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Guide to Choosing Winning Products and Reliable Suppliers

This article provides in-depth advice on how to select your products and suppliers, as well as strategies for setting reasonable product prices. This will help you get a fundamental understanding of some of the most popular approaches and best practices for starting your e-commerce business journey. 

 

 

How to Choose Winning Products to Sell 

Choosing the right products is crucial for ecommerce success. Here's a guide to help you navigate the selection process.

 

Deciding How to Classify Your Products

  • By Product Category: When classifying by product, start with overarching industry categories like clothing, followed by specifics such as men's and women's wear, and functional types like outerwear, underwear, and sportswear. Each specific category can further branch into niche areas and specific demographics, such as vintage men's outerwear or casual women's sportswear.
  • By Target Demographics: Identify specific demographics and tailor products to meet their needs. For example, a store catering to coffee enthusiasts could offer coffee-related products alongside merchandise like T-shirts and stickers themed around coffee.
  • By Specific Needs: Establish a store addressing specific needs, such as kitchen cleaning, and feature products related to that area. 

 

Methods for Choosing Products After Establishing Direction

  • Explore Ecommerce Platforms: Analyze sales data from platforms like Etsy, AliExpress, and Amazon, as well as regional and niche websites. 

    • Etsy originated as an ecommerce platform for artisans, featuring creative and distinctive products that can serve as a source of inspiration.
    • AliExpress offers a wide range of product categories and rapid product updates, making it an excellent source for discovering new product categories and business opportunities.
    • Amazon, as the largest ecommerce platform, offers bestseller lists and other indicators that accurately reflect local market consumption trends.
    • Other niche websites such as http://dudeiwantthat.com and http://grandinroad.com can also provide valuable insights.
  • Analyze Search Trends: User-searched keywords in search engines offer insights into the purchasing needs of users in specific regions. Keyword data comprises two key indicators: search volume (indicating market capacity) and trendiness (reflecting market direction).
    • Google Trends (free): The most commonly used tool for identifying keyword search trends over time and across regions, indicating whether it's gaining or declining in popularity. Five years of data reveal periodic trends associated with the keyword. While it doesn't provide exact keyword search volume, you can compare keywords and discover the relative volume. Additionally, Google Trends recommends highly-trending related search terms in the lower right corner, broadening your perspective.
    • To ascertain keyword search volume, tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner are valuable. They provide rough estimates of keyword search frequency, typically ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 searches.
  • Follow Social Media Trends
    • Facebook is a primary platform for cross-border ecommerce community marketing. By searching for product keywords or combinations like "keyword + free shipping," you can assess post popularity and trends based on comments and shares. Additionally, the Facebook Ads Library allows examination of ad effectiveness using the fan page's ID.
    • Pinterest's Trends page provides weekly trending charts, facilitating observation of hot trends. Keyword searches on Pinterest help you find relevant posts to gauge trendiness.
    • Many YouTube Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) specialize in sharing unique products and shopping experiences, serving as a valuable resource. Simply search on YouTube, watch relevant videos, and follow content creators to discover interesting products.
  • Utilize Product Selection Tools: Researching across multiple platforms can be time-consuming. Product selection tools can help by gathering data from various sources and analyzing it for you. These tools can help you understand product category demand based on data, making it easier to find the right products to sell.

  • Research Competitors: For ecommerce stores, popular products and advertising drive sales (often relying on ads for traffic). Analyze successful competitors' pages, products, ads, and layouts. Run low-budget tests to learn from their strategies and develop your own SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for product selection, advertising, and website content.

 

Key Points for Product Selection

  • Define your brand positioning and category planning clearly. Utilize platforms and tools effectively. Delve deeply into demand rather than merely imitating products.
  • Start with products in niche categories with low competition, particularly for smaller-scale merchants. Select items that are challenging for overseas customers to purchase offline.
  • Choose practical products that fulfill genuine needs and ideally exhibit increasing demand with growth potential.
  • Consider the customers' perspective and avoid evaluating demand in the same manner as for the local market.

 

How to Choose Reliable Suppliers

 

Genuine Qualities of Qualified Suppliers

  • Prefer Continuous Transactions, Not Monthly Fees: Legitimate wholesalers typically prioritize long-term business relationships over monthly membership fees or service charges. If you are asked for monthly payments, it's likely they aren't authentic wholesalers.
    Note: It's crucial to distinguish between suppliers and supplier directories. Supplier directories compile wholesalers by product type or market, ensuring legitimacy. While most directories charge fees, this doesn't necessarily indicate unreliability.

