I definately agree with fudjj, it's hard to compete anywhere. And niche products are the way to go. And of course we all hear about 'niche products'. And still the remaining BIG QUESTION is, what are the mysterious niche products and how do I find them....
Here's what I do and a few things to consider. First I don't try to sell what everyone else is selling. For instance, mp3 players. Everyone is selling them and the market is just to saturated to make any decent profit on things like that..
You have to think 'outside of the box'. You want to be different. Sell things that are different.
These are the niche products. The things that are different from the products that everyone else are trying to sell.
Let's look at it from a different view and see what you think...If I put 5 pieces of apple pie on a table in front of you, but on just one piece I placed a big scoop of ice cream on top,,,which one would catch your eye first?
More than likely it would be the one with the ice cream on it. Why? Simply because it is different from all the rest and stands out more..
That would be a niche product...Now, it's not really as hard to find these products as you think, once you start thinking 'differently' from the rest of the crowd...Here's a tip,,look for popular selling products, and then think about what other items would sell well with them....For example, one of my daughters has a womens boutique. One item that she buys for $1.00 and sells for about $15.00 is a tiny cell phone charm. Simply a little charm that attaches to your cell phone, that's it. The most popular one are either a palm tree or a dolphin. They attach to you cell phone with a little piece of string..She probably makes as much profit off of a couple of the little charms as the person made who sold the phone...
And do you know why the ladies buy them??? Because it makes their phone just a little bit different that all the other phones,,,that's it.
Now,,let me tell you this. It's important. The BIGGEST market for any item, sold anywhere, is:'AFTER MARKET PRODUCTS'. Aftermarket product revenue most always exceeds the revenue produced by the actual product...A cell phone charm is simply an after market product of a cell phone..
A leather cell phone case is an aftermarket product of a cell phone..a cell phone charger is an after market product of a cell phone..etc..etc...
These are the things you should be looking at..Don't try to sell the phone, try to think about what would be a nice accessorie to that product..These are where you find the niche products..
In the U.S., baseball is a national sport. Everybody loves baseball. Just about everyone either watches it, plays it, or talks about it..
You have professional teams, college teams, high school team, childrens team,, and on and on. Great aftermarket products are the team hats, jerseys, banners, tradeing cards..etc...One of my local friends has a 'niche market' for baseball...He buys small plastic trophies and engraves the local childrens team names on the trophies on a small metal plate that is attached to the trophy..At the end of the season, each team presents each child a small trophy..Just locally in a town with a population of about 40,000 people,,he sells in excess of $80,000 per year. And it all takes place in just the summer months...That's a niche product...
No one else was doing it, so he though he would give it a try,,In less than two years he quit his regular job and is doing nothing but trophy's for different sports now..
I notice that you mention 'trademe' quite often. Think about going on trade me and looking for products that are selling well. When you have picked a few out, then sit down and make a list of what you think would be a good accessory for that product. More than likely you will find a niche product that no one else is selling...
But in order for this to work,,you have to think differently..Use your imagination. Think of something that you, yourself would like to have in addition to this product...What would compliment this product...what would make this product more beneficial...For example, I bought a nice new digital camera. I needed it to take quality photographs of some items that I was selling..Great camera, all the latest bells and whistles,,but I just could not get the photos to come out clear and crisp..Either too much light or too much shadow. A friend suggested a 'shadow box'. I'd never seen one or heard about one. Looked around town and no one had any and most didn't know what I was talking about anyway..Went online on ebay and at the time found just two people selling them..Just two..and they were selling all they could get..I think at the time, they were actually building the kit themselves...Just a small cardboard box, with several lights shining into the box, where I could place my item and shoot the photo with 100% correct lighting..It produced excellent photos everytime....Great niche product....That too is an aftermarket product.
So don't give up, just re-think your strategy..It might not be easy, but it will pay off in the end...Good Luck...
