Here come the profits: Wedding niches!

Did you know that the average cost of an American wedding is around US$30,000? And that Americans spend over US$50 billion on weddings each year? That’s a lot of zeros! However, the average cost of a wedding has plummeted as a result of the recession, meaning that people are really pinching their pennies and looking for cheaper alternatives. The good news? People are turning to buying online to save money!

I love bringing our fabulous members fantastic new ideas on what to sell to make themselves some serious cash, and after a recent lunch with a friend who is planning a huge wedding for next summer, I was feeling inspired by the number of wedding-related selling opportunities there are out there!

Anyone who has planned a wedding will know the mountain of stuff you have to buy. It starts with a couple of rings and a dress, then once you get into the finer details, you need flower girl dresses, table centrepieces, flower archways, and wedding favours (that’s when you give your guests a little something as thanks for attending your wedding – as if the free dinner and open bar wasn’t enough!). So to help you on your way to online selling bliss, I’ve crunched the numbers and done the research and come up with the best of the best in wedding niches!

Flower Girl’s Shoes

It just wouldn’t be a wedding without a precious little lady tossing satin petals down the aisle, looking shyly at her audience and showing off her sweet miniature dress. Maybe that’s why 7 out of 10 brides choose to have a flower girl (or flower girls) as part of their wedding party.

Why flower girl’s shoes will make you money:

While flower girl dresses have become an oversaturated market on eBay, there is still plenty of room for flower girl’s shoes to make you an online selling success. Best of all, they have a great selling success rate on eBay. Their impressive sell-through rate might have something to do with the fact that pageant moms will also be scouring the web for cheap shoes to complete their daughter’s many costumes they need for pageant competitions, which means your market just got a whole lot wider so you can expect to make even more sales!

 Make sure you keep your listing duration as long as possible (10+ days being optimal) so that the bride or mother of the flower girl can decide if they will complement the outfit and fit well. Plus you need to think of all the bridezillas out there who are ultra particular and won’t be ready to make a quick decision. Therefore giving them plenty of time to decide is always a good idea.

 ‘Just Married’ Flip Flops

As cheesy as they might sound, couples tend to get all mushy around their wedding and these are great for the happy couple to wear at their next-day family barbeque or on their honeymoon. These are great for sellers new to product sourcing as they are cheap to buy per unit and light and durable for importing.  

Why they will make you money:

Even if the newlyweds don’t buy these for themselves, a guest is sure to think they are the perfect gift. They’re just what buyers need for increasingly popular island and destination weddings, making them ideal for guests who are attending a destination wedding where a more expensive gift isn’t expected and baggage space means everything! These flip flops have a very high sell-through rate on eBay but currently aren’t selling in huge volumes, which means there is a lot of potential here. With some well-executed marketing and perseverance, they could be another eBay cult-buy in no time!

Hot tip: Make sure you sell them as pairs, but are flexible with sizing. For example, instead of selling 2 pairs of medium sized flip flops, allow buyers to select what they need to suit the couple.  

Wedding Cake Toppers

You know the ones; the miniature bride and groom who sit on top of the cake wearing mushy looks on their faces? They are big news on eBay and can bring you home a nice profit.

Why they will make you money:

Cake decorators and artists can charge a lot for these, so when brides find that they can get them cheaper online and take them directly to their cake decorator, the will come flocking! As with every item we have listed, wedding cake toppers are small enough to not require any storage space which can save you a lot of money in overheads and really increase your profit margins. Their small size also means they are cheap and hassle-free to ship out to buyers.

Hot Tip: Next season’s big colors for wedding party clothing, centrepieces and decor will be coral, tiffany blue and champagne for summer, and mocha, deep red, violet and teal for winter. Make sure you incorporate these colors into your range of wedding products as much as possible.

Disclaimer: The information published here is strictly for informational purposes. All above product items are only suggestions for possible products which will sell favorably, and should be used as a guide only. At the time of writing, all above products were researched using methods recommend by SaleHoo and found to be potentially profitable for sellers. All sellers are encouraged to conduct their own market and product research.

