NEW ARTICLES  HOT ARTICLES  TOP RATED  ADD AN ARTICLE  UPDATE AN ARTICLE  GET RATED 
  HOME     MY ACCOUNT     POWER SEARCH     REGISTER     SUPPORT     SUGGEST CATEGORY  

7 Product Sourcing Tips for E-merchants
9924 Internet > Ecommerce Mar 1, 2007 Matthew Davies 7 Product Sourcing Tips for E-merchants For ecommerce start-ups the realities of product sourcing often come as a shock to the system. With so many online ?wholesalers? to choose from these days, it's common to assume that the process will be easy. If your store is to be profitable, however, your sourcing methods will require just a little more effort and creativity than you think.

1.Search clever.

Avoid using general terms when sourcing products online. Googling ?wholesale widgets? may bring up a huge number of results, but you're unlikely to find a worthwhile supplier among them. Most will be non specialist companies that act as middlemen between you and the real wholesalers. This means profit margins on their goods will be virtually non-existent.

Instead, try qualifying your searches with terms such as ?distributor?, ?manufacturer?, ?designer? or ?trade? and rather than searching for generic terms such as ?widgets,? try taking a more specific approach. Use individual product names and model type wherever possible.

Image searches will also give you more focused results. Many products are sold online using stock photos created by the original manufacturer and this can an excellent way of tracking them down.

These tactics will improve your chances of success but don't despair if you don't find what you're looking for. Google is a great research tool but it's only one of many in your arsenal. Resist the temptation to spend hours and hours surfing the net looking for ?secret? deals and sources that do not exist. Traditional retailers have never relied the internet to find suppliers and neither should you.

2.Consult traditional business directories.

It's amazing how often resources such as the white/yellow pages are overlooked these days. It must be because we automatically assume the internet to be a superior source of information. Well this isn't always the case. There are a lot of wholesalers out there that don't have an online presence but that doesn't mean they don't have telephone numbers.

3.Subscribe to trade publications

Trade magazines related to your niche will be packed with ads from relevant manufacturers and distributors. It's how offline businesses have done things for years and you should too.

4.Trade fairs.

Attending trade fairs takes more effort than surfing in your pyjamas but the pay-off can be enormous. They provide unparalleled scope for sourcing and networking. Plus, establishing personal contact with suppliers makes it a lot easier to negotiate prices further down the line.

5.Ask an expert

Find someone who already stocks what you want to sell and ask them where they got it. This isn't as absurd as it may sound! Obviously emailing a rival online store is never going to work because nobody wants to knowingly help out their competition.But more personal approach conducted in the offline world can yield excellent results. Find a "widget" store and get talking to the owner, preferably once you have made a purchase. People love talking about their businesses and if you are suitably charming they will often recommend a supplier or trade magazine.

You'll be surprised at how helpful people can be when you don't represent a threat. This tactic has worked well for me in the past - the worst thing that can happen is they refuse.

6.Contact the manufacturer.

If you can't find a supplier but you know which company makes the product, give them a call and ask who their distributors are. Again, there is a tendency for new e-merchants to see this kind of information as somehow privileged or secret and they often approach such conversations with trepidation. Remember that these companies want your business, just because you don't have a traditional bricks and mortar establishment it doesn't mean your money is no good.

7.Check product packaging

This is a fool proof method. If you don't know the manufacturer of a particular product and all else fails, buy it yourself. All goods, virtually without exception, will include some reference to the manufacturer on the packaging. In some cases the name of a supplier will be there as well.

Once you know the manufacturer, the information you require is just a phonecall away!

Content Provider: http://www.traffichelp4u.com

Matt Davies runs an online gift store selling Regalos originales


Write a Review   Add to My Favorite   Refer it to Friend   Report Article  

Average Visitor Rating: 0.00 (out of 5)
Number of ratings: 0 Votes

Visitor Rating


Other links owned by this user
Most people are aware of what constitutes a phishing scam even if they haven't been confronted by one themselves. You receive an email from what appears to be from a legitimate business (your bank, for example) and are persuaded to click through to a
Category:

For ecommerce start-ups the realities of product sourcing often come as a shock to the system. With so many online ?wholesalers? to choose from these days, it's common to assume that the process will be easy. If your store is to be profitable, however,
Category:

One of r first priorities when arrive in Barcelona is bound to be a lazy stroll down that world famous thoroughfair "Las Ramblas". If make r way along that fabulous kilometre of sights and sounds looking for a a place to eat, however,
Category:

Other links at Internet > Ecommerce
For ecommerce start-ups the realities of product sourcing often come as a shock to the system. With so many online ?wholesalers? to choose from these days, it's common to assume that the process will be easy. If your store is to be profitable, however,
Category:

There are many ways o creae a successful e-commerce bu here are four crucial poins ha you should keep in mind while launching your websie. 1. Websie Your websie is like your showroom, airy and aracive. When online,
Category:

Selling on Ebay has changed in the past 8 years. Ebay has changed a lot in the past 8 years.
Category:

1. Businesses need powerful and quick technology and marketing in order for e-commerce to be successful. The objective is to grow your business by making it easier for customers to shop, and if your website?s lack of technology and marketing make it
Category:

E-commerce is a growing process that more and more businesses are realizing is necessary to have as part of their business model. Unfortunately it can be a complicated solution that requires knowledge of many back-end functional components that most
Category:




Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics

Articles: 68285
Categories: 501

Yahoo Entertainment
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional   Valid CSS