Posts Tagged web business owner
Options to Consider When Monetizing Your Website
Posted by Wholesale News in Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on September 1st, 2009
One popular method of making money from your website, or websites as the case may be, is via banner ad revenue. Banner ads are advertisements displayed on your website that drive traffic to other peoples’ websites; these people pay you a either a set rate or a fee per each customer that visits their business by clicking on the banner they paid for on your website. There are a number of methods for monetizing your website available to consider, so don’t just stop at banner ads when you’re looking for methods of making a some cold hard cash from your web domain.
Banner ads are getting harder and harder to make money from as more and more companies begin changing over to pay-per-click payment methods. Where does this leave you if the only income coming from your site is banner ad revenue? If you like spending time browsing the new, you probably see thousands upon thousands of banners each day, and you’ve probably never had the urge to click on any of them - which is fine when you’re a browser, but for a business owner it’s the pits. There’s been a broad range of business that have lost about 10% of their avenue because of this drop in banner revenue since the start of 2009.
But if you don’t want to lose all of your banner ad revenue, what options do you really have? An option that you might want to consider is selling products on your site with the help of a wholesale supplier that does drop shipping. This will be particularly successful if you locate and promote items that already appeal to the target audience of your website.
However, because banner revenue takes so little work, and selling products with a drop shipper requires some work, you may not think this is a very appealing option. However, working with a whole sale drop shipper actually doesn’t take TOO much work - only a little. If you use a third party website like eBay, or have your own shopping cart set up via your site, you need some kind of system to make sales. In order to make money, people need to be able to locate and have a clear idea of the products you are selling that they want to buy.
After that, you just need to sit back and let your website make sales - all you have to do is tell the drop shipper when a sale comes in! In reality, this is the same amount of work it would take to set up a banner ad revenue system.
Just make sure you keep in touch with your wholesale drop ship supplier, and keep them up to date on your orders. You will have to give them a portion of the payment from your customer in order to pay for the items, but that’s a small price to pay for how little work you’ll be doing.
And every time you make a sale, you’ll make a decent chunk of change - unlike banner ad revenue, which pays in tiny increments. Instead of selling plots of your web presence to other people, create a retail outfit that will make you money with minimum effort.
Check out several reputable drop ship suppliers to find one that that offers products that your customers will be interested in, and start making a much bigger income with your website today!
How Can You Improve Your Retail Business’s Productivity in a Tough Economy?
Posted by Wholesale News in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, Wholesale, eBusiness on September 1st, 2009
The advent of the global financial crisis about 18 months ago forced business owners to begin to look for new ways to control their costs and deal with many difficult issues. Everyday citizens are not the only ones trying to cut back during this unstable economic environment - many businesses have taken a big hit in revenue, and their owners realize that the only way to maximize profits is by finding ways to improve the way the business operates.
Companies, especially the embattled retailers, tested various methods to lessen the strain on their finances, such as when they took extraordinary measures to attract customers in a time when consumer spending continued to decrease. The challenge of product storage is difficult for retailers because this fixed inventory cost does not generate any revenue; for that reason, many businesses have explored using catalyst warehouse productivity monitoring to guarantee that inventory is handled as efficiently as possible.
Changing from a brick and mortar entity to having an online presence and working with a cash register dropshipper is another choice many retailers are beginning to consider. Such a shift would require the business to focus more on the marketing of their products and less on the sales aspect. They are no longer a true retailer because they forward customer orders as they receive them to a wholesale supplier who maintains the stock and handles shipping.
In this scenario, the company pays the wholesaler a fee for the tasks of packing and shipping the order to the customer, as well as the price for the product itself. But the retailer is not paying any more than they do in an offline transaction since the shipping charge is passed along to the customer.
By not having the expenses of maintaining a warehouse and paying its staff, businesses can save a large amount of money by using a cash register dropshipper service. Some business feel the fees charged by these vendors for shipping are larger than what they would pay to do the work themselves, but the essential point is that the cash register dropshipper is doing more than just packaging and shipping orders. When you do the math and factor in all of the applicable costs, it is much less expensive to form an alliance with a wholesale dropshipper than to take care of the functions they would perform.
