Get Your Online Store
Stop Sitting on the Sidelines!
Day 1 - How to Find the
Right Product Your choice in merchandise will be the most important
decision you make as an online storeowner. The first step you should take
is to look through some of the below directories.
Global Sources
Wholesale Central
Alibaba
After reviewing these sites, you will develop a list
of different merchandise that you can sell. Write down the products that
are interesting to you. Once you have a good list, it is easy to figure
what merchandise will be the best for you. With your list in hand, you can research products and
discover the one that will maximize your profit and have the most
customers. The following steps will guide you through the research
process:
·
Create a key word description for all of your prospective
merchandise. Here, you will write down every possible word or phrase that
can describe the product. If you are unsure of what words to use, take
the description provided by the manufacturer or wholesaler and write down
some of the words that are listed there.
·
Take your word list and go the
Overture
and click on the “Precision Match” tab. This is
a great tool that lets you know how many times a keyword or phrase
was requested in their search engine. On this site, you can enter each
item on your list and see how many people requested information on that
item. Once you have
finished with your list, you will find which products are more in demand.
In addition, there will be some items that don’t have a large audience,
but might still be a good niche product. Don’t discount merchandise just
because there is a small demand for it.
·
Go to your favorite search engine. If you don’t have one,
then you can use
Google. Enter the product
phrases or words in the search box. The search engine will bring up all
the pages that have the product on their websites. The results of the
search will show the following:
Ø
Your competition After discounting the
directories or informational sites, you will have a list of all your
competitors. If you find a large amount of websites, then you know that
your online store will have a lot of competition.
Ø
The price The websites that list your
potential product will have prices listed below each item. After looking
at a few websites, you get an idea of the average sales price of the
merchandise.
Ø
Opportunity In addition to finding
competition, you can use search engines to discover hidden
opportunities. There are many products that are in high demand but
are not sold in many online stores. Also, many websites that do sell the
product are not maximizing their efforts. The products that fit in this
category will make a great item that you can sell. Write down the
merchandise that you think has the best opportunities.
·
Now that you know the average selling price of your
potential products, you can compare it to the buying price that is set
forth by the manufacturer or wholesaler. Once you deduct the difference
between the buying and selling prices, you will have your profit margin.
Calculate this for each product and you will have a list of profit margins
for each product.
·
Compare your list of profit margins and opportunities to
discover the best item to sell on your online store. Although this not an
exact science, comparing each list will allow you to review the potential
for each product. When you have decided on the item that you want to use
in your online store, you should then contact the wholesaler or
manufacturer to obtain the merchandise. This is the end of Day 1 and
just a sampling of our “How to Find the Right Product Section”. If you
want to see more tips and product sources and get the whole handbook, click the red 'Start Now!". If you want to continue this Free ecourse,
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