Niche sorted - how do I choose from hundreds of products?

[Paul David]

I've got a product niche which I've been involved in for a number of years. My success in this area however, has been more of a follower rather than a leader.

Generally I've used eBay sales history from competitors to select products and then jumped on the same bandwagon.

The time has come to move out of the shadows and lead rather than follow. The question is where do I start?

I have a competitor who sells same things via a UK website. They had £8m sales last year and have £600,000 worth of stock according to their accounts.

How do I choose which products to sell myself?
How do I negate the risk of buying products in my niche that don't sell?

I could start off slow and buy a few here and there but I want to grow my business by at least 10 times.

If my competitor is doing it then I can do it.
Buying 5 pcs here and there isn't going to cut it.

I want to become the place to go for these type of products. I can utilise the drop shipping route but I'm not a great fan of the lack of control and low margins.

 

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[Delmania]

Find an area where the users of these products congregate, build a reputation, and then ask them what their issues with the current offerings are. If you can build an offering that not only offers the current functionality, but also fixes issues with the current offering, you've got a good chance of it being successful.

 

[Get Right]

My success in this area however, has been more of a follower rather than a leader.

I choose to find the product I can dominate in. For instance, call up the manufacturer and find out what products are being discontinued. Buy up all that stock, wait for your competitor to run out, then raise the price.

 

[Paul David]

As many of the products in our niche can be private labelled discontinued products aren't an issue but I understand your method. Thanks

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[safff]

Without knowing the niche, the only thing I'd be wary of with that is that it depends why it is being discontinued - if it thereis something 'better' or more cost effective then you could be pouring cement in your own boots, unless you can get it at a knockdown price. But being the monopoly ratherthan the competition is definately a good place to be

 

[GuestUser450]

If my competitor is doing it then I can do it.

Not sure I agree, but assuming that's true: even if you can siphon traffic, outspend, undercut, etc., someone else can surely do it to you. Don't chase; easy to say, hard to do.

So how can multiple companies sell the same thing and not compete with each other? They don't sell products so much as they solve problems.

For example, women buy the same exact shoe for different reasons. One might buy for a Christmas party, one might buy to replace an old pair, one might buy just to treat herself. You can be the special occasion-money-is-no-object store or the quick and thrifty replacement store or the lookalike knockoff store, etc. So you're not a niche by product but by context. If you're going to sell commodities, you have to carve out a place for your brand through speed, quality, customer service, sense of humor, freebies, charity, something.

It sounds like you intuitively know who you don't want to be, but also that you might be in a game where everyone is trying to square the same circle.

 

[Paul David]

I'm happy to reveal my niche, it's not an easy industry to enter.

I sell power products, namely chargers, power supplies and batteries.

We have a large database (over 100,000) of products and the correct power solution that goes with it.

We grow by adding new models, for example we'll go to best buy and add all the products to our database that require a charger or battery.

Power supplies and chargers are pretty easier, one type can fit thousands of models. Batteries are a bit more difficult.

At the moment we sell around 5000 chargers/power supplies a month and are looking to expand rapidly with introduction of batteries and selling in new countries.

Hope this sheds a bit more light on my situation.



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[GuestUser450]

I sell power products, namely chargers, power supplies and batteries.

Have you researched Anker?

 

[Paul David]

Have you researched Anker?

Yes I know Anker. They don't have many products in their range but they sell a hell of a lot of what they do have.

They sell thousands a month on Amazon.

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[phenom4hire]

Im assuming you are referring to phone, watch, laptop and those type of batteries and chargers for similar products? Ive been hearing and researching a lot of the new battery tech coming out and supposedly in the next 1-2 years if not sooner we will be getting quite a bit more power from lithium like batteries and what not.

I know that wireless charging seems to be gaining popularity a little bit, not sure if you offer products of that type or not? Are you competing with this competitor solely on price? Can you bundle or do something to make your product stand out a bit from your competitors? Just look for holes to fill in their product offerings and give better service. Good luck and continued success.

 

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[Carnage]

Yes I know Anker. They don't have many products in their range but they sell a hell of a lot of what they do have.

They sell thousands a month on Amazon.

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Do you have your own site? Ebay and amazon too?
100k is a lot of product!

 

[BlakeIC]

https://www.random.org/

 

[Paul David]

Do you have your own site? Ebay and amazon too?
100k is a lot of product!

I sell across eBay, amazon and my own website yes. Anker tend to concentrate on Amazon only.

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[Paul David]

Im assuming you are referring to phone, watch, laptop and those type of batteries and chargers for similar products? Ive been hearing and researching a lot of the new battery tech coming out and supposedly in the next 1-2 years if not sooner we will be getting quite a bit more power from lithium like batteries and what not.

I know that wireless charging seems to be gaining popularity a little bit, not sure if you offer products of that type or not? Are you competing with this competitor solely on price? Can you bundle or do something to make your product stand out a bit from your competitors? Just look for holes to fill in their product offerings and give better service. Good luck and continued success.

Yes it's those type of products I'm referring to.

A lot of our work is in database updates. Most customers will search for the model of their product or battery model so something like "Panasonic Lumix Dmc-a10 battery". So it's important we are constantly adding new models to keep up with demand.

I don't however want to tie up a lot of capital in inventory that sits there for months just in case someone wants one 8 months down the line. That's were drop shipping may be a better solution.





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[Walter Hay]

Don't forget about product liability. I recently replaced the batteries in my Mercedes key and the results were a disaster.

After about 6 weeks they leaked and corroded the electronics with the result the key was Kaput! I contacted the retailer who passed my ruined key and the batteries on to the big time battery importer. The importer deposited hundreds of dollars direct to my bank account to pay for a replacement key. The batteries only cost a few dollars each.

Walter Hay

 

[John Robert]

Figure out a bonus or something/whatever to differentiate yourself

 

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