Tech-Seeker

If you want to make money selling on ebay, you should look at finding yourself a wholesaler in the field you are selling in. A wholesaler is the ‘bridge’ between the manufacturer and the retailer. Quite often the manufacturer doesn’t want to deal with individual retailers because of they may only sell hundreds of their product, whereas the wholesaler can sell thousands. Because of this, they only mark up their prices probably around 15%.

Wholesalers have only recently found the power of the internet, with more and more are shifting from having just an online prescence to having a full e-commerce site. And that’s good news for the retailer.

Due to the nature of the wholesaler, they won’t deal with end consumers, and only deal with ‘traders’, but that doesn’t mean they won’t deal with you. Provided you are going to be buying in bulk, in general the wholesaler will sell to you. Being a trader simply means you’re not going to keep the products you buy. If you’re selling on ebay as a hobby that still means you’re a trader. You don’t need to set up a company, the same way you don’t need to when you sell at car boot sales.

So now you know what a wholesaler is, how do you go about finding one. Buy a wholesaler list from ebay, right? Wrong! Those lists may contain thousands of companies, but accurate are they? In my experience, not very. Out of interest I bought a list, and 90% of the wholesalers listed aren’t in the country you’re interested in. Very few had websites, and some just had mobile phone numbers as the contact, which were not in service. Don’t waste your money. They are out of date as soon as they are put on the cd, or in the PDF.

You have a couple of options. The simplest is to pick up the Yellow Pages (or visit Yell.com). You’ll be suprised how many there are on your doorstep. Just pay them a visit explaining that you’re starting to sell online. Some do require letterheads etc, but many don’t. All it takes is a visit to find out.

The other way is to visit a trader directory website. There are a few on the net, but most of them require you to pay to see the wholesalers listed. I think this is backwards. It’s like asking you to pay every month for the use of the Yellow Pages. The right way to do it is to have free access, but if any payment is required, it should be from the advertiser. There is another benefit to the advertiser/wholesaler too, and that’s their page ranking. Search engines look at how many other sites are linking to their site, and more specifically, sites that are related (by theme/topic etc) to each other. Having similar sites linking will improve the page ranking of those sites, which will make them appear higher in search engines. But I digress.

When you find a wholesaler, visit his site. If he’s in the UK, he needs to have a contact name, address and number on their site (as required by section 4 of the Business Names Act, 1985). If they are a registered company, their company number needs to be visible also. You can use this to check how long the company has been in business and their registered address. Give them a call and have a chat. If they’re legit then they’ll welcome the call and quite happily answer any questions.

Check the terms and conditions. Because they sell in bulk, there may be a minimum order quantity for individual items, or a minumum order value. This can be as little as £50 or as much as £1000.

You may need to register to see the wholesale prices. This shouldn’t pose a problem. Once you’ve got the prices, compare them to similar items on ebay to see what kinds of profit you can make. I’ve found prices for the same item can vary quite dramatically between wholesalers. This is because wholesalers get discounts from the manufacturer depending on the amount they can sell. The more they sell, the bigger the discount.

Build up a good relationship with them if possible. Some online wholesalers are very friendly and offer what feels like a personal service. If you are regular, they may provide an even higher level of service.

Web-based, electronic catalogs (E-Catalogs) focus on imparting an entirely unique shopping experience for consumers.

The E-Catalog is a cutting-edge catalog simulation. The shopping experience is online, but creates the look and feel of shopping out of a print catalog. Consumers can “flip” through virtual catalog pages with the click of a mouse, browsing just like they would through a printed book. The E-Catalog offers consumers many features to enhance their shopping experience: potential customers can zoom in on products for a closer look, make notes directly on the page using a sticky note feature, or print out individual pages for later use. If consumers like what they see, they can click on an image or on a product description and add the item to their virtual shopping cart for purchase.

In many ways the E-Catalog is a superior shopping tool for the consumer. Almost anyone can access an E-Catalog at any time via the Internet. The E-Catalog can never be lost or misplaced, nor do consumers need to worry about not having the latest edition. In addition, it introduces an eco-friendly alternative to traditional catalog printing by allowing consumers to print only the pages they need, consequently cutting down on paper waste. E-Catalogs can also provide businesses with an opportunity to save money on shipping; orders can be combined with other businesses to receive a quantity discount and reduce shipping charges. The E-Catalog allows business associates a chance to shop for products at the same time while being located miles apart.

