If you look through the archives of our blog, there are many mentions to the word niche and finding your niche market. So, what exactly is a niche? According to the dictionary one of the meanings of the word niche means a distinct segment of a market. When figuring out what you want to sell online, you want to find something that fits a certain niche. Your niche will allow you to zero in on a certain audience / market of people and instead of being a generalist, you become a specialist in your products.

Deciding Your Wholesale / Dropship Niche

1. Find Products You Are Passionate About

This will help you the most in your search to finding a niche. What kind of things are you interested in? Do you like things that involve the outdoors, indoors, crafts, do-it-yourself projects, lights, frames, customized clothing, or in the case of our picture, vinyl family car stickers? It’s important to first figure out what things you like and are interested in because once you have that down, you’re going to be able to commit the time and effort it takes to create a website and build up your business because you’re actually interested in what you’re doing.

2. Find Products You Know Something About

When your customers write to you asking about the products you’re selling, you’re going to want to have a little more in-depth knowledge of the products than the average consumer. Think about what kind of skills you have or hobbies you enjoy doing and what kind of materials are used to do those hobbies or what kind of materials can come out from those activities. If there’s a product or niche you’re really passionate about but you don’t really know much about it – expert knowledge – then do the research before you get into promoting those products, or promote others while figuring that product out. For example, if you wanted to do high fashion makeup – bright colors, thick pigments, etc. – but want to also get into the mineral makeup lines, you might want to just stick to what you know – the high-fashion products, but sell the mineral while you learn about it.

3. Make Sure Your Products Have a Market

Sometimes you could have an absolute passion for something, but not everything is perfect for the online marketplace. You need to do your research to find if there’s even a niche market for your products. You need to find out a couple things before deciding to base your whole business around the particular products you have chosen. In the case of our picture, I know that the family vinyl car sticker has a demand due to the large families in this area, and not a lot of places sell vinyl products with customizable family members on them. So, ask yourself these questions:

Is There A Demand For It?

If you choose a product that every store is selling, it might be too general to stand out from the crowd. For example, if you wanted to sell only camping equipment, someone would go to google and type that very phrase in and come up with about 9,330,000 results. If you have something a little more specific though like eco-friendly camping equipment, the results go down to about 261,000 results. You might want to ask your friends if you started selling a certain item if they would be interested in it, or if it will sink under the big chain stores who sell the same products. For example, if you wanted to sell soaps and shampoos and things like that, you would have to compete with Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Bath & Body Works, The Body Shop, just to name a few. However, if you sold custom soap molds, you wouldn’t really have to worry about those big name chain stores.

What Are People Typing In For My Products?

There are websites out there like wordtracker.com that will show you what people are typing in most often for your products. You also could look at eBay Pulse which will not only show what products are selling the most from each category but what people are typing in most often. Knowing this kind of information can show you how to create search engine optimization – SEO – when you begin to build your website.

Product Ideas, Uncategorized, dropshipping, make money online, online business, product research, selling products online, wholesale

In previous blog entries, we have gone over the importance of having a niche when starting out your dropshipping or wholesale business. With a niche you’re able to specialize instead of having a lot of random items that you might have some general knowledge and interest in, but no real in-depth knowledge. One of the most common questions I receive is “how to I find my niche market? How do I know what is going to sell and what people are interested in right now?” Today, I’m going to try to address these questions as much as possible to give you the keys you need to continue to update and grow your business.

Finding What Products Are Hot

1. EBay Pulse

I know that not everyone is going to be selling on eBay, but this is a good place to start out. They have picked out the most popular items sold on eBay and listed them on the front of their eBay pulse, as well as each top trending item by category. For example, if you’re just curious what most people are interested in today, you will see that the most popular searches are:

1. ipod touch

2. cricut cartridge

3. iphone

4. ipod

5. coach

6. laptop

7. xbox 360

8. wii

9. coach handbags

10. lot

Now, you can see that some of the searches are very similar which is why it’s important that if you do list things on eBay to make your headlines effective, but that’s another topic, which you can click on to view. Imagine that since you saw this list and know that people are interested in Coach purses that’s what you want to dropship or sell wholesale. However, remember that not everything is available dropship or wholesale – usually top name things like Apple and Coach fall into that category. If you were interested in selling baby products, you could click the drop down category to baby and find that the popular searches for today are:

1. baby clothes

2. formula coupon

3. baby

4. clothes

5. shoes

6. stroller

7. baby boy clothes

8. baby girl clothes

9. diaper bag

10. custom wall letters

These kind of items are really easy to find dropshipper or wholesale providers for. Even the last search, custom wall letters might not have been something you originally planned on including in your inventory, but since they’re so popular it might be a good idea to look into it. If you have a couple niches you’re looking into, check out the categories and go from there.

2. RSS Feeds and Mailing Lists

Do you have a particular website that has news RSS (really simple syndication) feeds? If there’s a news website you like, or a store that you’re trying to get ideas from, then subscribe to their RSS feeds and/or their newsletters. People send out the hottest trends and ideas via those avenues, so if you have access to them, it could spark some more ideas for you.

3. Check out the world

If you’re at the doctor’s office, grocery store, or really anywhere that has people / media, check out what they’re writing about, wearing, saying, or holding. Try to notice what kind of people are holding or using the kind of products you’re trying to sell online, and what you can do to match that audience.

Product Ideas, dropshipping, eBay, product research, selling products online, wholesale

The last couple entries, I have written about dropshop and wholesale businesses, and how to improve customer’s experiences within those sites to create more profit. We’re going to switch gears a little bit and focus on eBay and how to improve your wholesale business with a couple simple tips that could make all the difference.

The Minor Details: Improving Your Wholesale Business On EBay

Work to get top-rated

Like any good company, it takes hard work, dedication, and time to become one of the best. This same concept is true when it comes to your eBay account. There are a couple of things that you can focus on that will help customers buy your auctions, as well as encourage repeat customers.

1. People trust the stars

As I mentioned in past posts, testimonials and ratings are a key factor when it comes to getting customers to trust you and your products. With eBay, customers are able to leave feedback concerning their experience with sellers and their products. As a seller, you are also able to leave feedback about a buyer. It is always a good idea to leave feedback whenever possible, and to have good communication with customers. If a customer is unhappy with a product and sends you a message about it, make sure to reply to it. It may seem like simple basic ideas, but a single negative (red) or neutral (gray) feedback on your ratings can cause a blemish on your reputation. I know personally when I look at someone’s feedback ratings and see that they have a negative feedback, I always want to find that one to see what the seller did to make the customer unhappy. Even if you don’t agree with what the customer is saying, you want to try to resolve the problem before they leave their feedback on your page. We’re aiming for a sterling feedback page with nothing but green marks of happy customers so that it encourages more people to buy from you, and for customers to repeat purchases.

2. Friendly gestures

Let’s face it, people like nice people. When you’re at a store for example, and there is a nice person that comes up and talks to you then you’re more likely to respond to them in a positive way than say someone who is really grumpy and only approaching you because they have to. When it comes to eBay people want to feel appreciated for the purchase that they made from you, and you should try to make them feel like they made the best choice in the world for going through you – they’re not just another number. One way to offer a friendly gesture is to send a thank-you e-mail or a note when they checkout that let’s them know you appreciate their service and hope that they had a pleasant experience with you. Through an e-mail, you could not only thank them but ask for any improvement tips when it comes to your auctions, or even encourage a positive feedback response when they receive their product.

3. Nice surprises and quality assurance

The easiest way to control your quality assurance and include surprises is if you’re a wholesale business. If you’re wholesaling, you’re able to physically have your products on hand and ship them out yourself. Because you have this kind of control, you’re able to do all kinds of fun surprises or extra steps to make sure your customers are happy when they open their package from you. For example, one thing my mom likes to do with her eBay business (selling purses) is to wrap them in brighly colored tissue paper. The vast majority of the people buying her products are women, and they seem to like the bright colors of the paper when first opening up their package. Additional surprises you can put in your packages could include handwritten notes or even coupons or reminders of any promotions – this is a great idea if you have your own website in addition to your online auctions. Whatever it might be, try to make your customers feel appreciated, keep them happy, and in the process you build your reputation and customer base.

