One other thing...we limit the kids to buying no more then 5 plants. Beyond that it gets hard for them to carry...we do make exceptions and of course the parents are welcome to come in and buy more.
If you want a copy of the flyer we use give me your email address and I will be happy to send it to you.
We work with a local nursery that gives us 4" plants on consignment. We buy the foil and foil them ourselves. At the end of the day we return whatever we did not sell and pay for only the plants we did sell. This is the best way to go if you have a local place that will do this for you.
We do not do a pre-order. We just send home a flyer about the sale (we sell them for $1.50 each). Each class is given a time slot in which the kids can come and buy their plants.
We also have Mother's day Brunch that day and the moms also come and buy plants. We announce that at the end of the day that parents can come in and buy any remaining plants and we usually put them on a table outside the school.
We only end up returning a few plants each year. Because we get them on consignment we try to take as many as we can. We would rather return a few plants then to sell out and not have enough to sell.
It is not a huge money maker as the profit margin is not large. But the kids love it and so do the parents. Our $1.50 price has been the same price for 9 years. You could up that price a little if you were really looking to make more money. We probably make about $0.50 a plant.
Lastly we put on the flyer that the kids should bring a shoe box to carry their plants in. Some kids buy 5 plants and it is hard for them to carry in a bag. The shoe box helps them carry them without them tipping over and getting dirt all over the place.
WE DO THIS SALE ON THE FRIDAY BEFORE MOTHERS DAY DURING LUNCH IN THE CAFETERIA WHEN THE KIDS FINISH EATING THEY COME UP 5 AT A TIME IF THEY HAVE MONEY AND PURCHASE A 4PACK OUT OF A FLAT FOR $2.00 EACH. THE FLATS ARE FROM A LOCAL FLOWER PLACE WHO GIVES THEM TO US FOR 1/2 OFF THE REGULAR PRICE (ASK AND YOU SHALL RECIEVE) LOTS OF CARS/VANS ARE NEEDED THE AFTERNOON BEFORE TO GET THE FLOWERS TO THE SCHOOL AND LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO GET THE KIDS HELP WITH THEIR PURCHASES (LITTLE ONES CAN'T DECIDE NEED LOTS OF HELP) BUT PRETTY STRIAHGT FORWARD. GOOD LUCK WITH IT.
