How to Start Sourcing Products Locally

One of the easiest ways to find products for your store, specially if you are starting up your online business, is locating product suppliers in your own community. This way you get to know your sources personally, and build relationships and trust with them. Another advantage of this product sourcing method is that you can physically view and examine the items you're purchasing ahead of time.

Many online merchants beginners have no idea where to begin locating products to resell. Local sourcing methods affords a simple and inexpensive way to test the waters of online business product sourcing, while ate the same time you gain experience and become comfortable with online retailing. Also, sourcing products locally implies very little risk or investment involved, for example purchasing locally is going to be easier on your budget because you save on the cost of drop shipping or having merchandise shipped to you. And also you will save on travel expenses - the price of gas alone makes that a point worth considering.

You can build a successful online business using local providers. Common sources that provide great sources of merchandise are: Flea markets, antique stores, auction sales, craft shops, garage sales, estate sales, thrift shops, consignment stores, local specialty markets, moving sales, church sales, government or local auctions, 'going out of Business' sales, newspaper auction listings, and second-hand shops; Even you could use internet listings to find local sources for your store, as your local craigslist site or Kijiji (free classified ads from eBay). Let's talk about a couple of these sources:

Garages and Yard Sales

You could start by selling a few things out of the attic and garage and practice selling and to get your feet wet if you plan to start selling on Auctions such as eBay or opening your own online store. It’s a fantastic way to start, and thus eliminate fears, and make extra income while at the same time you clear some space in your house. It introduces you to the world of online retailing, helps you get used to the sales process, and when you see those first profits coming in, believe me, you will want to grow your business.

Also you could start spending time going to yard sales of other people, looking for bargains, to selling those items in your online store. If you do this yo must make a plan to follow, this way you will no end up wander from every point of your city. Before you go out to visit garage sales, consult your newspaper and make a route map of which garage sales you want to visit. You have to keep in mind that eventually everything will come to a point where you’re spending more and more of your time traveling to yard sales, and your profits just don’t pay for your valuable time and gas, so if this happens then it’s time to look for less time-consuming product sourcing techniques, as drop ships or light bulk wholesaling. Anyway, sourcing locally is probably the most common method people use to get started on the Internet and learn their way around.

Local Merchants and Artisans

Local artisans are a good way for finding unique products to sell in your store. However you have to keep in mind that typically with these sources production is often slow, because hand made items usually take time to produce, and almost all the time you will have a limited supply, which could limit your business income. Also you can go to retail stores in your own town, and offer to buy products that the store hasn’t sold. If you know what you are doing, this could be a win-win situation for both parties because they clear space and sell items that they weren't selling and you have products at discount to sell for a good profit. The same comments apply as for local artisans because when working with these sources not always you will have the same kind of products time after time, so keep in mind that this is not a renewable source of products; and also there is the fact that you’re still spending a good deal of time traveling to and dealing with these sources. But this method could give you a a pretty good supply of products for your store.

Some Points to Consider

First, it's important to have a good photo and description of the products you want to sell, so it's important to bring your camera with you when purchasing, for example, from local artisans. Maybe you want to tell your customers the manufacturing process for your hand made products, so in this case a good photos could help you a lot. Online shoppers expect to see what a product looks like, especially since they can't pick it up and examine it before making their purchases. Merchants should use photos showing their items from a variety of angles and, in some cases, position them next to something else to show the relative size (a cell phone the size of a lipstick, a bench that's knee-high).

When negotiating price, always wait for the seller to offer a figure first. If you Insist they suggest a figure first, often, they'll go even lower than what you would have offered in first place, so don't get impatient and offer a figure first. Remember, in garage and yard sales they want to get rid of the items.

When you're shopping locally, turn the items over and keep a special watch for things like: signed items, unique or unusual items, items that remind you of your childhood, items from the baby boomer era. This things tend to sell well online.

Even as your online business grows and you begin using renewable and less time-consuming sources, like drop shippers and light-bulk wholesalers, local sourcing can be an excellent supplement to your product line with unique and interesting pieces. You have to find what is the special combination of several product sourcing techniques that works best for you.

As you can see, sourcing locally is probably the most common method people use to get started on the Internet and learn their way around. When you’re ready to move beyond the casual seller stage to a point where your online business is your full-time income, you need to start thinking about working with legitimate wholesale suppliers.This way you will have an easily renewable source of products that you can sell in a steady fashion to your customers. Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still source locally when you have the time. Always you will find good deals locally. WorldwideBrands.com will help you to locate real factory authorized wholesalers to help you expand your online business and also will give you useful tips on product sourcing.