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Product sourcing is the primary stage in the importation business.
Many businesses try to find high-value products from international markets. Retailers, import-export, e-commerce, and manufacturing businesses need to source profitable products.
But, it is more than just product sourcing for your e-commerce business. Without having the right quality products at competitive rates, you cannot run a successful business.
Thus, we will try to cover the basics of the product sourcing process.
We will also discuss how sourcing companies can help your Shopify store pursue quality products by allocating a dedicated sourcing agent.
Simply put, Product Sourcing is a straightforward process to find marketable inventory for your business that you can sell.
Product sourcing is the process is not about where the source is either international or domestic. It is all about making products available for your business all the time.
If you are a new business, keep in mind that your business must be running before sourcing for products.
Otherwise, you cannot sell, and the products might stay unsold in the storage for a long time. Some of the things you must have before product sourcing;
Sourcing a product is not just searching for the cheapest supplier on Alibaba or any other forum and signing an agreement.
Almost every business person knows this already. Many do not recognize that the sourcing process starts before searching for a supplier.
Here are some of the influencing steps you must consider in this context;
The right process can reduce your expenses while improving your efficiency, while the wrong one can lead to delays, unnecessary costs, and frustrations.
You can source your profitable products in many ways. You can apply one source or more at a time. It is up to your requirements, and you are to decide. Well!
Most e-commerce businesses use a combination of the three methods, which are as follow:
Have you cut your hair, sewed your clothes, and managed your investment? If yes, it is the simplest example of DIY products or services. DIY means “Do It Yourself.”
If explained, DIY means you do a task or make goods yourself instead of buying from a store or an artisan.
The most significant advantage of DIY is that you have no or fewer competitors. On the other hand, you must consider some factors like time management and scalability.
Pros:
Cons:
This option is the best for sellers who do not want to assemble or manufacture their products themselves.
You can scale your business. Speaking differently, it allows you to add more products to your own brand. Working with a manufacturer allows you to manage your time and do business on a higher level.
On the other hand, you are supposed to make bulk investments.
Finding reliable suppliers for your own products are very crucial. To find a supplier, you need to figure out your requirements, keeping in mind your target market.
You can follow the below methods to find potential suppliers.
You can browse different online marketplaces to find potential manufacturers. Alibaba, AliExpress, DHgate, and Global Sources are some of the existing marketplaces.
Research different suppliers with a request for proposal (RFP) document to get their input. Analyze the responses, read reviews, and order samples for an in-person inspection.
Here you can find the best-selling product at a reasonable price.
Attending trade shows is another method to find reputable suppliers. Trade shows let you discuss many factors with the manufacturer in person.
You can talk about the selection of raw materials, costs involved, quality control, shipping challenges, etc. So it’s always a nice place to mingle in search of new private label products, manufacturers without an online presence or product ideas, new to your target market.
In short, an in-person meeting helps manufacturers understand exactly what specifications you want. This way, you can have complete control over the production.
It is a hands-off product sourcing method. It allows the wholesalers to list goods to sell from a reliable supplier and pay for these when they are sold.
You need not handle the products at all. You can start an online store and access a variety of products.
I am a dropshipper CURRENTLY running a PROFITABLE store. Everything counts on the supplier. I just make sales and TAKE my products. Very easy to do.
The issue with this method is; you have more competition because several wholesalers are selling those products. Further, you will enjoy a lower profit margin.
Purchasing products from a wholesaler is a proven model to find trending products.
I have made deals with many WHOLESALERS. The good thing about them is their pricing. You can MAKE bigger profits by just margining your prices effectively.
You can find wholesale Chinese suppliers in trade shows and on eCommerce platforms. Many wholesalers often give great discounts, plus they also have trending products in stock.
Thus, independent retailers who have their retail stores in flea markets can purchase products at once.
In short, you can buy high-quality products from wholesalers at low prices. After that, you can sell products locally at good profit margins.
If you want to sell your products online for your wholesale business, then there are various forums. These forums provide interaction between buyers and sellers in bulk purchases and sales.
Some of them are trusted and recognized worldwide and are discussed as follows.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, recognized as Alibaba, is a Chinese company specialized in e-commerce.
This company provides Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), Consumer to Consumer (C2C) sales services through web portals. It also offers services such as electronic payment services, cloud computing services, and shopping search engines.
It helps a diverse array of business-related to various sectors around the globe. It falls among the most admired companies by Fortune.
SaleHoo is an online directory of wholesalers for online retailers, dropship suppliers, and eBay sellers. On this forum, you can find numerous manufacturers, wholesalers, drop shippers for any product you want.
This forum is only for dealing in the wholesale market. So, with its usage, you can grow your business exponentially.
You can search for more than 1.6 million products from over 8000 suppliers.
You can find more than 125000 registered members on this forum with almost 500 online active users at a time. This forum deals with nearly every kind of profitable product.
Their emphasis is on the security of online sellers, buyers, and their personal data.
E-sources, the largest sourcing company, is used for the verification. You can further find a trend analysis of the products and can discuss it with the suppliers.
