How I find suppliers for my Ecommerce Stores

[LightHouse]

Awesome info Rep +

 

[Sparlin]

Yes, I've been member for about 2 years. Chris Malta and Rob Cowie seem to be honest and respectable people. The free resources coupled with the services they provide make membership well worth the price. Good luck if you go that route.

 

[Sparlin]

I've had good luck finding suppliers by contacting the manufacturers directly. If I'm looking to sell Wilson tennis rackets in my store, I dig up relevant phone numbers on the Wilson site and call whatever number seems most appropriate. Then I explain that I work for a retailer and we're very interested in carrying some of their products. I ask if they offer wholesale pricing directly, if not, I ask if they can give me contact info for their distributor(s). This has worked perfectly almost every time. At first I would send emails, but found that responses took forever, if they came at all. Once in a while a company will say that they're not currently looking for any new retailers. In that case I politely thank them and call back about a month later to see if anything has changed.

I did sign up for a Worldwide Brands membership, but was pretty disappointed. In the niches I'm interested in, the products available have been very slim. Lots of cheap knock-off accessories too. I wish I would have realized earlier that even better info is available almost for free by making a phone call.

Nice post, thanks. I know this was directed to Biophase, but if I may comment. It seemed like it was either boom or bust on world wide brands. I think the main issue is that their search feature is not as good as it could be. I was unable to find some items using their search box, or if I did it was cheaper quality. However when I started going through the suppliers one by one, I was finding more of the name brands and better quality items. For example, I used to be in law enforcement and was able to find the same exact items that our agency used. Sorry Biophase, I'll try to quit jumping in on your thread.

 

[wildambitions]

Biophase, I was wondering if you could talk about your marketing strategy a bit. Once an ecommerce site is up and running for a while, pulling in a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in profit a month, how did you make the jump to the next level? Aside from SEO, Adwords etc, what else would you recommend? I always read that blogs should be started, join social networking sites etc, but are strategies like that really enough to go from an obscure, minor player in your niche to a market leader? Also, do you feel that there is a sweet spot for advertising / marketing spending, and how do you arrive at that point for your different sites?

http://www.thefastlanetomillions.co...igh-google-page-ranking-backlinks-forums.html
More info that Kenric has posted. And be sure to follow his blog! Great stuff.

Another thing you might be interested in attending and/or purchasing the videos from the Fastlane Meet-ups. Kenric has participated in each. Fastlane Get Together

 

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[Sparlin]

This is all great stuff. Thanks for taking the time to respond and clarify some points. Speed + for mentoring.

 

[CactusWren]

Great info here! Speed +

 

[biophase]

Thanks for all the great information. Biophase, so have you completely migrated from Volusion to the shopping cart software you mentioned in your blog. I was thinking of using Volusion for my ecommerce store.

Thanks!
Speed+

The problem with Volusion is the bandwidth fees. Your store can easily cost you hundreds of dollars a month in bandwidth. You also cannot easily add a blog or forums to your URL with Volusion because you have to point your domain to their DNS. To me, the software was limiting in that fashion. I think the software and usability of the store is fine. But the bandwidth costs makes it a very expensive ecommerce package.

Do a google search on Volusion bandwidth or monthly costs.

 

[ATL_JB]

The problem with Volusion is the bandwidth fees. Your store can easily cost you hundreds of dollars a month in bandwidth. You also cannot easily add a blog or forums to your URL with Volusion because you have to point your domain to their DNS. To me, the software was limiting in that fashion. I think the software and usability of the store is fine. But the bandwidth costs makes it a very expensive ecommerce package.

Do a google search on Volusion bandwidth or monthly costs.

Thanks! I will do! I am thinking of creating a store for members only! I have several suppliers (manufacturers) that should give me a wide range of merchandise for my store. I am thinking of charging a membership fee and selling the products at my cost (plus shipping and other associated fees).

 

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[TaxGuy]

I dont consider myself fastlane moneywise. If you look at my other posts you'll see that I value time alot more than money. I'll give up money to spend my time how I want to.

I think that SL of yours begs otherwise

But I feel this is what most of us here are shooting for... time more so than money, especially if done properly it looks like Ecommerce is a low-risk/high-reward vehicle, in comparison to the other major avenues(real estate, stocks and B&M business), not to mention how many great free or low-cost resources there are such as the 30 Day Challenge, these forums(including most of your posts ), 4HWW and its forums, etc, etc.

With that in mind it can also be deceiving as with anything worthwhile it takes making wise decisions and hard work sprinkled with a little bit of luck which I feel discourages most, but the positive of that is less competition and a more rewarding feeling when you've achieved success!

 

[TaxGuy]

I dont consider myself fastlane moneywise. If you look at my other posts you'll see that I value time alot more than money. I'll give up money to spend my time how I want to.

