TEN GREAT Things to Sell by Mail
We've all heard stories of online selling fortunes being made by those
around us. All too often however, fortune eludes the rest of us:
we instead find ourselves struggling in a business which boasts
dubious honour as having one of the highest drop-out rates amongst
newcomers to its ranks. So exactly why do some enjoy magnificent
success, while others find dismal failure the only end product of
their sojourn into the world of online selling?
The most likely answer lies not in expertise or presence of
business acumen, as much as in careful selection of the product -
or more likely products - offered for sale. Sometimes one product
can be relied upon to produce a steady income, especially if it's
one for which the operator is sole supplier or prime source; a
product for which no acceptable alternatives are available
elsewhere. More likely however, a range of products will be
needed in order to offer any realistic hope of a reliable and
regular income for the operator. And if that range of products
should comprise one or more of the acknowledged ebooks/informational products regarding
online selling, then so much the better.
This manual aims to identify just a few of the more profitable
goods and services suitable for distribution by mail. But before
we do that, we might consider a few of the characteristics that go
towards making an item suitable for selling online.
A compact, lightweight product will of course keep packaging and
postage costs down, with obvious benefits to the operator's profit
margin. If the product or service fulfils an ongoing need and no
suitable alternative can be obtained via high street shops or
other retail outlets, then we're getting closer to identifying a
really profitable online/ebay product. If a worldwide market
exists for what you offer, you could make a fortune. And if you
offer a range of suitable products or services, related or
otherwise, you stand to earn a place for yourself among the really
big names of online selling.
Now let us look at some of the most profitable online selling techniques,
any one or combination of which you might incorporate into your
own business venture.
1. Looking to the Unusual
A gap in the market, a special need, a fad - and here we have all
the hallmarks of high market demand which the online seller
can usually quite easily fulfil. eBooks on how to make money
online, and overstocks of name brand product of recent best-sellers
for selling on ebay and other online venues.
And one highly enterprising individual in the United States,
apparently made his fortune from sales of the most unusual of
'pets'; one that requires little attention, doesn't back-answer,
and costs nothing to feed - rocks! Sounds silly? Not to him it
didn't; pet rocks sold in their millions.
If you think a success story can not be repeated once someone has
capitalised on whatever product or service is involved, why not
consider introducing your buyer to something as yet
available only in other countries? Be careful you don't have problems with
copyright or patent laws though, and make sure the item or service
actually has a market outside of its country of origin.
Remember the golden rule of online selling - Test. Test. Test. Then
go in for the kill!
2. Newsletters
An article in a recent issue of an up-market women's
magazine brought the next proposition to mind. The article
referred to a couple who, having enjoyed the era of the 'yuppie'
and spent their earnings as quickly as they received them, were
forced to come down to earth with a bang when recession put paid
to both sources of income.
They were forced to look around for bargains and all-in-all budget
in much the same way as those of us used to a far less affluent
form of lifestyle. In doing so, they discovered a latent talent
for budgeting, and also found they could acquire decent goods and
services for far less than they would previously have been happy
to pay. The final phase in their growth program was to produce
and distribute a newsletter revealing their ideas and identifying
sources of quality - but not costly - goods and services. It
sells like wildfire! Clients pay an annual subscription for the
monthly newsletter, and into their second year as publishers the
couple found the majority of their customers renewed their
subscriptions promptly.
To understand why email newsletters can provide such a useful source of
income from their publishers, we might consider the fact that just
one tip or piece of advice can in itself save the reader more his
subscription costs. A few good tips in each issue make repeat
subscription a virtual foregone conclusion.
A wide variety of newsletters are available to guide readers
through sometimes complicated procedures, changes to the law, or
provide information it would simply be too costly and
time-consuming to acquire on one's own account. Financial
services, mortgage and insurance matters, money making and
business interests, job matters and special interests, all feature
amongst the many newsletters produced in United
States and the UK.
Income can be derived from numerous sources, including
subscriptions, sale of related products and services, and
advertising revenue.
3. Business Start Up Packages and Opportunities Manuals
Information products, including newsletters as mentioned in the
previous section, can provide very high income for publishers,
particularly those who enjoy prime source status. The prime
source or sole supplier might find his or her status results from
having personally written the manuscript concerned. Take a look
through mail order and opportunity seekers' magazines; through the
pages of 'Exchange and Mart'; in national daily and Sunday
newspapers; decide what gap exists that you can fill, then begin
the far from difficult task of researching and writing your very
own business plan, manual or package.
4. Wholesale Supplies
Many of us, if asked to define the term 'wholesaler', would begin
by describing a very large warehouse, with shelves, large doors
for vehicles to enter, loading facilities, and so on. But this
isn't always the case, and many a highly successful wholesaler
operates either entirely or at least partially by mail.
Stationery, small fancy goods, jewellery, novelty items, clothing,
make up and hosiery, are just a few of the relatively lightweight
and easily portable items offered in magazines read by market
traders and other retailers. SaleDaddy.com has many very good sources
for wholesale products covering a large gammit of name brand products.
