Think Easy Money

Getting into wholesale gifts is a great way to get started in online selling. For existing retailers, it’s perfect for expanding your product range. Wholesale gifts encompass so many great markets as well as some highly lucrative niches!

You could get into jewelry, homeware such as vases and wall art, picture frames and candles, or gift cards, bath sets or garden ornaments, so there are plenty of items to keep you interested. Best of all, there are so many people who will buy from you not only for others, but also for themselves!

Gifts can be a relatively competitive market, especially when you sell online. Making sure you are paying only the very best price possible and getting access to the most exciting range of products is paramount to your success. How you go about selling is also important in a competitive market. To really bump up your sales, read below for my 5 top tricks of the trade and watch that bottom line grow!

5 tricks of the trade

1) Gifts sell well all year round but to really make a killing, you should customize your product range according to the season. For example, around Valentine’s Day, items such as stuffed toys with sweet messages and lingerie will really pick up. Likewise, around Mother’s Day, you can expect candles, bath sets, and cook books to turn a big profit. At Christmas, the sky is the limit on how much you can earn – your regular gift items will sky rocket and any Christmas related products like Christmas tree decorations will also be highly popular.

2) Offer fast shipping. So many gifts that are bought online are last minute gifts. Your buyer may have just remembered their mom turns 60 on Thursday and they need to get them something fabulous ASAP. What might turn some buyers off is the possibility of their gift not arriving on time. To remedy this, make sure you state that your items can be delivered the very next day after payment is received. eBay sellers can make the most of “Get it Fast” which gives buyers the confidence that you can ship to them very quickly.

3) Visit trade shows and fairs to get to know what the hot and up and coming products are. It’s also a great way to meet new suppliers. If there are no trade shows or fairs in your area, take a look online by Googling the name of the product you want to sell + “wholesale supplier”, or sign up to a trusted wholesale supplier directory where you will find the best and most trusted suppliers on the web and will protect yourself from being scammed by shady suppliers.

4) When listing items on eBay, think carefully about the key words you use in your listing title. This is not only the first glimpse that potential buyers will have of your listing, it’s also the best possible way to help your listings rank well when buyers search for items. You only have 55 characters to work with so make sure each one counts! Start by using the most important keywords at the very start, this is called front-loading and is a very basic yet effective keyword optimization technique.

5) Try to focus on one target market – at least to start out with. Think about an audience for your gift store, such as men who need something for their wives or girlfriends. Men often feel overwhelmed when they are left to buy something special for their wives so try to make it easy on them by offering lots of great options and tips on what women like (top 5 or 10 best selling product lists are great for men with no clue). This will really help them make the right decision and increase the chances of them coming back for more when they next have to find the perfect gift.
SaleHoo.com

You have probably heard or read all about how popular baby items are to buy and sell online, and really, it’s no wonder – with over 15,000 babies being born every hour of every day across the globe, there is always a huge demand for baby products! Their immense online popularity comes for three reasons:

New mum’s don’t always have time to go out to the store and buy new clothes, toys and other everyday items like feeding equipment and blankets, therefore, buying online suits their lifestyles much more than buying from regular stores.
Raising babies is expensive business. Babies grow out of clothes very quickly, they go through dozens of diapers every week, not to mention saving for their education! So it’s really no surprise that the average cost of bringing up a baby in a Western country is around US$70,000 just in their first 5 years! For this reason, parents will try very hard to cut any costs they can, and more often than not, buying online will help them out immensely
Many stay-at-home moms will use their spare time during the day to sell some of their used baby items online. It’s a great way for them to earn some extra cash and helps to get them interacting with the outside world a little more, which is great for curing the dreaded mommy brain syndrome!
There is still plenty of room to make money in this ever-growing market, and finding the best supplier possible is the key to your success. Read on as I let you in on what to look for in a super supplier and how to find the best ones available.

What to look for in a baby product wholesaler:
Stockist of safety equipment: Parents love spending money on safety equipment for their little ones and baby safety equipment is a top seller on eBay.

Great product knowledge: Just as you will be a better seller if you know a lot about baby products, your supplier will be more valuable to you if they know all about the items they are selling.

Flawless customer service and reliability: If they let you down, it could let your customers down so make sure you work with a supplier who understands what it means to offer great customer service.

Quality items: Quality control is especially important when it comes to selling baby products, especially if you are selling something like strollers, walkers or swings and play sets. Quality of clothing is just as important, as even though a baby may only have a few months to wear something before they grow out if it, chances are their clothes will be washed very often after they have spilled food, vomited or played outside in the puddles while wearing them.

