I’ve been debating this decision for months, but our holiday merchandise will only be sold on Amazon this season – starting in mid-October.
Normally, I prefer selling directly to my customers. I enjoy seeing where the bags ship and hearing from people who purchase year after year. But the reality is that over 90% of my orders come through Amazon. For most of the year, keeping some inventory here in the office and shipping directly to you is not a problem. During November and December, that all changes.
I’m very concerned with packages reaching you in a timely fashion. Shipping delays and errors have been increasing every year, along with shipping costs. While they’re certainly not perfect, Amazon is able to get packages into your mailboxes much faster than I can, especially for orders on the other side of the country.
Maintaining merchandise for direct sales has also become an issue. A few years ago, I could hold onto gift bags well into November and still be able to restock Amazon when a particular product ran low, but that doesn’t work anymore. Amazon’s deadline for receiving holiday merchandise this year is October 26! I learned the hard way last year that sending gift bags to Amazon in November just results in them sitting in a fulfillment warehouse. Not only can you not buy them on Amazon, I can’t sell them either! They just sit in a warehouse somewhere.
So for these reasons, I’ll be shipping most all holiday merchandise to Amazon mid-October. Some clearance items and wine bags will still be available here on VZWraps.com. Our All Occasion and Baby Gift bags will still be available for direct purchase. And through October 12th, ALL our holiday bags are drastically marked down, and I’ll be happy to ship them to you!
