Selling gymnastics merchandise& other revenue sources at home meets?

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Bajanswife

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Hi, our gym is having its first home invitational meet in April next year, and we're in the midst of planning it (I'm a gym parent on the committee). The venue we've had to use does not allow outside concessions, so we cannot use that as a way to make a little money. So we were thinking of selling leos and other gymnastics stuff. Our issue is that we are in the Caribbean and a lot of our rec gymnasts who we would be selling the leos to cannot afford to pay a great deal for them. It's going to be hard to make any kind of profit on them when the selling prices really cannot go over $30/$35 (except for very special leos). Those of you who have been involved in selling stuff at your home meets, where do you buy the merchandise from to enable you to sell it at a profit? We would be buying online and having the stuff sent to US addresses for friends and family to bring when they are coming. We are going to look periodically for great sales at the sites I have seen mentioned here already, and I have been looking at the stuff on Discount Leotards as well. If any of you have suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Also, any other suggestions for revenue earners, other than food and drink? We will be selling programs, and we will have small ad spaces for good luck messages in the back pages. Is there anything gymnastics related that any of you have done a raffle for? Or auctioned off? I'd love some ideas to help make up for not having concessions!
 
Can you sell Good luck grams? Also, I would recommend a 50/50 basket if you're doing a raffle (it's hard to raffle anything besides a leo that appeals to a wide audeince). We've never done them, but I've heaed that "shout outs" sell well. If you have the space, activities for the siblings of non-gymnasts sell well (i.e. carnival games, inflatable, castles, etc.). Finally, consider outside venors like photogarphers if it's a large enough meet.
 
In our meets we do the 50/50 draw which does quite well as most people like to chance to win money and don't mind that half is going to the club. We also ask member to donate items that we make into various prize baskets and have a silent auction. They buy a strip of tickets for $$$ but the tickets only into the basket they are interested in and then the raffles are held at the end of the meet.

I have also seen a table set up selling incidentals; hair products, pins, tape, bandaids in case people have forgotten those type of items and they donate for use. I am not sure how much it makes, but I have seen some very grateful people as a result.

Another idea if you cannot get new suits to sell is to offer your gymnasts a chance to sell old leotards at the event. They set a price on the tag that they want and a certain portion goes to the "club" or parent committee It is a great way for recycling as quite often suits are grown out of before they are ever worn out and it becomes a win win for everyone.

Good luck and I hope you do well!
 
If your gym has a relationship with GK leos, they have a meet package which usually has overstock and last season's leos in it. You could make some profit selling them at $30-$35. You can get lots of inexpensive things for good luck packets from Oriental Trading- think flip flops and monkeys and the choices are expansive from key chains, notebooks, little stuffed toys- even flip flop gummy candies! You can also sell photos- if you know a phtographer who can do a deal with you or if you have a parent who can take photos you can use SmugMug to upload photos people can buy as posters, mugs, etc and you get the profits.
 
Great ideas so far. Keep them coming please!!! :)
 
Bajanswife there is a GK elite outlet in Reading, Pennsylvania. They will mail items to any adree, you pay with a credit card. They stock most of the leos that you will find on the GK website at much lower prices.

When I have wanted leso I have gone to the GK site got the item numbers, size and colours and then I email the GK outlet and ask what they have in stock. They email me back promptly and I call them with a credit card number. Really nice guys they are too. They also have shorts and scrunchies etc.
 
I am not sure if they offer any type of meet packages or would sell in large quantities, but this company offers Alpha Factor leos at discounted prices (similar to the GK outlet). It wouldn't hurt to contact them and see if you could work something out. They have more leos in store (usually) than are featured on their website and go for around $15. So you could conceivably make a profit if you could workout a shipment of assorted $15 leos. They probably would not have the consignment type option that a "meet package" from a big name leo brand would have, though. So this would probably only work if you knew you could sell all leos.
However, they used to have tons of gym stuff and have moved in the direction of dance/cheer in recent years- I hope they still carry a good supply of gym stuff!
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Good luck messages attached to candy, flowers, bears, etc. and delivered to girls as they wait for awards (have person write gym name on good luck card).
Meet shirts, sweatshirts, t-shirts. Look around for good prices for customized shirts in large quantities (my brother got some for his swim team for around $7/each for ordering a certain quantity).
I've seen generic stuffed teddy bears that can be bought in bulk outfitted in leos that are super cute and popular with little ones. If you have a team parent who is handy with a sewing machine you might be able to crank some of those out. I've also seen them with medals and grips (grip part from craft foam, ribbon for velcro strap part).
Scorebooks, pins, and other gym-related knick-knacks are good for parents wanting a little something for their child but not willing/able to shell out $15-$20 or more.

