Posts Tagged ‘brand name’
Sourcing Brand Name Products
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
If you’ve decided to sell name brand products in your store, you’re in luck. Because of the popularity of certain brands, they are easy to find and buy at wholesale prices. However, there are some very real risks to look out for when trying to source your products.
Important things to know about brand-name product sourcing
1. Fake “factory authorized” distributors : It is a must that you buy your products from distributors that have been authorized by the manufacturer to wholesale their products. Most brand-name manufacturers will not sell directly to you, so you will need to go through a distributor. It is easy to find a factory-authorized distributor for a particular brand-you just call or email the manufacturer and ask for a list of their wholesale distributors. If you search for distributors on the web there are literally thousands of companies who try to fool retailers into thinking they are factory authorized distributors, when in fact they will just take your order (which is significantly marked up in price) and place the order with the real factory authorized distributor.
2. Distributors selling fake brand name products : Companies seem to be popping up all over selling brand name goods that are actually knock-offs with inferior designs and quality. Anything from pocketbooks to clothing to watches are being sold online. You can eliminate being fooled into dealing with these counterfeit merchandisers by asking the real brand-name manufacturer who their factory-authorized distributors are. It’s that simple to avoid, but dozens of companies are still being scammed everyday.
3. Minimum orders : While the fake distributors may let you order in any sized quantity, the real factory-authorized distributors will usually have set minimum orders. However, most will let you mix the order with various products, all counting towards the minimum order quantity or dollar amount.
4. Payment terms : Once you are an established retailer you will probably have no problem getting net 30 terms from the distributor you are working with. However, for your first order you will most likely be required to pay upfront with a credit card or check.
Other ways to source brand-name products
If you are just looking for a recognizable brand, and not the latest, greatest model then buying discounted merchandise on eBay or from a closeout liquidator may be a great option. They may not be a steadily reliable source for the same product every time you buy, but most times you can get a real bargain. For instance, last season’s clothing style from a hip brand, last year’s model of a popular watch, etc. A lot of times when the new styles roll out, the old ones end up with liquidators or on eBay. You will usually be required to buy a certain sized lot, but many times it is much less than a distributor’s minimum order. Be sure to always shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal. Of course, thoroughly researching the company you will be buying from is always a must. With eBay sellers, be sure to read their feedback rating so you know if they are a reliable and trusted company.
Tags: advice, brand name, Carrie Hinkel, Product Sourcing, source, tips, wholesale
Posted in News & Articles | 2 Comments »
The Great Consumer Schism - Tips for Brand Name Retailers
Monday, April 28th, 2008
It’s begun. The Great Consumer Schism is effectively working its way through America-an event last experienced in this country in the ’70s. Economic disparity in America is nothing new. But in times of recession the division is inflated and even more apparent as seen through shifts in spending habits. It makes perfect sense of course that middle to lower income households are switching from brand name items to generic in order to save a few bucks.
So what does this mean for retailers? Well, if you sell cheaper products, this is great news! If you sell brand name (and therefore more expensive) products you may want to reconsider your strategy. Here are a few suggestions:
- Consider including cheaper items in your inventory as an alternative for customers with tighter budgets.
- Revamp your advertising to appeal strictly to wealthier customers.
- Revamp your advertising to enforce the value of brand name products over generic.
- Offer "freebies" along with the purchase of certain brand name items.
- Have a sale! Who doesn’t love a sale?
These are just a few ideas to get you started thinking in the right direction. For more tips check out Don’t Let a Slow Economy Slow Down Your Business
Tags: brand name, economy, Generating More Sales, news, Rebecca Button, recession, retail, Sales
Posted in Blog | No Comments »
Protecting Your Company’s Brand Name Online
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
You’ve worked hard to create an identity for your company or products, so why no work just as hard at protecting it? With corporate identity theft on the rise, now is the time to build up a wall of security around your brand-name, in order to keep others from stealing or misusing it.
By having a website, it’s easy for anyone to copy and paste your logo, text, and pictures - using it on their own website to further sales or perpetrate fraud. There have also been plenty of instances of an unscrupulous company using online blogs and forums to pose as customers bashing a competitor’s business.