Instead of investigating a multitude of systems for catalyst warehouse productivity monitoring, it is advantageous to put a complete solution in place that provides the services you desire in a fast, efficient manner, decreases waste, and, most importantly, saves you money.
In today’s rough economic times, making the decision to drop ship has kept many businesses from closing their doors forever.
Inside the mind of Ebay Competitors
Posted by Wholesale News in Ebay, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on August 28th, 2009
Are you using endless hours trying to find out what the new hot product is? Turn to eBay and see what your competitors are selling! eBay’s user friendly set of tools are right at your finger tips, here to help you research the hottest new products that you need in your eBay store. This makes it easy for you to figure out fair and competitive prices that will keep your customers coming back for more, and even referring their friends to you. What most sellers do not realize is that gaining the upper hand is essential to seeing your profits climb high above that of your competitors. Using all of the resources at your disposal is the corner stone to your success as a eBay seller.
Studying the techniques of others, like how they are able to make their listings draw attention. Play around with your listing’s wording and layout make your listing shine above the rest. Take what you’ve seen and make it fresh; this may be just what you need to jump-start your business and get it to rake in the cash.
Your competitors might be more familiar with the eBay interface than you are, they might have had their eBay store for years. But don’t let that dark cloud of despair loom overhead, get them out of the limelight by making it your goal to shine brighter than they do! Searching related listings to find out more about your own product is an ideal way of discovering all the little intricacies of the products you’re selling. Don’t take your product for granted; when you observe similar listings you may be surprised to find something you’ve never seen before.
One avenue that you may want to look into is a decent wholesaler that offers certain products your potential customers may be interested in buying. Be sure that your item is something you will be happy selling and not just something you think is going to be popular and easy to move.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to tell whether or not your competitors on eBay are also using wholesale products. Drop Shippers are vital to many wholesalers who need these drop shippers to advertise and sell their products for them. This is beneficial for both parties, as the drop shipper doesn’t have to store or ship any products themselves. Most of the expenses for this service are by far a worthy investment on your part, because it makes your life so much easier. Posting wholesale items is hands down the best way to make really good money on eBay. Don’t go it alone when you start your business because you’ll want to reserve your time and energy for big problems; hire someone else to keep your business running smoothly while you tend to major issues.
Words are the key to the success of your eBay competitors so be sure to take note of their key words. You want to try to get as much traffic generated to your listing as much as possible, and to do this you’ll want to use as many key words as you can. Ebay is the top site on the net to find items that you cannot find anywhere else, and customers search for these items with keywords. These keywords are what you need in your product titles and descriptions if you intend to get people looking at your products.
Getting into the mind of your eBay competition and using the wholesale posting technique are sure-fire methods to eBay success.
How Tradeshow Attendance Can Fuel Your Business
Posted by Alex in Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 30th, 2009
If you’re in the business of wholesaling or an integral part of the e-commerce industry, then you’ve likely shown your face at a few tradeshows far and wide. Despite the type of product that you’re manufacturing or selling, there is almost definitely a tradeshow devoted to showcasing and highlighting your spin on an otherwise “common” product. From furniture to area rugs to tools, cookware, lighting and everything in between, many manufacturers and wholesalers set up shop in a dedicated showroom several times each year to demonstrate the value and versatility of their particular product offering.
Because product communities gather to market their updated lines and new additions a mere handful of times each year (generally quarterly), it can be a pivotal time for wholesalers and retailers alike to be caught up to speed in regard to product categories that are likely to experience significant growth trends. By attending tradeshows, you allow yourself to pick and choose from the best of the best in order to seek out a selection of products that will likely propel your overall business sales.
In addition to viewing fresh product first-hand, tradeshow attendance allows you to network with other industry professionals. Here is where you can not only catch a glimpse of product designs and ideas, but where you can also converse with experts and gain insight into styles and patterns that can positively influence your current or future product offering. These perks alone will enable you to effectively determine what is and what isn’t working for your target audience, and then allow you to capitalize on ways to capture potentially lost sales. Perhaps a particular manufacturer has designed a product that could work with a few modifications – use this opportunity as a chance to revitalize your product offering so that you can garner the interest and attention of a particular sector of your audience.