Stock if not specially manufactured, can be purchased from
bankruptcy sales, as job lots, from auctions, or else imported
from source.
5. 'How to' Books, Reports, etc.
Joe Karbo had it; so did Napoleon Hill; Melvyn Powers has it in
great abundance, as do countless other online selling
who have recognised and capitalised on the curiosity of people
seemingly less talented than themselves. What they, and hundreds
like them, have latched on to, is a virtually insatiable demand
for information products: manuals, books and newsletters written
by one successful individual and passed on to those who would like
their own share of fame and fortune.
And many, because they are held in such high esteem by their
colleagues, find that no matter what the topic, their work will
find a ready audience. Once the autobiography is out of the way,
they produce further manuscripts, sometimes related to their
personal activities and experiences in online selling; sometimes not.
There is no need to restrict your own efforts to business reports,
get-rich-quick schemes, or whatever other information today's
entrepreneurs are queuing to buy. As already touched upon,
today's successful self-publishers don't write purely from
experience, and countless prolific online selling publishers produce
newsletters, directories, lists, business plans, 'how to' books,
and so on, from information available in local libraries and
researched from the work of other writers.
6. Antiques and Collectors' Items
Look in any special interest publication or hobby magazine, and
you'll find a number of advertisers offering lists of collectors'
items and other products for sale to readers. And one thing you
need to learn now is that if it is in demand in the real world, it
is likewise in great demand online. The leisure
interest pages of 'Exchange and Mart', contain advertisements from
suppliers of stamps, old postcards, prints, ephemera, small
antiques, large antiques, and various other collectors' items.
Those a little reluctant to enter what is frequently seen as a
specialist area, will discover there's very little to learn about
some collectors' items. You might not be able to make an
immediate start in expensive antiques, but anyone can wander
around car boot sales and fleamarkets, picking up whatever books,
kiloware stamp supplies and early paper products are available, to
which a respectable profit margin is added before listing the
items for prospective clients.
And because so many societies and special interest clubs exist for
collectors of whatever type, an excellent mailing list can be
acquired by joining the ranks of other 'collectors' whose personal
details will usually be provided for you in annual membership
directories.
8. Career Related Services
This is little more than a listing of biographical
and career-related details, produced in a compact, easy to read
format, ready for forwarding to prospective employers and training
consultants either electronically or in printed form.
Though you could operate a perfectly professional service with
just an electric typewriter at your disposal, many CV agencies
today find repeat custom generated from the memory banks of their
word processors, where clients are offered an updating facility
at very small cost.
Several good books are available to guide readers interested in
writing their own CVs, or else wishing to take advantage of a
highly profitable business proposition.
9. Personally Speaking
Today's up-market gift service strives to find new and more
interesting ways of conveying those age old messages 'Happy
Birthday', 'Merry Christmas', and so on. Teddy bears have the
message embroidered on the sashes around their waists, aeroplanes
parade long flowing banners with appropriate messages for all and
sundry to see; giant crosswords come complete with clues and
answers relating to the life, interests and characteristics of
recipients.
Other highly personalised gift services operating primarily by
mail, include personalised children's story books, with details
about the recipient built into the text; bride and groom books
including personal details of wedding party and guests; and on a
far less expensive note, numerous smaller personalised gifts are
available to that person seeking a unique gift for someone
special. Bookmarks, pens and pencils, brooches and other items of
jewellery, cups and mugs, eggcups and cutlery, all can be
purchased, personalised, and dispatched direct to the intended
recipient.
Numerous franchise operations have recognised the profitability
afforded by the personalised children's book trade; some of them
also customising wedding books, stationery, greetings cards and so
on.
Though not restricted to operation by mail, the relevant franchise
opportunities can in fact produce an additional source of income
to those who offer other online selling services, especially where
related products and services are offered.
Franchising is a business opportunity where, in return for an
initial franchise fee and sometimes ongoing management fees and
stock purchase commitments, the business man or woman receives the
support of an already established business, whose products and
services he or she is entitled to market on licence. Normally
full training, back up support, and ongoing advice are provided by
the franchisor to those operating in its name. Franchise
operations normally confer a degree of security on the newcomer
to business, who even so, must take appropriate advice from legal
and financial advisors before committing him or herself to costly
business propositions.
10. And Not Forgetting.....
The numerous other goods and services that can be relied upon to
provide a good and ongoing income in online selling: mailing lists,
big mails, circular mailing, printing and photocopying, business
management and advisory services, publishing directories and
employment guides, books and cassette lending libraries, publicity
agencies, tracing family trees, specialised gift agencies,
advertising agencies, fan clubs, import/export services, dating
bureaus, cherished car number plates, plot writing, computer
services, biorhythm charts, swap shops and bartering facilities,
out of print book finding services, etc., etc., etc.
