OVERVIEW

Since being given the official go-ahead from Richardson Brands to sell Beechies Gum on my domain (again), I’ve been wracking my brain trying to integrate all of the features I think are necessary in a promotional products shopping cart. Beechies gum, available with a custom imprint on one side or the entire box customized, is typically used to promote an event, reinforce a company’s brand or communicate a message. It is, frankly, a delicious promotional product. (Yes, that is a Shamless Plug delivered before the content.)

Selling promotional products online presents unique challenges relative to selling a different kind of product like a book or Size 6 Black Dress.

Typically, promotional products are sold at a price based on quantity; each quantity or “quantity column” has a different per piece or per unit. And, almost every promotional product has a minimum quantity such that entering “1″ should create a correctable error for the site shopper.

So, we need to implement either a quantity price (This Price for That Quantity) or a quantity discount (a Base Price with a discount for increasing Quantities). With Beechies Gum, we only need to control minimum order quantity when the product is the “Whole Box” product (the entire box is customizeable); all orders below this 65 case minimum are printed on one side only, and since the “unit” is 1 case, we do not need to impose a control structure on the quantity input.

(more…)