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Further, tradeshow attendance can be instrumental when it comes to branding. Getting your name out there in markets that are generally already quite saturated can help your cause significantly. Introduce yourself to prominent market players and try to solidify partnerships that boast the potential to drastically assist your brand or your goals. Showing legitimate interest in your business and in your competitors can help you to stand apart from the rest. Respect your competitors and allow their successes to aid yours. Don’t be short-sighted, look at how past mistakes have affected both your business and the industry as a whole, and work to remedy these issues.
Tradeshow attendance is critical to the overall success of a given market. These venues help to spark new ideas, new partnerships, and new market players. Wholesalers are generally looking for credible retailers to help them with their sales while retailers are seeking the same benefit. It’s this type of mutualistic relationship that enables product markets to effectively and efficiently continue to grow and develop over time.
What is drop shipping? Part One
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 29th, 2009
Drop shipping has garnered quite a lot of attention over the past few years, presenting an easy way to become an Internet retailer. Is it just another get-rich-quick scheme? Multi-level pyramid deal? Flash in the pan? Not really. Like anything, you do have to put some energy into it. When you first consider the concept of drop shipping, it seems remarkably simple. You don’t have to carry any inventory, and you don’t have to do any shipping. You just put up a web site, send the orders to the drop shipper, and collect the checks.
Well, it’s not really that easy, folks. Successful drop shipping involves successfully doing two things: Making a good product selection, and marketing. On the product selection front, it’s easy to just load up everything the drop shipper has to offer into your virtual catalog, but a more effective method is to create a niche for yourself—specializing in one particular area. Don’t try to be everything to everybody, because the customer will just get lost. Specialize in one area and position yourself as the expert in that area. On the second front, marketing—again, it’s easy to just put up a web site, but will anybody see it? How many web sites are out there today? With no marketing, again, it will get completely lost.
That said, drop shipping can be an effective management technique, especially for handling inventory.
Drop shipping, for the uninitiated, is a form of inventory control whereby the retailer sells his items to the customer, but instead of having a supply of the item on his shelves for immediate delivery, the retailer orders his items directly from the manufacturer or the wholesaler, who then ships them directly to the retailer’s customer. In this way, there is no need for the burden of carrying inventory. The retailer still retains his profit margin as a difference between the wholesaler’s or manufacturer’s price and that of the retailer.
Often, the final customer never knows that the retailer is drop shipping his merchandise because the retailer chooses not to disclose this up front, thereby hiding his inventory control from view. There are several ways to hide the drop shipping from customers. The best way to do this is to have the manufacturer or wholesaler ship the product with the retailer’s name and logo on the packaging slip.
The benefits are obvious: no inventory means less cost can be passed on the retail customer, and the retailer retains positive cash flow throughout the entire process. The potential downside is that it may take longer for the customer order to be fulfilled, since it’s going through a third party, there may be a backorder that the retailer is unaware of, and the retailer’s markup will not be as high as if they were sourcing, warehousing, and shipping the product direct.
In part two of this article, I will explain a few of the positives and negatives of drop shipping in more detail, and how the retailer who drop ships can benefit in the end. To be sure, there are negatives to the drop shipping idea, but they are manageable if you know how to navigate the drop shipping maze.
Nail down those shipping terms ahead of time
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Home Based Business, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 26th, 2009
Importing from a wholesaler overseas is often a superior strategy for getting goods very cheaply. Let’s face it, many of the products you are going to sell come from Asia–and the closer to the source you get, the better your wholesale price. You may get a product from a stateside distributor at what seems like a good price, but where is that distributor getting it from? Either from another distributor in Asia, or direct from the manufacturing facility. Now I’ve always advocated just going there yourself to examine and select the products in person, and then arranging shipping directly, but that is admittedly a major task, and it probably takes some foreign language skills, and believe me, languages like Thai, Mandarin, Cantonese, or Japanese are notoriously difficult to learn.
