Two product categories seem to always do well in any economy, and that is ladies’ jewelry, and ladies’ handbags. These categories are important to understand if you’re an online retailer. Today, let’s talk about handbags.
As any woman will tell you, a handbag is more than just a vessel for carrying around stuff–it’s an extension of her personality. It’s part of her wardrobe, and it’s a fashion statement.
A woman needs a handbag to suit every mood, every outfit, and every occasion. Men of course, have wallets, and they have only one, which is somewhat boring and dull, but that’s how it is. And they hang onto them for years on end–which is why selling wallets is a lot harder than selling handbags. Anything larger than a piece of folded paper or a business card will be handed off to the wife, who puts it where? In her handbag!
And it’s a relatively easy sell if you have good variety in stock. We’re not talking about designer handbags here. Becoming a retailer for one of the major designer brands is a difficult process and requires a fairly large investment. But in fact, the majority of handbags that hang from the arms of women everywhere are not the high-end, high-priced designer varieties that come from upscale shops on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. They are equally stylish, unique, and fun, but most of them come from wholesalers who bring them in from Asia. Your wholesale cost will typically be quite low, and your markup higher than with most other types of goods. And what’s even better, handbags typically don’t weigh that much, and your shipping costs to bring them in aren’t going to be too unreasonable.
Let’s take an example. Suppose a woman is in a hippie mood. She doesn’t want to carry around the little red vinyl clasp purse that her grandmother bought for her. What does she want? A bag from India with a bright, colorful design. They may be knit, macrame, made from woven silk or cotton, hemp, or even coconut shells. They’re big, have a long strap, and they’re distinctive. They’re remniscient of the old days on the college campus, and they go well with casual clothes and the new-generation hippie chic style. In fact, if that’s the style she’s going for, this type of handbag is an absolute must-have. The wonderful thing about dealing in these particular handbags is that they are mostly produced in very small production runs by family shops in India. As a result, there are hundreds of different styles available, with very few duplicates around. Of course, if you happen to be in New Delhi, you can pick up a crate of these for a song–but even if you’re not in the mood to make that trip yourself, most importers have these available at very attractive wholesale prices. You can easily add on a 2x to 4x markup and still price them affordably.
This isn’t just the case with the “hippie handbag.” Elegant, stylish beaded bags also typically originate from small, family-run production shops in India or Thailand. Similarly unique and perfect for prom, these can command an even higher markup because of the perception of elegance.
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