I typed a whole post and it wouldn't let me post, so I copied/pasted only to not have the whole thing paste, AH! I think I got in all that I had intended now though.
 
Melody leotards

$20-40 for short sleeve leotards, $5.50 flat rate international postage.
 
I have seen many meets with hair styling - ribbons, feathers in the hair, hair curling, braiding. temporary tattoos too. t-shirts with the meet logo on the front and all the gymnast names on the back. flipflops with various colored bows (they choose the color and you attach), silent auctions (donated from local businesses), shout outs, good luck ads from the families in the programs
 
Two that went over really well for us at our meet two weeks ago....hair tinsel and then we made hair flower bouquets. I made stems out of green pipe cleaners, clipped a hair flower to each, bundled three together with tissue paper and ribbon. We sold out of them. Very inexpensive to make. Parents will pay for real flower bouquets...these just seemed more useful, and they were really pretty and great money makers!
 
I'm in the UK, but our most successful fundraising table at our last event was a teddy tombola. We put up signs in the club for any used but good condition soft toys about 3 weeks before the event, and one of the parents took them all home and washed and dried them - just put them through the washing machine. Each toy was given a name and nametag, and smaller ones were fastened together and given duo names - 'tom and jerry' and so on. Each name was duplicated on a ticket in a box, the kids paid to pull a name out of the box, and took home the cuddly toy corresponding to their ticket. We had a long table piled high with toys, so for the first little while it took some time and hunting to find the prizes, but we sold over 100 names in under an hour, the kids were happy, and it cost us nothing.

I've seen at dance events a table with plain drawstring (fabric) bags bought cheaply, with stocks of glitter glue, fabric markers and so on, on the tables. The kids decorated their own shoebags for a fee - they could be handguard bags at a gym event, if you have a parent who sews and is happy to make up the bags, it would be even better
 
Last year at our home meet we did "the best seat in the house". A local store let us borrow a sofa and we put it in the most prime location for viewing. We sold tickets before each session and one lucky family was able to sit there during each session. We did also throw in a $5.00 punch card to use at the snack bar. It went over really well and the booster club made an additional $300.00. Not too shabby!!
 
Sucker grams (same as good luck grams). We sell a TON of them at our meets. We sell them for $2--the gymnast gets a large sucker and the good luck wishes are read by the announcer (encouraging more people to buy them as well).

At our "pro shop" at our meet we typically sell smaller things--hair stuff, water bottles, t-shirts, etc. that say "gymnastics". It's too bad you can't do concessions--that's where we make a ton of money! We've tried selling flowers in the past, but that didn't sell well. Leos this year didn't go well (we have a GK rep come in and sell). She packed up early Sunday as business was so slow. We also have a vendor that comes in and sells meet t-shirts--pre-printed with our meet design/logo.
 
It's a pretty big blow that we can't do concessions - the place we were going to hold the meet cancelled on us (for reasons I haven't yet heard) and our only option now is the conference centre, which does not allow outside concessions. We are going to try to make some sort of deal with the catering company for the centre, but not sure how successful we will be. We'll have to rely on lots of sponsorship just to break even. I wish our training gym were big enough. :(
 
Are there any high schools that could work? Most of our meets are in High School or University gyms as we have to use very specific equipments, and two sets of everything. Hosting meets without concessions just means breaking even for a lot of hard work.

We are not allowed to use traiing gyms here.
 
I don't know if any of our schools have big enough facilities. The size might be OK for the competition floor, but then no room for spectators. And the set-up and break down required would disrupt most schools too much. We have to move all of our equipment anyway, because no schools here do gymnastics in any big way, except for the one we were going to use and now can't!! We bought a frame for our bars because we know that there is no other venue that has the infrastructure for the bars to attach to. We will only be working with one set of equipment (I think) - it will be a small meet, so warm up and competition equipment will be the same. The conference facility is just perfect - a/c, ready-made awards stage, all the tables and chairs we need, sound system included, tons of space, hospitality rooms, bathrooms etc. - but it comes at a cost.
 
I encourage you to look at a high school. The money saved is well worth it. We set up on Friday after school is done and breakdown after the last group on Sunday. THat gives two full days for the meet, and has no effect on the school day. We do awards in an area like a cafeteria and the food and concessions are in the hallways. Seating for specatators is on regular chairs in small areas around the gym.

No it is nowhere near as lovely as the conference centre, but it is at a fraction of the cost.

FOr a small meet schools can really fit the bill at very low cost.
 
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