are gift baskets worth the hassle?

[amanda]

I have some big holiday events booked and was wondering what luck others had with making and selling gift baskets.

They kind of seem like a pain in the butt, but my price points are pretty low, so I though gift baskets might add a higher priced item into the mix.

Do you make and sell gift baskets? What do you put in them? I was thinking categories of scents such as "fruity", "floral", "holiday", " spicy", etc..

What kind of prices do gift baskets go for?

Or is it all an unnecessary hassle?

Thanks in advance for any experience/tips

[Vicky_CO]

I found gift basket not worth it with the exception of V-day. Guys like easy gifts to give to their wives and girlfriends. Gift basket are great promotional item for most of the charities I support they get gift baskets full of goodies.

[Guest OldGlory]

I echo Vicky's comments. That's what I give when donating to a raffle, or something like that. No good in direct sales.

If you want to raise your average sale, why not do what B&BW does? They ALWAYS have something at an individual price and a 3/price. If your 8 oz jar/tins are $7.95, you could do 3/$20. You lose a bit on each candle, but you sell more. People love a bargain! Tell them that is one for them and 2 for gifts which they would buy for the holidays anyway - so they can cross 2 gifts off their list. You have to learn to give people a compelling reason to buy right now.

[Candybee]

I tried the gift basket thing a couple of times for the holidays. I think I sold maybe one or two in 2 yrs trying. I wasted money in baskets, wrap, ribbon, etc. So I don't do baskets anymore. Customers really like the 2, 3 or 4 for $ specials so that is what I do year round.

 

On the other hand I once knew a vendor that made lovely baskets in the price range of $30 to $75 and did pretty good as far as I could tell. But they made home decoration products like floral centerpieces and table pieces, etc. Maybe thats the reason.

[Jcandleattic]

I echo Vicky's comments. That's what I give when donating to a raffle, or something like that. No good in direct sales.

If you want to raise your average sale, why not do what B&BW does? They ALWAYS have something at an individual price and a 3/price. If your 8 oz jar/tins are $7.95, you could do 3/$20. You lose a bit on each candle, but you sell more. People love a bargain! Tell them that is one for them and 2 for gifts which they would buy for the holidays anyway - so they can cross 2 gifts off their list. You have to learn to give people a compelling reason to buy right now.

I do this at all my shows. 

My large bars are $6 each or 4/$20 

My small bars are $5 each or 3/$12

I sell a LOT of sets. 

 

Also, at shows you will get negotiators. I try not to bargain, especially if I'm doing good, but if the person looks like they need the lower price, or if it's at the end of the day I will decide if I want to bargain or not. Most of the time I do, just to reduce my inventory, and make some extra money to boot. (It's the accounting after the bargaining that is not so fun! LOL) 

 

I used to always offer gift baskets at my shows, and I rarely sold any. The ones I did were usually to men who needed last minute gifts because they "forgot" or "didn't know what else to get" 

They were definitely not a big money maker for me. 

Edited October 9, 2014 by Jcandleattic

[amanda]

I'm glad I asked you guy. My instinct was to skip making gift baskets but my mom and sister kept telling me that I *absolutely have* to make them for the holiday season. I'm skipping it.

Old Glory- the bulk of my sales are my jelly jars. I sell the 4oz for $6 or 2 for $10, and the 8oz for 2 for $15. People buy those up like crazy. But for a show to be successful for me, it means I need a LOT of foot traffic and people buying those twofer deals. I am starting to try to sneak in some higher priced candles with a better cost to price ratio for me. But, my palm in 8oz square mason series has been a smashing success so I'm going to expand that line a bit. I sell those for $10 and no one even hesitates or bats an eye at the price.

[Guest OldGlory]

Only you know your customers and what they are willing to spend. You should see a trend develop when you find your sweet spot. Just keep trying new things.

The customers in my area are reluctant to spend more than $10 for a candle, even 16 oz, because the market is flooded with new candlemakers (we have an international supplier here) all the time. It is not unusual for me to see $8 16 oz canning jars at craft shows. So I don't take jar candles to craft shows, I just wholesale.

[amanda]

I'm starting to learn what sells well at what type of craft show also. It is interesting finding these treads.

I offer 16oz jars for $14 dollars and they barely sell. I pretty much only make those to order now. But the Halloween palm series (8oz for $10) sell very well. And I do a 12oz jar with 3 different layers of scent and those sell like crazy at $14. People seem to really like "special" seasonal/holiday stuff. I think I'll put my creative energy into stuff like that for the rest of candle season.

Thanks for the feedback!

[ChrisR]

I also tried the gift baskets and customers would always want something different than what I had.  Now I only do them on request.  I have a few that buy them every Christmas, they tell me what they want in the basket and I give them the price.

[Faerywren]

Seems we all have a lot in common. I never had much luck with pre made baskets selling. They are completely done as special order now. I actually enjoy making baskets because I cater to what the person's favorites are. Each one in unique and not just a stock basket with the same products every time. I probably spend (or waste) more time on them than I should.