Selling on Amazon has been a viable option for aspiring entrepreneurs. Given the convenience of the ecommerce industry, more and more people are looking into starting an Amazon business. However, a critical part of this endeavor revolves around finding and sourcing the right products to sell.
An effective business owner finds lucrative ways to source and process their products. Luckily, there are numerous product outsourcing methods available for Amazon businesses. Here is a quick rundown of the different product outsourcing strategies to give you a better idea. In addition, we’ll give a couple of tips on identifying the right products to sell online.
Methods To Source Products To Sell On Amazon
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Retail Arbitrage
Retail arbitrage is the process of purchasing discounted items in retail stores and selling them for profit on online marketplaces like Amazon. A lot of aspiring Amazon sellers start their businesses this way as it requires minimal investments. However, this method takes a significant amount of time and effort to work.
Retail arbitrage involves personally rummaging through clearance sales. They would need to jump from one store to another just to find a handful of quality products with the most potential to sell online.
This type of product outsourcing is best suited for those who are just dipping their toes into the online retail business. It allows them to get in touch with the market and understand more about the industry without having to invest too much in wholesale purchases and the like.
Online Arbitrage
Online arbitrage is roughly the same as retail arbitrage. However, the difference is that people look for discounted products to purchase and sell completely online. They don’t have to go to a store and look through their products physically. Instead, online arbitrage takes advantage of the convenience of the ecommerce industry.
Entrepreneurs using this method of product sourcing take advantage of online discounts, vouchers, and seasonal sales to purchase products at a significantly lower cost. They can also buy in bulk to get a higher discount and profit margin.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is another popular online selling method. It is a business model and strategy that allows online stores to avoid handling inventory themselves. Instead, they work with third-party off-site sellers who also take care of their inventory and logistics.
For dropshipping to work on Amazon, you must create an Amazon store and list all your available products. When a customer orders from your store, the third-party supplier will process the order. This includes preparing the item and shipping it directly to the customer.
Take note that Amazon has specific rules and regulations for dropshipping businesses. First, the Amazon seller is still liable for the quality of their products and their customers’ experience.
Therefore, the customer receipt should reflect the Amazon seller’s store, not the third-party supplier. Aside from that, refunds and returns should be handled and processed by the Amazon seller themselves, not the dropship supplier.
Wholesaling
Wholesaling is a common product outsourcing strategy. It is suited for sellers who are looking to offer a wide range of products in their Amazon store but don’t want to produce them. This method typically works for cheap or generic products entrepreneurs can buy in bulk.
Amazon sellers can deal with the inventory and logistic processes themselves or subscribe to Amazon FBA.
White Labeling
White labeling is an outsourcing method that involves entrepreneurs sourcing generic products to insert their brand, logo, or design into. This process starts with businesses looking for a product that they want to modify. It can be something as simple as a tumbler, clothing item, and so on. Then, they would have to find a manufacturer or supplier that they can partner with.
Businesses have the option to get the generic goods shipped to them in bulk and add the branding themselves, or they can have the manufacturer input their brand during the production process. White labeling works for entrepreneurs who have established a brand and are looking to expand and scale their businesses without having to develop new products themselves.
Identifying Products To Sell Online
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Learning how to outsource products to sell on Amazon is one thing. However, finding the right ones to sell is an equally challenging task. Ecommerce is a highly competitive industry, especially in global marketplaces like Amazon. To help you with this, here are some helpful tips on how to identify the right products to sell online.
Tend to a specific market’s pain point
One of the most effective ways to find a good product to sell is to look at customers’ pain points. Look at it this way. When people are facing problems or trouble, they are quick to search for a viable solution.
Developing, producing, or providing goods or services that cater to a specific market’s pain point is one to ensure you’re selling something that people want. Even a simple product that solves a minute inconvenience can grab the attention and interest of tons of people.
Latch on to people’s passion and enthusiasm
Another way to determine whether a product will sell or not is to identify the market’s demand for it. Now, an effective strategy to ensure customers is to look for products that are related to passion activities or hobbies.
Take, for example, motorcycle enthusiasts. There are a bunch of products that revolve around upgrading and modifying motorcycle parts. Products can range from simple handle grips to expensive modern helmets. As enthusiasts become increasingly invested in their passion or hobby, they are more likely to spend money to fulfill their needs.
Look into popular and upcoming trends
Entrepreneurs need to keep up with the latest market trends. The ability to recognize and capitalize on trends is a skill that can greatly help businesses to edge out competitors. You’ll be one step ahead of the competition when you successfully do so.
One way to do this is to monitor trends on social media and other online platforms. Keep track of trending Amazon products and add them to your product list as early as possible.
However, make sure that you don’t stock up too much, as there is the risk of trends turning into mere fads. While online businesses can also take advantage of fads in the marketplace, it is important to ensure that they don’t invest too much and lose revenue when the demand fizzles out.
Another way to keep up with trends is to simply look at what’s in demand in online marketplaces. Platforms like Amazon come with specific tabs and categories showing products customers are buying and looking for. Check out Amazon’s What’s Hot or Most Wished For lists to find inspirations for your upcoming products.
Bottomline
Ecommerce has become a highly alluring business endeavor. However, every aspiring entrepreneur needs to know and prepare for every step along the way. Product outsourcing is one of the first steps in running an online business. People need to find ways to find products to sell for profit. However, it should also include other aspects of their business.
Retail arbitrage works for entrepreneurs who are just starting out. They don’t have to invest so much for each product. Aside from that, they don’t also have to worry about storage and inventory management.
Drop shipping is a lucrative business model, especially if it’s run with Amazon FBA. Business owners can even consider hiring a freelancer to handle tasks such as product listing, customer service, etc. On the other hand, applying wholesale and private label strategies is best for businesses starting to expand and scale.
But aside from knowing how to outsource products to sell on Amazon, determining which products to sell is even more important. Some ways to do this are to keep up with the latest market trends, provide solutions to customer pain points, and take advantage of hobbyists’ passion and enthusiasm.
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