Either way, it pays to understand the shipping terms. It may well be that although you would get a better wholesale price from the Asian source, your overall cost–including shipping–may still be cheaper if you have a distributor close to you. Here’s the first thing to know: Suppose you buy a shipment of items from a source in Asia, and the terms specify “FOB Hong Kong.” That means the source is responsible for getting the goods to the port in Hong Kong, but from that point, you’re responsible for the rest of the costs.
The second thing to know is that shipping costs aren’t just what you pay the shipper. There may also be a customs tariff due upon arrival, as well as a customs bond, cargo insurance, and a clearance fee. there may also be an additional “last mile” fee involved. Where is the nearest port to your home or office? Sea freight comes into the nearest port. Your shipping fee may cover the cost of shipping from Hong Kong to San Francisco, but your office is in Nevada–so there’s an extra fee for shipping it over the last leg, unless you want to make the trip to the port and pick it up yourself.
When you calculate it all out, you may still be better off paying a slightly higher price to your stateside distributor, as opposed to going direct, especially if you are buying in smaller quantities. On a per-square-foot basis, shipping over a couple boxes from Taiwan or Bangkok is a lot more expensive than shipping an entire container load. Your distributor is getting an economy of scale on shipping, more than likely bringing items over in large containers, and as a result they don’t have to add on as much to the price when they sell it to you. Shipping cost per item may be several times more for you, if you’re just buying small amounts.
Tips for dealing with customs: Be specific
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Home Based Business, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources, eBusiness on June 25th, 2009
When you bring in goods from overseas, there are some complexities involved, and the US customs department will make your job just a little bit harder–or maybe, a lot harder, depending on how you approach it.
If you’re working with an overseas supplier, they will take care of most of the paperwork; all you’ll have to do is pay the customs bill. But if you’re overseas yourself acquiring goods, and you want to ship them back to yourself in the States, you’ll have quite a lot of paperwork to do. Your shipping company can give you a good idea of what you need, and can probably provide you with the paperwork.
You will complete a bill of goods, which shows exactly what is in the box–and here’s where a lot of importers spend unnecessary money on customs duties. On this list, you need to itemize everything. But what you need to realize is that tariffs are enormously complex, and you need to be very precise. For example, the tariff you will pay to receive a box full of cotton shirts will be different from the tariff on a box full of silk shirts. The same holds true for any item, and you always must specify as much detail as possible. Have a box of chopsticks? If you simply list it as “chopsticks,” customs may delay your shipment, because they don’t know what they’re made out of. Say “wooden chopsticks,” “ceramic chopsticks,” or “plastic chopsticks,” to be more specific. You’ll also have to specify the country of origin, failing to do so can also cause delays. And so, the tip of the day is this: Be painfully specific, even when it’s obvious. Customs officials never make assumptions, and if you don’t explicitly say what they need to know, they’ll send your paperwork back to you.
Choosing A Niche For Your Wholesale Business
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping, Home Based Business, eBusiness on June 25th, 2009
If you’ve been thinking about starting a business that uses wholesale suppliers to drop ship products to your customers, make sure you don’t miss the first, and most important step. You need to decide, in the beginning, what niche you want to choose for your business. The niche you choose will impact everything about your business, from the wholesale suppliers you choose to the type of marketing plan you decide to implement.
You see, an entire market is too broad for all but the largest of companies to try to take on. For a small business, especially one that’s just starting out, it’s best to divide the demand in the market into smaller, more manageable niches. By operating your wholesale business in a specific niche, you can focus your efforts on a specific type of buyer who’s looking for certain specialized goods.
One of the most important components in choosing a niche for your wholesale business is doing a market survey. You need to do a market survey in order to understand what products are being sold in a niche, as well as the areas that your competitors are already entrenched. By taking a look at the market, how much product is being sold and who is selling it, you can figure out where you belong. Ideally, you’re looking for an arrangement of factors including price, service, quality and product type that will maximize your sales while facing the least amount of direct competition.