Luckily, the internet also makes it easy to keep tabs on your brand name and to make sure that it isn’t being misused. Here are some ways you can protect your company and its brand name:
Regularly do an online search for your brand name - Take the time every month or every quarter to do a search on each of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo! and MSN) for your brand name and your company name. Check out any new blog or forum postings or any websites that are talking about your company or brand. If appropriate, respond positively to any negative postings. You may also want to take the time to trace the negative poster’s email address - you just might find that it links back to a competitor! Also, do a separate search under Google images to see if any sites are stealing your logo or pictures for their own use. If you find that your images are being used without your permission, you can contact each website directly and ask them to remove your images.
Watermark your images - If you want to protect the images from your website, put a company watermark down on the lower corner. That will discourage most copiers from stealing your artwork or photography.
Protect your text - Because copying and pasting is so easy, lots of people do it without any regard for copyright laws. You can protect your website text by having your webmaster disable the right-click function on your webpage. Of course, seasoned web surfers know there are ways around this, but for 99% of your website visitors, this will be enough to stop any would be copyright infringers.
Look at your suppliers, vendors’, clients’, and retailers’ websites - Oftentimes, it’s the companies closest to you that end up misusing your brand name. You might enter one of your retailers’ websites to find that they’ve taken it upon themselves to say they are the only factory-authorized retailer of your brand in the U.S., when in fact they are not. Or, you may find your logo and a made-up quote from you hyping up a vendor’s services. Make checking the websites of the companies you deal with something that happens on a regular basis.
It doesn’t take much time or effort to take back control of your brand name but, unfortunately, most companies never take the time to put such measures into place until it’s too late. Both personal and corporate identity theft is on the rise and doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon, so the most important thing you can do for your brand name is to protect it.
Tags: brand name, Carrie Hinkel, E-Commerce and E-Business, Marketing, name protect, Web Design
Posted in News & Articles | No Comments »
How to Make Money Hosting a Designer Purse Party
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
Do you enjoy designer purses ? Here’s a fun and unique way to be around designer purses while making money at the same time. How? By hosting a designer purse party. Designer purse parties have become quite popular, particularly on the West Coast as more and more people discover how entertaining and lucrative they can be.
Before organizing your designer purse party, you’ll need a reliable source for designer purses to sell. There are a variety of directories on the Internet that list sources for wholesale designer purses. You can find these directories by doing a Google search. Other sources for wholesale designer purses would be auction sites such as eBay, where these purses are often sold in lots at discounted prices. Be sure to purchase your purses from a reputable seller since there are lots of replicas out there.
Once you have a source for your designer purses, start by ordering fifteen to twenty designer purses along with ten to fifteen designer wallets . This should be enough to stock your first designer purse party. If you sell more than you have on hand, you can always take special orders and deliver them after the party.
Write down the names of at least twenty friends who are fashion conscious and would like to carry a designer purse. You can encourage each of these twenty friends to invite someone to come with them to the party. This gives you the potential for up to forty guests at your designer purse party which is more than enough when you’re just starting out.
Once you have your list finalized, buy a set of cards from your stationary store that has a purse motif printed on it. Fill in your invitation with something like this:
"Bring a friend and join us for an evening of fun, food, and fashion. This is your chance to see and try a variety of beautiful designer purses. Light desserts and coffee will be served. Be sure to join us for a night of friendship and fun. Hope to see you there! Please RSVP within the next week"
On the evening of the party, display your purses in an eye catching fashion on several tables around the room. After greeting your guests, allow them to handle and try on the purses. It might even be fun to host a mini fashion show where everyone models a different handbag. To relax everyone and get them in a buying mood, serve light refreshments and coffee, then get prepared to take orders for your designer purses.
Announce to the group at the end of the evening that they can get discounts on designer purses by hosting a designer purse party of their own. Follow up by getting the contact information of anyone who expresses an interest in holding a party. Once you have a few contacts willing to host a party, your designer purse party business should start to grow as more people want to participate. To attract even more people to your parties, try advertising your parties on bulletin boards in your area and give out business cards to people you meet on a daily basis.
The designer purse party business can be both fun and lucrative. Why not host one of your own?
Tags: brand name, designer purse party, desinger purse, home based business, Rebecca Button, Starting a Business, startups
Posted in News & Articles | No Comments »