How To Find Something To Sell (Part 1)

How To Determine What Product(s) You Should Sell

The first thing you need to determine is what you want to sell. You would think that would be easy, but often it takes a lot of work to come up with some ideas. Then you need to check into whether those items will sell or are you likely to be stuck with inventory if you purchase any.

I still have boxes of floating candles in my garage. The great deal we offered putting them together with an Anchor Hocking vase and some colored pepples just didn't go over so well. My friends and relatives have told me they don't want any more as gifts either!

What you want to sell, and what you think will sell, and what actaully will sell, are not always the same things. You need to research carefully and figure out the best items if you expect to be successful.

Now, nearly everything you see in the market place sells to someone somewhere, so why won't it work for you? Well, it will. You just have to find the right merchandise for the market you will promote to. Or you need to find the right market for the items you expect to sell. It is the combination of right product and right market that makes it more likely. And, of course, you need to buy low enough so you can sell at the right price too!

So, you need to research what you want to sell and consider a lot of factors as you do your research.

When you find items you think you would like to handle you then need to find out who manufactures them and find out who they sell wholesale too. Sometimes they will sell directly to an individual or a small reseller, but often they sell through a distribution network -- the infamous "middle man". As silly as it may seem some manufactures won't tell you who they sell though so you have to do more research. Sometimes you can get all the answers in a single phone call. Other times you may spend weeks researching to find the answers to your questions.

There are typically a number of things you are going to need to purchase at wholesale from a manufacturer or a distributor. You might as well be prepared up front.

Tax Number and/or Business License: In order to deal directly with manufacturers or true wholesalers you will generally need an official tax ID number. Many will want you to mail or FAX them a copy of your tax ID form or business license before even talking to you. They want to be sure you are not just making up a number.

Tax ID numbers are usually issued by your state. There is sometimes a nominal fee and there will be monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual filing required, often based on the volume of business you do. Business licenses are usually issued by your town or city. In either case you can usually find out specific information that applies to you on your state or city website.

Stationery and/or Business Presence: Many companies request that you contact them on your company letterhead and include a business cardd. They usually want the "raised-print" kind that comes from a professional printer, not something you quickly whip up on the computer. They see this as a way of separating out the real businesses from the fly-by-nighters. You can usually get a "business starter" package with stationery, envelopes and matching business cards from your printer for an affordable sum. You will want to have these especially if you attend trade shows. Often vendors at trade shows require your business card to go with an order.

Minimum Order Requirements: Most wholesalers will have minimum order requirements. The closer you get to the manufacuring source, and the larger the manufacturer, the larger these requirements are. Of course, the better the unit cost as well.

When dealing with small manufacturers and distributors you will find that minimum orders will typically range from $100.00 to $1000.00. Often the first order requirement is larger. This is to show you are serious about doing business with them. Usually subsequent order requirements are more relaxed. Some places will sell you single items. Of course, most have "break" pricing -- that is, the price for a single item is greater than for a dozen, which is greater than for a gross.

How Do You Determine If An Item Is Worth Selling?

Well, that's the $64,000 questions, isn't it. The answer to that question is the holy grail of e-commerce. If you can absolutely determine an item really is worth selling then you have a winner and, likely, instant success. The best most of us can hope is to get a good idea about the products we want to sell. But the better we are at our research the closer to that absolute answer we get.

There are lots of ways to find good items to sell. See what others are selling online. See what sells well on a popular selling venue. Look in local stores (especially smaller boutique-type stores) and see what they are selling. Try to determine if it is selling to just a local or ethnic market or if the sales are more broadly distributed. Determine of the product sales are limited life (fad) or if the product is likely to sell well over a long period of time. Is there a broad need for the product (everyone could use this widget) or a narrow target market (only Ferrari owners will want one). And, most importantly, will you be able to reach that market or, at least, enough of it to make the product worth carrying.

Don't kid yourself. Don't over-inflate the positive aspects. Answer yourself honestly and make a real determination. You don't want a garage full of floating candles, believe me!

A good place to research general sales of almost any product is eBay. See if the product is offered. If so, how many are listed, how many have sold, and at what price? If too many are listed, and too cheaply, then it may not be a good choice. Anyone can get one on eBay. But if you can match, or under cut, the price, not too many are offered, but they are selling well, then you may have a winner.

Of course, you need to consider where you will sell your items too. eBay isn't the only place. Let's say you have access to a popular golf ball at great prices but there are already lots of them, similarily priced, on eBay. But you have a website where you will sell them and you have a deal with a number of golf clubs around your state to display your adverstising literature and business cards in their pro shops (okay, it's a hardly likely senerio, but you get the idea) then you still have a great product oportunity. You will need to consider your own selling exposure and whether or not any given product will fit into it.

How To Find The Supplier

One of the quickest, and easiest, ways is to just Google the product name. That will often turn up a distributor or the actual manufacturing company. The website usually has contact information. Give 'em a call!

Sometimes, though, no matter how much searching you do, you cannot find the manufacturer or a distributor. You may have to resort to actually finding the product and getting the manufacturer's name off the packaging. If the product is sold in a local store you can just go in and copy down the information. If not you may have to resort to finding a seller on line and purchasing the item. Make sure the item is new in original packaging.

The packaging may have all the information you need including the phone number. Sometimes it will appear to have nothing you can use. But don't dispair. Almost all packaging, today, has a Universal Product Code (UPC), often called a "bar code" and this actually contains a code that refers to the manufacturer or, in some cases, the distributor. You can find out what these are. Do a Google search for "decode barcode" or visit the official UPC site here: http://www.upccode.net/.

Once you locate your product's manufacturer or distributor you can usually locate their website and other contact information. Sometimes you can find out all you need on their website. Sometimes you can actually register online and even place your first order there. Often you will need to speak by phone with a company representative or sales person. They will usually have some information for you, some that they want from you, and a number of questions you will need to answer.

(continued in part 2)