5 Steps to becoming a PowerSeller

Are you ready to become the next eBay success story? Wanting to leave your day job behind and move on to making serious cash from home? Join me as I reveal the five key steps to becoming an eBay PowerSeller.

What is a PowerSeller?

PowerSellers are quite simply eBay sellers who achieve a high level of sales and consistently receive positive feedback based on their exceptional customer service. Some PowerSellers really take online retail to the next level when they turn selling on eBay into a full blown business. These sellers work full time on their business for years and fully immerse themselves – and some even end up with millions of dollars in the bank!

Wondering how exactly you can become a PowerSeller? For starters, you need to have been an eBay member for at least 90 days and have a minimum of 100 feedback ratings. Of those 100 feedback ratings, at least 98% from the last 12 months must be positive. eBay’s sales volume requirement demands a minimum of US$1,000 in sales and 2 items sold per month, or 100 items sold per month.

And what do you get for all your hard work? You get discounts on your Final Value Fees, greater customer support (phone and chat), discounted UPS rates and more. Best of all, you’ll make more sales when buyers see your PowerSeller status on your listings which is represented by a shooting star icon next to your username and feedback.

Step 1: Acknowledge that becoming a PowerSeller and maintaining PowerSeller status is not easy.

It’s also not fast, or pain-free. That’s right; you are going to have to work hard to make some serious money… If you are still reading this blog now, well done! It means that unlike everyone who were turned off from reading the words "have to work hard", and closed their browser, you might just have what it takes to become a PowerSeller! That means you probably won’t be shocked to know that some of the best PowerSellers worked 15 hour days, 6 days a week for a year to get where they are. Still with me and not afraid of a bit of hard work? Keep reading!

Step 2: Carve out a niche

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; you are much better off if you appeal to a smaller niche market, rather than trying to appeal to everyone. Remember the old saying "from small things, big things grow"? This is exactly how many eBay PowerSellers make it – by starting out small and selling one product, then expanding as they go by growing their product range.

We have talked about niches a lot over the past couple of months, but if you haven’t quite caught on, a niche is a certain segment of the population who you intend to concentrate selling your product to.  That means staying away from things like iPods and laptops, and instead, zooming in on more specific products. You’ll often find the best niches when you put two or more categories together such as left-handed can openers (rather than just can openers), alcohol-free sunscreen or in-ear headphones for small ears.

Step 3: Create a business plan

Want to know the biggest difference between a PowerSeller and a casual ‘just-here-to-make-some-quick-cash’ seller? PowerSellers plan to make it big. PowerSellers aren’t often made by chance; they plan their success right from the very beginning. And you need to do the same.

First and foremost, a business plan will help you to define exactly what you want to achieve and how and when you will achieve it. Writing a business plan out will also help you to foresee any potential problems you might face further down the track. For some, a business plan will be essential when it comes time to approach banks or investors. Without a professional plan, these guys won’t take you or your business seriously.

Here’s a quick list of what you should include in your business plan:

• A mission statement. This will state the purpose of the business, the problem it will solve or the audience it will cater to, and show how your business is different from others like it.

• A description of your business. This should include the legal structure of the business (Limited Liability Company, corporation, or partnership – find out more about these here), a description of the items you sell, where they come from, what they are made of and how you source them.

• Your goals. Write down what you want to achieve both short and long term with your business. It’s OK to talk about money here, but it might be better to say how many items you want to sell, rather than the focus being 100% on the money you will make. This gives potential investors a good impression as it shows them you are more about reaching out to customers, rather than simply making money.

• Outline your competition. This could be other successful eBay members who are selling the same or similar items as you. Getting familiar with your competitors is essential to your business, especially in the early planning stages. For example, you might find that your competitors have a great product, but have had a few negative feedbacks placed because the delivery time was slow, which would lead you to making fast shipping your point of difference.

• A run-down on your target audience. This is where you list who your customers will be. Investors will want to know basic information such as age group, sex and possibly race. Include what your audience will be looking for and why they need your product.

