Where do I find products to sell?

A - There are a number of ways to find products to sell depending on what your interests are.

Wholesaler - these are companies (or their representatives) that offer product direct for sale to the merchant (you). The great thing about wholesalers are they often offer a very wide variety of products at very low prices. They will often times offer price breaks for the more you buy and they will ship the items directly to you.

The downside of wholesalers are they often times require you to buy in quantity which can make the initial investment quite pricey. If you're just starting out and are cash strapped a wholesaler may not be your best bet.

Sources: www.alibaba.com

Dropshipper - A dropshipper is different from a wholesaler in that you act as their middleman between the buyer. The dropshipper holds all the inventory and ships it upon the sales order. You make your money on a % of the sale price and let the dropshipper handle the logistics of the sale.

Dropshipping is a viable way of setting up an online presence at a minimal price point -BUT- they have limitations in that their selections are often limited, pricing is usually fixed and you are relying on them to provide a critical piece of customer service; basically shipping an unbroken, quality item on time to your customer.

Sources: www.doba.com

Direct Sale - There are many small manufacturers that will work directly with the retailers to stock their products. These tend to be smaller speciality items that can be bought in smaller lot quantities. Often times an email or call to the manufacturer is all that is needed to get a price list and products coming in.

As with wholesalers, direct sales need to be managed carefully to make sure you don't buy more inventory than is necessary. Make sure that your spending is slow and well planned as nothing eats through cash quicker than spending on inventory.