Everything you buy for gift baskets won’t sell, but don’t fret. Here are two ways to get rid of inventory to make room for new merchandise.
Oops is real
You’re in good company if you bought gift basket items that, for whatever reason, won’t sell.
- Your reaction when seeing it convinced you to buy
- It doesn’t match the theme you thought it would
- Customers don’t want it or ask you for a substitute
Such a problem happens to the best of us. That’s why you see a clearance section in retail stores. Buyers make mistakes on that level as well. Thankfully, there are solutions to getting rid of items that would otherwise collect dust on your shelves.
Two ways to get rid of old inventory
Repurpose the item for other themes
If the item doesn’t match the design you thought it would match, consider how else the item can be sold. In the podcast episode 66, Sell It or Give It Away, I tell how one successful designer repackaged a plush animal within two romantic themes. That item quickly sold.
When you buy products, try your best to see its inclusion into various gift baskets and not just in one design.
Purposely give it away
It’s time to put on your marketing cap when there seems to be no chance for an item to sell. Combine that item or several non-selling items into an appreciation gift given to a local client. This option worked so well for me that I received new orders from my client.
Another method is to donate the item within gift baskets for women in shelters, new mothers, and through other charitable options. This, too, is described in the episode 66 podcast.
Change strengthens growth
When you buy gift basket products, you do so with the intention of customers seeing the products the way you do. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. It’s a lesson you continue to learn, and each lesson helps you to be more successful as you grow your business.
The two ways to get rid of inventory shared here are just the beginning. What inventive ways have you discovered to discard old items?
