How to Become a Wholesale Gift Basket Distributor
People give gift baskets year-round for various occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, and as hostess gifts. Businesses also give gift baskets to customers, clients and employees. Due to their popularity, gift baskets can be profitable items to sell, especially on a wholesale basis. If you're looking to start a wholesale gift basket distribution company, you can do several things to make your business a success.
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Instructions
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Plan to focus on selling a specific type of gift basket to differentiate yourself from other distributors. For instance, you can specialize in gift baskets for hotels and bread-and-breakfast businesses, baby shower and kid's gift baskets, corporate gift baskets or holiday-themed gift baskets. The aim is to make your company known as a go-to source for the specific type of gift basket you distribute.
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Obtain the permits required to operate a retail business in your state and locality, such as a resale permit, an assumed name certificate or a federal employer identification number. Your local small business development center or U.S. Small Business Administration office can let you know what you need.
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Set aside a storage area for your gift baskets that is clean, free of sunlight and away from pets. Initially, a spare closet will be suitable, and as your business grows you can move your inventory to a temperature-controlled storage facility or warehouse.
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Create inventory for your wholesale gift basket business. Options include purchasing gift baskets in bulk or buying wholesale materials to make the gift baskets yourself. Making your own products for distribution may be less expensive, but do so only if you have the time and creativity to produce attractive gift baskets.
Make sure you get a distributor, not a wholesale, discount if you buy ready-made gift baskets. A distributor discount is larger than wholesale, and will enable you to mark up your prices when you sell the gift baskets to retailers. To get such a discount, you will likely need to purchase a large amount of product at once.
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Create policies for your gift basket business to help transactions with your retailers go more smoothly. For example, you can decide which payment methods to accept, set an order minimum and devise a contract that all retailers must agree to before working with you.
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Offer incentives for retailers to set up wholesale accounts with your gift basket business. For instance, offer custom labeling, free local delivery or bulk discounts for very large orders.
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Market your gift basket distribution company to retailers in your niche. Send them printed or electronic brochures, set up an informational website with a wholesale account application, create social networking accounts or become a vendor or sponsor at a retail product convention.
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