Drop Ship Articles

Where to source wholesale jewelry

By Salehoo

Jewelry is a huge market, especially online. It makes a great gift, either for yourself or for a friend or loved one. Plus it's universal - jewelry is recognized by cultures all over the world as a symbol of wealth and well being, and as a reflection of personal style so there is plenty of room to make money in selling jewelry!

Is wholesale jewelry hard to source?

Sourcing jewelry is not difficult. There are hundreds of online wholesalers who you can easily get in touch with and buy from, however, filtering out the sub-standard ones and finding the very best suppliers, can be difficult. When you meet with or talk to suppliers, here is what you should look out for:

• Excellent customer service. There is nothing worse than a supplier who doesn't reply to emails or return your calls. Make sure customer service is something your supplier takes very seriously

• A perfect record. For online suppliers, you can conduct a search on them on the Better Business Bureau's site which can tell you if the site has had complaints laid against them. If the complaints are all about product quality, this indicates that they might not be the best supplier to work with.

• Suppliers with a wide range of products. This will not only help with your jewelry selling as you can have a broad range of items for sale, but also because further down the track, you may want to expand your product range and if you already have a great supplier, you'll be one step ahead. As a repeat customer, you should be able to get their rock-bottom prices too!

Sourcing anything can be tricky, particularly for first-timers so it is important to do plenty of research before you dive right in and invest a lot of money in buying stock which you aren't 100% sure will sell.  To avoid this dreaded situation, you will need to spend a lot of time researching the jewelry market by looking at which products sell best.

Check out the SaleHoo Research Labs, which will give you an exciting insight to the current selling trends on eBay. Even if you are not planning on selling your jewelry on eBay, it's still a first-rate way to see what people are buying.

Alternatively, talk to suppliers about which products are top sellers, they can be a great source of information and asking them can also give you an idea of how helpful they are in giving out information and answering your enquiries.

5 Amazing Niche Markets

By Salehoo

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!

7 Reliably Profitable eBay Markets

By Salehoo

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!

The Best Baby Product Wholesalers

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:

1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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".

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