gift business?

Question

i'm starting a home based gift business and i intend to make gift baskets, lotions and body wash, soap, and perhaps candles. what are some other things that would sell good and bring in business? (things that are not too difficult or expensive) and what kind of qualities would influence you to purchase things like these?

Answer 1

My sister and I do craft shows and we do all the items you mentioned plus a few others. The first thing you have to realize,is that it is going to be expensive to start up. You are going to want high quality supplies because the high quality of the items you sell will be what makes you have return customers. Your return customers are very important. Word of mouth is excellent advertising. Research what items you want to make,and then research different supply companies. The next thing to do is to start making your products. Before you even consider selling them you have to test each item for yourself. You need to make sure the candles burn properly and give a good scent throw. You may have to change your wick sizes,your wax kind,and your scents many times. Same with bath and body products. You need to see how they will hold up over time. Does the lotion turn runny or discolor? These things are important to know long before you start selling your stuff. When we first started,we did only candles and had well over $1000 into it before we ever sold a candle. It's harder and more costly than you would think. Don't get discouraged though. After doing this for about a year,we were both able to quit our full time jobs to do our crafts full time. We joke now that we put in many more hours doing our crafts than we did a 40 hour a week job. We enjoy it though. If you have money for the initial investment and are willing to donate the time and effort to it,you can do very well.

Answer 2

Personally I am a make it kind of gal so I would purchase and make my own baskets to give gifts with but what i would look for when I purchase things are things that are unique or specialty things as in food with different sauces, mustards and that sort of thing. I look for unique coffees to try or teas too. I prefer to purchase things singley so I could chose. I avoid the lotions, body washes, soaps and candles due to allergies with the scents.
Where you might do really well is to develop a product that is unique ( a secret recipie sort of thing) where you will have your niche. Perhaps it's that famous BBQ sauce with a pineapple flavor or something really special like that. Pickled spicey garlic, chutneys or??? You perfect it ,have samples to test out at various bazaars or events and hand out your cards. Before long you will have increased your sales and production. Start small and your business will grow. If you have your hand into too many things, things start to slip and you will find that nothing sells well and you have too much inventory. If bath and body products are your thing, you can research recipies and try your own. You can get jars and packageing on the internet and print your own labels.
Just an idea, you can check out www.realfood4realpeople.com
She does recipie books for gifts in a jar items.

Answer 3

Gift Cards!!!! Let say for the holidays or special occasions you offer this as a set and watch the responses you get. I give you a example let say which is true in my case I want to impress a special someone and its valentines day. I would like to purchase roses, and the cards let say I want to really turn it up; I will like to include with the card massage oil,perfume,and soap in a basket to this person it would be a great gesture and put more money in your pocket you see?

Poetry too is going to be a big item worth trying so, think about it and give it time it will come to you.

Answer 4

I would be attracted by the appearance, the colour of items. If it looks good to me I would buy as a gift for a friend.
Face washers and small hand towels look good when rolled up and placed in the basket, maybe a comb or hairbrush

Answer 5

I work part-time at a friends "Gift" business... they make a great business with the baskets... filling them with wine, DVDs, Popcorn, as well as the classics.

They also have a selection of fashion jewelry, mugs, and candies.

GOOD LUCK

Answer 6

If you have the talent and want to sell your product, you can get associated with vyomshop.com and sell in 1/10th of the price it would take u to set up a shop. just register and give the pictures of your product. We market, sell and ship your product for minimal amount