My niche stores usually are profitable from day one. You can tell real quick how they will go. Sometimes I find out that I don't care about my product in a certain niche. This will definitely make the store a pain and it won't be successful.

I know I quoted this before, but more than 6 months later and still stuck in the slowlane the bolded points are really what I'm trying to shoot for... much like what the 4HWW teaches I don't necessarily intend to be a millionaire and especially after following your posts and meeting you at B&P last year I have to say that you are a great role model for the "New Rich" lifestyle

Right now the missus and I as part of the Shopify contest from 4HWW are working on starting an online shop, centered around running as it is one of the few interests of mine where I will spend good money on high quality products and ultimately has become by default, my #1 interest among the hundreds of hobbies/interests I have. Thus the second bolded part about finding something that is profitable from day one where I can really care about my products(a la Hair Club For Men- lol, "I'm not just the president, I'm a member").

So this thread as well as a few others are helping us sift through the hundreds of dropshipping sources to find where we will look for products while I also try to find more running forums and join local running clubs to find out the needs of the community beyond my own as an up and coming distance runner :smxB:

Almost any e-business you can make money at, the challenge is making good money then moving up from there. A lot of folks think its just a templete + paypal = profit.... thats just not true. making 2k-5k a mo is "easy" makeing 10k + a bit more work and so on and so forth. I have easy in quotes because it would be easier to me now knowing what i know rather than when i started where i made maybe 2k the 2nd half of the year from the site (started in july or something i dont remember). Once you have a well built site and the tools and components you need its all about promotion/marketing/and SEO. those are not easy and ever evolving. there is a lot to learn thats why i tell people to stop reading and get into it, you will learn better by doing and adjusting than reading out of date content.

This is the challenge, even $2k/mo seems daunting as I tend to way overestimate the competition and at the same time underestimate my own abilities and also realize that like all challenges(including running a marathon), it must be broken down and like my running progression from just finishing marathon #1(the $2k/mo equivalent) to cutting about 3.5 minutes/mile and 25% off my time on marathon #2($5-10k/mo) to future goals of qualifying for Boston($10k+/mo) and running a marathon every week.

 

[ZDS]

Ok, so I am thinking about launching an ecommerce store to go along with my video blog. I don't plan on heavily using my video blog to market it(don't want to turn my show into a sells pitch), however I will have a link on my site to it.

Do you think I should run the store on a separate URL/Website and then just add a link to my site, or make it an extension of my website, not sure which one yet.


I was planning on carrying computer mice/keyboards - possibility stylized/art worked one from their favorite games. (Maybe a wider product line depending on what I suppliers i find.) - Only thing I am worried about is attacking this niche, it seems like it may be very hard to break into.

Thoughts? Thanks!

Edit: I also thought about maybe making it JUST gaming/mmo merchandise, from shirts - coffee mugs/computer bags/mice etc etc. Making it much more niche based.

The URL, MMOAccessories.com is available, but it seems a bit wordy.

 

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[SAGAD_01]

been sitting on the idea of having my own e biz for some time...

i learned a lot from his thread...

just want to ask opinions here...

i'm from the Philippines and some of you may know, ARNIS or KALI originated here...

anyway, it seems that arnis sticks are overpriced...

for example, a particular kind of stick is being sold on line at $25 average...

my cost for this item may be around $3-$6...and i can drive it lower if i really would go for it...

a quick search at google doesn't yield any prominent player selling the item...

question, does this mean that there might not be enough customers for the item(s)?

am i better of approaching this on a B2B method?

thanks all...

 

[Bond]

been sitting on the idea of having my own e biz for some time...

i learned a lot from his thread...

just want to ask opinions here...

i'm from the Philippines and some of you may know, ARNIS or KALI originated here...

anyway, it seems that arnis sticks are overpriced...

for example, a particular kind of stick is being sold on line at $25 average...

my cost for this item may be around $3-$6...and i can drive it lower if i really would go for it...

a quick search at google doesn't yield any prominent player selling the item...

question, does this mean that there might not be enough customers for the item(s)?

am i better of approaching this on a B2B method?

thanks all...

A quick google adwords check gives me:

Kalis sticks 1600 exact searches in december
Arnis sticks 590 "
knife fighting 9900 "
Silat 9900 "
Arnis 6600 "
escrima sticks 2900 "


Maybe you can create something more that just selling the sticks to attract more sales...