Many consumers today have had the chance to experience the added value in the E-Catalog. It expands their shopping possibilities, keeps them connected with updated product information, and increases their accessibility. It’s the next level in online shopping.

The internet, with the myriads of interconnected computers and sites, it’s not impossible that there is something good waiting to be discovered. Whether it be discounts, special offers, sales or coupons, it’s just right there, waiting to be discovered.

But the problem is, it’s extremely hard to look for the right bargain for the right product. There maybe a lot of discount offers out there, but is there one that is just right for you? The real deal is very hard to distinguish from promotional ads, spam and scam. Looking for these discounts is tricky but they’re pretty easy to recognize once you have spent a considerable amount of time in surfing the internet.

Watch out for scams that not only waste your time but might drain your resources as well. These scams are often contained within a very lucrative offer, but what you do not know is that you have to buy things before you can avail of that service. At the end of the transaction, you end up having more things that you don’t want than of the things that you did.

Another thing that you should look into is about the current trends that happen most especially if the product you are eyeing on is a product that updates and changes regularly. Watch out for the updates on the product your looking for. Some discounts may be out just because they want to get rid of outdated products. Keep yourself always updated about these trends, who knows, the company who made them might be making something which would fix a current bug or imperfection. You do not want to own a cheap but bugged product. Or perhaps the technology it is using is outdated or soon to be phased out because of a recent standard imposed by the government. Buying it at a cheap price won’t be a bargain if you cannot use the product in the long run.

Once the above factors are on check and taken into careful consideration, its now time to weigh all of your options regarding the product. There are many factors to consider before buying a bargained product online. One is the price said in the bargain the only price you will be paying? Are there small asterisks at the side of each price? There are many attractive promotions that usually has some catch at the end of the page, so you should better be careful and look for the usual signs.

Another option you should also check is if it is really cheaper to buy online or offline. Although the internet has given us choices and made us an inch closer to a more free market world, there are also several considerations you should watch for. Does the internet price include taxes and levies? Does it include service charges, processing charges or delivery charges? These are things that you also have to consider before trying to buy online.

Another thing to watch for is the technical or costumer support. Does the maker of the product you are trying to buy have a technical or costumer support available for your area? Who will you be able to see or contact in case you need information about the product? Will there be an available technical support for the product in case it breaks? These after purchase factors are also worth some consideration, especially when you are the type who neither has the time nor the knowledge to expertly operate and fix these things. Product guarantee is also worth the consideration, some things are way cheaper versus other competitors simply because they do not guarantee the quality of their product.

Last thing that you should watch is the competitors. The internet is home to a vast number of retailers and marketers. Whenever you try to search for them on the internet, the cheapest, best, most affordable site may not appear on top as you expect them to be, so its better if you check, recheck, and recheck again for the prices that competing retailers dish out.

Also watch for the price of similar or higher end products of the ones you are buying, who knows, you might get an even better bargain than the one you’ve been eyeing on. You should also watch out for sites that allow you to avail of coupons, special offers and discounts that slash money off certain brands and products.

Having said all that, what individual online customers and surfers alike should do is to be at least Careful and Vigilant. As many have said, it’s a jungle out there, a jungle that yields plenty of good things as well as plenty of hazards and dangers. It is entirely up to us to protect and shield ourselves from those dangers, so always be on your guard and have fun bargain hunting!

If you are blogging and you want to build a top blogging site, you are reading the right article. Do you want to be the top most blogging site? With more pictures and more traffic including revenue? Of course, everyone in this business aims to be the most famous blogging site.

Being on the top will determine the traffic that your blogging site has produced. To make your blog rock in this business and be the top blogging site, you must give your readers a reason to visit your site. But how? It’s easy, the answer is just a moment away.

Blogging can be the easiest way to gain money; tips can be taken from it when the readers of your blogs enjoy the blog that you have written. To be the top blogging site, you need to give your reader a reason to frequently visit your site. Make a quality blog by including the following in your blogging business. These are very useful tools in making your blogging site the top and the producer of more traffic.

Pictures and photos must be included in your blogs. These are very important [parts of your blogging. You should at least give one photo in every blog you do. This will attract more readers to browse your blogging site. Make sure to add quality photos not the once that contains blurry images. This will not make your blogs to be on the top. Plus, colorful photos are more appealing to readers so include them in your blogs.