Uncategorized, eBay, selling products online, wholesale

If you have a product that you would like to sell online, you may be wondering if dropshipping is the right product-sourcing option for you.  Let’s say that you want to sell chemistry sets.  Should you use a dropship supplier or purchase your products wholesale?

Questions to determine whether dropshipping is the best option for your product:

1. Is my product available through a dropshipper?

Not all products can be purchased through dropshippers.  For instance, Apple does not dropship, so you will never be able to dropship iPads and MacBooks.  By contrast, chemistry sets are an excellent product to dropship because they are often manufactured by small companies that are willing to sell directly to the retailer and willing to experiment with their method of product sourcing.

2. Would my product be difficult to stock?

Some products are easy to purchase wholesale, store at your house, then package and ship yourself.  Chemistry sets would be an easy product to stock yourself, so they are amenable to wholesale purchase.  Products you would not want to stock include anything extremely bulky and anything that comes in such a variety of sizes and styles that your stock would have to be enormous.  Shoes are an example of a product you would not want to buy wholesale.  You would have to stock so many sizes and styles of shoes that your entire house would be overrun.

3. Is my product likely to be returned?

Returns can be difficult when dropshipping.  Sometimes the drosphipper requires the product be returned to you, then forwarded along.  Other times the customer realizes they are returning the product to a different company than they purchased from, and are perturbed.  If your product runs a high risk of returns (aka swimsuits), drosphipping might not be your best option.  Chemistry sets are unlikely to be returned, so they are good option for dropshipping.

4. Does my product line require me to use multiple suppliers?

There is nothing wrong with using more than one dropship supplier, but it does occasion some difficulties in shipping.  For instance, imagine a customer logs onto your website and purchases a chemistry set, a board game, and a study kit, all from different suppliers.  Because these products are from different suppliers, your customer’s package cannot be amalgamated to lower shipping costs.  Your customer will also receive three different shipments from three different locations, a dead giveaway that the products were mailed by dropshippers.

You may prefer to purchase wholesale if your product line requires multiple suppliers.  However, if your product line consists of only one product, or a small variety of products that a single dropshipper can supply, you won’t have any difficulties with shipping.

Remember:

These questions are just a basic guide to determine whether your potential product can easily be dropshipped.  There may be instances where you can circumvent these issues, i.e. you may find an excellent dropshipper for refurbished iPods.  The point here is that not all products are suited for dropshipping, so you may have to deviate from your initial product idea or alter your method of product sourcing to make your business work.

dropshipping, selling products online, wholesale

So you want to start a business selling products online.  How will you find suppliers for those products?  What type of supplier will you use?  You’ve probably heard of a product sourcing method called dropshipping.  Could a dropshipper be the best type of supplier for your online business?

What is a dropshipper?

A dropshipper allows you to sell their products online, whether on eBay, Amazon, or your own website.  When you make a sale, you order the product from the dropshipper and they ship the item directly to your customer.

What are the positives and negatives of dropshipping?

Like any product sourcing method, there are pluses and minuses to using a dropshipper.

Positives of using a dropshipper to sell products online:

1. No large initial investment is required

2. There is no need to store inventory

3. Packing and shipping is handled by the dropshipper

4. There is no risk of getting stuck with a bunch of left-over products that won’t sell

5. You have the flexibility to add or remove products from your catalog whenever you like

Negatives of using a dropshipper to sell products online:

1. Not all products are available through dropshippers

2. Your profit margins may be somewhat smaller

3. You have less control over how your products are packaged and shipped

4. It is difficult to ensure quality control

5. It can be difficult to run certain types of promotions, like enclosed coupons / flyers or free shipping

6. If you use multiple dropship suppliers, your customer may receive multiple packages from different sources

Conclusion:

I often recommend using a dropship supplier if you are just starting out in e-commerce.  Dropshipping allows you to experiment with different products and sales venues without carrying any inventory.  You can also get started with less capital.