If you are doing an online business in electronic devices and cell phones, then Cellpex is the best option. But you should know that it is a wholesale platform offers these products.
The layout of this website is very good, and you can search out any device of your choice. It is a niche type wholesale platform and is the best choice for electronic and smartphone merchants.
Sourcing Agents are professionals who can create a product sourcing strategy for you. They are the experts in sourcing products.
They also help a small business grow and become more profitable. They can perform duties in various industries and work settings.
A sourcing agent is a specialist in;
Products sourcing is a business in which you consult your clients about what and from where to buy. It may look straightforward for small procurements.
Although it is a profitable business, you are supposed to make some strategic moves.
I always do the MARKET RESEARCH. It helps me find:
All eCommerce retailers must do adequate research on the existing product. Check factors like the minimum order quantity, how much inventory upfront you need, online demand, etc.
Remember, every successful eCommerce business starts with good research. So, make sure you follow more than one product sourcing method to carry out an in-depth analysis.
In market research, you end up with a list of potential products, buyers, and competitors.
When I am conducting a MARKET RESEARCH, I land the BEST NICHE with the competitive profit. It indicates how much REVENUE I can make by just selling the products.
Businesses work direct when they are looking for niche products, but it’s harder to manage. However, experts recommend focusing on the smallest possible niche to start. Once it works, you can add more categories to your online business.
You may also need to consider legal formalities before sourcing items. It includes tasks like ensuring product quality, paying customs duties, etc.
Handmade products sold at craft stores usually get discounts in taxes. But every product crossing the border needs to undergo verification and documentation processes.
Many times, sourcing companies handle this task on your behalf. Product sourcing companies often have a separate team to tackle legal processes.
Make sure you evaluate manufacturers based on their work ethics and other factors. One such aspect is ordering a product sample. Dropshipping supplier often give a product sample to assess quality.
Some wholesale manufacturers don’t provide this facility. But if they have high minimum order quantities, you should ask for the sample.
You don’t have to face this situation when working with product sourcing companies. They can ensure product quality by visiting factories.
My Tip: I choose 5-10 suppliers. Get SAMPLES from them to TEST the quality. And finally, make a TRADE if I am sure about the QUALITY.
In the current era, you cannot deny the importance of technology. At least you must have purchasing and procurement management software to handle your sourcing business.
It will help you in many ways and streamline your essential workings of the team.
Product sourcing is nothing but a process of sourcing products at reasonable prices for reselling. Once you find products to sell, you can contact a dropshipping supplier or wholesale manufacturer.
There are many product sourcing methods. You can get products from the supplier directly or a trading company.
You can also contact sourcing companies to streamline the successful product sourcing operation.
There is no need to own an online shop to start sourcing products. Of course, you may need products to sell online.
Even an individual having a local store can source products for local buyers.You can source products through different product sourcing methods.
However, one must meet the minimum order quantities to start sourcing items.
You may need to create a decent product sourcing strategy to smoothen the process. Once you identify products to sell, start your hunt for business partners, i.e., suppliers.
Make sure you have product specifications ready. You can communicate specific needs to the supplier.
Yes, many Chinese manufacturers allow product customizations to meet your needs. But you may need to talk about it in the beginning.
Do you own a particular brand? Are you sourcing products from other brands? A supplier might ask you these questions upon requesting product customizations.
Note that some dropshipping suppliers don’t allow product customizations. Or they do it at an extra charge.
Product sourcing may not be an easy task, especially for beginners. It is not as easy as estate sales that complete in a couple of steps.
You can contact sourcing companies to do it on your behalf. These companies can select the best product sourcing method for you.
They can also handle all legal formalities and shipping challenges.
If you plan to sell your products, look for raw materials suppliers in your area (to reduce shipping delays). Browse online directories to locate nearby partners, then approach them directly. For some types of materials, online marketplaces can also suffice to purchase product materials in bulk with less hassle.
Product sourcing app Like DSers, Printify has a free plan that you can use to find a supplier. Dropshipping sources: DSers, you can add products to your store and start marketing them. After you receive the order, the source will get a notification and they’ll ship the product for you.
Also, you can contact the agent. We simplify your product sourcing process by collating all the key details about a supplier and help you find the right products for the Amazon marketplace. You get supplier information to compare the prices of options that fit your business goals. Don’t discard individual makers in your community.
Having more than one supplier for a product ensures that not only is the retailer getting what they need, but consumers are as well. When Amazon FBA product sourcing, give your quality products the benefit of multiple sources.
In this article, we had tried to uncover all the aspects related to product sourcing. We started from the importance and got through the complete product sourcing process.
Further, we discussed the sourcing companies and how these can benefit your wholesale business. Consequently, the more money you invest upfront, the larger your profit margins will be — called ‘economy of scale.’
Hence if you are finding answers to product sourcing-related questions for your online business, you will find this article very valuable.
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I worked with this china sourcing agent for 2-3 years to build my brand. They check each item and does my customs clearance get into Amazon warehouse. I love their china sourcing service, it saves me a lot of time. If you are also developing your business in China, they will help you do it smoothly.
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