SaleHoo

[motivated23]

Ok, here's my dilemma. I have been a member of SaleHoo for a few months now, and have tried to find my niche. I am a very focused and motivated person, but I can't afford to waste any money. I've been draining my mind on what to sell, how to start an online store without the products, finding my niche, and then generate some income. I have been struggling with these decisions , and know that I need help. I have been trying this without seeking much help, wanting to accomplish this goal and have that feeling of wow I did it, but I am letting my pride go. Is there any guidance out there that can really benefit me. I mean something that is going to actually work if I put the right time in, and the steps of what to do? I thought about the ebooks and think it sounds great, but then again, I don't want to put another $70 into something if I'm not gaining from it. At this point not sure to throw in the towel with SaleHoo, because it's really not what I thought it was. I thought SaleHoo had already done the hard work and I would have to just spend time researching the right product, but it seems though I still have to make sure the supplier or wholesaler is ok, and I also thought there were more of a margin for error on the savings with the suppliers. Any direction to help me put myself at ease would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Motivated23. By the way, my email is ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members** if you want to contact me.

[Satya]

Hi motivated23,

A great way to find niche markets and hot products to sell is by selling stuff from around your home. There are two excellent reasons for starting out in this way:
(1) Feedback is hugely important for any eBay seller. With a feedback rating below 10, it is going to be difficult to get people to take you seriously. The first 100 sales are the hardest as buyers look for high feedback as reassurance that they can trust the seller. Generally, the higher your feedback, the better - with powerseller status being the ultimate goal.
(2) You get to sell a range of products and see what works well. The results may surprise you! Nothing beats knowledge gained from experience and selling stuff from around the home is the best way to get it without any risk.

After some practice with goods from around the home, we recommend buying small wholesale lots of products that most people use on a daily basis. Many of these products are excellent sellers, plus they are fairly easy to get hold of. A lot of new sellers make the mistake of trying to be all things to all people. In fact, it is far better to target a specific market, e.g. ‘back to school’.

Some ideas:
* Clothing: accessories, plus sizes, maternity, night wear.
* Kitchen: recipes, knife sets, toasters, microwaves
* Beauty: sunscreen, insect repellent, cosmetic & toiletry bags, men's grooming
* Homewares: towels, sheets, rugs, throws, cushions, vases, mirrors
* Special occasion: wedding supplies, party supplies, mother-of-the bride outfits, bridal shoes, birthday cards
* Garden : lawn mowers, gardening tool sets, composter

Hobbies and Interests
The eBay Buyer Report (** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
ebaybuyers.pdf) tells us that one of the top reasons why people use eBay is to find unique items that they cannot find elsewhere.

Before online auctions, collectors were limited by geography. The internet has enabled hundreds of communities to form around shared interests and this provides tons of niches to target. A quick browse of eBay's community groups will give you some ideas. There are groups as diverse as knitting, stay-at-home moms, business, hiking, gluten-free support group, vegans, travel, children's theatre, dieting, parenting, re-enactors, crochet, stamp collecting, pet care - the list goes on.

Remember that many of these hobbyists will also need components. For example, you may decide to sell embroidery threads, tools and patterns and how-to books, car parts, fabrics and trimmings.

Other places to find hot items:
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
Our Twitter feed! We regularly post hot new markets on our Twitter stream - follow us by going to ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

You might also find these posts useful:

** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

If you're interested, SaleHoo offers some basic information on setting up an ecommerce store/website in our blog and resource section. Check out:

** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

If you are looking for a cheap and easy way to get an online store up and running, we recommend:

eCrater ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members** (find out more here: ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**)

BuyItSellIt ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

Auctiva Commerce ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

If you want to start an online store without stocking the products yourself, then wholesale drop shipping is just perfect for you. It is a very popular form of product sourcing because it allows you to pay only for the items that you sell. You can send products directly to your customers without having to worry about holding stock. While it's true that drop shipping also requires you to pay a small fee on top of the wholesale cost of the product to cover the drop shipper's time spent packaging and posting the item, it is a simple way to start a business, and in the long term, having some of your inventory drop shipped allows you to offer a broader range of items to your customers without the risk of holding stock.

For more information about drop shipping and other sourcing methods, you may visit our bonus PDF guides by clicking on the 'Bonus Guides *New*' link from the navigation panel on the left-hand side of the page. You'll also find substantial training resources on topics such as eBay selling, importing and what types of products to sell on our education center, just click on the "education" tab above.

We understand your concerns about purchasing from an unknown company. But please know that we take a number of steps to ensure that suppliers meet our rigorous standards before they are added to the database. Most notably, we only add suppliers that either accept a secure form of payment (meaning you can get your money back should something go wrong) or have a proven track record of excellent service. In the unlikely event that you do have a problem with a supplier, you can always file a complaint by clicking the link on the supplier's profile page within SaleHoo. We will immediately take steps to resolve the situation, you can be sure of that.

This may be a lot to take in but just let us know if you have any question and we'll be glad to help you out. All the best!