You must understand how the brochure fundraiser you're considering will be packed. This way, you'll know what to expect and can be prepared for your delivery. There are three ways that brochure orders can be delivered:
1. Packed According to Seller
'Packed by seller' means that each student receives a box or bag with the items that they've sold inside. The outside is clearly labeled with the student's name, and in the event of a sizeable school-wide fundraiser, by the teacher and by grade or class. The original order form will be placed inside so the student will know who to deliver the items to.
Smaller orders may arrive inside a larger box labeled with each seller's name on the outside. This way, it's clear that there are multiple orders inside. Large individual student orders that contain multiple boxes will be labeled with the seller information, plus each box will be labeled box one or __, box 2 of __, and so forth. The majority of our brochure fundraisers are packed this way.
2. Packed by Item
Packed by item means we'll ship the exact amount of each item type ordered, but it won't come packed by individual seller. For example, a group doing a candy fundraiser sells 100 candies. Since there are 15 candies in a case, the shipper will send 6 cases, plus the remaining ten candies in a separate box.
For distribution, we recommend that students have bags or boxes ready along with their order forms to pack their orders. Having each item type lined up is a good idea to make packing easier.
In most cases, pack-to-the-piece brochure fundraisers only have a limited number of item types, so distribution should be straightforward.
3. Bulk
Bulk means that you must accept full cases regardless of how much of a particular item you sell. Consider our pie fundraiser as an example. All flavors come 6 to the case. Breaking down cases is not possible. This means that flavors cannot be mixed.
Suppose a group sold 23 of each flavor (138 total pies). We need to send one extra pie for each flavor because 23 does not divide evenly by 6. Here's the math:
- 6 pies per case x 4 cases = 24 pies
- This would also apply to the other five flavors
- In our example, an extra six pies would be shipped (6 flavors x 1 pie/flavor)
The group would be responsible for paying for the extra six pies.
Once you sell off these pies, you keep the profit from the extra pies too. Or, give them away as gifts to teachers or use them for student incentives.