Best Wholesale Suppliers: February 2008

What Not to Sell on eBay

1. Items under $10

It sounds like a great idea - after all, everyone likes a bargain don't they? But items that sell for under $10 have one big problem: Shipping. It's quite likely that the shipping for the item will cost more than the item itself and this can be very off-putting to buyers. For example, if the item costs $4.50 and shipping costs $6, the total cost for the item is $10.50. If the buyer can purchase the item at their local store for $8, then this suddenly becomes a much better deal. For small items and accessories, the way to get around this problem is by grouping the items together, such as sets of 6 golf-balls or 5 tea towels.

2. Products everyone else are selling

Many sellers think that the best way to get started on eBay is to sell items that everyone else is selling. Surely those super hot items such as ipods, cell phones, psps and so on will be a quick route to riches? Well, no. The sellers who are already selling these items are not only more established on eBay - and thus familiar to and trusted by buyers - but they will be able to buy wholesale stock in larger bulks lots than you will, so their prices will always be better. Thus it will almost certainly be very difficult for you to make a profit in a market that is already well supplied.

3. Things you love...but no-one else does

Hobbies can be a great way of making money, but only if plenty of other people are interested in them too.

Another scenario is when you find a product that you think is absolutely wonderful and could be the next best thing...but no-one seems interested in buying it. Oh well you think, it's only short term, eventually they'll learn about my item and start flocking to buy it. Ah, no they won't. It's lonely work trying to educate people on the benefits of a product all on your own. As fabulous as the product might be, it's nigh-on impossible to start a trend on your own. To make money from a trend, you need magazines and newspapers, word of mouth and television to do some of the work for you.

4. Difficult items to ship - e.g. fragile china and plants

Now I'm not saying that these are bad items to sell altogether. Many sellers do very well from these items. But I don't suggest you sell such difficult items when you are first starting out. Both these items have an above-average shipping risk, particularly if not packed properly. As a new seller, any negative feedback you receive at this early stage could be especially damaging to your career.

5. Very large items

Thinking of starting with furniture or pianos? Unless you already have experience selling and shipping these items, then it might be wise to start with something smaller. Shipping such large items is a major operation. Not only that, these items will sell less often than mid-priced items as they won't attract the same number of impulse buyers.

About the Author: SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at SaleHoo, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

How to Find Wholesale Sources for your Product

Any seller serious about creating a long-lasting profitable business will realize the importance of finding a good wholesale source.

Unfortunately, it isn't the super-quick task most people would like it to be. Wholesalers aren't exactly squabbling over sellers; indeed, most don't make any effort at all to attract small to medium size businesses. Why? Because they are doing just fine selling to large retail stores with multi-million dollar orders.

So how does anyone find a good wholesaler then? The key is to do a lot of research. Begin with keyword searches in search engines using 'wholesale' in front of or after the name of the product you are looking for. Remember that there is usually more than one way of referring to a product. While you may be searching for 'throws', the wholesaler may be listing them as 'blankets', 'covers', and 'home decor blankets'. Or they may even refer to them by the name of the fabric they are made out of.

Ebay can provide some fabulous wholesale buys also. In fact, there is an entire category dedicated solely to wholesale lots! Just search for the product you are looking for with the keyword 'wholesale' or 'lot' in the search string.

If you still can't find what you are looking for, then try an online wholesale directory. Directories take a lot of the leg work out of finding suppliers. Good directories will thoroughly research all the contacts they recommend, removing the risk that you'll end up dealing with a fraudster. While directories don't automatically point you to the best supplier with the lowest prices for your item, it will give you a starting point.

Another way of finding wholesale suppliers is by contacting the manufacturer directly for the product you are interested in selling and asking them who their wholesale distributors are. This is a slightly scary option (particularly if the manufacturer is in a non-English speaking country!), but it can be extremely beneficial in the long term.

If you live in a big city, tradeshows are possibly one of the best ways to make wholesale contacts. A trade show is where related industries gather to showcase their products to potential buyers. Trade shows are not open to the general public, only to other businesses. Not only can you sample the quality of the product at a trade show, you can also talk directly to the manufacturer or product creator! Just make sure you come prepared and don't waste their time with questions you could have found out by reading the brochure!

