Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Promotion: 3 Day Halloween Pre-Season Sale Starts Friday

On Friday, July 29, every item in my Halloween section will be marked down 15%. Why? Because I don't do post-season sales, that's why. This weekend is your one and only chance to score a discount on my handmade Halloween merchandise. 

Here's how it works. I used an Etsy tool to schedule the sale. It runs from 12AM EST on July 29 to 12AM EST on August 1. The price is automatically knocked down 15% on every item in that section. If you dig around Regretsy or HalloweenForum, you'll find a coupon code that can be stacked on top of this to bring Halloween merchandise down by 23.5%. If you don't buy it this weekend, you pay full retail.

If you want to read the TL:DR version of why I'm really doing this sale, jump down below.

Some fitting music to read by: Souling Song by Kristen Lawrence:

So why this sale now? You see, I'm dedicated to the spread of dark whimsicle [redacted]. I'm a home haunter. I actually run 3 very different yard haunts for family members. While I only need to do some maintenance and minor builds for two of the yards, my fund is a little empty right now for the main attraction.
This year, the yard I turned into a movie theater with scrap lumber, a pop up tent, and a ton of papier mache is going to transform into a living film called The Tale of Jack of the Lantern. It's become a neighborhood institution where hundreds of trick or treaters, parents, and community members show up to wander through the yard and take photos. We've wound up in many local newspapers with the display and have earned a reputation as a kid-friendly (but still scary) haunted house.
We don't use cheap thrills like blood, guts, and random things popping out of the bushes. We create ambiance and tell a story. We offer large goody bags filled with candy and toys and set up photo-op booths on the side of the house.
When I'm building everything by scratch, a lot of the neighborhood kids come by and watch. They offer to pick up a paint brush or a hammer and want to help. I give them sneak peaks at the new props and even incorporate some of their suggestions into the haunt.
While I can get by on a minuscule budget (I'm not afraid of cardboard and duct tape), it would be nice to once again raise the bar on the haunt. Any money raised through this sale would be going to safety renovations such as new lighting, new guard ropes, and new fencing to organize the flow of the yard. It would also go towards buying supplies to make new items to put in the shop to help other people start this kind of community building tradition in their own hometowns.
So now you know why I'm doing a Halloween sale so early in the year. It's for the children. This sale is going to make all the difference in creating an unforgettable experience for these families. 

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