Traffic patterns are also important in this kind of business. You should not only manage one site, it is much better if you are affiliated to other sites. You can write blogs to them as well, as long as you put your link in the end of your blogs. This will serve as the link to your site. You can promote your site by using other blogging sites. This will sure to grab more readers attention that will keep the traffic to flow.

Include templates in your writings. Numbers of different associated templates in your blogs will be useful. Uncluttered template is weak compared to bright templates that can attract more readers. Templates will make your blogs look more attractive and inviting. Make sure to choose good quality and nice looking templates to add more traffic in your blogging site.

Advertise your blogging site. Make appealing site advertisements to promote your site. Ads can be helpful in bringing all the traffics to your blogging site. You can also advertise using banners ad space that you can sell. This will bring you more income as compensation to your hard work.

You cans end newsletters to your readers whenever a new blogs are posted. By this way, your readers will always be updated of what you write in your blogging website. Press release can be done to invite more readers to your blogging site. Give your blog a unique, interesting and on of a kind touch. This will make loads of traffic to your website.

These are very useful tools in making the top blogging site. With plenty of ways, you are sure to reach the peak of success in this business. Start up and gain more money by blogging.

Canadian eCommerce growth was recently flat but still has an attractive upside…

Recent studies found that Canadian retail e-commerce growth was flat year over year (2003-2004). After further examination however, approximately 60% of the 100 largest non-travel sites succeeded in growing their sales over 20%.

Also interesting is the trending of Canadians from buying at non-Canadian sites to domestic sites (63% domestic, 37% foreign). This “domestic shift” clearly benefits the launching of a new eCommerce business in Canada.

The sales opportunity lies with the “early adopters”, individuals primarily the 18-34 year old age range. This segment is more technologically savvy and more likely to purchase online. In a 2003 to 2004 sampling comparison, this segment’s overall e-commerce spending increased 44%. The 35 to 54 age group increased only 5% and 55+ increased 18% (includes online travel).

Overall Internet Adoption rates still trail the U.S. and come in at approximately 52%. However, with the development of new Internet infrastructures and the maturation of Canadian ISP’s, this number will likely rise in the next 3-5 years. The following quote from the Canadian government re-enforces this theme.

“To reach our new national goal (relating to e-commerce) Canadians will need to develop strategies that build an intelligent infrastructure to serve as the backbone of the e-economy- by encouraging investment, strengthening research, enhancing commercialization and ensuring that all Canadians have access to this infrastructure and know how to use it.” (September, 2004)

Shifting demographics & lack of online competition equal a substantial opportunity…

Forrester Research reports that 48% of Canadian web shoppers are now female compared to 39% in 2003. 74% of web buyers are married and likely are home shoppers, compared to 68% in 2003.

With the gender gap closing, online home retailers have a great opportunity to target their core customer segment: the 30-40yr old female who owns or maintains a residence.

Within this sector, it is rare for U.S. based retailers to have online Canadian stores. Many brands will ship to Canada, for very high costs (customs duty & shipping) but this likely leads to an unpleasant experience for the Canadian consumer. These high costs, compiled with a lack of domestic Canadian retailers providing an e-commerce offering, are driving the stagnant growth of the online sales channel.

By being a “first-mover” in establishing a presence in the online marketplace within Canada, online retailers will facilitate sales from consumers that want to get products shipped from their native homeland after being paid for in Canadian currency.

Similar to the U.S., consumers are exhibiting multi-channel tendencies and embracing the emergence of broadband connectivity…

Canada is the only country in the world in which broadband overtook dial-up access in 2003. Currently 48% of all Canadian consumers have broadband access and they are 67% more likely to have high speed web-access than American consumers.

This impressive penetration may prove to be a strong driver for online circulars and new online merchandising tactics, as product differentiation are established outside of price.

Canadian shoppers are also parallel to U.S. consumers in their multi-channel behavior. 58% of Canadian shoppers have researched a product online and purchased offline, spending an average of $440. An online Canadian strategy must focus on integrating the online and physical store with store locator functionality and other tools to promote cross-channel behavior.

In conclusion, multi-national retailers should closely examine the Canadian eCommerce opportunity. Attractive consumer demographics, an established broadband infrastructure, and a shift in overall shopping tendencies make the Canada a high-growth and un-saturated area for multi-channel retail.

Craig Smith

Trinity Insight LLC

http://www.trinityinsight.com