Planning Guide | Plan your school holiday shop sale

School Holiday “Gift Shop Certificate Program”
You Are Going To Love This!
Read All About it Here

Learn how our program will help you plan your School Holiday shop sale the easy way.

  • Send emails to family and friends – and allow them to sponsor your child’s purchases. This is great because even if grandparents live far away they can get involved with the event.
  • Safe for the children – No more bullies, stolen or lost money issues.
  • No extra cost – no extra fees — EVER.
  • Finally, use this just like cash. So if your child has a $25 gift certificate and only spends $19, they will get $6 back in change.

Additional Brand New Services

  • “No Count Inventory” Option – a huge time saver, just box it up and send it back.
  • Accept card purchases at the shop using your smart phone – it’s simple and secure
  • Cash register App 2.0 – new and filled with options
  • Animated Kick Off Video – a great way to get the kids excited and to enjoy our ongoing contests

100% Risk Free Shop vs. Buying Products Locally – No More Stress!

Our experience has taught us much.  Our clients have told us about their nightmare stories doing this themselves. DIY school shops are very difficult to manage, have hidden costs and don’t provide you with marketing materials necessary to make your shop a success.  Believe us when we say there are lots of little things you forget about until it’s too late. So please think twice before buying products for your shop yourself – whether you work with our company or not.

What are the negatives of self managed holiday shops?

  • There is a very big chance you will get stuck with what you don’t sell. On the other hand, all of our merchandise is on consignment.
  • Buy it on your own and expect to pay for shipping when you buy your products up front. However, there are no shipping charges when you work with us.
  • You will pay shipping when you place re-orders – Work with us and we will pay it for you.
  • You will not have selling and marketing materials; such as bags, tablecloths, posters, envelopes, etc – You get all that and more from us.
  • Lots of paperwork to do when you do it yourself – not with us!
  • Count on running to the dollar store to re-stock – On the other hand, if you need more goods, just call us and we will take care of everything for you.
  • Finally, remember most 99¢ stores don’t carry customized items.  Work with us and your students gets to buy personalized items for moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends.

Proper Planning for your In School Holiday Gift Shop is the Key To Success!

School holiday shop planning is extremely important – like the old saying goes “Good planning prevents poor Performance”.

Best Practices for Planning your Holiday Gift Shop

  • Do your best to guess how much merchandise you think you’ll need for your event.
  • Get proper approval from the final decision maker. And get it in writing!
  • Plan your dates ahead of time so you have plenty of time to get everything you need.
  • Reserve your space; room, auditorium, etc. Tight on space? We have options for you.
  • Line up some reliable volunteers that are good with children.
  • Open boxes upon delivery – confirm inventory. Let is know if there are any discrepancies.
  • Group your opened merchandise properly.
  • Decide if you are marking up your merchandise, and if so, by how much. We can do 5%, 10% or more. Just let us know so we can get your bar codes on your products correctly.
  • Additionally, we suggest allowing extra time for delivery in case of a snow day or other delays. Remember Murphy’s Law?
  • Furthermore, set up a “Preview Day”, for students to browse what they want to buy. This will help them to get an idea of what they want to buy later.
  • Finally, make sure you have enough change on hand for transactions

Get The Facts Straight! Facts to Run a Successful In School Holiday Gift Shop

The success of your holiday shop is connected to the vendor you choose.  Please make sure your supplier provides you with all the online resources, selling materials and customer support to make your shop a success.

Make your Holiday Shop a Real Success: Take time to plan your School Holiday shop sale!

  • Volunteer and sponsor commitment is key to a successful holiday shop – be hands on.
  • Additionally, distribute parent letters to the children according to your schedule
  • Place shop posters in high visibility areas
  • Mark all tables properly for ease of shopping
  • Furthermore, take advantage of the support materials, such as:
      • Gift certificates
      • Online resources
      • Cash register App
      • Animated “kick of video
      • Tablecloths – help create a festive mood
      • Gift Bags – makes it easy for the kids
      • Shopper budget envelopes – urge parents to fill them out, especially for younger students.
  • Display all products – don’t pre-judge what you think will sell – kids are fickle – and you would be surprised at how much money their parents gave them to spend.
  • Finally, creative a festive mood.  Play holiday music – have some volunteers wear Santa hats – have fun and enjoy…and remember it’s all for the kids.

 Customer Support from your Holiday Shop Vendor

Choosing the right supplier for your holiday shop is critical – it is the first and most important step once you decide to run a program.  Anyone will do id everything goes perfectly. However, we all know better then that, don’t we? So, what happens when you need help? What kind of customer service will they give you? Here at https://schoolholidayshop.com we offer a full compliment of trained customer service people to handle any and all of your inquiries. 

The Right Holiday Shop Company Makes all the Difference – So make the Right Choice —The First Time.

  • 50 years of customer service experience! We have been servicing school accounts since 1965.
  • Online resources for re-orders and utilizing your custom management page. Your free 24/7 personal website gives you access to this all whenever you need it.
  • Furthermore, our offices are open 9-5 Monday through Friday (E.S.T.) – always a live person during those hours.
  • All staff call in for their messages if they are out or if we are closed for some reason
  • Additionally, we check our email’s remotely – so send us a message, we’ll answer it promptly
  • Finally, all of our staff are well trained on questions about holiday shop sales

Common Questions & Answers About Running a Holiday Shop

Q. Does https://schoolholidayshop.com offer 24 hour online shop access?
A. Yes; and you can also self-invoice at a custom page built just for your school.

Q. Does your shop supplier offer you a “Gift Certificate” program?
A.  We do, and it is a great way to make the shop even more successful.

Q. Does your supplier offer a “Show n’ Sell” option?
A.  If you don’t have enough volunteers, this is an incredibly great idea –and it works like gang busters..

Q. How many items do you have, how do they come packaged?
A. We have over 100 items and most of them come in color boxes.

Q. Can we re-order merchandise “every day”, can we place multiple reorders?
A. Yes and it will be shipped via overnight service – “no extra charge”

Q. Do you provide a multi-functional App which provides customized pricing and accepts secure credit card purchases?
A. Yes, we do – it is an amazing add-on to our service, products and customer support.

Q. Can our school request specific items for our school holiday shop?
A.  Yes, we, often times, are able to accommodate special product requests – so please inquire.

QCan you view all of the items and pricing online as opposed to empty promises and viewing small group shots?
A.  With us you can – just take a look at all of well packaged items right now.

Q. Does your vendor carry $1,000,000 in product liability insurance?
A. We do – we have your your interests in mind.

Q.   Does your vendor have a toll free number to call any time?
A.   Finally, please call us toll free anytime.  (1-800-645-6550).

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planning your school holiday shop sale