Where to find the best baby product wholesalers

Online suppliers are usually the way to go but if you prefer to stay local you can either visit local trade shows or fairs (you might have to travel if you aren’t in a large city) or simply refer to your Yellow Pages (look up wholesalers, manufacturers, and suppliers), or Google the name of the product you are looking for + your state or city.

To find great online suppliers, performing a Google search is a great start. Remember though that the best sellers aren’t always on the first page of search results. It’s important to not to forget that when you search for suppliers on Google or any other search engine, you make yourself vulnerable to con artists out there who will take your money and run off into cyber space, never to be heard from again.

To really ensure that you get the best possible suppliers, use a reputable online supplier directory. For a list of these try Googling “product sourcing directories”.

SaleHoo.com

If you don’t know anything about how to start your own online business, then you have come to the right place. Building an online business really isn’t so different from building a regular, brick and mortar one, other than the fact that it can be faster and easier!

Start by putting together a business plan and/or mission statement. Don’t be put off by the name, it simply means set some goals and write down what you want to achieve. It could be as simple as “I want to earn $2000 dollars to be able to buy a new car”. Once that part is taken care of, ask yourself these few simple questions:

Where will I sell?
While eBay is the most common option, there are also some great alternatives out there such as Amazon, Bonanzle and Craigslist, or you can always set up your own ecommerce store – a great option for those who are looking for independence from fees and rigid selling structures. eCrater is a great provider for this with their free set-up and zero fees and best of all, plenty of support.

What will I sell?
Start by getting some ideas on what sort of products you would like to sell. It’s always best to sell things you are interested in or that you have some kind of experience in, e.g. if you have previously worked in a mountain bike store, you will have plenty of background experience and knowledge. Similarly, if you are a keen golfer, selling golfing accessories might be a good idea for you. Research what some the of best items to sell are to get a few ideas, but don’t be tempted to enter into highly competitive markets like iPods and DVDs – you are much better off selling a niche item that will appeal to a very narrow audience and then expanding later. eBay Pulse is a great site to find out the latest selling trends on eBay.

Where will I source my items from?
You will need to find a wholesale supplier to work with. Be prepared to spend some time doing this as it is one of the most important steps in creating a good business.

There are several ways to find a supplier: you can visit trade shows and fairs and get to know suppliers directly, or you can search for suppliers online by Googling “your product name + suppliers OR wholesalers”. However, beware when using this method as it can make you highly vulnerable to con artists. To ensure you only deal with reputable and legitimate suppliers, try a supplier directory like SaleHoo.com to find verified suppliers which will save you from being scammed. While directories like SaleHoo charge a membership fee, they can save you a ton of money later on when you avoid losing money from being scammed.

There are a few key questions you need to ask when you find a potential supplier:

1. Do you have a minimum order quantity (MOQ)?

2. How long have you been a supplier?

3. Do you ship internationally? (if you are importing from abroad) Which companies do you use? Do they offer tracking information?

So get to it! Your dream of being your own boss and earning money from your own home is just a few clicks away!

SaleHoo.com

Do you want to find out about eBay’s consistently popular categories? I have just compiled this hot list to show you what’s profitable on eBay, season after season, year after year.

Clothing, shoes and accessories
Clothing is such an exciting category to get involved in as it encompasses so many niches such as plus size gym wear, novelty underwear, and comfort shoes. Clothing is also easy to sell and ship, and best of all, there will always be a demand for clothing (at least until global warming really kicks in).

Selling tip: Always give buyers as much information as possible in your eBay listings, especially about the item’s size. This helps buyers to assess whether it will fit them – one factor which can easily cause uncertainty in potential buyers.

Collectibles
eBay is without a doubt the world’s most popular place to buy and sell collectible items. Collectibles can include antique items, baseball cards, posters, medals and war artifacts, comics and branded items like Coca Cola and much more.

Sourcing Tip: Visit yard and estate sales for arbitrage items which you can buy very cheaply and sell on to make a pretty profit.

Electronics
Possibly the most competitive, yet potentially profitable markets on eBay – particularly when it comes to items such as iPods and mobile phones. The best way to approach this market is in a big way – to really make a profit, you will need to do a big bulk buy and sell in big volumes. Consider supplementing your product range with accessories such as iPod skins, spare cords, or hands free kits for mobile phones.

