Is this a service you would use?

[wildwildsouth]

I've inherited quite a bit of money and am planning to open my own business within the next couple of years. I have a few ideas but this one I feel is genius. However, people I speak to in real life about it don't seem that impressed.

My idea is a shop that does wrapping. It would sell lots of wrapping paper, sellotape, scissors etc but on top of that it would offer a wrapping service.

So someone could come in one gift and ask to have it wrapped really nicely with ribbons and bows etc. Or someone could come in with their full Christmas presents needing wrapped. Maybe the ones they have for their kids from Santa, they might choose just a basic wrap which would cost less etc.

There would be trolleys etc near the entrance for people with lots of things needing wrapped.

Is that a service you would use?

If you've just inherited a decent sum op I'd be thinking about what kind of lifestyle you want too.

I have 100 ideas of businesses I think I could open and do well with...but they're all labour intensive, I'd have to work 50 hours a week type ideas. I don't want to be tied to any kind of shops opening hours for the rest of my life to ensure the income is there iyswim.

In the position of a cash lump sum and in today's climate I'd be thinking of investments or multiple smaller businesses rather than just ploughing a load of money into one shiny new business. Things that you can put some money into to generate passive or nearly passive, income.

If you came to my house and wrapped then I might but I would not lug all my shopping out to another shop - and take the risk of things being lost or broken.

There's something similar near where I live, she has loads of lovely wrapping/gift bags that you can buy, you dont need to use her wrapping service.
She also stocks locally produced cards, chocolates, crafty bits and bobs etc.
I sometimes buy wrapping and cards from her and she's usually pretty busy, her prices for wrapping are quite reasonable, so I guess she relies on people buying the extras.

I've only read the first page, but I see a problem: if someone brought in a valuable item, would you have the insurance in place to cover you if anything happened to it?

What if you wrapped it, handed it back sometime later & they took it away - then they claimed that when the gift was opened, the box was empty?

What if someone brought cheap items in to be wrapped, then later claimed they were expensive items which they did not receive back & that you'd substituted cheap items?

(I'm aware of problems like these on ebay.)

Sorry, I can't see this working. As mentioned above, many retailers on the high street and online already offer gift wrapping as a service.

People are being more aware of waste too, using recycled fabric to wrap gifts or recyclable paper. That's if they but a physical gift in the first place. They may opt for Evouchers or gift cards.

When going into business you need to find a unique selling point, see what other companies in your areas are doing and see what you can do better.

Only if you wrapped things like Rowan Atkinson in Love Actually!

Sorry to rain on your parade, OP, but no, that's not a service I'd use personally and I can't see it working for all the reasons highlighted by PPs.

@Jimdandy

I would as I’m money rich but time poor.

The only issue I could see if though you’d be super busy at Christmas but not at any other time

But then wouldn't it be easier to have gifts wrapped at the stores which sold them, rather than having to drop them off/ collect from a separate wrapping shop?

No, but I love wrapping presents, it makes it feel like Christmas.

Maybe if people could order gifts online to come to you and you wrap them all, that might be more worthwhile. Or if you offered a service where they gave you a list and you sourced them all, wrapped them, and either posted them out to the recipient, or they could come and collect?

I just can’t see people paying more than a couple of quid for this service, and don’t think you’d even breakeven. Especially with a shop, there can’t be that many people near enough to want this service?

Our local shopping centre have people offering this service over Xmas for £1 per gift minimum. (Extra for bows etc)

I know someone who volunteers every year and while there is demand, they cope with 5 people even on Xmas Eve.

No but such stalls exist in some shopping malls.

I think, as people's move to online shopping becomes more permanent, you'd have to team up with some local premium retailers. So, people can order the product, for delivery or collection. For an extra £x they can have it 'gift wrapped by wildwildsouth'.

That way, the ownership of the item still lies firmly with either retailer or purchaser. There isn't a tricky 'send it to you, who sends it on' hinterland. You're a contractor to the retailer.

I don't think you'd get much business unfortunately.

The problem is needing to source the actual gift elsewhere. Most shops and even online offer a native wrapping service so anyone pushed for time/challenged in the wrapping department will simply opt for this service. They won't want to gather up what they've bought and come to you, that's an extra step which is going to take more organisation.

I generally keep wrapping paper in the house, but when I do need more, I tend to buy it on impulse when I see it near the checkouts at Primark or in a card shop/supermarket when I'm buying the birthday card. It would not occur to me to make a special trip out for wrapping paper, and I wouldn't seek out a gift wrap shop, mainly because I've never come across one, but also because gift wrap is available in loads of places really inexpensively already so I will probably come across it when I'm buying something else.

