This best describes when the Fire Services Fundraising Shop CIC is invited to attend an event to run a large formal retail outlet. We set up, sometimes outdoors in our own pop-up marquee, a larger shop that sells the more expensive items, as well as the standard SIAB items, such as uniforms, well known branded toys and other items that are not part of the SIAB scheme. The shop can also accept all types of payment, including contactless credit and debit cards.
Generally the takings would be higher with this type of set-up, but our overheads are also slightly higher e.g. fuel costs and the hire of a credit card reader. Another reason for the increased overheads, is that traditionally up to a third to a half of all payments have been made by customers using credit and debit cards (and this is increasing), however we will lose between 1.8% to 3.5% of the sale in merchant bank fees dependent on the type of card used. Even when the transaction has been accepted and approved by merchant bank, it can be rejected by the card issuer up to three days after the event, which means we lose not only the money from the transaction but the “purchased“ item/s as well. It is for these reasons that at the end of the day we will give the organizer of the event a guaranteed minimum of 25% of the full shop takings for them to donate to a charity of their choice.