Starting a Holiday Gift Basket Business

Many entrepreneurs are turning their passion for handicrafts into a profitable home based business. A gift basket business is perfect for any creative person interested in a lucrative part time or full time career. Gift baskets can be custom made for any occasion.  They range in price from $ 17 to $ 70 depending on the contents of the basket. Most gift baskets have themes.  There are gourmet food gift baskets, gardener’s baskets, bath and spa gift baskets, gluten free food gift baskets and many others. There are also festive gift baskets for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, birthdays or any memorable occasion. Custom holiday baskets make a wonderful gift and  are  easy to manufacture and sell.

Starting a gift basket business is inexpensive. Gift baskets can be manufactured cheaply with materials that are easily available from most craft shops. Some items like bath salts, essential oils, soaps and certain gourmet food items can be made at home. Decorative items like ribbon, cellophane paper,  and glue can also be purchased cheaply  at wholesale warehouses. Because gift baskets can be  manufactured at home, there is no need to rent office space.

Baskets can be sold online at  eBay, eBid or Etsy, a site which specializes in sales of handmade craft items. You can also promote your business on social media sites like Facebook, Google plus, and Twitter or advertise in the local newspaper. Besides selling online, you can sell your holiday baskets at local gift shops and farmer’s markets. Another way to introduce your business to the public is to donate a few gift baskets to charities or schools for fund raisers.  A gift basket business is an opportunity to use your imagination and artistic skills to create a unique gift that everyone will appreciate.

Drop Shipping For Your eBay or Online Business

Selling or reselling merchandise online at eBay or thru your own website is an employment option for many out of work Americans. If you have an eBay store or an online store front, working with a drop shipper is a method to increase your product line and earnings. The term drop shipping refers to a sales system where a small business sells customers goods, which are shipped from a large wholesale drop ship warehouse directly to the customer. The small business does not have inventory for sale at their physical location. They give the drop shippers details of the sale, and the drop shippers send the merchandise directly to the customer. Drop shipping is a convenient practice for small internet businesses and saves them time and money. In addition, it allows small online stores and eBay businesses to sell large, high priced electronic items, clothing and other merchandise to a variety of different customers. The items can be sold anywhere including amazon.com, eBay or your own online store. Most drop shippers want you to have a seller’s permit or a reseller’s permit before they will drop ship for you.  Prior to beginning any business transactions, check with the drop shipper and your state regarding the rules about business licenses, sellers permits, resellers permits and sales taxes. The most well-known drop shippers are Doba and Productsourcing.com. Doba is well known for its on-line drop ship education resources, reliability and customer service. Product Sourcing is a drop shipper that has a good reputation and excellent customer service.  They are less expensive than Doba, and they also offer online instruction in drop shipping. Other drop shippers like Sale Hoo and Worldwide Brands offer customers educational resources and lists of whole sale drop shippers, who are anxious to work with online stores and eBay retailers. Worldwide Brands and Sale Hoo have a large selection of free online classes for members on topics like drop shipping, starting a business and eBay marketing. The cost to join Worldwide Brands is a onetime fee of 299$. Sale Hoo charges a fee of $67 for a directory of over 8000 wholesale suppliers. When choosing a drop ship company, it is necessary to focus on price, reputation, customer service and educational resources. Checking with the BBB and other eBay sellers should assist you in finding the best drop shipper for your online store. With the holiday season approaching, now may be an opportune time to add drop shipping to your online business.

Starting an Online Business to Earn Extra Money

Unemployment in the United Sates is still at peak levels. According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, unemployment remains at 9 percent. Many people are also underemployed in part time positions or low paying jobs. With unemployment at an all-time high, many people are seeking other forms of work. Becoming an online retailer with eBay, eBid or Etsy is a part time job that can boost your income and become a full time occupation. Almost anything can be sold on eBay or eBid, from sports equipment to antiques, electronics and used clothing. Etsy is another online auction website which specializes in sales of handmade arts and crafts. Your online sales business can either be a small, part time, or fulltime business or a onetime garage sale of unused items. You would be surprised at how much money you can make by cleaning out the closet and listing unused items on an online auction site. Sales can also be extremely lucrative on auction sites during the holiday seasons. In addition to eBay and Ebid sales, there are companies like Product Sourcing, Doba and Worldwide Brands which specialize in drop shipping. Professional drop shippers allow you to promote their products on your website or eBay account and then ship the product to your customer after it sells. Starting an online business is easy. On eBay, all you need to start selling is a PayPal account. Etsy’s registration is a bit more complex. They require online sellers to have a credit card or a debit card with a credit card logo. Ebid, another online auction site, provides free product listings for a onetime fee of $74.99. Ebid has some features which make it easier for online sellers to use than the other sites. Their online auction site accepts payments from a variety of sources including PayPal, PPP.com and Google Checkout. Ebid also gives online sellers the option to accept money orders. Because of the onetime fee, listing on eBid is cheaper than eBay. EBay has higher web traffic than eBid, therefor; sales may be higher. Before starting any online business which involves more than an occasional sale, it is a good idea to check with the state regarding license, sellers and resellers permits and tax requirements. With research and the proper use of advertising, selling at an online auction website can become a successful part time business.