- Selling in Bulk Means Buying in Bulk
- Specialize—or Vary Your Inventory?
- Running a Bulk Reseller Business
- Pros and Cons of Bulk Reselling
- How to Become a Bulk Reseller
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Specialize—or Vary Your Inventory?
When you buy in bulk, you have some choices to make. Obviously, if you buy 1,000 pairs of baby shoes, you’re going to be selling baby shoes for some time. But what do you do when your inventory runs out? Do you order more baby shoes or move onto something else? For that matter, do you sell baby shoes exclusively or order additional lots of some other type of merchandise to sell simultaneously? In other words, do you specialize in one type of bulk item, or do you vary your inventory?
Specializing in a given type of item has appeal, in that you can tailor your operation to that product category. There’s a downside, however; you’re stuck if the category fizzles out. It may be better, in the long run, to move in and out of various types of merchandise—baby shoes this month, sunglasses the next, DVD players the month after. Although, to be fair, every time you change categories, you’re essentially starting up a new type of business. You’re a shoe seller this month, a sunglasses merchant the next, and an electronics retailer the month following.
Even if you wanted to specialize in a specific category, that might not always be possible. That’s because you’re limited to buying what bulk inventory is available at any given time. Yes, My Web Wholesaler might have a great deal on Tommy Hilfiger clothing this week, but when it’s gone, it’s gone. Go back to order more, and there probably won’t be any left. You’re at the mercy of whatever closeout or liquidated merchandise is available at any given time. You may still be able to play within a general category (women’s clothing, for example), but you probably won’t be able to specialize in a particular type or brand.