Okay so I have having such a hard time here and getting pretty upset maybe someone can help me and lead me in the right direction

1. i sell for instance gift baskets on my site problem is that I was including paw print bandannas but those are no longer for sale so I need to find something else. But to choose a new style is hard because I dont know what new style to order such as i was thinking skull and cross bones and camo, etc but my problem is i dont have the money to put out to buy each of these. Is it a bad idea to wait until the costmer orders from me then order what ever style bandanna they want? How do things like this work? Do I just have to buy each of the items that i want in bulk? That is just so hard to so because this money is all coming out of my pocket. please help with suggestions

Also I have looked EVERYWHERE no joke on the internet and in stores for gift baskets i use ones from wal-mart but wal-mart will not order a large amount for me and they only have no more than 10 in stock at one time and the last baskets i bought from them they stopped selling.
Does anyone have any suggestions on this? I am about to give up on this and go to the boxes that are about .69 each and have paw prints and what not on them but the problem with those are that they are to deep and when i put my items in them you cant see the items. So what i just have to use lots and lots of tissue style paper or krinkle paper.

thanks. hope someone can help me with this and lead me in the right direction. Sometime i dont know how others can do this. There has to be a way for me to do this stressfree easy and fun lol

Greetings,
First off to find out what is popular and selling,
go to Google. Then type in what your looking for use only two or three words. Then off to the far right you will discover the best selling companies that product. Search their web site and you will see what is selling best.

Wal Mart is rarely a good product source, they don't carry much of one item because they are so BIG that they pay their consignors only when they have made a sale. They resupplied several times a week so they have no need for surplus.

Capital is can be a major problem for most of us, particularly if you only have a web based business. I started out with a land based business and then started on the web.

Try talking to the Small Business Administration and ask for a Counselor. I would also join some positive Business Networking sites. One of the best that I have found is: http://OrangeLeads.com/me.php?id=48509

I wish you the best.

Sincerely,
Pastor Brady



Enjoy a relaxing day with your Family
fishing at: www.fishingatcountrycovevillage.com
Sincerely,
Pastor Brady C. Harness

Why not also contact some other people who are in the gift basket business with facebook and twitter, this can be done very easily. Just search for people who advertise that they are in that business and see if they will give you some advice.

Find the perfect home business for you.
Grab your free video ecourse at
http://www.homebusinessvideocoach.com

"There has to be a way for me to do this stressfree easy and fun"

It seems like you're finding out that running a business is hard work! It's not stressfree. You just have to learn to manage your stress. If you think you can't handle it, then you should get out now before you spend more money. Also, as they say, it takes money to make money. You'll have to find the extra money to buy the stuff you need.

But, given that you're asking questions, it doesn't look like you're ready to throw in the towel just yet

As a business owner, you know that you must invest in inventory. If you do what you're suggesting, you'll get an order, and optimistically, you'll place the order for the supplies that same day. Well, you don't have money to pay for overnight delivery, so you'll get traditionally 7-10 First Class mail. That's a possible 10 business days that your customer will be waiting to get their shipment not counting their own shipping time.

Your customers are NOT going to want to wait for a three week turnaround on their basket. You need to have stuff that you're selling in stock because otherwise, they'll just go somewhere else.

Okay, so you can't find the baskets you've been using - why not find other baskets? Have you, for example, gone to the dollar store? They have buckets available that you can buy. Can't those work? Maybe they're a little ugly - so spend some time and draw (or spray paint) some flowers onto them. There are many things you can do without spending too much money.

There's probably a way for you to use this to your advantage. Why not market personal customization? Get a stencil set and you can spray paint messages on the packaging? Time consuming - yes, but certainly pretty cheap.

You may want to visit this forum - http://www.giftbasketmessageboard.com - it's no longer active but there are a lot of topics with people asking questions just like yours. They list suppliers so you can find other places to buy what you need.