Finally, it's important to realize that most wholesalers adjust the price per unit according to the order of the quantity. For example, throws might be $10/unit for an order of 15-30, $9/unit for 30-50, and so on. This means that as a small business, you might not be able to get the prices you were hoping for at first. It also explains why eBay powersellers are sometimes able to retail items for prices below your wholesale price. Once again, this emphasizes the importance of establishing a niche where there is less competition.

About the Author: Salehoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at Salehoo , visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and Salehoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

How do I Find Something to Sell?

Many people wanting to start an eBay business spend a lot of time fretting over what they will sell. Perhaps these questions are familiar: Where do I find ideas? Should I sell the most popular items? How do I know a good idea? These are important questions everyone faces.

eBay already contains so many items for sale that some sellers feel overwhelmed from the start wondering how they can possibly find a product idea when the market appears to be full anyway.

So where should you start then?

1. Your hobbies

This can be a great way of establishing a niche. Perhaps you love embroidery or making model airplanes? Chances are a lot of other people share this passion and are looking for related supplies. Crafts and hobbies is big market - however, before you jump in headfirst, make sure you do some research to back up the feasibility of your idea. eBay is a numbers game and no matter how great your idea is, it won't work if not enough people are interested. So be sure to use the completed listings search and test the market with some of your own supplies first.

2. Listen to what your friends and family are talking about

Sometimes the best ideas can arise from your friends and family. One seller says she overheard some women at the table next to her talking about the trouble they were having finding a particular brand of baby slings. This got her thinking, and, after a bit of research, she realized they were a foreign brand and hard to find in the USA. A wee bit of research later and she had found a supplier and was successfully selling online. So keep your eyes and ears open! If people you know are looking for a particular item, chances are others will too.

3. Research newspapers and magazines

Newspapers and magazines can provide a ton of information on trends and styles. Just browsing the headlines can often be enough to spark a new idea. Try sitting down with a pen and notebook and skimming the pages of popular magazines and daily newspapers. You should have a list of at least 10 ideas by the end.

4. eBay Seller Central

eBay itself has a fantastic resource in the Seller Central area 'What's Hot'. Every month, a list of super hot, very hot and hot items are published. This is a great way to find ideas but remember that everyone on eBay also has access to this information! The merchandising calendar is also a useful resource.

All successful sellers sell several products, rather than putting all of their eggs into one basket. Not only can trends change with the wind, but some products are only popular during a particular season. For example, dehumidifiers are more popular during winter than summer, while lawnmowers are super hot in spring and have a practically non-existent market in the winter.

5. Find out what your buyers are buying

A good way of expanding your product range is by 'spying' on your buyers. After making a sale, check your buyer's feedback and find out what other items they have been purchasing recently. This will help you get to know what your target market are interested in and expand your range accordingly.

Finding something to sell can seem daunting at first, but I guarantee that once you think of one idea, plenty of others will quickly follow!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Expanding Your Online Business By Building a Website

As business grows, it can be a good idea to support your eBay sales with a website.

The first step is building a web presence outside of eBay by creating your own website. Building a website is not a difficult task. These days you don't necessarily need the know-how to do it all yourself - there are plenty of people who will do it for you. Turnkey stores are an option, or you can have a designer create the basic design for a website and then purchase shopping cart software separately.

Either way, you need to think carefully about branding at this point. Branding is recognizable design features that are carried across your entire business from product to business cards, to your website and brochures.

A brand helps your customers associate your products with an over-riding concept and identify them as part of their lifestyle. For example, some brands are associated with natural and organic concepts while others are associated with fine quality or a particular lifestyle. When establishing your online business, take care to make sure the branding you have already established on eBay remains consistent across your new website.

There are thousands of stores on the web, so to be successful, you'll need to do something to make people visit your site and stay there for longer. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by providing people with information about your products. For example, if you sell small kitchen appliances, why not add articles to your site on how to use each appliance, tasty recipes to make with each, how to fix problems, and so on? Not only are you giving your users a reason to come back to your site, you are also increasing your chances of being placed in the top search results for keyword searches relating to the items you sell. Search engines give higher priority to good quality, unique information, so this is an effective way of keeping rankings high and getting traffic from organic search results.

