New E-comm business: Advice on what to start selling required!

Hi all,
Myself and friend of mine are in the process of setting up an online store and could use some advice - we are working hard on our due dilligence!

We are researching potential products to sell and suppliers but are wondering what is really selling online right now and more importantly what products are providing the best margins. I know that we are basically faced with two options: 1. to sell products in high volume at low margins or 2. sell low volumes of products which have high margins.

We are trying to focus on products that are interesting to us: Clothing (apparel), Sunglasses, Watches, Jewellery are a few that we have in mind.

We also had consumer electronics in mind but from what we can see this is a very difficult area to tackle due to the sheer number of people trying to sell in this niche and the margins are not that good.

Could any of you give any advice on the above based on your own experiences?

John/Rob.

Hi johnrob,

Welcome to SaleHoo! :)

We have been getting the question of what to sell quite frequently, and to tell you honestly, there is no specific correct answer to give, as the market is constantly changing. What to sell will greatly depend on your location (or location you want to cater to), the preferences of your customers in your market, the latest trends, the competition and of course the demand.

And deciding between selling high volume at low margins versus low volumes at high margin will also depend on your interest, manpower, availability of product sources and the product matching the potential market. There are just too many factors to consider before we can pinpoint what will actually work, given that we are in different locations using different selling platforms, catering to different market groups.

A bit of market research might help you choose which products to sell. Also you have to remember that how you sell is just as important as what you sell. SaleHoo members are given access to downloanable PDF guides that helps them decide what products to sell and which niche market to work on. :) You can find the guides here Link hidden: Login to view

Another thing you might want to check is your own shopping list, things you want to buy for yourself may just be the things other people are looking for as well.

Hope this helps. :)

Hi all,
Myself and friend of mine are in the process of setting up an online store and could use some advice - we are working hard on our due dilligence!

We are researching potential products to sell and suppliers but are wondering what is really selling online right now and more importantly what products are providing the best margins. I know that we are basically faced with two options: 1. to sell products in high volume at low margins or 2. sell low volumes of products which have high margins.

We are trying to focus on products that are interesting to us: Clothing (apparel), Sunglasses, Watches, Jewellery are a few that we have in mind.

We also had consumer electronics in mind but from what we can see this is a very difficult area to tackle due to the sheer number of people trying to sell in this niche and the margins are not that good.

Could any of you give any advice on the above based on your own experiences?

John/Rob.

Hi John and Rob, welcome to Salehoo.

As Irene has indicated, this is one of the most asked questions we see here on the forum, and there really is no definitive answer as the market is constantly changing.

I would say it's a big step going into online sales with your own site upfront, as you don't just have the issues of what to sell, but how to market it effectively to generate traffic.

For my money, this is the very first box you have to tick. What to sell is further down the list. You need to have a firm plan in place for this type of venture to ensure you know how, where and how much it's going to cost you to ensure traffic flow to your online store.

No traffic, no sales, no matter what you are trying to sell!

Firm up the foundations of the business first, the rest can then be built on top far more effectively : )

Welcome to SaleHoo, Rob and John - Great to have you guys with us!

Irene and Marc's given you solid advise :)

You might also what to check for trends by keeping your eye on magazines, newspapers, radio and television - check for a product or brand that is being repeated over several channels once you find one then you just found yourself a trend!

I would also suggest you using our Research lab to help you determine a product's potential, this will help you give a rough idea of which products may sell well online. Please note though that the information gathered by our lab is only from eBay.com, UK, Canada and Australia.

For more tips - Link hidden: Login to view

Hope this helps, cheers!