Once you’ve confirmed which products will be the most successful and built a steady business base, you might want to switch to purchasing wholesale to get the best prices on your stock.  Purchasing wholesale will also increase your flexibility in packing, shipping, and marketing.

dropshipping, wholesale

If you are planning to sell products online, whether on eBay, from a personal website, or on another venue like Bonanzle or Amazon, you will probably need suppliers for those products.  There are generally two types of suppliers: dropshippers and wholesalers.

What are dropshippers?

Dropshippers allow you to sell their products without carrying an inventory.  When you set up an account with a dropshipper, they provide you with images and descriptions of their products.  You use those images and descriptions to post their products on your website, eBay, Amazon, etc.  When you make a sale, you pass the order along to the dropshipper, and the dropshipper ships the item directly to your customer.  Dropshipping allows you to sell products online with very little capital and very little commitment.  On the downside, not all products are available through dropshippers, your prices might be slightly higher, and you have less control over your inventory and shipping methods.

What are wholesalers?

Wholesalers provide retailers with products to sell online, usually in bulk orders.  Your initial order may be anywhere from $100 – $3000, though subsequent order requirements may be lower.  You store the products in your home or another work space.  When you make a sale, you package and ship the order to your customer yourself.  The benefit of buying wholesale is you usually get the cheapest prices, allowing you the greatest profit margin.  You can also sell almost any product, and you have greater control over your inventory and shipping, which allows you to run promotions and market your products with greater latitude.

How do I find dropship and wholesale suppliers?

Some can be found online, but unfortunately the internet is littered with middlemen and scam services.  Another method is to attend tradeshows and other events where you can make connections with suppliers.  The third way is to use a supplier database.

Wholesale Match offers the most comprehensive supplier database out there.  We have access to thousands of dropshippers and wholesalers for practically any product you can sell online.

Wholesale Match also offers our customers three things that no other database supplies:

1. Our Research Team will do all the work for you

Simply submit a Research Request listing all the products you would like to sell online, and our Research Team will email you a list of dropshippers and / or wholesalers within 3 business days.

2. We will actively search for you

If you are looking for a new or very specific item that isn’t in our database, our Researchers will go out and search for you until we find a supplier for that product.

3. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee

If you have not made back the cost of your membership by the end of the year, we refund it in full, as long as you allow us to work for you by submitting a Research Request, calling, emailing, or live-chatting at least once a month.

Right now, Wholesale Match is also offering a free 7 day trial.

You can use our database to find wholesale and dropship suppliers free for 7 days.  No credit card is required to sign up for the free trial.  Simply go to www.wholesalematch.com, and click the button that says “Sign Me Up”.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to call our customer service department at 801-938-4718 or to email support@wholesalematch.com

dropshippers, dropshipping, wholesale

When deciding whether you should purchase products from a dropshipper versus a wholesaler, there are many factors you’ll have to consider, such as the quality of each type of supplier available for your product, your commitment to that product, and your capital, which may or may not allow you to make large initial orders.  One of the most important factors you’ll consider is profitability.

It is usually more profitable to purchase products wholesale.  Generally you can purchase wholesale  for around 50% retail price, while the average dropshipper’s price is around 75% of retail.  However, when wholesaling you have to consider the cost of storing, packaging, and shipping the product yourself.  These are expenses that cut into your profits, as is the time you spend taping boxes, driving to the post office, etc., since this time has a monetary value.  Thus, depending on the exact price you’re getting your products for, wholesaling isn’t always more profitable than dropshipping.

For this reason, when you have potential suppliers, potential products, and potential supply-chain options, you should create a chart to ensure you’re making the best decisions.  Obviously, the chart is only as valid as the numbers you punch in, so make sure your figures are as accurate as possible.

Below is an example chart calculating the relative profitability of selling the same two products from a wholesale supplier vs. a dropship supplier.  The potential products are sleeping bags and juicers.  As you can see, it would be more profitable to purchase the sleeping bags wholesale.  Conversely, due to expensive packing materials and shipping fees, one would actually lose money buying and selling the juicers wholesale, so dropshipping is the better option.  I’m assuming that my fictional entrepreneur is storing the items in their garage or basement, so there are no storage costs listed.