• A financial analysis. Here you need to itemise all overhead costs associated with your business including the cost of buying and shipping your items, importing and customs fees (if you are buying from overseas), eBay listing fees, rent on a storage unit and any costs associated with staff you might employ.

• Finally, talk about how you want to market your business. Will you have a blog, or maybe a website or a flyer drop? Also discuss business branding and the image you wish to portray to potential buyers.

Step 4: Maintain a steady supply of merchandise

One of the main practises that sets a PowerSeller apart from others is that they deal in huge bulk. A PowerSeller will always have their items in stock and ready. That means ready to list and ready to ship. PowerSellers build strong, mutually-beneficial relationships with suppliers. Buying in large bulk is always the preferable option as it means you will get the best price possible, but before you go ordering 1500 units of anything, you have to do some thorough research. All PowerSellers know that product and market research is paramount to the success of their business and spend more time on this than anything else.

Step 5: Always put your customers first

When it comes to selling in the big bad battlefield of eBay, make sure you always put your customers first. Rather than counting profits, PowerSellers know the importance of making buyers their number 1 priority. After all, if there were no customers, there would be no profits! To really show your customers you care, always respond to questions promptly and ship items as soon as you can!

Another sure-fire recipe for customer service success is offering free shipping on all items. This is common practise among PowerSellers and not only will it keep your customers happy and increase your number of sales, it will also help to boost the final price on bid auctions. How? Free shipping is favored by eBay search engines so your listings will rank higher, meaning you will get more visits, and therefore more bids!

When it comes to troubled customers, always keep your cool and remain professional. Communicate with them via email so that if they give you negative feedback unfairly, you can appeal it and have it removed. This is important for maintaining your minimum requirements to be a PowerSeller.

So there you have it, our five-steps to PowerSeller status revealed. Think you are up to becoming a PowerSeller yourself? There are no limits to what can be achieved by those who are ready to get stuck in and apply themselves 100% to making it on eBay.

If you are hungry for more information on Powersellers, or some inspiring stories to get you motivated, a quick Google search will give you a few options, or visit http://www.powersellersunite.com to tap into the world of eBay PowerSellers!

How to Import from India

With its rapidly booming economy and huge population of over 1 billion people, it’s no wonder that India is the new darling of wholesale importing. If you are keen to expand your product range and take advantage of this expanding market, keep reading!

Why Import from India?  

Like China, India’s economy is in a growth period, so costs of manufacturing are very low compared to elsewhere in the world. As a seller, this presents you with an opportunity to buy very cheap products directly from Indian manufacturers and sell them to make a very nice profit in your own country.

What to Import

India manufactures just about everything – but the top exports that interest us sellers are leather products (shoes and clothing), electronic goods, plastic consumables, ready-made garments, gemstones, jewelry, handicrafts and fabrics.  

Indian-style costume and gem jewelry is an emerging sector of the Indian economy and a leading foreign exchange earner. Fine jewelry is a relatively new market for India, but they have done a great job of catching up on using the latest technology to form modern cuts and styles.

Indian ready-made garments have taken big strides in the past few decades, with the sector accounting for around 30% of their total exports, and employing a whopping 35 million people! Suppliers will stock all the usual stuff like jeans, shirts, suits and T shirts, and also some unique items like Indian saris and sequined garments. The best part is you can get some of these items for as little as a couple of bucks.  

Fabrics and tapestries from India are hugely popular in the west. A recent emergence in ethnic trends for home décor means that now is a great time to look into importing some unique Indian textiles. Bed and floor coverings are the most popular exports, with curtains following not too far behind. It’s essential to get samples from any potential suppliers before ordering textiles from India as quality will vary greatly.

Indian SaleHoo Suppliers

Fabric India Great for: Fabrics and home furnishings

Heritage Overseas Great for: Fashion accessories, gift items and body decorations

Chatterjee Fashions Great for: Fashion, costume and bridal jewellery

Varun Industries Ltd. Great for: Homeware, cookware and stainless steel kitchenware.

Shaurya International Great for: Sterling silver and 92.5 silver jewellery

Shyam Gems Trading Corporation Great for: Silver and gemstones.

