Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi Guys,

I`m starting an online women`s boutique and I have a $3K budget for products.  I need help in determining the best way to spend this money.  I know that`s not a lot of money to gather products so I`m afraid that the minute my website is live and as customers place orders I won`t be able to fill them because I don`t have enough product. How does it all work?

 

Tori

Can you buy more product on credit?

I`d imagine you`d have to tell customers if certain products are "backordered" and then you would have to purchase them ASAP.

$3K worth of product is a lot in some businesses, not in others. What do you predict daily sales to be?

Is it possible to finance the purchase of your products from the payments by your customers? If you can get quick enough turn around delivery from your suppliers, this may be the way to go.


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Daniel the Denim Doctor

Hi Tori,

Determining the best way to invest your money in product is a difficult decision.  I have definitely made my share of mistakes purchasing product.  Following are some questions you might want to consider prior to making any purchases:   

What type of products are you planning on selling? High end, boutique or inexpensive?  If so, have you located reputable vendors to supply the  wholesale product to you?  Also, do you have adequate storage for the merchandise? 

I would start by locating reputable vendors and checking their history with the BBB.  Because the fashion industry changes so rapidly, I would be cautious not to over buy.  One option for you might be to search drop ship companies that will store and ship the products for you.  This will eliminate the need for you to keep a large supply of inventory on hand that might not sell.  Then you could invest more into a nice marketing campaign to drive traffic to your site. 

 

 

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Jennifer

http://www.BabysInStyle.com |
http://www.MompreneurClub.com

I keep rewriting my comments because it is such a difficult topic to provide a perfect answer to. I think  BabysInStyle has done a wonderful job... but also remember you may NOT sell what you purchased as you thought you would. There are some product on my site, which although a wonderful product, don`t seem to sell well. Matter of fact, there are some products I was unsure about selling on the net because they just need to be seen and touched to captivate the "buy now" emotion.

There`s nothing wrong with having a low quantity. Just don`t tell your customers you have a lot. Customers are more than happy to know they are one of 10 to get such a great deal. If marketed properly, it can be a selling point to visit your store more frequently. Everybody loves a good deal.

So make some decisions about your selling point. Is it product selection and availability, good deals, rarity of product? When you know your selling point, push it.

My selling point is handmade, and limited quantity. My products come mostly from other countries (Thailand & Viet Nam). I know other US businesses don`t have my products. I hand picked them and shipped them to the US in large container loads. No one (customers) is going to go through that in order to find the products I provide. But, as they adopt a "living green" lifestyle, I have the products that don`t harm the earths environment during production. And they don`t have to do a lot of work to enjoy them. Just order... I`ll send it to you. If you`re disappointed with their purchase... I provide GREAT customer service and will address their concerns personally. After all, customer service is something that every business provides... or at least should.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

What about dropshipping? This allows you to put the product on your website and ship it AFTER someone has bought it. One thing to watch is you dont want to have something on there that the manufacture is out of or on back order. So watch your quantities. For dropshipping a great place is World Wide Brands.

It sounds like dropshipping is going to to be the best option for you. Have you looked into something like this?

I`ve had some problems finding legitatme sites in the past, but I`ve found one that actually was great, and wasn`t a scam. It`s called worldwidebrands . They are a directory of thousands of suppliers, all of whom are upto date and looking for businesses to buy their products.

They`ve been a real help to my advertising business.

Ryan

Ryan is right!  There are a lot of drop ship sites out there that are scams.  I started out with doba.  They are one of the largest with over 250,000 products and work with well known manufacturers in hundreds of categories.  I have not used World Wide Brands.  Also, you may be interested in finding out more on the topic of dropshipping from Tim Knox.  Go to timknox.com and sign up for his newsletter - it can be very informative.  Hope this help! 

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Jennifer

http://www.BabysInStyle.com |
http://www.MompreneurClub.com

BabysInStyle,

How was your experience with Doba?