Verona Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 A while ago I was contacted by a company called Invitation, that supplies discount voucher books to help with fundraising. The book of vouchers cover leisure, entertainment, days out, health and beauty, retail, restaurants, etc, etc. The book costs the parents £19.99 and the pre-school would keep £4.00 of this. The discount varies - 2 for 1, 25% off, etc. The company have contacted me again and are sending me a sample voucher book. The company have a website that I have looked at - I was wondering whether any of you have used them - or know of any school that has. Sue J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 No, never heard of them, sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 No, I can't say I've heard of this - they would need to be pretty good vouchers for parents to spend £20 on them though. I guess you can only judge when the book gets sent to you and ask how many of your parents would be likely to buy one. Does it cost anything for you to take part? If its free (and the admin isn't too onerous) then it might be worth trying it. Maz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 No - new to me too. Have to say I honestly can't imagine my parents parting with £19.99 for a book of money off vouchers - and my parents are a very generous and supportive bunch. Sunnyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 we did this the last 3 years... we were a small setting of only about 20 but did sell about 10 each year, staff bought too... for me just 1 voucher saved me £80.00 so the outlay was well worth it..even better if 2 share the book which is what I did! it is a big book and vouchers vary, but they last for a year and for such a wide variety of things...from opticians with free eye tests and glasses discounts, to entrance fees, restaurants, cinema ticket discounts and more. The administration of them can be a pain though as you have to take the number off each book, who you give it to so they can preview it and then get it back if they don't buy it. If you do go for it don't over order, we had 1 box, cannot remember how many in each, and just sent them back out once returned so we did not have too many around. Trick is also on subsequent years catching parents before they buy them direct, as they send out invites to buy again and you can lose the commission if parents buy direct. Doesn't cost anything to try except a bit of time. Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I've never heard of this!! does anyone know the web site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 we did this the last 3 years... we were a small setting of only about 20 but did sell about 10 each year, staff bought too... for me just 1 voucher saved me £80.00 so the outlay was well worth it..even better if 2 share the book which is what I did! Sounds quite interesting then, Sue J would you care to share the website address so we can have a look for ourselves? Maz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Invitation book Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Nothing much north of Birmingham by the look of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verona Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 thanks Inge for putting in the link. I don't know whether the parents would pay that amount of money but if they take the books away with them, then they can have a look at their leisure. As you said Inge, you saved £80 so was worth it to you. Will definitely read the small print on terms of agreement. Sue J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I see that it costs £30, however one trip to Legoland would more than pay for it in savings. Although I wouldn't use that as a marketing tool because most of our parents have season passes, given our close proximity to Windsor. Still, might be worth a punt! Thanks, Sue J and Inge. Maz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verona Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 What costs £30 Happymaz? Sue J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I was thinking the same.... definitely 19.99 a book.... in fact first year we had them cheaper because we joined late in the year and did a deal for 14.99 a book! Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verona Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 Sorry, just looked at my area on the website and it says, £29.99 Happymaz. I have it in writing that it is £19.99 - one of the letters they sent me. Will double check because that is rather a hefty increase !!!! Sue J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 What costs £30 Happymaz? When I looked at my local edition, it said £29.99 - but I've just looked at the terms and conditions it definitely says that you sell at a discounted price of £19.99. Off now to check... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 But go into the fundraising section and it is 19.99.. seems it is cheaper if you use it as a fundraiser! Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 But go into the fundraising section and it is 19.99.. seems it is cheaper if you use it as a fundraiser! I'm sure I've entered the twilight zone here - had edited my previous post but then mysteriously deleted the text. I downloaded the fundraisers guide, and £29.99 is the cost to buy the book from the website, and £19.99 is the price you can charge to parents. So they get £10 reduction in the price for ordeirng through you. So it looks like a win/win situation in that respect. Also it says they collect any unsold books and take your payment away (minus your commission) so there's not even any postage to pay. It all looks very clever, I must say! Maz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 yes they deliver, and collect the books to the setting, and we had a named person to contact. Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verona Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 I had a reply from the Invitation company about the price of the voucher books............ I can confirm the book price for the families to purchase is £19.99, we invoice your school at £15.99 per book sold, so you keep £4 towards your fundraising target, hope this is clear, the £29.99 price is for non members purchasing from us, rather than a school as we like to offer a £10 discount so people will buy from schools, hope this makes sense, thanks for your enquiry. Sue J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Looks like this compnay if hitting West Sussex.... I to have had letters and phone calls from them, and after careful thought I really dont think our parents would layout £20.00 to start with, and it was the thought of yet more paperwork. We are giving it a miss this time!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 We have had Invitation in Bristol for 3 or 4 years now. I think the Brighton one is new this year. It works very well in preschool. We had 20 books and I think we've sold about 8. Quite a number of parents who bought last year have ordered on line and we still get the £4 per book because the first one was registered through us. The admin is really straight forward, they provide templates for everything you need. Even without any children in the family it's well worth the outlay. There's loads more of the one child goes free with a paying adult type though. Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 We have had Invitation in Bristol for 3 or 4 years now. I think the Brighton one is new this year. It works very well in preschool. We had 20 books and I think we've sold about 8. Quite a number of parents who bought last year have ordered on line and we still get the £4 per book because the first one was registered through us. The admin is really straight forward, they provide templates for everything you need. Even without any children in the family it's well worth the outlay. There's loads more of the one child goes free with a paying adult type though. Al Do you collect the money from the parents? This is the bit I think would cause endless wasted time...chasing money. Bad enough getting fees out of them!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Do you collect the money from the parents? This is the bit I think would cause endless wasted time...chasing money.Bad enough getting fees out of them!!!!! we thought that but actually as you give them a book to look at in their own time and they have to return it or pay the money it seemed to work, if they all returned the books it did not bother us, only 1 book not returned in 3 years , not a bad return for little effort. we allocated a member of staff to oversee it, the company provided all the letters and reminder letters etc. Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosey Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Do you collect the money from the parents? This is the bit I think would cause endless wasted time...chasing money.Bad enough getting fees out of them!!!!! We've had the Invitation Books in our Childcare Centre for years and while they did bring a nice profit, the amount of hassle we had trying to get payments back or just returned books if the parents decided they didn't want them... Nightmare! Definitely worth a look through, as you may find many vouchers to suit your needs and as Inge said, if you have two of you sharing the book, the more likely you are to use more of the vouchers! Rosey x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verona Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Thanks for all the advice. I will have a good look at the book of vouchers when it arrives, perhaps ask a couple of mums if they would be interested and then order some if it looks promising. Sue J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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