You also need to consider your own interests and abilities when you’re choosing a niche for your wholesale business. For example, if you have no interest whatsoever in consumer electronics, it probably isn’t a great idea to start a consumer electronics drop ship business. The fact of the matter is that your desire and passion are a key element in being able to see your business succeed. Choose a niche that you know something about, and that you have some interest in.
As you go through the process of finding a niche, try to avoid thinking only about wholesale suppliers and costs. You might be able to buy products at a wholesale price that’s extremely competitive, but if you can’t find someone to buy those products or you can’t effectively market those products, your business won’t succeed. In addition, low wholesale prices also mean that your competition probably also has access to that kind of pricing, meaning you’ll have to find another area, whether it’s service or marketing, in which you need to offer something to your consumer that your competition can’t offer.
Why Your Drop Ship Business Needs a Business Plan
Posted by Bob in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 25th, 2009
Many people who enter the drop ship business do so with plenty of motivation, but with very little in the way of planning. The fact of the matter is that a drop ship business isn’t all that different from any other business, in terms of what it takes to succeed. One of the most important steps in starting a small business of any type is to develop a solid business plan.
It’s important, first, to understand exactly what a business plan is. The business plan is a document you create that defines the goals of your business, and that outlines the procedures your business will follow in order to achieve those goals. A business plan is essential if you need to raise capital for your new business. In addition, the business plan acts as something of a blueprint in the areas of management and finance for starting up a profitable business venture.
Why do you need a business plan to start a drop ship business? A business plan does several things for you. As we mentioned earlier, it helps in the process of trying to raise capital. Any investor that you want to ask to help your business get off the ground is likely going to want to see a solid business plan before she lays out that capital. This is especially important in the drop ship business realm, as many investors may not be entirely familiar with what a drop ship business is or how it works.
A good business plan also helps you know where you’re going. The business plan should include, for example, financial projections. It should be able to project when the business will go from becoming a start up business to actually becoming profitable, for example. While a business plan isn’t a magical crystal ball able to tell you what happens in the future, you can use the business plan to identify at what stages the business truly starts to make money.
A final area that a business plan can help your drop ship business is in the area of the market. Part of what goes into a good business plan is a market analysis. This allows you to identify your competition from the start, and figure out how you can get an advantage over the competition. A solid market analysis is essential to knowing whether or not you can expect your drop ship business to succeed, and how soon you can expect it.
Easy Drop Shipping Tips
Posted by Dan Blacharski in Bulk Drop Shipping, Drop Shipping on June 24th, 2009
If you are a newcomer to the drop shipping arena of late, perhaps you have noticed that there are a few patterns that emerge when trying to find a good drop shipping source. It seems there is some confusion about how to cut through some of the turmoil that comes with the territory. Here are a few tips to keep your small enterprise running smoothly, and maybe even avoid a few hassles along the way.
Perhaps the best tip for those of us who have been around drop shipping on a regular basis, is to be certain you are with an established drop ship source. Sound like common sense? It is, but you would be surprised how many web based retailers are finding that their sources are going out of business just when they were getting used to doing business with that source. The internet is dynamic, global, and constantly changing. Gone are the days when you could count on a wholesaler to be there when you need product. Many are new to the web and are not as adept as they need to be about who their wholesale sources are, and as a consequence they are relying on a single source for their product.
Make sure you use established sources for your product by finding out how long they have been in business, and how long they have been selling your specific product. If they have been around for more than a year, they are a much safer bet they will continue as a solid source.
Another good tip is to use wholesaler forums. Often, these are great resources for the beginning entrepreneur and the experienced alike to gather and share best practices, and often the best practices can be regional in nature, depending on the clientele and the country where you are doing much of your business.
The best tip I’ve come across lately is to develop a personal relationship with your source, and cultivate it. Someone who has been around the Internet wholesale market for a while can give you some good tips, and they often have insider info that can help. But you have to cultivate these relationships first, so stay in touch and develop a contact that will keep you connected.
A few easy tips like these can be enormously helpful to the new web based entrepreneur.
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