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?

Nope.

This is why they invented gift bags and boxes. Buy bag and put gift in it.
Also; No man or person who has left their gifts to the last minute is going to know you exist or where to find you.

I am afraid not. I resent the cost of wrapping as it is.

Would this not be very labour intensive. Ok maybe for 2 to 3 gifts but what when 4 people come in with all their Christmas shopping so you are busy doing theirs and have to turn people away. You would definitely need at least one other person or 2.

I also use gift bags with fancy tissue paper and myvdm always gives them back to me to reuse. Plus I have cut back on my gift buying considerably before Covid and I imagine people will be cutting back even more since lots will have lost their jobs. I think it would be a very niche market and you would be well advised to see a financial advisor regarding investing your inheritance. That would no money better spent.

This might have been suggested already, but what about doing it on a home visit/one to one basis.
So you go in to someone's home with all the materials, spead an hour or two "helping" them wrap (you'd actually be doing all the work though) and charge an hourly rate?
No shop overheads, no worries about gifts going missing and your customers don't have to travel.

I think, as others have suggested, a mobile service would be the only chance of making money from something like this.

I have moved away from paper wrapping now, and I fabric wrap instead for everyone that I will be seeing in person (so that I can take back the fabric). If you are good with your hands then there might be an opportunity there as it can be a challenge to have a result that doesn't look like a crumpled mess.

No. Far too many opportunities for unscrupulous employees to switch, try out or just not take care.

I can do it better and faster for myself.

I wouldn’t use it because I hardly wrap anything. But also I’d be very worried about being scammed and have seen this covered in watchdog etc - eg someone leaves an Xbox to be wrapped and on Xmas day opens a box of sand. You’d get all sorts of chancers l. But I am cyclical.

Lol. Cynical. Not cyclical.

No I wouldn’t. I think it would be a faff to lug all my dc’s Christmas presents to you, park the car, carry them, wait or collect at another time and there would be no point for a one-off present.

There is a lovely gift shop in my town and I sometimes go there specially as they offer a free wrapping service.

How would it even work in reality. Someone comes in with 20 gifts. You come in after them you’ve ten, someone else comes in with one. Do they leave the gifts? How do you securely store. Do they stand and wait for an hour.

And who is going to travel with all their Christmas gifts? Especially since most places offer it free now at point of purchase.

Even though I have one functional arm and wrapping is a nightmare I still wouldn't.
I found a solution in cotton drawstring bags which are reusable. Lots are doing this for environmental reasons
Additional costs( would rather buy a more expensive gift
Logistics would be impossible( dropping off and picking up wrapped gifts)
It would be more beneficial to set up eg an ironing service in my opinion sorry

Yes, maybe, depending on you price point and whether you would collect and deliver. I'm always amazed how much time it takes to wrap all the presents and would rather be getting on with any of the other gazillion jobs at that time of year.

Yes definitely back to the drawing board. You all make great points and I am upset to find out I am not a genius after all thanks for everyone's input, I'll take it all on board.

No.

I don’t love wrapping stuff up, but taking my gifts out to this sort of shop sounds like more hassle than just wrapping them myself.

I’d only consider using a gift wrapping service if it was in the shop I’d bought the gift in.

I can see men using this more than women. Especially if they could have their amazon orders sent to you and you wrap them and they pick them up once it's all done

I could never justify the extra cost of this, but if you are in London and offer a mobile service I'm sure there would be a seasonal demand for this.

Definitely not something I’d used. It just seems like such a faff. And I’d undoubtedly ruin any efforts when I shoved them under my bed to hide them from the DC.

If there’s trolleys at the front, how will you keep a track of who’s got what? You couldn’t have people standing around waiting, surely?

I was also going to mention Furoshiki. This could have more legs, though I know someone who tried to set up a furoshiki business about 5 years ago and found it too difficult. It’s very niche and she found that the British mass market wasn’t ready for it She now runs a highly successful gift company - so I think if anyone could have made it work, she could.
However, that was 5 years ago and times move on. We’re becoming ever more eco conscious. I would definitely use furoshiki instead of the usual present bags.

I think I wouldn't personally use the service, but if you offered wrapping workshops then that would be something i'd be interested in! Also environmentally friendly wrapping that still looks lovely.

I know a lot of men hate wrapping, maybe they're more your demographic?

So many better stores do their own gift wrapping now ..so no I wouldn't use something like that .Too much effort to make a special trip and the likely cost .

Yes but we have a chain of shops near here that do this for free anyway if you buy their paper so I imagine lots would offer this?

I might use it. I have a disability that means I find wrapping presents hard. But I can usually find someone to do it for me.

You will lose all the money if you do this, please don't.

Even if 80% of people on this thread said they'd use it (and it's 80% saying they wouldn't) - intent is not custom; they might use a wrapping service but unlikely yours when it came down to it, when all department stores and shopping centres offer this service; most online purchases can be ordered gift wrapped.

It's a reckless idea even if you were doing it in your own home, or others' homes, but to actually set up a shop with all the overheads and rent would be literal madness.

It is not unique.. People who are ready to pay for the wrapping service can use it in all big shops like Selfridges

No I wouldn't use it- mainly because I do enjoy wrapping my own gifts.