Dropshipping Vs. Wholesaling Profitability Chart

dropshipping, pricing and profits, wholesale

Some of the most common questions I receive on this forum are “How do I find a dropship wholesaler?” or “How do I find suppliers?”.  Most people have at least heard of dropshipping, but there is some confusion as to what a dropship supplier does exactly.  For instance, the term “dropship wholesaler” is not really accurate.  A supplier EITHER dropships OR sells wholesale.  They are not the same thing.

What is a dropshipper?

A dropshipper processes individual orders and ships them directly to your customer.  When you make a sale on your website or on eBay, you order the product from the dropshipper and have it sent directly to the buyer.  A dropshipper may offer you wholesale prices, but generally they charge some kind of dropshipping fee and you purchase orders individually, not in bulk wholesale lots.

What is a wholesaler?

A wholesaler sells bulk orders of products, say, 20 t-shirts or 100 candles.  You keep the product at your house or in a storage facility and you process and ship your own orders.  Selling products this way is more time-consuming and requires a greater investment, but you usually get the products more cheaply than you would from a dropshipper.

How can I find suppliers?

There are many ways to find suppliers.

• Google Searches: You could perform a Google search, say for “bowling ball dropshippers”.  Unfortunately most of your results would be middlemen masquerading as legitimate dropshippers, or international suppliers from places like China.  Even if you did find a legitimate dropshipper this way, it would be the same dropshipper a hundred other people could find.
• Trade Shows: Trade shows are actually a great way to meet quality suppliers.  The only downside is the time and expense of attending trade shows in places like Las Vegas.
• Databases: You can use a quality database to find suppliers.  If you choose this option, remember that not all databases are created equal.  Some databases are never updated, have very few suppliers in each category, or do not screen out fradulent suppliers.

Wholesale Match’s database is continually updated: we add new suppliers every week.  We have many suppliers in each category, and if we don’t have a supplier for the product you’re looking for, we will actively search until we find a supplier that works for you.  If we receive a complaint about a supplier, we investigate and remove them from the database.

Wholesale Match is the only database that has a Research Team who will do the work for you and provide professional results.  Wholesale Match is also the only database that provides a 100% money-back guarantee if you do not make back the cost of your membership (as long as you use our services at least once a month).  For these reasons, I would recommend using Wholesale Match to find dropship and wholesale suppliers.

finding suppliers, wholesale

Dropshipping 101

The first step of starting  dropshipping business is to find a great supplier for your products.  Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find a quality supplier.  There’s no Yellow Pages for the real professionals, and there are a boatload of scam artists and middlemen masquerading as legitimate dropshippers and wholesalers.  They make their money off membership fees and selling you products that are too expensive for you to resell for a profit online.  How can you avoid middlemen and find a quality dropshipper or wholesaler who will provide you with products that will allow you to make money online?

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

There are plenty of supposed dropship or wholesale suppliers who will allow anyone to sign up and who promise to supply thousands of different products.  If there are no restrictions to sign up with them, they are probably not a legitimate business.  A real wholesaler must by law get your Reseller’s Permit and Tax and ID number, otherwise, they are not allowed to sell you products tax-free for resale.  If they don’t bother to do this, they are probably actually selling you products retail and calling it wholesale.  The fact that they have thousands of products of all types isn’t a good thing either.  It’s impossible that they are manufacturing or even importing all these products themselves.  More likely they are purchasing their products from dozens of different suppliers and reselling them to you.  Thus, they are a middleman, not a legitimate supplier.

Don’t dropship with the Invisible Man.

If the company seems to have no history with the BBB or other agencies, no successful online businesses they are currently supplying, and no physical address where their warehouse is located, you are probably in communication with a scam artist.  A legitimate dropshipper or wholesaler shouldn’t be evasive or sketchy about their business details.  One of the biggest red flags is if they refuse to give you product information until after you pay some kind of fee.  A real dropshipper/wholesaler will send you a pdf file with all their products and prices, or provide a login to a reseller’s website.  Prices and products are only kept secret when they are not really provided at wholesale prices or when they don’t exist at all.  Which brings me to my third point:

Finding a dropshipper shouldn’t be like buying a gym membership: don’t pay hefty sign-up fees.

