Frequently Asked Questions About My Holiday Fair
Q:
I am interested in doing a Christmas Store this year and I need more
information.
A:
My Holiday Fair is a very exciting and educational experience for the
children at your school. The children have the opportunity to buy
presents for their loved ones and at the same time learn about
budgeting, saving, counting and spending money. My Holiday Fair makes a
great “no door to door” fund raiser. My Holiday Fair kit is a variety
of 100+ different items that have a quantity from 2 to 144 pieces per
line item. The price range is from 13 cents to $14.00 with 80% of the
items under $5.00. We put the program together ourselves and buy only
the best quality merchandise from many different suppliers. All of our
products are 100% guaranteed. The Christmas store merchandise is all on
consignment, which means that you only pay for what you sell and you
can return all the leftover merchandise at our expense. We include all
the professionally developed promotional items you need to run a great
Christmas sale, all at no charge to you. It is completely no risk
for your school, makes the best “no door to door” fund raising program
available and most important of all - the kids love it!
Q:
What if we want to make a profit?
A:
Most schools hold My Holiday Fair as a service project for the school.
The product must be marked up if you want to earn a profit. The
reasonable profit percentage is anywhere between 10% and 25%. Most
schools mark up the product to make a 10% profit so that the merchandise
prices remain low, as a service for the kids. We will send you a
Helpful Hints Manual that has some great ideas on how to run a Christmas
Store. The last page of the manual has samples of item markups to help
you price the merchandise. It is really easy and fun!
Q:
How is the product shipped, packed and what am I responsible for doing
when I receive the product? When will I receive the product?
A:
We ship the kit out by FedEx or by truck. The kit is shipped to
arrive at the school on the date you request, usually one week before
the sale starts. We pay for all the freight. The product is packed in
Tray/Bin boxes. Each line item is separated in it's own “bin”. There
is no sorting that needs to be done. Every line item is plainly
marked with the item number and price code. The kit contains 24
Tray/Bins. When the kit comes in, you simply have to open each Tray/Bin
and set on a table. After you double check the inventory received and
price each item, you are ready to sell!. You will receive a total of 9
to 12 boxes, 8 master cases with 3 tray/bins in each and a box marked
“paperwork” which is the first box you will need to locate. It contains
the Treasure Chest (144 free items), Inventory Control Worksheets, a
price list, the reorder phone and FAX numbers, the FedEx return
merchandise shipping labels, parent letters, door cover and all of the
take home bags. The inventory control worksheets are what you will need
to start the inventory process. Inventory must be done before the
sale. You will add reordered merchandise to your inventory sheet and do
an ending inventory after the sale. The outside of each Master Case is
labeled “Box 1,” “Box 2,” etc.
Q:
Can I run the sale by myself?
A:
No, you need a few volunteers available to assist students in
selecting merchandise for their special needs. Have one person who is
familiar with your sale at the store at all times. A trusted member of
the organization is needed to serve as the cashier. This person should
also be at the store during all selling periods. You need one or two
volunteers to be in charge of inventory, ordering additional merchandise
and completing your Inventory Control Worksheets.
Q:
What kind of promotional and shopping items will I receive?
A:
You will receive printed "To and From" shopping bags in small, medium
and large sizes. Also, a plastic shopping bag for each student to carry
home packages is supplied. Student Savings Banks and Money Budget
Envelopes are included for each student and are sent home with the child
before the sale. Parents are responsible for placing the money in the
envelope for safety and to help budget and direct where students spend
their money. The Savings Banks can be used by the students to save
money for spending at the store. Parent letters for each student are
supplied for you and are printed on copy quality paper. You can type
your own informational letter to inform parents of sale dates, times,
location, etc. and use your copy machine to print your letter on the
back side of the supplied parent letter. One door cover, eight table
covers and six wall posters are also provided at no charge to help you
advertise. We will FedEx the promotional items to you approximately
November 1 so that you can distribute them to your students and start
advertising your sale, weeks before the actual sale starts.
Q:
What if the school runs out of product?
A:
You are allowed to place a re-order for as much merchandise as you
need, each day of your sale. Use our online reorder form, call or FAX in your
re-order by 2:30 PM Central time and we will ship it out on FedEx that
day so that you will receive it the next day (limit one Air Freight
shipment allowed per school). Please limit your reorders to one per day
and please limit your daily reorder quantity to the amount per item
originally received in your kit. Using the Online Form really helps and
we will email back to confirm our receipt of your re-order. We know
you start selling at 8:00 AM and it is really important for you to get
your reorder as early in the morning as possible.
