Wholesale Consumer Electronics
So you’ve finally decided to give up on that thankless
nine-to-five job. You have the skills, experience and
insights you need to get your own online business off
the ground; you have enough savings in the bank to make
a go of it for a while.
It should be easy – put together the webpage, sign up
for PayPal, put your skills in search engine
optimization and, the customers will come. Before you
start building, however, you have to make sure that:
(a) you know what your target customers want to buy or
need to buy
(b) you know where to get those products or brands that
your customers are looking for – and make sure that you
can get these, and deliver it, to your customers at best
values and on-time.
In other words, the first step to successful online
retailing is to find out what your customers want – and
providing this to them at best values. Unfortunately,
this is something easier said than actually done,
especially if you are thinking about venturing into the
world of consumer electronics.
There was a time when consumer electronics meant a few
products (e.g., television sets, stereo systems,
microwave ovens, radio-alarm clocks) – and a few, known
brand names – Toshiba, Panasonic, Philips. Today,
however, consumer electronics refers to a whole slew of
products – from personal computers and laptops, to home
entertainment systems incorporating video, audio and
gaming systems, and ‘personal’ audio or video systems.
And this does not even include the brands out there –
besides the long-established Japanese, American or
European brands are new entrants from China, Korea and
Taiwan. This has led to a near-avalanche of companies
and people selling consumer electronics – not just in
the ‘real world’ of appliance stores, but even in the
virtual world of the internet.
If you are planning to go into online consumer
electronics, you will be only one of thousands – which
means that your success depends on finding – and
building – something that marks you as different from
the rest.
One way of doing this is by starting small. Instead of
going into online retailing thinking as a superstore or
one-stop consumer electronics shop – focus on one or two
product lines and start from there.
For example, you may want to start on personal audio
systems – iPods and MP3 players. Rather than retailing
the ‘popular’ ones, consider offering all the available
brands – even the ‘non-branded’ ones that are
inexpensive but reliable, come in a wide variety of
shapes, sizes and colors. Aside from selling the basic
unit, look into accessories that you can also market –
carrying cases, headphones or earphones, chains, etc.
Also, consider adding other distinctive offers – if you
check around, you may find that you are the only one
offering these products in your city. Or you are in a
position to offer these products at competitive prices –
lower, shall we say, than those in brick and mortar
retail outlets.
The key to this approach, however, is finding the right
source for your products. You either have a line in to
the manufacturers (especially the overseas factories
where they are produced) or you can find a local
wholesaler to provide you with what you need, at values
that you want.
A reliable, trustworthy wholesaler would be the best
source – since he or she will be the one to handle all
the import requirements, thus freeing you from worrying
about matters beyond your expertise.
The question is, however, how to find that reliable,
trustworthy source – especially one that can meet your
requirements in terms of product, pricing and delivery
date. Surfing the internet is a risky proposition – you
are just as likely to find a fly-by-night operator
who’ll ship you a box of lemons than the real thing.
One way of finding that reliable, trustworthy source is
Salehoo, an online product sourcing database that is
fully interactive, and which gives you the option of
setting the parameters in finding your ideal source.
Salehoo is not a mere online directory of wholesalers;
it is run by a team of professionals with the tools
needed to validate their list of suppliers or
wholesalers – ensuring that these companies or people
meet standards on reliability, trustworthiness and
delivery capabilities. Another advantage that Salehoo
offer are suppliers that can provide or deliver single
item products to your customers as well as bulk,
multiple item cargo.
Salehoo is a for-members-only site. This means that
you have to make a one-time payment that will give you
access to a whole slew of suppliers, not only in your
specific area of interest but also in others.
The benefit this provides is that you can, literally,
grow with that one-time payment – as the product lines
you offer expand, you can also change or expand the
parameters of your Salehoo supplier search. You start
by looking for reliable, trustworthy suppliers of MP3s;
as your business and customer base increases, you can
expand your supplier lists.
Starting small and unique is one way of making online
consumer electronics retailing a success – and using
this success as a starting point to expand your
business. Salehoo can help you find the suppliers you
need today, when you’re starting out, and even tomorrow,
when your business starts to expand.
Click here to learn more about Salehoo - The ultimate
Wholesale and Drop-Ship product sourcing tool!
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