You should also never pay an exorbitant fee to sign up with a supplier.  A small processing fee of less than $20 isn’t unreasonable, but anything over that is the sign of a scammer.  Don’t confuse sign-up fees with dropship fees: many dropshippers charge a dropship fee, but that is to cover shipping costs and is only charged when products are ordered and shipped.  Dropship fees usually range from $1-15 per order.  Wholesalers may require minimum order amounts, but again this is not a sign-up fee – the money is used to purchase products, not pay the supplier.

Manufacturers are your goal.

The person you really want to buy your products from is a manufacturer.  In some industries that isn’t possible and you are required to purchase from a distributor.  Middlemen are your last resort.  It’s possible to make money buying and selling products from a  middleman, but more often the cut they take won’t allow you to make a sufficient profit.  Your goal is to buy straight from the source, the manufacturer.

Use a reliable source to find suppliers.

You may get lucky and find a good supplier through a Google search or a free directory, but every Tom Dick and Harry has access to the same free sources you do.  Most legitimate suppliers don’t post their information online because they don’t want to be hassled by a bunch of would-be entrepreneurs.  Your best bet is to find real dropshippers and wholesalers is to pay for access to a quality database.  If you decide to use Wholesale Match’s database, our Research Team will do the work for you.  We also guarantee that you will make the cost of your membership back within a year, or we will refund the annual membership fee in full (as long as you give us the opportunity to work for you at least once a month).

dropshippers, finding suppliers, wholesale

Wholesale Match is not the only database of dropship and wholesale suppliers, but we like to think of the other guys as MacDonald’s while we are Le Caille.  After all, any burger will get you full, but a real meal satisfies the soul.  We like to satisfy the soul.  Thus, while Joe Shmoe will give you a login password and set you loose on his database, we run a full-service operation: educational articles, a full-time support line if you have any questions about dropshipping, website design, SEO, or what you should buy your Aunt Mildred for her birthday, eBay resources, and finally our Research Team.  The Research Team exists for the sole purpose of doing the research for you.  If you are looking for suppliers for hockey sticks, Christmas ornaments, bowling balls, or anything else, simply submit a Research Request to our Research Team and they will provide you with an extensive list of dropshippers, wholesalers, and/or affiliates in 1-3 business days.

photo credit: Duchamp
photo credit: gbrunett

The following are answers to some FAQs about Research Requests:

How do I submit a Research Request?

Simply login to the Wholesale Match website at www.wholesalematch.com, click on the “Suppliers” button, and then scroll down the page.  On the lower left-hand side you’ll see a button that says “Can’t Find What You’re Looking For?  Submit A Research Request.”  Click that button and the submission form will pop up.

Why not just search the database myself?

You are more than welcome to do that, but you will probably want to also submit a Research Request for the following reasons: First, we’re better at searching than you are.  We’re familiar with the suppliers in our database and we know the best suppliers for your specific product.  Second, we have access to more suppliers.  While we update our database regularly, we find dozens of new suppliers each week and may have located a new one for the product you’re looking for.  Third, if there is a paucity of suppliers for the product you’re looking for, we will search until we find more.

Are there any guidelines when submitting Research Requests?

While Wholesale Match customers have unlimited Research Requests, we generally ask that you limit your requests to five products at a time so we can allocate our resources fairly.  Once we email you a list of suppliers, you are welcome to submit a request for five more products.  We are often able to return Research Requests within 1 business day or even a few hours, depending on the products requested.

How do I get the best results from my Research Request?

The more clear you are, the better.  You are welcome to ask for specific brand names or styles or types of products, though of course you will get more results if your category is still reasonably broad.  You can specify if you don’t want international suppliers, if you are open to wholesalers as well as dropshippers, and so on and so forth.  If there is any confusion about your Research Request, you can always call our customer service line to clarify.

Your time is valuable, and the Wholesale Match Research Team will save you countless hours searching for suppliers.  If you have not already taken advantage of their services, I urge you to do so.  If you have submitted a Research Request in the past, I would recommend doing so again, as they may have found additional suppliers for your products in the meantime.

dropshipping, finding suppliers, wholesale