We decided against CDF after the rep came to see us. The stuff was very much comparable to the other companies out there, but the rep... not so much.
Just an FYI to any reps reading... when you're trying to get the business of a small town school, it's best to avoid words such as "hillbillies" "hick" and "backwoods". Jerk.
I have to disagree. Cherrydale stuff was much better quality than Kathryn Beich. IMHO They also have a bigger selection and more things in lower price ranges which worked out great for our school. The year I was in charge of choosing the fundraiser, we chose them and made more money than we had or have!!!! Now that someone new has taken my place since I went on to middle school, they chose based on the free stuff they got, and it wasn't worth it. The selection was horrible, the prices were outrageous...etc.
We used Cherrydale Farms for the first time this year and were quite pleased with our results. We selected the package with them that had the "big blast party", limo ride to chuck-e-cheese, etc.
We had at least 1/2 the school participate (sell at least 10 items to go to the party)and raised almost $40,000. Our take "home" profit was around $17,900.
I think it really depends on how good your rep is from the company. My rep has been with the company for over 20 some years and is their top rep.
Also, be aggressive in what you are wanting for your school and what you expect from them. They want your "business" and will give you (the PTO) and your school incentives for using them.
We used them this year for our fall fundraiser and it was successful, financially, as we sold less but earned a higher profit than the previous company we used.
HOWEVER . . ...
our rep offered us free travel packages as incentives, which after you read the fine print would cost you more than if you just booked it without the certificate so we asked him if he'd donate a toys r us gift card instead. Then we bought a bike for the highest seller in the school.
the travel packages did not go over very well, we couldn't even GIVE them away to our teachers, they all said "I'm not falling for one of those scams" LOL . ...
So we decided to meet with other companies and found one which had great KID incentives and lots of fun.
Now our Cherrydale Farms rep is preaching "But you didn't give me a chance, that's not fair" and . . .he said PTO's are getting more demanding and he's not going to give into all the bells and whistles??????
That right there made our decision not to ever try them again, unless we have a different rep????
