Business
Type: The Trade Show Buyer
Starting
the Business:
You will need to supply a business name to register
and gain entry to a trade show, however you
can easily have free business cards made up
via Vistaprint.com if you don’t want to
set up a business fully yet, that way you have
a proof of business if questioned on entry.
Trade shows never require more than a business
card as proof. You can then get onto the main
exhibition websites and search all the trade
events that are upcoming. Choose ones that interest
you, or ones you feel may be profitable. A great
trade show that takes place each year is Top
Drawer. Normally held at Earls Court this show
attracts hundreds of companies offering their
product ranges to thousands of people (new and
future business owners just like you) who may
have an interest in buying their ranges to resell.
The
Top Drawer event is focused towards retail products
and home furnishings, ie all the popular products
you see for sale in most large shops –
ideal for reselling. Whilst at these shows you
will be able to see the products first-hand,
get trade price lists, even place pre-orders
for stock if you see something that interests
you. Buy products that are low-medium value
that are quite mainstream and will be popular
with customers on eBay.
You
may find that you buy from a range of suppliers
and see excellent sales results with some product
lines and no so good with others. Discount and
get rid of the not-so-popular items and concentrate
on the faster-moving ones. You will then build
up a strong relationship with a handful of suppliers
with whom you will go on to make a healthy ongoing
monthly income from.
Where
To Sell:
eBay is the easiest place to resell your items,
however you may also wish to look into getting
a website with which you can list your products
for sale and sell directly to the public without
involving ebay. You can set up simple ecommerce
sites from specialists such as www.123-reg.co.uk
– these companies have ready-made ecommerce
solutions that you can set up quickly and add
your products to. Just bear in mind that doing
it this way you will need to promote your website
to attract visitors, which will cost you money,
and quite a lot more than just a listing fee
on eBay.
Click
NEXT for how much you could make, useful resources,
and worked examples
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