Retail Ideas
Sales of Goods
Overview: We’re sure you’ve seen it before—the student who comes to your door or meets you at school and asks you to buy some product to support his/her school sports team or club. Students typically decide to sell goods because it is relatively easy to do and it does not require a lot of preparation. The downside is that the amount of money you typically make on the sale of something is relatively small ($1-10). In order to generate a substantial amount of money, you have to sell many items.
If you choose to sell goods, pick something that you think will be of interest in your community. We encourage you to sell something that is enviromentally and socially responsible. What we mean by this is that we want you to sell things that will last a long time, be useful and not generate a lot of waste. We’ve done some work to help you find these products—here are a few ideas. Of course, there are many, many other options.
Bead for Life
BeadforLife eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful bead jewelry, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads. The beads become income, food, medicine, school fees and hope. It is a small miracle that connects and enriches everybody in the Bead Circle. Check out their website to get started on a fantastic fundraiser that will not only help you raise money for your program, but will also help people in need (http://www.beadforlife.org/4host.html). All net profits from BeadforLife are invested in community development projects that help people work their way out of poverty.
Coffee and Banana Paper Journals
Global Explorers participants receive a beautiful coffee, mango or banana paper journal as a part of their participation in our program. You can see samples of these journals at http://www.ecopaper.com and in your Administrative Guide. The journals are made from recycled waste and have a stunning color drawing on them of an insect, bird or other animal that reflects where your group will be traveling. We can get these journals to you for approximately $7/journal. You can sell them for $12-15. Thus, you can make $5-8 per journal sold.
Take advantage of near-by college campuses!
Host a Finals Week pancake breakfast, or set up a coffee stand somewhere convenient on campus, where students/teachers/professors can purchase java by the cup or in bulk. Everyone needs a little extra caffeine that week!
Autographed books from Erik Weihenmayer
We can buy his books for $10 each, and then you can sell them for $15, making a nice profit.
Coupons
“Be Local” coupon books are popping up in towns all over the country. These not only support the local economy, they also are a great way to raise money and awareness about your field workshop. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce. You can also seek out local businesses that offer coupons that you can sell. Many times this works best with local restaurants.
There are also national coupon books used for fundraisers called Entertainment books. More information can be found at http://www.entertainment.com and click on the Students & Fundraisers.
T-shirts
We Add Up
This organization features organic cotton t-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, and water bottles to help spread the word about small changes that make a big difference in the fight against global warming. The profit made on these sales comes to about 20%, with shipping of orders being free. Plus 10% of sales goes to environmental organizations!
Global Explorers T-Shirts
Our Global Explorers “Ribbit” T-shirts have been a big hit. If you would like to sell these organic cotton tees, we can get you shirts for approximately $7/shirt. You can easily sell these for $15-20. Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for your order requests and more details.
Sell Poinsettias or Tulip Bulbs
If you can get a deal (or donation) these make great gifts for the holiday season.
Personalized Silicone Bracelets
Several websites offer great deals on bracelets which you can personalize (even with Braille!) with the name of your program, glow-in-the-dark, colors or tie-dyed, and sell for a low price. Some even offer key chains. Depending on what options used to personalize, and how many ordered in bulk, profits can vary. Some design options only cost $1 per bracelet, selling them for $5 a piece gives you a profit of $4 per bracelet/keychain.
Care Packages
Great for at school in time for finals or around the holidays. Decorate shoe boxes with different themes and fill them with coffee, hot cocoa mixes, bags of popcorn, soup mixes, stress squeeze balls, candy, etc. Get creative!
Personalized Cookbooks
Collect favorite and/or holiday recipes in your group and assemble them as a handmade cookbook. Include recipes from the cultures you will be visiting and your country of travel. Sell them in your neighborhood, church or school.
Dog Treats
Decorate coffee cans or boxes with paw prints and buy natural dog treats at the grocery store or bake your own. Put in a certain amount of bones and sell them at a price that is reasonable, but still gives you a profit over your costs.
