MAKE YOUR SITE SELL WITH REAL BARGAINS
Everyone loves bargains. Shoppers will flock to your site if you
can offer quality branded goods at deep discounts. Not only
that, these shoppers would be more than eager to share their
best buys with friends, colleagues and relatives. They may even
volunteer to buy on behalf of those who do not have access to
the Internet.
Studies have shown that online shoppers are more
price-sensitive. A look at the financial statements of listed
online retailers revealed an unhealthy trend - cost of sales is
much higher than revenue. In other words, most online retailers
are resorting to cut throat pricing to increase sales.
While analysts pointed their fingers at new competitive
pressures presented by companies that help buyers compare prices
online, I believe consumers are simply not motivated enough to
make more purchases online if stores do not offer their products
at below regular retail prices. In the impersonal environment of
an electronic store, consumers' inherent desires to seek out
good bargains become a dominant factor in deciding what and
where to buy online.
How could you sell quality branded goods at 50% off without
losing money? Quite simply by securing alternative sources of
products. Many manufacturers and wholesalers are flooded with
overstocked and surplus goods in their warehouses. They must
liquidate millions of dollars worth of top quality merchandise
at "distressed" prices every month to make room for new products.
Merchandise can become "distressed" for several reasons: +
Overstocked goods are sold as closeouts. + New models make
previous models obsolete. + A product line is discontinued. +
Changes made to the product's color or label. + A large contract
order is cancelled. + A manufacturer is forced to close and must
liquidate its goods. + A manufacturer is forced to liquidate its
goods to generate operating capital quickly. + A manufacturer
has limited warehousing space and must move its inventory to
make room for new merchandise. + Refurbished products that are
as good as new. + Product over-runs.
Whatever the reasons, "distressed" goods are still quality
products and they carry the full manufacturer's warranties just
like the regular goods.
Most of these "distressed" products are bought by wholesale
clubs and online discount stores at prices way below
manufacturing costs. Although these products are resold at
discounted prices, the profit margins would still be fairly
comfortable to turn in good profits with a high sales turnover.
Online discount stores that adopt this business model includes
NASDAQ-listed FragranceNet, DesignerOutlet.com, OutletMall.com,
1bookstreet.com and GotItDirect.com.
You do not have to operate in the same scale as these online
discount stores. Neither do you have the warehousing facilities
and resources to compete with these established discount stores.
Acting as an affiliate of these discount stores will not work
either, as shoppers would have gone to the online stores
directly on subsequent visits.
The objective of offering bargains to your target audience is to
entice them to visit your site as often as possible. Its
acceptance will open up many other opportunities to sell your
key products and services. A viable approach for small
businesses is outlined below.
Adopt a highly selective product strategy.
---------------------------------------------------------- Keep
your business simple by staying focus on one product or a narrow
range of products that are complementary to what you are
offering at your site. Treat the business as a form of providing
value-added service to attract and retain visitors to your site.
By focusing on a single supplier, you will have more time to
attend to enquiry, process orders, and arrange for delivery of
goods to consumers. Your supplier will also recognize your
commitment to his company and products by giving you a better
deal and more co-operations than he would give to someone who
represents many suppliers.
Get your supplier to ship the products directly to consumers.
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----------- Operate your business without holding on to any
inventory. You can get your supplier to ship directly to your
customers after you have secured and received payments (ideally)
for the orders. There are many suppliers out there who are
willing to drop-ship your orders anywhere around the world. You
can find them at the following sites:
Wholesale Central - http://www.wholesalecentral.com Closeout
Central - http://www.closeoutcentral.com Surplus-Closeout Finder
- http://www.infomart.net/surplus/
Setting up a cost-effective shopping and billing system.
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----------- Well, in order to sell products online, you must
operate a shopping cart. It is an electronic platform, which
allow users to browse through products; place selected products
into a shopping cart; and make payments online through a secured
server.
As a small business owner, you should outsource this aspect of
the operations to a third-party billing company to keep
operating costs to a minimum. My preferred choice for this job
is Verza. Besides offering one of the most competitive rates in
the third-party billing industry, it also provides a wide range
of services that will make your job easier.
+ You can use to sell single items or multiple products. +
Accept checks and major credit cards online. + Free setup.
System will be operational within 24 hours after submitting your
application. + Anti-fraud screening provided free of charge. +
Free tools provided to help you build your own online store. +
Reseller program supported. Verza will track and process payment
of commissions to your affiliates directly. + Payments made
twice a month directly to your bank account.
Get more information at http://aloha-city.com/bizlink/verza.html
Your small discount outlet is now ready. There is no need to
incur any fixed charges in inventory, shopping cart, secured
server and merchant account. Let Verza and your supplier take
care of the operations while you focus your efforts on
marketing, promotion and affiliate recruitment.
If done properly, you can expect shoppers to flock to your site
regularly in search of the best bargains, provided your target
audience is interested in the specific products that you are
offering on sales.
You can afford to price them lower than other established
discount stores as your cost of operations is relatively lower.
It has the potential to become a major money-spinner besides
fulfilling its role to open up other lucrative business
opportunities. Try it! You have nothing much to lose, but plenty
to gain with this business venture.