Do you have any advice for a newbie regarding products, pricing, or sourcing?

Hello all. Just purchased my membership to Salehoo and I am trying to start a online business selling on the major auction sites and also classifieds. I have a strong desire to make grow a business so that I can quit my day job and stay home with my family. Any advice for a newbie regarding products, pricing, or sourcing. Thanks in advance,

Tim

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the site! It's nice to have you here with us :)

At the top of everybody's list of tips, I'd say is READ/RESEARCH, READ/RESEARCH and READ/RESEARCH some more! Start off by reading through the various post on our forum, blog and education section. Also don't forget to download your copies of our bonus guides - you'll find them quite helpful :)

Then we suggest you decide what type of products you want to sell. Generally it's best to start selling something you are interested in because you are going to be spending a LOT of time thinking about it! Do you love fashion or movies? Perhaps you feel excited about the thought of new gadgets and technology? It's likely that there are plenty of other people who also share your interest - giving you an instant audience for your product. One idea is to jot down your interests and then make a list of products that are related to these interests (we recommend staying away from electronics to begin with as warranty issues can be complicated to manage).

Once you've thought of a couple of ideas, it's time to start researching suppliers. This is where SaleHoo comes in. Use the search box to look for the product(s) you want to sell. When you've found some suppliers who fit the bill, send them an email asking what the best possible price is that they can give you for the products you wish to buy. A small tip for you: if you buy 20+ units at a time, you should be able to negotiate a better deal. It's also a good idea to contact more than 1 supplier before you start buying to compare prices.

If you have any further questions/concerns please feel free to drop us an email at support@salehoo.com or post it right here in our forum!

See you around - Cheers! :)

Hi Tim,

It's great to have you on board!

Here are a couple of posts and articles you might be interested in reading:

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All the best!

Hi,

I am in a similar situation to Tim. I am just starting out and am at the point of approaching wholesalers that dropship. One of the issues that I am struggling with and can't quite figure out is that I am a Canadian business and I am approaching US dropshippers. My intention at this point is to sell primarily to Americans through eBay. The problem I have is that the dropshippers/wholesalers accept my company certificate of incorporation but also seek a tax id or GST number (similar to a US Federal Tax ID number) but we don't get this number in Canada unless we have reached a certain revenue threshold (specfically Cdn$30,000). I am no where near there. Can anyone offer advice on how to get around this or how to work with US dropshippers/wholesalers when you are a non-US company?

Any help is much appreciated!

KR.

Hi koolcreature,

If you tell us the specifics like what province you live in and what state the supplier is based, we can do some research into it and get back to you. ;)

The problem I have is that the dropshippers/wholesalers accept my company certificate of incorporation but also seek a tax id or GST number (similar to a US Federal Tax ID number) but we don't get this number in Canada unless we have reached a certain revenue threshold (specfically Cdn$30,000).

Hi koolcreature,

How about clarifying with the US dropshipper if you are being given the option to submit a Tax ID OR a GST number? You can think of your Business Number as your business tax ID number, and that's all you might need to provide. Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps. :)

Hello Satya and Irene,

I have got a business number and I provided it to the dropshipper. They tried to verify it on the GST website registry but it would not show up. I talked to the Canadian Tax Dept and they said it wouldn't show because the business number is not really a tax ID number, it only allows access to certain services.

I am in British Columbia, Canada. The wholesaler/dropshipper is in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Thanks,

koolcreature

Hi koolcreature,

Let's try other solutions then. :) How about getting a GST even if you don't reach the $30,000 threshold? I got this idea from this paragraph from the Canada Revenue Agency website.
"Generally, you do not have to register for GST/HST if your worldwide revenues are $30,000 or less, as we consider you a small supplier. However, you can register voluntarily." The last sentence here suggests to me that small businesses can apply for GST IF they wish to register VOLUNTARILY. Here's the link to this information. -
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I wish this is a positive development. Let me know if I got it right. :)

P.S. Don’t forget to add a picture to your profile! Thanks!

Hi Koolcreature,

As Irene has highlighted, you can voluntarily sign up for GST if you wanted, it's just that you don't have to under the threshold. Sounds like in this situation you may well have to sign up, and that's no big deal apart from the extra reporting you will need to do.

More paper work your end essentially, but at least that will start opening the doors that are currently closed to you at the moment.

: )