 

[SAGAD_01]

being the newbie that i am, i take it those figures shows a sign of hope for this business?

thanks for the stats...appreciate it

 

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[SAGAD_01]

$200 a day profit? from our part of the world here, that's way, way more than enough to get me started...w/ my current status, that would be heaven for me...really

man, you just gave the green signal...thanks!

an idea im thinking of, i live near a revered century old church here, i could give a "blessed talisman" for any items bought at my store...any serious student of arnis wold somehow appreciate the value of the item...they don't necessarily have to believe in the talisman, it would be sort of a novelty item...

ok...so at the top of my head...

a website...
several info (web)sites?
social networking
a newsletter

would that be enough to do list?

again, thanks

 

[Bond]

You can create a place where users go and share their stories, upload videos, images, etc, learn from each others and have items to buy (you sell them )...

 

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[LightHouse]

Let me give you a quick example here

arnis has 6k some searches. assume 80% of those goto the first SERP result (because they do). thats 4800 visitors a month of you have everything done to a T (the first spot is not to easy to get and hold)

That puts you at about 160 visits a day, at an average 3% conversion rate if everything on your site is absolutly fantastic is about 4-5 sales a day. then factor in all your costs for development, operating expenses, time, and seo man power. Will that work out for you?

 

[Bond]

And don't forget that Google is about 60% of searches on the net so the real value is around 10.000 searches...

 

[SAGAD_01]

Let me give you a quick example here

arnis has 6k some searches. assume 80% of those goto the first SERP result (because they do). thats 4800 visitors a month of you have everything done to a T (the first spot is not to easy to get and hold)

That puts you at about 160 visits a day, at an average 3% conversion rate if everything on your site is absolutly fantastic is about 4-5 sales a day. then factor in all your costs for development, operating expenses, time, and seo man power. Will that work out for you?

ok...will work on the expenses and see how it would turn out...

though as early as now, using the fastlane lingo here, this venture seems to be more like a singles, not a homerun...

 

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[LightHouse]

And don't forget that Google is about 60% of searches on the net so the real value is around 10.000 searches...

because G had a now 70% search market share doesn't automatically mean that similar traffic and search queries are put through the remainder of search engines out there.

 

[kconnors@tpna]

Hey this is Kevin, Mike Mariani's neighbor. Good meeting you the other night. I've compiled a million questions but am finding the answers pretty quickly on the Forum. Good to know you're active on the Forum. Obviuosly I read the book and enjoyed it, I think the Forum is going to be INCREDIBLY valuable. Have a good week, I'll talk to you later.

 

[LightHouse]

Hey this is Kevin, Mike Mariani's neighbor. Good meeting you the other night. I've compiled a million questions but am finding the answers pretty quickly on the Forum. Good to know you're active on the Forum. Obviuosly I read the book and enjoyed it, I think the Forum is going to be INCREDIBLY valuable. Have a good week, I'll talk to you later.

Welcome! Shout over to Mike we haven't seen him here in ahwhile, to get on the forum!

 

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[kurtyordy]

for those sitting on the sideline, this primer works. I finally settled on what I believe will be a good niche today. Contacted 6 of the 7 major suppliers in the industry (still looking for info on #7). 4 of the six contacted me back today already. All open to doing business with me. So far anyway.

I copied the exact email bio posted, put in my info and my product info and sent it off.

Thanks bio.

 

[kurtyordy]

one quick question- do i need a business license for this?

 

[Sparlin]

kurt... I believe you'll need a tax i.d. Most real wholesalers won't work with you unless you have an EIN and/or a State tax #. If someone does try to work with you without it, be careful because that can be a red flag. Does that answer your question or am I rambling again?

 

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[bflbob]

Can't believe I have never seen this thread in the past two years!

Good stuff, Kenric!

At the last B&P, I was talking to Bill about his pretty confections site.

He mentioned you guys hire out the SEO.

Care to share??? What steps, etc.

 

[kurtyordy]

kurt... I believe you'll need a tax i.d. Most real wholesalers won't work with you unless you have an EIN and/or a State tax #. If someone does try to work with you without it, be careful because that can be a red flag. Does that answer your question or am I rambling again?

Yeah, I have the tax id because I am running it through and old s corp that I have, but this is at the bottom of one of the apps- PLEASE ATTACH TO THIS DOCUMENT A COPY OF YOUR SALES PERMIT

I know I could ask, but I am trying to present myself as knowledgeable in the biz

 

[kurtyordy]

Can't believe I have never seen this thread in the past two years!

Good stuff, Kenric!

At the last B&P, I was talking to Bill about his pretty confections site.

He mentioned you guys hire out the SEO.

Care to share??? What steps, etc.

bob- thanks for hijacking my hijack of this thread

 

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[Bozigian]

Can wordpress have ecommerce stores?

Where do we find templates?

 

[Sparlin]

It sounds like the just want proof in hand so people don't make up numbers. When I had my ecom a few years ago I had both Fed and State tax i.d.s and a City Permit for running an internet business. I would guess they just want a photocopy of your state tax license. This covers them from illegitimate people who try to duck out on taxes. Maybe Kenric has something to say about it but I think you'll be ok if you just send the copy.