Another way of getting more traffic to your site is by carrying out link exchanges. Just remember to limit yourself to related sites, otherwise you may find that you end up with a lower rather than higher search engine ranking! Linking to sites not related to the content on your site can actually give you a lower search engine ranking, so stay away from sites that offer hundreds of links for a fixed price. The best idea is to link to other sites that relate to what you are selling. For instance, keeping with the appliance example above, a site such as this could exchange links with sites selling china, cutlery, linen or recipes.

Finally, you can drive traffic to your site through advertising. Your ebay listings are one way of advertising if you add your site URL to your About Me page. Google Adwords is another very effective way of getting traffic to your site. A targeted campaign can do wonders for your website.

Done well, a website should increase overall sales, increase traffic to your eBay listings, and increase your reputation as an expert in your area.

About the Author: Salehoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at Salehoo, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and Salehoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Top 10 Tips for Selling on eBay

1. Start Small

If you're anything like me, once you have a good idea you want to put it into action immediately! Although you probably know in theory that any business takes 12-18 months to become established, somehow you still hope that you can get there in 2!

But, one mistake entrepreneurs consistently make is to throw their life's savings into buying case loads of stock - before they even know how eBay works. It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security on eBay after buying just one or two items. For buyers, eBay is meant to be user friendly. For sellers, things are a little more complicated. All powersellers agree that there are new things to be learned all the time and you'll be surprised at how much more you know after several months selling small, inexpensive items.

Be prepared to spend the first couple of months buying and selling a variety of inexpensive items you can purchase with your loose change. Keep track of what sells best and work on narrowing down the possibilities to a few strong products. By this stage you will also have experienced the best and worst situations eBay has to offer, so you will be much better prepared to crank things up a notch.

2. Respond to questions as quickly as possible

Most people use the Internet because it provides what they need instantaneously: information, contacts, gifts, advice, and so on. Therefore I can't emphasize enough the importance of checking your emails as often as you can and replying to queries as quickly as possible.

3. Organize your time and keep to a schedule

If you are holding down a full-time job and working after hours to get your ebay business in motion, then it's vital to have a list of what you need to get done and stick to it so you make the most of the precious time available. Once you are working on eBay fulltime, this becomes even more important! It's all too easy to reach the end of another day and find that you have got hardly anything done. So keep a planner or diary and make a timetable of what needs to be done and when.

4. Do take professional photographs from the beginning

The old saying remains as true as ever: A picture speaks a thousand words. A bad picture can look unappealing and unprofessional. Plus, if the buyer can't really see the item properly, they may be put off bidding because they can't tell if it is what they really want. So right from the beginning, work on creating the most professional pictures you can, even if it means spending money on a photo tent and better lighting.

5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket - use other ways of selling apart from eBay

eBay is not the be all and end all of selling online - although it is one of the best ways to start. As soon as you can though, try thinking of other ways you can increase your web presence. Perhaps you could place a classified ad in Yahoo or write about your auctions in a MySpace blog. There are plenty of cheap and easy ways to build up your profile.

6. Do keep a constant look out for other products to sell, while also monitoring carefully what you are already selling.

Don't become complacent! Even if your items appear to be stock standard - such as chairs for instance - make sure you keep looking at what other sellers are doing, emerging trends, magazine articles, home decor programs, and more. There may be another related product opportunity just waiting to happen that you completely overlook if you keep your blinkers on.

7. Do keep in contact with your wholesale supplier regularly to ensure you are aware of any stock issues.

A backorder can create a lot of extra work for you soothing customer's ruffled feathers. And if they want their order refunded, it costs you money too. So make life easier for yourself by regularly touching base with your suppliers and ensuring communication lines stay open.

8. Do carry out regular keyword and market research

Keyword research is the way to ensure your potential customers find you successfully. Set aside some time each day for marketing and research to ensure that you're keeping at the top of your game.

9. Do use software to help organize your sales

It's hard to part with the initial investment when the business is still finding its feet, but the right software will make life so much easier. My eBay quickly becomes unwieldy when you are selling more than 15 items, and software ensures that you avoid making costly mistakes, such as under-ordering stock, forgetting to ship to a customer, and so on.

