Thinking about which products to sell online? Then don't miss the show...
Starting an online store can be very exciting. Particularly as you start getting your first orders for products on your site. Companies such as eBay and Yahoo! have made online store creation fairly simple. You can virtually turn the key, and within minutes you can be off and running into a new commerce venture. Often, the most difficult part of these stores is not the technology used in setting up the store. Rather, the basic business questions in a marketing plan become the challenge. "What products should I sell online?" is perhaps the most common question asked by future online store owners. The second most common question asked is "Where do I find the products?"
Let the search begin.
For the past four or five years, a number of wholesale product directories have popped-up on the Internet. The directories claim to promise large selections of products that can be drop shipped to your customers. Many of the directories are worthless as they do not contain actual wholesale companies who offer drop shipping. Very few of the directories are valid. However, virtually all of the directories solely use the same outdated search methodology they were using when they first began several years ago. The content of the directories are nothing more than a bunch of Internet web searches someone did using a search engine such as Google. The Internet has changed dramatically. Many larger wholesale companies have a website today that can be found by a search engine. Nowadays, virtually anyone could find these companies and claim to have thousands, or millions of products in their directory. Most of the directory creators have never physically seen the products the wholesale companies offer (unless it's something you could find at your local Target or Wal Mart). Do you think this type of resource could help you in today's competitive online market? Maybe, but unlikely. As an online store owner today you need to go the next step to stay ahead of the competitive curve. With a little bit of homework, it can be done.
It's show time!
Product trade shows have been around for years. There are an estimated 9,000 trade shows, symposiums, conferences, and expos annually held in the U.S. They can be a great place to find the latest products, newest companies, and general trade information. If you are an online retailer, you should make an effort to go to industry trade shows to learn about the wholesale company you might select. This gives you a chance to see their sample of products first hand. There is a lot of information revealed in face-to-face meetings at trade shows you simply would not get over the phone or find on the Web. Our company, Hienote Inc. (http://www.hienotedirectory.com) offers a directory of wholesale companies who offer drop shipping services. Many of the wholesale drop shipping companies in our directory are found by us attending trade shows and examining their products. Many online store owners do not have the time or money to attend a trade show. So, we research the trade shows for them and find various wholesale products that can be drop shipped in single item quantities for their online store. As you can imagine, we see thousands of products at the shows we attend. We also ask a lot of questions to the wholesale companies about their products and drop shipping programs.
Again, there is a lot of information revealed in face-to-face meetings at trade shows you simply would not get over the phone or find on the Web. Did you know some of the newest wholesale drop shippers have little, or no Web presence? This is particularly true for brand new wholesalers who are not found in a major search engine such as Google. Some of the newer wholesale companies have new websites. As some of you may know, it can take years to get good search engine placement. A new wholesale company with a new website simply does not show up immediately in a search engine (assuming they even have a website). This is one of the reasons why we go to the trade shows to find wholesale companies for our directory. You should do this too. Think about what this means in terms of your competition. If you search the trade shows for wholesale products, but your competition does not, you are exposing yourself to a whole new world. This is good. This extra effort is to your advantage as there could be products not yet found on the Web, but only at the shows you attend.
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About The Author:
Brad Beiermann Ph.D., is President of Hienote Inc., Crystal Lake, IL 60039. Dr. Beiermann is one of the leading experts in business technology and e-commerce. Hienote Inc. specializes in assisting businesses locate wholesale drop shipping companies. You can visit their site at http://www.hienotedirectory.com, or call 1-800-342-0386.
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