Q:
Does My Holiday Fair ever run out of a product?
A:
We stock everything we sell in our warehouse. Occasionally, items do
become popular with the children. We work very closely with our
suppliers and if we run out of an item, we usually get it back into
stock within 48 hours. If we can not get enough merchandise in time, we
will substitute with an equivalent or more expensive item. If you do
not like the equivalent, you may take rain checks from students and we
will fill your rain checks before you leave for the Christmas holidays.
We will let you know if we are out of stock or substituted an item by
putting a letter in your reorder shipment. We don't want to disappoint
the children by not having what they want!
Q:
What do I do when the sale is over?
A:
The merchandise needs to be inventoried. When you are doing your
inventory, count each item, place them back in each Tray /Bin and write
the quantity of each item in the space provided on the Inventory Control Worksheet. The process
works like this: Do not forget to add any reordered items onto the
Inventory Control Worksheet. When you have finished your inventory, add
your beginning counts to your reorder counts then subtract your end of
sale counts and write the numbers in the spaces provided for each line
item. This will tell you how many of each line item you sold. Multiply
the ending count times the cost and write it in the space provided for
each line item. Add all of the ending costs together to come figure
your Grand Total. The Grand Total dollar amount will be the amount due.
A computer disk containing an EXCEL spreadsheet can be provided at
your request or simply download it here. Input
the ending inventory and any reorders and the spreadsheet will
calculate your balance automatically. We do not mail invoices, the
Grand Total on the Inventory Control Worksheet will be your invoice.
Combine any broken items and place into one of the original boxes.
Pack each Tray/Bin back into its original master case and combine
merchandise into as few Tray/Bins as possible and ship back in original
boxes to My Holiday Fair, using the prepaid FedEx ARS labels provided.
Q:
When are payment and returns due? How do I ship them back to your
company?
A:
Payment is due upon the close of your sale. We do not send invoices
so you should pay the amount you figured on the Grand Total on the
Inventory Worksheets or Spreadsheet. Payments are due no later than
December 21st. Checks must be made payable to My Holiday Fair and
either mailed or Check by Fax to us. Please do not put your check in
with the leftover merchandise. Include a copy of your Inventory Control
Worksheet with your check. Merchandise must be put back into the
Tray/Bins and placed into the original delivery boxes. We will provide
prepaid FedEx “Authorized Return Service” shipping labels for you to
place on the Master Cases. Place a copy of the Inventory Control
Worksheets in 1 of the boxes, tape up all of the boxes and place the
boxes in the front office where UPS will see them and can pick them up.
You will not have to call FedEx. When they come into the school with
the daily deliveries, the driver will pick up the boxes. We can not
accept return merchandise after January 15th. If UPS does not pick up
after 5 days call us at 1-800-236-2696.
Q:
How many students do I need to have a good sale?
A:
Our program works best with at least 400 students. If you have more
than 750 students, we may ship (or you can request) a “double kit” to
you so that you will have plenty of merchandise to start your sale.
Q:
Can I choose the products I want to sell? Can I order extra
merchandise?
A:
We send a full kit to you automatically. If there are any items that
you do not want to sell, you do not have to put them out. Just return
them at the end of the sale. You may place a “stock up extra
merchandise” order with us before we ship the kit to you, if you know of
any items that sell well at your school. We will ship your stock up
order with your kit order.
Q:
How long does a My Holiday Fair last and when is the best time to run
one?
A:
My Holiday Fair Christmas store should last for five days to allow all
of the students an equal opportunity to shop. Most schools feel the
first or second week in December is the best time to run a Christmas
Store. Everyone is in the Christmas spirit!
Q:
Let's reserve a My Holiday Fair today. How do I get started?
A:
We will fax or e-mail you a Sales Agreement Form. Just fill out the
blanks with the proper information and fax or e-mail it back. We will
call you back to confirm our receipt of your order. We will call again
in Mid October to reconfirm your sale dates. We will ship your
promotional items by November 1 and ship your Holiday Fair kit to arrive
at your school on the date requested on the Sales Agreement Form.
THANKS
- you and your kids are going to have a great time this Christmas!
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