  • They Generally Don't Sell Products to the General Public: Genuine wholesalers require retailers to apply for wholesale accounts and prove legitimacy before offering wholesale prices. Those selling to the public at "wholesale prices" are essentially retailers.
    Note: Some supplier fees are reasonable. Here are two examples:
    • Order processing fee: Common among dropshipping distributors, this fee covers per-order costs based on product size and complexity. Packaging and shipping multiple products in a single order usually cost less than packaging and shipping these products individually.
    • Minimum order quantity: Some wholesalers impose a minimum initial order requirement to filter out small orders. For instance, if the minimum order is USD 500 but your average order is USD 100, consider prepaying USD 500 to establish trust.

 

Qualities of Reliable Suppliers

Partnering with reliable suppliers is crucial for business success. Here are six key characteristics to look for:

  • Expert Staff and Industry Focus: Top suppliers have a deep understanding of their industry and can provide detailed product information and valuable advice.
  • Dedicated Sales Representatives: Look for companies with dedicated sales reps to ensure prompt issue resolution.
  • Technology Investment: Choose suppliers that utilize technology like real-time inventory, online catalogs, and order histories to streamline your business processes.
  • Convenient Ordering Process: Save time by finding suppliers who accept orders via email or app instead of phone calls or complex website forms.
  • Fast Delivery: Prioritize suppliers in central locations or near major transportation hubs for faster deliveries.
  • Organizational and Operational Efficiency: While evaluating efficiency can be challenging upfront, placing test orders can reveal valuable insights about a supplier's capabilities.

 

How to Find Suppliers

Note: Most suppliers require legitimate business documentation before you can apply for an account with them.

 

  • Online Search: Use search engines (such as Baidu and Google) to find high-quality suppliers, but keep these rules in mind:
    • Broad search: Wholesale vendors may not excel in marketing. Searching for "wholesale suppliers of a certain product" may require sifting through numerous results to find wholesale vendor websites.
    • Don't rely solely on websites: Wholesale vendors' websites are often not well-made. While a high-quality website might indicate a good supplier, a poorly designed website doesn't necessarily mean the wholesaler is subpar. Thus, website quality alone isn't a reliable indicator of a supplier's excellence.
    • Use descriptive terms: Wholesale vendors typically don't prioritize SEO, so try various search methods. Use descriptive terms like "distributor," "agent," "bulk," "warehouse," and "supplier" for better results.
  • Attend Trade Shows: Connect with major manufacturers and wholesalers in specific markets. If feasible, attending trade shows is an effective way to gain insight into the market and evaluate different suppliers.
  • Use Supplier Directories: These databases streamline supplier searches. Many directories screen suppliers to ensure legitimacy. Although most charge a fee for access, they simplify the process of finding genuine wholesalers. Some well-known directories include:
    • Worldwide Brands: Established and renowned, offering access to thousands of wholesalers and over 10 million products.
    • SaleHoo: Requires a low annual user fee and provides access to over 8,000 suppliers.
    • Doba: Integrated with 165 suppliers, allowing direct order placement.

While membership access to directories may be beneficial, it's not necessary if you already know the products you intend to sell.

  • Purchasing Products from Competitors: If unable to find a supplier, consider purchasing products from competitors. Place a small order with a competitor in the same product category. Upon receiving the package, search for the return address on Google to identify the original sender. In some cases, this original sender may be a potential supplier. Use this technique cautiously and avoid over-reliance on it.
  • Main Channels for Finding Suppliers:
    • Alibaba: Familiar platform for most Amazon FBA merchants.
    • Global Sources (https://www.globalsources.com/): Headquartered in Hong Kong, offering online procurement websites and offline trade shows. It provides visibility into categories like electronics, fashion, home, and more.
    • 1688.com: A major procurement website under the Alibaba Group, catering mainly to Chinese ecommerce merchants. It’s now gaining attention from Amazon FBA merchants.
    • U.S. Customs Import Records: Public records of imported goods arriving in the United States. Amazon merchants can find supplier names through these records.

 

Negotiating with Suppliers in Five Steps

  1. Establish the right negotiation mindset
  2. Draft an inquiry sheet
  3. Widen the net and contact suppliers
  4. Streamline the list of suppliers
  5. Request samples from suppliers

 

 

Setting Product Pricing

When adding products to your SHOPLINE store, you'll need to set your own prices to ensure profitability. This means setting a price higher than your supplier's cost. Here are three key factors to consider:

  • Cost Coverage: Factor in all your store setup costs, including SHOPLINE fees, transaction fees, marketing expenses, and logistics. Setting your prices strategically will help you cover these costs and generate profit.

  • Product Value: Consider the time, effort, and resources you invest in running your business. This includes any unique product combinations you offer or additional customer support you provide. These factors contribute to the overall value of your products and can justify higher prices.
  • Competitive Landscape: Research similar products on other ecommerce stores or platforms like Amazon and AliExpress to understand typical pricing. This ensures your prices are within a reasonable range and offers a competitive advantage.