Hey you, the one racking your brain trying to put together a product mix to resell in an online store! The team at the e-commerce agency e-Plus and I have created a list with several ways to help you with this task. Check it out below!
- Visit and also read our post “product mix”. Learn, then, how to create a catalog with high potential for online sales!
8 WAYS TO BUILD A MIX OF PRODUCTS TO RESELL ON E-COMMERCE
The product mix is a catalog, group or collection of products that will be offered for sale in a physical store, virtual store or both. This catalog can range from one to over 1.000 items, depending on the size of the project. In any case, it must be assembled and organized coherently.
To create such a catalog it is necessary to check who the suppliers are and above all what their working conditions are. So, the first step is to find suppliers of products to resell. To do so, you can use these tactics:
01 – Search on the web:
On Google or another search engine, type in keywords like “suppliers”, “manufacturers”, “distributors”, “wholesalers” in conjunction with your business niche. For example, “fashion wholesalers”, “beverage manufacturers”, “cosmetics distributors”, etc.
After that, open the suppliers' websites exposed in the search results and pick up their phone number. Get in touch to know the line of resell products they have. If possible, ask them to let you visit them. Finally, make a deal with the best.
02 - Events:
Trade shows, conferences, meetings, workshops, and other similar events are great for meeting new suppliers and forming partnerships. For example, the China Homelife trade show, featuring 800 suppliers from China, recently took place in Brazil. How cool is that!
So find out which events cater to your business sector. Check which dates they occur and mark your calendar. Try to know in advance who the suppliers will be present. Make an appointment with those who are of interest to you.
03 - Trainings:
Just like events, trainings in your business sector can be very helpful. In them you can always hear about this or that supplier. That way, it will be possible to know who has a good reputation and who has a bad reputation.
During the courses in which you participate, such as those of Sebrae, for example, try to ask the instructors and also the other participants about potential suppliers. Explain how your e-commerce will be and they will help you with valuable tips.
04 - Publications:
Stay tuned for print and online publications about entrepreneurship, business and your area of expertise. It is possible to find good suppliers in specialized magazines, newspapers, websites, portals, blogs, podcasts, video channels, etc.
Check out the articles from these media outlets, but especially take a look at the ads section. This is where the chances are greater to find products to resell and also to get new ideas for your business.
05 - Competitors:
Once you have chosen a sector of activity, start researching which small, medium and large companies belong to it. Take a detailed look at the website and online stores of each of them.
Check the product mix of these companies. What do they sell? How do they divide the store's departments? How do they answer consumer questions? Which products have the most output? Also try to find out who the suppliers of these companies are.
06 - Coworking:
Coworking is a shared workspace. In it, office resources such as internet signal, telephone, tables, chairs, meeting rooms, physical address and much more are shared. Some coworking spaces are specialized in a certain sector of activity.
If you can temporarily rent space in a coworking space, then you can talk to other entrepreneurs about your business niche. Then, you can get tips from suppliers and also to assemble a better product mix.
07 - Partners:
Open your phone book and choose a few people who will be able to give you leads on suppliers for your online store. These people may be collaborators or employees of a supplier company that interests you, for example.
Ask them about product lines, prices, deliveries, etc. Try to find out about product quality, perishability, payment methods and terms. Ask if it's possible to work with the supplier's stock , so you don't have to build your own inventory.
08 - Tests:
Before searching for any products, conduct low-cost tests. That is, work like an " e-commerce startup ". If you intend to sell flip-flops, for example, then first create one or more ads with Google Ads to check if there is demand for the product.
If you find that there is a lot of demand online for a particular type of flip-flop, then buy a shipment of 50 or more pairs and try to resell them online. If it works, open an online store. Repeat the process with other products until you have built a winning catalog.
- Visit and also read our article “Work with e-commerce”. Discover 10 golden tips for developing and managing an online store!
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR CHOSEN SUPPLIERS ARE RELIABLE?
If you need to close a big deal with a supplier, first find out about their reliability. To do this, use tools like Ray Carter's 10 Cs . With this resource, you can evaluate everything from competence and cleanliness to communication, cost, and flow control, among other things, of the supplier in question.
Additionally, take a look at the Reclame Aqui website . Check the supplier's reputation. Find out what their customers are saying. In other words, be proactive to avoid bad deals and waste.
- Access and also read the post “Women's clothing to resell”. Get to know 10 suppliers for you to test in your e-commerce.