SeemaLeguardWorks: Great for: Sporting equipment including boxing gloves and equipment for cricket, hockey, soccer, and rugby.

If you are up for an adventure and looking at investing some serious cash, consider travelling to India. It’s a great way to build a relationship with a supplier, negotiate the best price possible and check for quality. For more information on travelling to India, check out Lonely Planet’s introduction to India, and for up-to-date, no nonsense reviews on hotels, restaurants and information on overland travel and local customs, checkout the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forums on India  

How to Import from India

When importing from India to your country, all the usual rules will apply. Local regulations will vary but generally you will need to fill in all the correct documentation, arrange shipping, clear Customs and pay the relevant duties. In the US, documentation usually consists of a commercial invoice detailing the product amounts, an arrival notice, an ocean or airway bill, a packing list and Customs forms 3461 and 7501.

To find out more about importing goods into your country, check out our Importing and Shipping section in our Learning and Training Center. Inside you’ll find country-specific information on everything you need to do when importing from abroad.

Beware of corrupt suppliers and con-artists

Unfortunately, India has a bit of a reputation for shady business practices. Caution is required when dealing with any new supplier, but when dealing with overseas suppliers, you should be extra vigilant. We always recommend that our members take steps to help ensure a buyer is legitimate. Start by communicating with them as much as possible; give them a call if you can, and always ask for product samples – a phony supplier will get shifty when you ask them for a sample they don’t have. Another tip is to search our Member’s Forums and see if anything comes up when you enter their business name. If in doubt, just ask our friendly staff in the forums who are pretty well versed at sussing out illegitimate suppliers.

What is a Customs broker?

A Customs broker works on behalf of importers and exporters to help them deal with the logistics and legalities of importing and exporting goods. To become a Customs broker, they must first take and pass a heavy duty Customs Broker License Examination.

What do they do?

Importing from abroad isn’t easy. There is a lot to cover, but Customs brokers make importing easier for retailers by:

• Preparing documents such as customs declarations

• Facilitating communication between the importer and relevant government authorities such as the Department of Agriculture

• Calculating Customs duties

• Assisting with getting clearance from government agencies

• Arranging shipment from ports to your storage unit

What are they useful for?

There is a lot to think about when it comes to importing goods and even at the best of times it can be a logistical nightmare. This is why it’s best to leave it to the experts. Good Customs brokers stay up-to-date with constant law changes and are experienced in dealing with every little thing that could go wrong such as dealing with stock which arrives broken or damaged, or issues with the Department of Agriculture, and so on.  

Since 9/11, Customs have become much more stringent when it comes to inspecting imported goods, and unfortunately for the majority of us online retailers, smaller shipments such as lots from shared container loads are often gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Customs brokers can help by telling you exactly what information needs to be declared by your supplier to really maximize your chances of having a hassle-free encounter with Customs.

What Should I look for in a Customs broker?

Hiring the wrong Customs broker could mean costly delays in getting your stock, having clearance documents faxed to someone else, or failing to let you know when your shipment has cleared. These are just some of the horror stories we have come across. Although these stories are generally the exception, rather than the rule, it’s always best to take the time to find the best broker possible. Follow our list below of things to keep in mind when looking for a Customs broker to help you get tip-top help with importing:

Lower Work Loads

Most of the time, problems arise and errors occur because many brokers are dealing with up to 100 shipments per week, so really, it’s no wonder that they get it wrong sometimes. For this reason, one of the first things you should be asking your broker is how many cases they are currently managing.

Exceptional Communication

Just like when you are finding a new product supplier, you should always look for a broker who values strong communication because if things turn bad, there is nothing worse than a broker who won’t return your calls! A good broker will understand that you are anxious to get your shipment as soon as possible and should be keeping you up-to-date at every step of the process.

Experience in importing similar items

With so many different laws in place for the importation of different items, it’s important to use someone with experience in importing similar goods, as they will understand all the related rules and regulations.

Where can I find one?

To find a Customs broker, you can try Googling ‘Custom’s broker + you area’ or check out The National Customs and Forwarders Association of America for a list of brokers.