Best of luck!
~~~~~~~~~~

http://pagebuzz.com - Small Business Website Hosting. The ultimate do it yourself website system - everything included for $9.99 per month (even a shopping cart!).

Okay I would like to thank all of you for your advice and tips.

Would you suggest typing in dog bandannas then I would assume since they are dog based.

I am thinking about just looking into the gift boxes that run .69 each just you would have to put a lot of crinkle paper into them to make the product stand up high enough.

So over all I am a little confused, what do you think how should I handle purchasing these items that i need in bulk? one at a time slowly?

Greetings,
Acquiring Inventory is at times a troublesum problem, I fully agree.
If you know that your product is selling and a demand item; then the expense is of value in the long run.
From there I would then start searching for Wholesalers and double check them for supply problems and dependablitity and their business rating. Ask for verifiable referrences.
I believe you said that you have started a Web Site. Would you please share your URL with us? Perhaps suggestions could be offered that could help gather more people.
Sincerely,
Pastor Brady

Enjoy a relaxing day with your Family
fishing at: www.fishingatcountrycovevillage.com
Sincerely,
Pastor Brady C. Harness

Try www.burtonandburton.com for wholesale gift basket supplies. You will need a tax # or re-seller's certificate to get their prices.

Hello, My website is www.mydoggietreasures.com I also have taken a look @ burton and burton and didn't find anything that would work.

I agree and understand that buying in bulk is very wise and important but I do not have the large lump sum of money to put out so that is why I am asking how I should go about it? buy one design of bandannas and then expand to the next design as I have the money? I gues that is the best way, would you say?

Also does anyone know where I can find the gift boxes? I found them once. Haven't been able to find them since. They run around .69 each. Cheaper than the baskets that I can't seem to find anyway!

As Hostingdiva mentioned, you might want to think creatively about containers. For instance, you could use a dog dish, a bucket or container for dog treats, and similar items to hold your items. That way, your entire "basket" is usable and is a bit different than others.

For the bandanas, you will need to have a stock on hand if you expect to fill orders in a timely manner. If you are just getting started, you may be able to get by with only a dozen or so of a couple of designs on hand. Once the orders begin coming in, then you can expand the number you keep in stock and and the variety.

Hello and thank you for your response. The reason I wanted a basket to start with is that it was different from others and useable to hold the dog toys when the basket was opened. But as mentioned before it is completely impossible to find the basket that I am looking for wholesale I have looked all over the web for other baskets that slso strike my appeal and none and managed.

Hey feel free if you think there is a good basket, idea or website please let me know. I feel I have reached the end. Searched them all there is nothing out there. Thanks!

As far as the bandannas go I understand I will have to have stock and hand but my question is that I can not afford to order 5 different styles so I guess that I just have to order one style at a time until I have all 5 or how many ever styles I want. Guess its slow but steady!

What happened to all the forums? They seem dead and gone? Anyone know?

When you say forums, I am assuming that you're talking about the gift basket forums. When the economy dropped the gift basket forums just kind of dropped with them. But, many of the wholesale companies are still around so much of the information on the gift basket forums is still good.

Regarding your basket issue - so you can't find the ones you want. So, the other ones aren't perfect. So what, just move on and do the best you can with an imperfect situation. This is what business owners are doing every day On the other hand, you can try and find the manufacturer of the baskets you do want and contact that company directly. Maybe they can work something out with you.

Regarding the bandanas - it sounds like you have a plan Again, do the best you can with what you have available. Businesses of all sizes are always struggling with money. But, you can't let that hold you back from making decisions. Just do the best you can with what you have.

You should, however, make sure you put a notice on your website that you may make substitutions so people don't freak out when they don't get the exact same thing as the picture.

http://pagebuzz.com - Small Business Website Hosting. The ultimate do it yourself website system - everything included for $9.99 per month (even a shopping cart!).

Hello, no when I say forums I am talking about what happened to all the idea cafe forums they are all dead.

I am fine settleing with any basket, they are all to much to big to small something like that.

I did make a notice last night on my website that says next to the toys (style of toys will vary depending on items in stock) i just pick up the squeaky toys from the dollar tree what ever they have is what I use

same with the bandannas I am going to start out with 2 styles for now grow from there as I have the money the bandannas in the pictures are not what I have but it syast(style of bandana will vary with whats in stick)

Try Nashville Wraps.