So you’ve made the momentous realization that online selling is the wave of the future, and the present for that matter. But now that you’ve found the wave you’re not so sure what to do next. Lucky for you online selling has been around long enough to learn from the success of others. After researching what products do well online, here are some tips that were devised to help you in your own search. (Please keep in mind that these are just a few basic tips for online business starters. SEVERAL successful small businesses start out facing major competitors and many have products that are more complex to ship.)
Three Tips for Choosing the Right Product to Sell
1. Good Demand
A product that people want or need is ideal. A product that people want and need, even better!
2. Niche Products
A niche product is a product made and marketed for specialized uses. Instead of throwing yourself into the surf with the sharks, find a product category without a huge amount of competition and one you can stand out in.
3. Easy to Ship
The product or products you offer will need to be shipped to the buyer.
Look for items that are:
- Non-perishable (perish- “to die or to be destroyed, especially in a violent or untimely manner”- need I go on?)
- Light (reduces shipping costs)
- Sturdy (prevents returns on broken items and the effort put forth in packing the fragile objects)
.
Now that you have an idea of what type of product to sell, go find it!
Places to Find Products
1. Online
(Type a phrase below into a search engine and see what comes up)
- Drop shipper Directories
- Wholesaler Directories
- Importer Directories
- Exporter Directories
.
2. Offline
Have you ever seen a great product somewhere and wondered why it wasn’t online? Or, have you ever had to travel to get a product and wished that you had the option to purchase it online?
If you’ve answered yes to either one of these, be the first to put those products online. Offer to sell products online in exchange for a percentage of the profits made.
Some places to look:
- Local Crafters
- Local Businesses
- Trade shows
.
Trade shows can be a great place to find products. You can search through products that interest you, products you feel comfortable recommending and products you feel will make the sale. You’ll also be able to meet the vendors and get price sheets to figure out your costs.
Now that you know what to look for and where to look, ride the wave and get to surfing!
-Stacie Leonard, Ecommerce Marketing/Copywriting
I’m living in the Netherlands. The internet is up and coming but we are for sure much behind with the development like that in the usa.
Products over there are cheaper, the assortiment is larger, the shops are more beautifull. But consumers stay even with internet in their own area because of the safe environment, known company’s and the language. So my theory is that someone has to bring the information from all over the world to the local consumer. The consumer must be brought to the product instead the product to the consumer.
I will use some of your great advice when I build my shop website. Thanks for a great article.
This info will help me get started in the e-commerce field. Thanks.
Finding a niche market is always a good idea. Then your customers will have to buy from you if they really want the product!
our ecommerce is powered by Volusion, a very good service provide, and have got some great products to sell on our ecommerce website http://www.purifieron.com
I’ve noticed that the greater the niche the better my sales have been. My signs and plaques have been doing very well on my Volusion site at http://www.decoratewithlove.com I have also been expanding my line from as many vendors as possible.
simple and mind opening – trade shows & offline products are not hard to find at all. thank you.
We have been searching for effective ecommerce sites and it hasn’t been easy. We hired a free lance web designer, who pointed us to Volusion – we paid her money then she went awall…..the best thing she did was direct us to Volusion. Daddy Cakes is a start up company, and with paying for trademarks and everything else, we didn’t have alot of money to waste on solutions that don’t work – so it really hurt us to have a freelance designer bail on us with our money – and just as importantly our time. We did however find Volusion which offers a legitimate company that isn’t going to disappear on us! We make pancake, muffins, cake mixes, and sell apparel at Daddy Cakes, so we live on paper thin margins and needed a solution that we could survive on. Okay, I just wrote all this and realize that it sounds like a commercial for Volusion – but it is all true and legit – give them a try – We are trying their 14 day trial and will be launching our sight in a couple of weeks. We are using the free time to upload our products and get the kinks worked out. Check out our progress and products if you can, but we do suggest that you get started with someone that is reputable.
Daddy Cakes makes pancake, muffins, cake mixes, and sell apparel at Daddy Cakes.net , so we live on paper thin margins and needed a solution that we could survive on. Okay, I just wrote all this and realize that it sounds like a commercial for Volusion – but it is all true and legit – give them a try – We are trying their 14 day trial and will be launching our sight in a couple of weeks. We are using the free time to upload our products and get the kinks worked out. Check out our progress and products if you can, but we do suggest that you get started with someone that is reputable.
I’d like to expand our offerings with ThePristineHome.com using drop shippers, however, I’m leary of scam artists. Do you have hints for find the reputable ones?
We are also in the process of switching to Volusion. (not a paid advertisement, either!)
RESPONSE: Hello Lee. My best advice would be to do a great deal of searching…check out different websites, make sure they have legit contact info, reasonable pricing, and try to get suppliers on the phone. Here are two sites that list some drop shippers to review:
http://www.dropship-review.com/index.php
http://getadropshipper.com/
If you pose this question in our forums, some of our merchants may be able to offer some helpful advice: http://forums.volusion.com
Good luck in your search!
This article is 100% true. We started retailing and are now wholesaling led lighting. We just moved to a Volusion store package and couldn’t be happier.
Find that niche product as described above and support your business with quality and customer service. The explosion is incredible.
The best place I have found to source wholesale products for your e-commerce store is Wholesalecentral.com They have over half a million products to look through and over 1400 different suppliers. Plus there is no cost at all to get access to all these suppliers like other sites.
http://www.wholesalecentral.com
thanks for the useful info
thank you for the wonderful advise!
Very good article and very true. It’s sad that so many people just jump in trying to do what everyone else is doing. Or they try to do what a guru has done.
Take the time, find the right niche with high demand and a low supply like the article states!
Cheers
Sal
Excellent guide to selling online. Nice start for those wanting to start an online store….
Choosing the right products that sell well is crucial link to success, it will be even better if the product is well branded