10. Don't offer free shipping as a gimmick unless you can afford it

Free shipping is a very effective way of attracting more people to your listings. However, before you consider offering free shipping, think carefully about your profit margins, how much your item weighs, and the fact that shipping will vary depending on how far away you are sending it. Offering free shipping is a good move if you can absorb the cost in your profit margin, but it could easily become crippling if you apply it to a variety of items of different shapes and sizes.

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Overcoming Problems When Importing from China

The prospect of importing goods from China is both exciting and terrifying for many sellers. On one hand there is huge potential for making money from reselling wholesale goods purchased very cheaply. But on the other hand, language and cultural barriers present a number of difficulties to sellers. The main issue that everyone is worried about is payment: How do I pay? Will my money disappear?, and so on.

The difficulty lies in the fact that most Chinese wholesalers will only accept Western Union and wire transfer payments. These are not secure payment options so they must be treated with caution. However, the main reason why these are the only payments accepted is that they are in fact the only payment methods available to the Chinese. Getting a credit card in China is an extremely difficult task with a lot of government regulations and strict criteria for getting a card.

So then, despite the risks involved with using Western Union and wire transfer, these are the methods you have to use if you want to import from China with most suppliers. To minimize this risk, our advice is to start with a fairly small shipment of goods so you are not standing to lose too much money if everything falls apart. Then, as trust is established, gradually build up your order over time. On the whole, most Chinese suppliers are genuine, hard working people who want to establish a long-term relationship with you. They need your business, so it's unlikely they'll try to deliberately screw you over! Another big issue for sellers importing from China is communication. It can be extremely daunting trying to negotiate complex business issues when communication is so difficult.

To get around this problem, we always ask a new contact for their MSN or ICQ email address and chat to them online. They tend to be very friendly and enjoy talking to people who speak English as a first language (this helps them improve their communication too), plus it gives you a direct point of contact instantly.

With communication now established, you can proceed to ask questions and get them to send you pictures of stock and so on. Once we've built up a relationship, we then ask them to send me a sample order. For any genuine company, this isn't a problem and it allows us to see the quality of the product first hand. We can then be fairly certain that the company is trustworthy, and that this is the product we wish to import.

One thing we haven't talked about so far is quality. This can be another major concern for sellers who often have difficulty telling whether a brand name product is genuine or not.

In our experience, the vast majority of brand-name goods that come from China are either replicas or fakes. We strongly recommend that you assume that this is the case in the first instance. eBay is currently cracking down heavily on people selling fakes and it is not an area of business we suggest you get into!

Generally, we find that Chinese suppliers are best suited for cheap generic goods (they are manufactured there so you won't find cheaper anywhere else!) that can be sold at higher rates in Western countries. For example, some of the latest trends are pocket bikes, scooters and generic electronic goods. These goods do not have to have a brand name in order to sell well and they can be purchased wholesale at very good prices if you are serious about importing from China.

This should give you a heads up if looking at dealing with wholesale suppliers in China! Remember, always keep an open mind, ask questions and do your research!

About the Author: Salehoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at Salehoo, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and Salehoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Debunking the Myths of Wholesale Buying

Buying and selling wholesale goods is frequently viewed as a sort of 'get rich quick' scheme, where sellers can make enormous profits from very little investment or work. Three months after they started, people just don't understand why things haven't gone according to plan! There are four myths in particular that seem to lead would-be sellers astray time and time again.

Myth #1: Ebay is the best place to sell your wholesale goods.

Now this is a particularly popular one. As the world's biggest marketplace, eBay has made its fair share of millionaires. What you don't hear about so commonly, is all the people who struggle to make a profit from eBay because 100 other people are selling the exact same products - for more competitive prices.

This is not a new situation. Supermarkets and large discount stores often run at a loss on some items in order to attract more customers. For small or new sellers, this is a deadly scenario.

The fact is, eBay is simply too competitive in some categories. Electronics, jewelry, designer clothing and computer games are all dangerous territory for the new seller. You won't stand a chance against established sellers who've already got a strong following and highly competitive prices.