A business idea I'm happy to give away is this:

I put a lot of thought into the presents I get for people & am often told I'm good at doing it & theming wrapping, etc. And a few times at work there's been a whipround for someone & all the guys (male-heavy industry) said they had no idea what to buy with it; yet I produced a list of appropriate suggestions -- which they viewed as some magical power .

So... why not set up a business sourcing presents for other people? Of course, it depends on knowing something about the recipient & this is where a lot of guys fail & give up/panic. So not sure how you get around that bit. Maybe a detailed questionairre would help - I'm sure people know a lot more about someone than they realise.

You'd need a finder's fee upfront, otherwise once you've handed over a list of maybe 5 possible gifts with all the details about where to buy them, you've given away your product!

No, sorry.

1. As others said, it would be such a hassle to carry all the gifts into town. Its hard enough for shops to get people into town to buy the actual gifts, let alone to carry them to another shop to be wrapped. (plus waiting around whilst it is done or having to come back to collec them).
2. No-one I buy presents for would care how they were wrapped.
3. People who want to present fancily wrapped presents are the kind of people who enjoy doing this themselves.

I enjoy wrapping presents myself, anyway.

I could only see this working as a service where you go to people and the presents in their houses, and probably only at Christmas time.

I wouldn't spend money on it, and I can't see it being that busy apart from possibly at Christmas. Lots of shops will gift wrap gifts anyway if the customer requires it.

No. It's totally impractical and bad for the environment. And at peak times you'd have to employ lots of staff who may not have the skills you do.

@ifIwerenotanandroid

A business idea I'm happy to give away is this:

I put a lot of thought into the presents I get for people & am often told I'm good at doing it & theming wrapping, etc. And a few times at work there's been a whipround for someone & all the guys (male-heavy industry) said they had no idea what to buy with it; yet I produced a list of appropriate suggestions -- which they viewed as some magical power .

So... why not set up a business sourcing presents for other people? Of course, it depends on knowing something about the recipient & this is where a lot of guys fail & give up/panic. So not sure how you get around that bit. Maybe a detailed questionairre would help - I'm sure people know a lot more about someone than they realise.

You'd need a finder's fee upfront, otherwise once you've handed over a list of maybe 5 possible gifts with all the details about where to buy them, you've given away your product!

I love this! OP, do this!

Failing that, I wish someone would do my idea, which is an adventure playground for adults and older kids. Things like a zip line, giant slides, drop slides, trampolines, axe throwing etc. Probably a bit expensive and dangerous, but wouldn't it be awesome.

No. Too much faff.

OP... what about sourcing and producing pick'n'mix 'gift packs'? The number of times when I've wished that I had a mix of wrapping papers/bags/cards etc. There's nowhere where I can go to find - in one place - good birthday cards (I mean post office ones, not too expensive but not all about prosecco-o-clock rubbish).

I need x-number of cards a year, I know what these are in advance.
I need bags/gift wrap stuff - not all the same type/design.

Imagine if you had an online 'shop' where I could pick all of this stuff up say, at the beginning of the year and buy it in one fell swoop. Now that I would bite your hand off for.

Or, set up something like Jacqui Lawson/Moonpig, but without their godawful samey cards. I use these as a last resort because the cards are so bland - or wino-clock.

Or, you could have a van that collects and delivers back repaired shoes. I would pay for that. I have cherished shoes that I will pay almost anything to get repaired (and I do). New shoes don't measure up but I want my favourite shoes to last forever.

Spot a gap in online takeaway deliveries? McD's? Not everybody has access to Ubereats/Deliveroo - and you could employ a student or similar to run this one.

Specialise in half-size shoes? Wish I had that service too.

I would but only if they were collected and returned.

It would be hard to keep the gifts in pristine condition.

I'm not into Christmas or presents but could see someone who Is maybe liking this service but surely wrapping presents if your into Christmas is a big part of the fun ?
I would question that the presents were all wrapped and given back . Not muddled up with someone else's presents ? After they are wrapped goodness knows what's inside and no way of knowing until present is unwrapped but recipient
Sorry but not a very good idea

Sorry but no. I'd have the money to do it but wouldn't really have the time to go and drop them all off and pick up again, it would actually be quicker for me to do it myself.

I would actually love this service! A few things I’d need for it to be worth it for me though:

•it would need to be on my local high street and somewhere I’m likely to travel anyway. I don’t think I’d ever get around to going if it wasn’t on my way somewhere, IYSWIM

•it would need to be an eco friendly option. Eco friendly wrapping/ all recyclable/ cloth wrapping etc. I can get things wrapped in store if I want to, but they are usually not the sort of things I’d want to gift my eco friendly friends

•even better would be if you also offered personalised gifts etc.

@Elai1978

To cut down on the effort significantly just withdraw your inheritance as cash and then set fire to it in your garden.

Lol but yes, that is putting it bluntly.