We all are extremely conscious about the prices we pay when shopping online right? Obviously if it is a good deal and a reputable business or seller then we want the best deal possible. A recent survey done by the Forrester Research group shows that 73 percent of those surveyed expect prices to be cheaper on the internet than a brick and mortar store. No wonder places like eBay and Amazon do so well. Almost everyone today’s day and age knows about eBay and is typically comfortable with buying or selling products on their auction site. That’s why you see so many different sellers starting a business and selling on eBay. Keep in mind when trying to find a product that eBay doesn’t allow the sale of replica handbags.
After doing enough research and identifying a perfect niche product to sell you come across your main problem. Where can you even get the product, and for wholesale prices? This is typically the most difficult stage, and the stage where most fail, is to find products for the right price. Because up until then it is simply a dream until you can find a source that materializes into something.
Finding a local supplier isn’t easy. Especially one with prices low enough to turn a profit on eBay. If you have a fairly large list of products that you are considering to work with then you have a variety of sources to choose from. You may start your eBay business by visiting local liquidators, closeout dealers, government auctions or even the local classified section. Although to really start a real business you need to find a constant source supplier, which could possibly be the manufacturer, distributor or even a wholesaler.
Keep in mind that many manufacturers aren’t able to handle small orders and don’t sell products directly to the retailers. Sometimes the minimum orders a huge and don’t allow for the proper turnaround time to turn a profit quickly. However if the manufacturer won’t sell directly to retail levels, then they should provide you with information on where to contact the closest distributor or wholesaler, which will be able to cater your needs.
For some products the best idea would be to attend industry or trade shows in order to locate a supplier. Visit some of the websites for the exhibition centers in your area and find one or two shows which are of your interest. Make sure though that the participants of the trade show are distributors and wholesalers as opposed to large manufacturers.
Trade journals and publications are another great source for distributors in your related field. Trade journals typically publish information on industry trends, articles on the major players, and various industry related event schedules such as trade shows and even a classified section. Not to mention that sometimes they even publish special editions which focus on a buyers guide or the who’s who edition.
Chambers of commerce and other professional groups are your last resort as they do offer a wide variety of services but generally not the best place to find who and what you are looking for. It’s great for networking and speaking with like minded individuals.
Competition in the electronics marketplace worldwide is fierce. If you need to buy products from a middleman, you may find out that you can’t compete at all. What’s the solution? Since most consumer products are imported any way you may consider outsourcing your products from a foreign country. Thanks to globalization importing products are no longer as difficult as they once were. If you want to purchase labor intensive products than China is probably your best source. India, Vietnam and Bangladesh are other countries which each have their own niche products. Quality electronics can be found in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore. For high end designer products head to Italy, Germany and France. Russia and other eastern European countries offer the best source for intellectual property.
Looking for a supplier for a B2B connection? Check out sites like alibaba.com and globalsources.com. These are the two largest aggregators on the internet. For products from India you may want to try and search the database indiamart.com and trade-india.com.
Our next post will describe the steps necessary to start importing..Check back then.