CDs and DVDs
Did you know that eBay sells over 1 million DVDs and CDs and each month? However, for every one million sold, there are around 2 million listed. Yip, you guessed it, this is another highly competitive market. The trick to making it in DVDs and CDs is to niche it up – go outside of mainstream movies and TV series’, or music albums and find a new niche market like exercise DVD’s, classic films or learning languages.

Gaming systems
Many gaming enthusiasts use eBay to buy and sell their games and gaming systems. A typical gamer will buy the latest system, play it for 8 hours a day for four weeks then sell it on and find something new to entertain them, which means there is always an abundance of buyers on the hunt for a new system to entertain them.

Healthy and Beauty
There are so many items within the Health and Beauty market: weight loss supplements, anti-aging creams and vitamins, hair care, dental care, makeup (nail polish, lip gloss, lip stick, lip balm, concealer, powder, foundation, eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, illuminators, bronzers and blushers – phew!), perfume and cologne, moisturizer, eye cream, microdermabrasion kits, hair and makeup brushes and applicators, hair removal kits or razors and shaving creams, manicure kits, eyelash curlers, tweezers and much more!

As with all categories, it really helps to sell something which you are really interested in or have experience with. For example, if you suffer from dandruff, selling dandruff treatments would be ideal as you can relate to your audience and give them a few tips along the way (would be great in your eBay About Me page).

Hot Tip: While brand-name items are top sellers in health and beauty, be very weary of Chinese suppliers offering these items very cheaply – they are likely to be fake and eBay cracks down very hard on anyone selling these

Baby Gear
From toys to feeding equipment and strollers, baby gear is a highly profitable eBay market. Like clothing, there will always be a market for baby equipment and with the huge costs associated with bringing up a baby, it’s no wonder parents turn to buying online to find bargains and save themselves some money.

Hot Tip: Don’t be afraid to source second-hand or sample grade baby clothing – babies are messy little things and parents need them to have an abundance of cheap clothing to change them into after they splash around in the puddles, play with mud or start a food fight with their sweater.

Keep in mind these markets are reliably profitable only when they are well executed! The above categories are highly competitive so when selling them, you must work hard to stand out from your competitors with great key words and item descriptions, and flawless customer service!

SaleHoo.com

SaleHoo.com

Finding a niche market is one of the key ingredients to really making it in online selling. Did you know that beginner sellers are much more successful when they appeal to a very small market, rather than trying to appeal to everyone?

Finding a niche isn’t always easy – it takes time and persistence to find the right product to sell. To get you thinking, and to give you a few inspiring ideas, we have researched 5 product niche ideas to share with you. While some niche ideas might seem abstract to newbie sellers, that is exactly what a great niche is – very precise and seemingly difficult to source.

Niche Item #1: Heart Rate Monitors
These are used by athletes and gym bunnies or by people who need to keep an eye on their heart rate.

Why they are an exciting niche item:

They have a 75% success rate on eBay (75% of all monitors listed on eBay in the last three months sold!)
They are lightweight and easy to ship and store
One size fits all
Niche Item #2: Plus Size Shoes
Many big-foot’s out there find it very difficult to find shoes that will fit them comfortably from regular retail stores.

Why they are a super niche item:

While these are commonly made by popular shoe makers, stores often order only a handful of pairs in larger sizes, which means that more and more, our big-footed friends must turn to buying online to get what they need.
They have a high success rate on eBay (women’s size 11 sell at 61.9% and men’s size 14 at 75%
Both men and women alike can require plus size shoes (Hot tip: women’s size 11+ high heels could make a great little niche)
Niche Item #3: Plus Size Maternity Wear
Another plus-size item with huge success on eBay

It’s a profitable niche because:

Maternity and baby gear always works because people are always going to have babies, so you’ll never run out of customers!
Clothing items are easy to ship as they light and not fragile.
Niche Item #4: Military Insignia
Collectibles always make great niches and you can dig really deep to find the best ones. They are also perfect for people who are interested in them – you’ll find it much easier and much more rewarding when you sell something you enjoy. To really niche it up, go for US military insignia from the Vietnam War which is big on eBay.

Why military insignia makes an excellent niche:

It rarely dates or goes out of fashion
There are so many sub-niches to discover like Russian war medals and World War 2 helmets.
Niche Item #5: Antique Clocks
Another great collectible item

They are a first-rate niche because:

You’ll appeal to both collectors and home decorators
They have an eBay success rate of over 67%
You can often pick these up very cheaply from flea markets and yard sales, then sell them on to make a profit
Niche items really are the way to go for newbie sellers and there are so many out there to keep you interested and best of all, make you money!

SaleHoo.com