
-
-
Gift Basket Books
-
Welcome, from Shirley George Frazier
-
Drop Shipping Sources
