This guide is designed to help you save money on all your craft needs. When you are assessing your children’s church resources, these simple solutions will let you keep more of your precious budget, so you can help your young people in other ways as well. With a little planning, you can see a difference in your costs immediately!
Many craft stores offer special deals online that you cannot find in the store. To find out about these deals, sign up on their website for a free mailing or email notices to keep you informed of their upcoming sales. Usually, you can find the same after-holiday sales that you will find in the stores but without the crowds or waiting in line. And, stores often let sales last much longer on their websites than they do in stores.
The selection at online stores is also usually better than that in the store. Stores can only hold so much, but the warehouses of these major companies house much more than can be displayed in stores. For that reason, you can find better selection, quantity, and value than you can in the stores. There are some items that are just easier to buy in-store, including all larger items that will be bulky or even impossible to ship.
When shopping online, plan ahead! Give yourself several weeks to receive the items, because processing the order and getting it shipped can be a long process. Planning ahead will keep you from having to rush-ship the items to your church, which costs much more than standard shipping.
Look for deals on shipping. Most online stores offer discounts on shipping if your purchase totals over $100, etc, so plan to make one large order instead of several small ones. You will save yourself time and money by putting one order together. It is easiest if you take all the orders in your church for several weeks ahead of time before placing the actual, final order. This ensures that the Sunday school teachers can plan their events, change their minds, and make a final order before you need to begin communication with the online store. If everyone goes together in the purchase, you may receive free shipping or discounted rush shipping. Because shipping charges can quickly add up, this will leave you with significantly more money in your budget than you thought!
Excellent online craft stores include Oriental Trading Company, Factory Direct Craft Supply, and Dollar Days.
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