Holiday Surprise Store FAQs
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HOLIDAY SURPRISE STORE AND SANTA'S SECRET SHOP?
Most school holiday shops, like Santa's Secret Shop and Breakfast With Santa, are designed strictly as a fund-raiser. Typically you can't choose your gifts; you have to take pre-made kits.
- The Holiday Surprise Store is designed as a fun way for children to shop in their schools for gifts for family members.
- You decide if you want to use it as a fundraiser. You can make up to 40% profit when you use our Suggested Selling Prices.
- You can select your gifts in various ways:
WHAT ABOUT SHIPPING?
- We offer FREE shipping to you for orders of $1,500 after returns
- We also offer FREE return shipping for orders over $1,500 after returns when you return less than 10% of your order
WHAT IF I NEED TO REORDER?
If you place your order by 1:00 PM Central Time we will ship your order that day.
WHAT ABOUT RETURNS?
You may return any unopened items that are in our Minimum Pack quantities.
WHY IS IT BETTER TO PAY FOR SUPPLIES?
We offer themed supplies like table covers, shopping bags, gift bags and more for your holiday store. To help you promote your store, we include 5 free posters to announce your event with your order of $500 or more in gifts. While our competitors say they provide free supplies, the cost of those supplies is added to price you pay for your merchandise. Many of our school customers don't even use the provided supplies. So, rather than include supplies you may not want, we offer them at a low cost so you get a better value for your gifts and you only get the supplies you need. Because we offer our supplies at such a low cost, we only offer them to customers who purchase $500 or more in gifts.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
In case you've never run a holiday store we developed a
Chairperson's Handbook How-To Guide which explains how to make your holiday store a success. This 20 page brochure provides information on planning, scheduling, gathering volunteers, promoting, setting up and running your store, along with sample letters, announcements, and notes for your reference. We do not sell this book; we only offer it to our customers with their order of $500 or more in gifts.
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE SELL OUR GIFTS FOR?
Each item has a Suggested Selling Price listed on our
Suggested Gift List Order Form, which is designed to give you a 40% profit. However, you make the final decision on what price you will set and what profit you would like to make.
WHAT IF WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE MONEY?
Our suggested selling prices will allow you to make up to 40% profit. If you want to do this just for the fun, simply change the selling prices from our recommendations to make as little or as much profit as you like.
HOW DO WE PUT PRICES ON THE GIFTS?
Many of our gifts have a pre-printed price code number (usually in an orange circle), which represents our suggested selling price. We indicate those items on our web site with a "(pc)" in the copy and on our order form with a "*" in the PC column. For items that are not pre-coded, we carry
Price Code Sticker Sheets which you can purchase and affix to gifts. By using the stickers you don’t have to mark the items which could mar the appearance of the gift and prevent you from being able to return it to us. Our free
Checkout Chart shows the sticker number and the the Suggested Selling Price for your cashier's reference. When you display your items, we suggest you display them by price groups to simplify it for the children.
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE ORDER?
Our
Suggested Gift List / Order Form has a suggested quantity (SUGG QTY) based on a school of 500 students. Increase or decrease your quantities based on your school size or your own preferences. If you don't have time to make a selection, give us a call and we will be glad to create an order for you.
CAN WE REORDER WHILE THE SALE IS GOING ON?
If you find you need to reorder an item, call us by 1:00 PM Central Time and we will ship your order the same day via UPS Ground and bill you for the freight. (We prepay reorders over $1,500 after returns by regular UPS, and we do not suggest sending reorders Next Day Air due to the expense). Some schools take the child’s name, payment, and their homeroom class and distribute their gifts when they arrive.
WILL ALL ITEMS BE AVAILABLE FOR REORDERS?
We try to anticipate which items will be the most popular and carry heavy inventory. However, sometimes our projections are wrong. If you feel strongly about particular items, you may want to order extra on your original order.
CAN WE PICK UP OUR REORDERS?
We would love for you to come to our showroom where you can pick up your order or shop for your own items. You can also call in your order ahead of time and we will have it ready for you. Our store opens at 9:30 AM, but if you need your order earlier, give us a call to set an appointment to come in early. We will always work to accommodate your needs.
- Store Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30-5:30 and Saturday 9:30-4:00
- Directions: We are located between Page & Olive off Lindbergh. Turn on Baur and then make an immediate left behind AT&T Wireless. We are the last building on the street. Our address is 1317 Lindbergh Plaza Center.
CAN WE RETURN MERCHANDISE?
Yes, but only UNOPENED and UNDAMAGED packages in their original minimum pack quantity. We are able to sell our gifts at such low prices because we sell wholesale. That means you must purchase and return merchandise in the minimum pack quantities shown.
WHAT CAN WE DO WITH THE LEFTOVER ITEMS?
Some suggestions for what to do with the few items you may be unable to return:
- Pack up to use next year in your Holiday Surprise Store
- Use at your school carnival/picnic (we’ll be glad to help!)
- Donation for your school’s Mission Carnival
- Give to teachers to use as student incentives
IS IT A LOT OF WORK?
Follow the guidelines in our FREE 20 page
Chairperson's Handbook to make your Holiday Surprise Store as fun, easy, and profitable as possible!
ARE THE GIFTS NICE?
We chose the gifts based on how we would feel if our children brought them home to us. If we wouldn't like it, or don't feel it is good quality, we don't put it in the program. If you are unhappy with any item you select or we select for you, just set it to the side and return it with any other returns you may have. It's that simple.
DO YOU HAVE A BROCHURE?
We have an 8 page color brochure or you can find all of the items that are in the brochure, along with some other great items, on our web site. For a FREE copy send your request with your school name, your name & address and we will send it to you. To contact us:
HOW DO I ORDER?
We suggest you write down your order first using our
Suggested Gift List Order Form and then you can:
- ORDER ON-LINE by entering your order as any other order
- FAX IT: 314-991-6884
- CALL US: 800-991-6818 or 314-991-6818
If you prefer to fill in an Excel spreadsheet you may email that to us:
- E-MAIL IT: HSS-Info@funcarnival.com
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
If we have failed to answer your question or you just want to talk with a real person, call and ask for Debbie Powell or Sharyl Dawson at 314-991-6818 or 800-991-6818 and they will be glad to help you.
Please click on any item below for more information and to order.
