agoodsaid

This page has forms .... that what you're wanting? http://www.candlebusinesscorner.com/forms/ Andrea

You betcha Sorry for the late reply, I just figured out where to set my options to 'receive thread notices' .... I been gone for 4 days! Happy shows Andrea

I've had arrangements with people where I give them an inventory/display's worth "Net 60 or return" which means that they are to treat it as an invoice that is due in 60 days or retun to me in saleable condition. Puts the responsibility on them, gives you ample time to see what the sales will be like and gets them thinking 'wholesale' account rather than consignment. The upside of consignment is that you get a bigger percentage of the sales and can work very well with a few select accounts. But you have to trust their organization 100% and you can only keep track of so many without it becoming a headache. That's been my experience anyway hth, Andrea

These folks have white ones sold individually ... http://www.theboxdepot.com hth, Andrea

You can turn it into a .pdf with this free utility: http://primopdf.com/ And then upload to any server space. I can throw it onto my jewelry site if you want ... I have all kinds of oddball stuff there .... or maybe someone has a suggestion for a free space? Bravenet? Freewebs? Andrea

Hi there ~ I have this in my files from somewhere ... not sure where though <grin>. Sorry the game links aren't live, but it sounds like you have that part covered already? Hope it helps Andrea ************************* Below are some ideas for you about how the party evening should run. This is to be used as a guideline only. Fill in the blanks and change around to suit your own line. · Arrive early Give yourself plenty of time to set up and help the hostess prepare. 30-45 minutes early should be plenty. Any longer and you will be sitting around waiting for guests which can feel uncomfortable for the hostess. Take time to just go through with the hostess how the evening will run and check if she has any questions. · Set up Begin setting up your display. You will need to let the hostess know in advance that you will require her to provide a table for you, but always take your own cloth incase she doesn't have one. Arrange your display items so that they are not all on the same level - use silk or dried flowers to "pretty up" the display. · Greet the guests When guests start arriving, greet them at the door, say hello and thank them for coming. · When they have all arrived When you have everybody's attention, thank everyone for coming and thank the hostess for inviting us into her home. Give the hostess her free gifts and let the guests know that she is receiving these gifts for free as a thank you for hosting the party. Tell them that if they are interested in hosting a party and receiving free candles, to talk to you at the end of the evening. · Anyone bring a friend? Give a free gift (votive, tealight) to any party guests who brought a friend. My party invites let the guests know that if they bring a friend with them, they get a free gift. This is a way to get more people to come to the party, which means more sales for the hostess, more free gifts for her and more money for you! · Introduce yourself Spend two minutes introducing yourself ... tell them your name, about why you started making candles, the general "blurb" about why hand poured candles are better than commercially produced candles, how long you have been in business ... this is your chance to really sell those candles!! Don't talk for too long - you don't want to lose their attention. · Invite introductions Get the guests to introduce themselves - give a free votive to the person who offers to start. Get to know you Game "Left and Right Game" · After the game Pass out the catalogues & order forms for the guests to look through. "Okay, it's time to show you some of the range of candles. Obviously I couldn't bring absolutely everything with me tonight, so if you have any questions about the candles or fragrances not shown here, please feel free to ask at the end and I'd be glad to give you a full description. To make an order, simply fill in the order forms and pass them to me before I leave along with your payment.. Your orders will usually be ready in 7-10 days, sometimes sooner, but please allow up to 14 days and will be here at Hostess's house for you to pick up. Of course, there is no obligation to order right now, but if you do order from the party tonight, you will receive 10% discount if you spend £15 or more.... Now, just before I take you through the range, I want to give away another free candle!!! Hostess, if you could just hold this for me …." Game - "Pass the Gift" · Next .... This is the stage in the evening when you want to begin talking about the products. Take them through each of the range and explain why it is special. Keep asking if anybody has any questions about the product, let them know it can be custom coloured/scented where applicable. After you have taken them through the items, let them browse the catalogue while you take the time to explain candle maintenance. Talk about why they should trim wicks, why wicks mushroom, the correct way to extinguish candles, how to repair dripping candles etc. (this information is discussed in Candle Burning 101) Once again ask if there are any questions. Give a free votive to the one who asks first.... "Well if there aren't any more questions, I think we are about done! Thank you again to Hostess for having us all here this evening and thank you all for coming! If you'd like to come up to the table to have a look and a smell or ask any further questions and I'm ready to take your orders!" Sit back and count the money!! I hand out a feedback form with every order form - this is a way to get their thoughts on how the evening went. At the end of the evening I do a prize draw for 2 free votives to the first name pulled out of the hat. Only those that fill in the feedback form qualify.

Georgia's got it right, as I understand it too ... If someone receives real goods for their participation, it is not tax deductible for them. And unless the org. or group that you are running the fundraiser for has a non-profit status and tax exempt number (they will KNOW if they do ... AND you are selling directly to the group, sales tax gets collected. But if for instance, you were doing a fundraiser and a tax exempt group were the recipient, but you were doing the direct selling then paying out a portion of your sales, I believe that you would still have to collect sales tax from the end consumer. Hope that doen't muddy up the clarity ?! Andrea

Hi Misty ~ While my experience is about 10 candles/kid.... waiting for the order is the best thing to do. A lot depends on the other fundraising that's going on at the same time, the reason for the fundraiser (my belief is that when there's a particular prize in store ie. a trip or a special piece of equipment they're shooting for, it goes better), the involvement of the parents, the incentives you offer the kids, etc ... BUT, this isn't like delivering to a store where they want their stuff yesterday. When people buy products sold through schools (often can be pre-paid), they expect to have to wait for delivery .... so use that to your advantage, heaven knows crafters usually bear the brunt of the financial risk. Fundraisers are one of those rare situations where we don't have to hth, Andrea

I'd say raffia too ... it makes for a bulkier look and people feel like they're really getting something special. Cheap too Andrea

Hi Barb ~ I'm not local to you, but I foot the shipping bill either way. Were you wanting an individual crafter? Or is a soy/veggie jar candle from a crafter turned company okay? Actually, I just re-read your post .... you might consider this a 'big company'. I sell Mia Bella. I do pay shipping and with 16 girls, I'd anticipate raising right around $1000 for the team. Sometimes substantially more depending on the excitement of the kids. Do you have a special project in mind? or player fees to cover? There's also the option to co-op the fundraiser money with the players ... sometimes this really gets the parents involved ... they are able to offset their cost this way. We can discuss your individual needs and details via email if you're interested? How much were you wanting to raise? When did you need it by? We could have this wrapped up in a couple weeks for you. Also, I'm still working on a site that I hope will be supportive to candle lovers of all kinds who want to do fundraisers. I've just started the candle makers section, maybe that will help someone else here to take up the fundraising ball on your behalf Here's the site: www.Candle-Fundraiser-Advisor.com Happy to help if I can. Best, Andrea andrea@sageart.com