Attention! You should only read this article if you plan to operate an automated online store with physical products that are in demand and can generate profit.
We are happy that you’ve stayed! We’ll show you how to choose good online store products, and where and how to acquire them. Let’s get started!
How to choose the right product?
If you type this into Google: “the top online store ideas”, you’ll find a lot of great articles and ideas. The trick is how to choose between them.
First, collect maximum twenty of them and go through them based on the questions below:
1. Is there a demand for it?
You can check this with the help of Google Trends free of charge. Look at the interest over time of these products, their search history by day, month, or year. It is good to check which keywords are trending in other markets, because stable trends elsewhere will reach your country eventually.
2. Is the product compatible with an online store?
Is the product
- too big
- fragile
- hard to ship
- too expensive.
If serious permissions or inspections are needed for the distribution of the product it can affect the decision, as this may mean a lot of extra expenses and administration.
3. Can it generate profit?
These are two questions, and to be successful, the answer should be yes to at least one of them:
a. can you sell it at a great margin, or
b. can you sell enough of it to be profitable.
Where to get the products for your online store?
If you have your narrowed-down list, we can get to the next step: procurement.
There are several options, but the chosen product greatly defines the decision. Let’s see the options!
Manufacturing your own product
An advantage of this is that the product will be unique and can be tailored to ever-changing needs (which is also beneficial from a marketing point of view). The disadvantage of this is however, that the production is more time consuming (and maybe even more expensive) than that of a finished product.
Procurement from an inland wholesaler or a merchant within the EU
This is the best choice in case of products that are subject to authorization (like foodstuff or cosmetic products), because these merchants have the sufficient permissions. A downside of this is that they usually operate with high prices, especially in case of finished products, because many times they themselves acquire them form Asia.
From a merchant or manufacturer outside the EU
We don’t think we have to introduce the benefits of procurement from Asian countries. The market is huge, and the sky is the limit for quality, because not all product that were procured cheap end in the dumpster after one use (for example electronic products).
Procurement, but how?
You have to decide if you are ready to build and manage your own logistics processes, or you would like to skip that like you did with the joys of administrative work.
If you decide on the latter, you should outsource the logistics of you online store.
- This is where dropshipping comes in handy, where on low costs but with a smaller margin, basically you only need to manage the orders between your customer and the supplier.
- If you want to start your business with a bigger investment, but with a bigger margin, with the help of a logistics company you can ship the goods from the supplier’s warehouse to your country from any part of the world. For example, with our 4PL service.
You know where to start, now it is only up to you whether you jump right into it. We wish you the very best!