So what should you do? If your product falls into these or any other highly competitive category, I recommend shifting your focus to less competitive markets such as selling through classified newspapers in your local area.

While you won't be reaching audiences of the size that online auctions sites such as eBay provide, buyers that use these alternative mediums to purchase goods are 9 out of 10 times more likely to pay significantly more for products. Not only will your margins can be much higher, you'll also have far less competition to deal with.

It's also a good idea to try using eBay international sites such as www.ebay.co.uk or www.ebay.com.au, as well as other auction sites with less competition such as www.trademe.co.nz and www.ubid.com. I find that these sites give consistently higher margins compared to eBay US, and the number of buyers is still very high.

One advantage of eBay US however, is that the huge amount of competition makes it a brilliant place to pick up cheap as dirt goods to sell elsewhere! It's not uncommon to find best prices on eBay.

Myth #2: You can find all your wholesale sources online.

The Internet provides easy access to a great many wholesalers these days, and it's a quick way of making initial contacts. However, it certainly doesn't provide access to all wholesalers. If you're serious about finding the best wholesale prices for your products, then it pays to check out other sources as well.

Try looking through trade magazines such as Closeout News and Wholesale Merchandise, to name just a few. With less people vying for stock, there's a good chance you'll find some exceedingly good prices tucked away in the corners!

And another thing, in my experience, building up personal relationships with sellers is absolutely essential for getting the best priced goods. So whether you've found your supplier online or in a magazine, make a phone call, start up an email exchange, or have regular chats on MSN and get to know them.

The time you spend building a relationship will not only mean you're in a stronger position to get better prices, but, because you know your supplier, you'll be more confident that things will go smoothly when you finally do place your order.

Myth #3: Pricing research is unnecessary and takes up too much valuable time.

Whenever I mention this one, people always chorus:'But of course we know research is important!' Well why don't you spend more time doing it then?

The amount of people that pass over pricing research constantly amazes me. Everyone always agrees that it is important to research prices, but when it comes down to it, they seem to think that they just 'know' how much items cost wholesale, and how much profit they are likely to make later.

But how can they just 'know'? This is not information we're given at birth!(Or perhaps I'm just unlucky!) Prices are constantly in flux, and carrying out some decent (and yes, time-consuming) research is essential to a successful business for two important reasons:

1. Firstly, it's important to get a good idea of the average resale price for your item before you get started. For a number of popular items (DVDs, electronics and computer games in particular), the profit margins tend to be very low. Despite this, many sellers just see the popularity of the item and dive in head first. Overly-saturated markets just mean a hell of a lot of work for very little in return. Throw big, established sellers into the mix and it's almost impossible to compete. But you won't know this until you research it first! So visit auction sites, read classified ads and any material you can get your hands on until you have a good idea of exactly what you're going to get.

2. The second reason for research is that your preconceptions of value may be completely wrong. People have a tendency to believe that 'wholesale' automatically means a fifth of the retail price. This is usually totally out of line! Some sellers have emailed me in shock when they realize that they actually have to spend a significant amount of money on their wholesale stock. 'I always thought that purchasing a container of wholesale plasma TVs would only require a few hundred dollars investment, but it looks more like several thousand,' wailed one seller recently, 'Am I looking in the wrong place?' Well, I'm sorry to shatter your hopes and dreams, but buying wholesale doesn't always mean huge profits for very little investment. For some items, such a scenario is possible - but only if you do the research!

Myth #4: Niche items can be bought from individual wholesalers.

Finding a niche item that no-one else is supplying at a competitive rate is every sellers dream. However, if you think you're going to be able to find a wholesaler supplier for the item by doing a quick Internet search for 'Left-handed Guitar necks' then you couldn't be more wrong.

Niche products are hard to find precisely because they aren't wanted by absolutely everybody. Thus, finding a supplier will take quite a bit of work on your behalf as these items usually can't be purchased from individual wholesalers. Instead, you'll have to contact large wholesalers, or even contact the manufacturer directly.

It'll be a lot harder than you think, but if you've done your market research effectively and you take the time to find a good supplier, then your hard work will pay off.

About the Author: SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at Salehoo, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

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