Tag: Gifts
When all else fails, give the gift of books
My mother used to tell me, “When all else fails, give the gift of books.” When I was growing up, a book was a big deal. By today’s standards, less than half of Americans consider a book a big deal. The truth is, that many people don’t think much about books throughout their life. Between working, the kids’ soccer games, taking care of home, and the nine hundred and seventy two other things that sit patiently on a list waiting for their due attention, books do not cross the minds of many these days. That is, at least, until they receive the perfect book as a gift.
The perfect gift giving book isn’t a title, it’s about paying attention to the recipient and knowing instinctively what they enjoy and what they crave. Many stay at home parents state that they crave one of two things, intellectual stimulation or more passion in their lives. There you have it. You can either get the craving stay at home parent an intellectual masterpiece that gets their brain function kicking in high gear or you can grab them up a steamy romance novel that will knock their socks off. This little principle applies to giving books as gifts to every man, woman, and child out there. And if you do it well, you might even be able to inspire a book worm in the making to delve into the world of books they have forgotten about.
So, how do you pick the perfect books as gifts for those who aren’t so vocal about their potential reading interests? Gift giving books come in two categories. The reading category is buying a book that they will read cover to cover and hopefully enjoy the opportunity to delve into someone else’s life for awhile. Emotional or inspirational books are usually hard cover (although the trend toward soft cover is shifting) that are filled with something unique such as poetry, inspirational sayings, or other creative forms of “life’s greatest gifts” notions. Knowing which category to gravitate toward can be a challenge, especially when giving books as gifts to men.
Simple coffee table books that enlighten, inspire, or make someone laugh can be excellent gift giving books. They are usually not gender specific and can introduce someone to a new concept or thought process without any heavy reading. By using basic interests as your guide, giving books as gifts that send a message (such as inspirational coffee table books) can allow you to say things to someone you care for without ever having that awkward uncomfortable moment that makes people stumble. For instance, if someone is struggling with a significant loss in their life, it is very difficult to find the right words to offer comfort. An inspirational coffee table book as a gift can offer that comfort without being direct. Your point, however, will be well taken.
Giving books as gifts to children is always a joy and a pleasure. Hunting out the perfect book that teaches them something new or offers them a new perspective is always fun. Kids don’t always get all that excited about receiving a book as a gift initially, but usually appreciate it later on when they open it up and start reading it. Whether you’re looking for gift giving book for a three year old or a ten year old, hunting down something new and creative along the children’s books section is almost as much fun as coloring Easter eggs with them. It allows you to consider them carefully, to think about how they relate to the world and what interests of theirs are really starting to develop. You don’t have to hit it perfectly on the head when it comes to kids books as gifts. Most kids will find books engaging as long as there some meat to the story line. Very few children are too terribly picky about topics. After all, so much is still brand new to children.
Often, something as simple as giving books as gifts can open up someone to the forgotten joys of sinking into a great novel and escaping the world for awhile into a land of their choosing. The greatest successful measure of giving books as gifts is knowing that they went out and purchased another book when they were finished with the first. Reading offers something that television, DVDs, and other forms of electronic entertainment can’t even begin to offer. Books stir the imagination in ways that are healthy and long lasting. We imagine that characters, we can imaging their surroundings and their lifestyle, and we can imagine the way the story unfolds. When it is not done for us via electronic imagery, the imagination becomes so much richer.
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Advantages of Buying Promotional Products Online
Buying your promotional products and corporate identity apparel online provides five major advantages: a greater selection, better pricing, convenience, customer service, and faster ordering time.
Factories often display their entire line of products on the web, providing you with a greater selection of products. With all of these factories on the web, you gain the opportunity to compare quality and pricing in a simple and easy online format, instead of wasting time browsing through endless catalogs that crowd your work center.
Better pricing is readily available on the web, but you have to dig and probe for it. Type in any promotional product related keywords into your favorite search engine and sift through the results until you find a promotional products company with discount pricing. A great trick is to choose an item and have several promotional product companies give you a quote, ALWAYS including any set up charges and freight. This will get you a true number to compare an exact total cost.
How do these online web companies afford to sell the exact same product for less than other distributors? Traditionally, promotional items are sold by a distributor who has a whole staff of outside sales people that will go to your business, show you tons samples, and baby sit you through the process of placing an order. These outside sales people are number one primary expense of an off-line distributor. Believe me this expense is then factored into the price of the promotional item you are purchasing, thus raising your total cost. By purchasing discount promotional products on the web, you can eliminate lining some salespersons pockets and reduce your purchase price by a considerable amount of money.
The Convenience comes with the ability of placing your entire order online. All successful web companies offer this service with encrypted order forms to secure your purchasing information. You may send your artwork via email. This is made easy with the online form. With online ordering you gain the convenience of placing your order anytime, twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.
A few of these online web companies also provide customer service departments with extended hours. They are set up to take your calls, handle your rush orders, and to answer your questions promptly. If you prefer to communicate through e-mail, this is a great way to document your order from start to finish. You can e-mail a question to your distributor, leave for a break, and have it answered by the time you return.
A much faster ordering time is the fifth major result of the online purchase. I have personally visited hundreds of clients. This obviously requires an appointment, which naturally must fit into both parties’ schedules. An off-line salesperson is forced to interpret your needs prior to your meeting. Then bring what samples and catalogs they have on hand, but these may not meet your needs and thus your ordering time will be extended for a second meeting. If you have any questions about product availability, turn around time, or any other factory sensitive inquiries, the salesperson will have to return to his office in order to contact the factory, to get you your answers. When you order from an online web company, the customer service team is already in their office, so they can contact the factory with your questions and call you back immediately.
I have given you five great reasons to buy Imprinted products from an online discount promotional products company, but I must also remind you that there is always a trade off. Online promotional products companies work very hard to cut all possible costs and to pass this savings on to you. You will find that this results in a charge for samples and pre-payment requirements. The charge for promotional samples insures that the company will not give away products to non-customers, as this would considerably raise the real customers’ costs. Paying in advance is very common among internet purchasing in general, and necessary for almost every online company to insure payment. Pre-payment is nothing to worry about. You still have the right to a quality product, and you gain an enormous savings.
Another Tip: When purchasing imprinted corporate apparel, select an online company that has in-house embroidery and screen printing facilities. It has been my experience that these companies will have much better control of expediting your orders, a better knowledge of branding, experience which allows them to better monitor quality control, and a much better capabilities to complete rush orders quicker.
Today you will find that many more successful businesses are now placing their promotional product and corporate apparel orders in the hands of these qualified discount online distributors. The advantages are numerous; convenience, speed, selection, accountability, service, and above all, savings.
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