Take your time to
research and select high quality, low-cost items that allow you
to recoup as much money as possible on a wholesale level.
Make designs in the
$15-$50 wholesale price range to allow retailers to mark up the
designs.
Costs are plentiful
in this arena, over and above the cost of baskets and products.
This includes equipment, trash removal, and a storage/hold area
in a temperature-controlled environment.
Get help. There’s no
way you can make 500 or more baskets on your own.
Mature high
school or college students are a good place to start your
temporary help search.
Offer designs that
are easy to recreate. There is no time to make baskets that take
20 or more minutes to build.
Shrink wrap is the
only enclosure to consider when wholesaling your basket designs. Cellophane is too delicate, and basket bags look messy after
transit.
Contracts must be
signed for these accounts. If not, you may be left with lots of
inventory and bills because the client backed out before taking
delivery.
Try to have the
client pick up the baskets from your facility, which will save
you time and energy to do this part. Self delivery is the only
possible choice at wholesale clubs. Perhaps the same standard will be accepted for you. If not,
you’ll also have to rent delivery trucks, another expense, but
one that’s passed on to the client.
Market your
wholesale baskets to local retail stores. Then branch out by
advertising your product line on your Web site through a
password protected area, if possible. A secret section on your site will slow competitors
from copying your ideas and going after your clients.
Yearly revenue can
total upwards of $1,000,000. How? Focus on quantity sales for
the big holidays and major events. These are the occasions most
favored by wholesale clients.
There’s much more to
learn, and the only place to truly understand all the details is by
speaking to others who sell to wholesalers and to experience it for
yourself.
