While Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow on Groundhog Day, February 2, 2012, on the other side of the country in Seattle, WA ‘Ecommerce Phil’ popped his head out to see a very bright and sunny spring selling season online ahead!

Rather than burrowing back underground, Ecommerce Phil is busily out sourcing new products to sell during the spring and summer season.

Fueled by robust 2011 online holiday sales and a stellar 65% Q4 for 3rd party merchants on Amazon, Ecommerce Phil knows he needs to get his best spring and summer merchandise online fast!

So what products is Ecommerce Phil planning to sell online this spring and summer?

Well to plan his inventory strategy, he first took a look at his Online Marketing Calendar to see what the upcoming Spring and Summer selling seasons are.  And this is what he found:

February

• Valentines Day
• Black History Month
• National Weddings Month
• Superbowl Sunday
• Mardi Gras
• Oscar Night
• Pre-gardening season

March

• Saint Patrick’s Day
• National Craft Month
• First Day of Spring

Products to Source:

1. Seeds
2. Flower Bulbs
3. Coldframes
4. Composters
5. Greenhouses
6. Houseplants
7. Planters
8. Raised Beds
9. Supplies
10. Gardening Tools
11. Yard & Deck products
12. Sheds
13. Area rugs
14. Firepits
15. Ceiling fans
16. Grills
17. Hammocks
18. Hose Carts/Reels
19. Outdoor Storage
20. Solar Lights
21. Pest Control
22. Bicycles/Accessories
23. Kites
24. Blinds/shades/curtains/hardware
25. Neon colored clothes, shoes, accessories for women and kids
26. Cosmetics in new spring colors
27. Handbags in spring colors and styles
28. Perfume
29. Big ride on toys for kids
30. Swimwear
31. Sunglasses
32. Soccer cleats/clothes
33. Baby gear
34. Wedding favors
35. Bridal shower supplies
36. Bridal accessories
37. Home spa products
38. Footbaths
39. Aromatherapy machines
40. Super Bowl related football jersey/memorabilia
41. Mardi-Gras party decorations
42. Saint Patricks Day decorations
43. Home decor in bright, spring colors
44. Car care and maintenance products
45. Luggage
46. Walking/jogging clothes and accessories
47. Spray on tan products
48. Snowboards (clearance)
49. Skiing products (clearance)
50. Winter clothes/boots/accessories (clearance)

This is just a sampling of products that Ecommerce Phil is out sourcing!

Think about what products are new for spring and summer in your niche! Check with your wholesale suppliers.  Look through your supplier catalogs.

Whether sourcing products wholesale to sell on Amazon or using arbitrage sourcing to fuel the pipeline.

It’s a fresh new selling season and online shoppers are looking for fresh new products!

What new products will you bring to the marketplace this season?

-Lisa

With record Black Friday online sales ($816 Million) and the online biggest shopping day of the year Cyber Monday ($125 Billion in sales) behind us, you might think the best of the holiday selling season is behind us…

But nothing could be further from the truth!

There are still three solid weeks in this holiday prime time season, and there’s still plenty of time to stoke the fires of your online sales!

In fact there are FOUR big “Online Holiday Paydays” in December!

Don’t think that these Holiday Paydays are simply random dates picked by some Madison Avenue marketing execs.

These online paydays reflect historical consumer buying patterns and should be ignored!

In fact, Forrester Research recently reported that online shoppers continue to increase their use of the web for holiday shopping on these key dates.

So when are these Online Holiday Paydays?  Take a look…

Now that you know what dates to drive to, let’s talk about what to do to capitalize on these dates. …Because buyers will be shopping… you want them to shop with you!

Readying Your Store to Cash In on the Top 4 December Online Holiday Paydays

Product Marketing & Visibility. If I could have have one wish for every independent online merchant this holiday season, it would be the gift of product marketing and visibility during the holidays. Nothing is more important than getting out there and promoting your store.

• Emailing your customer list to let them know about up coming promotions
• Using Twitter & Facebook to offer exclusive coupon codes and social media only deals
• Including a coupon for a special discount in every package you sell, to be redeemed on/near one of the Online Holiday Paydays
• Using your blog to promote your holiday products and send traffic directly to your store
• If you sell on eBay, regularly updating your eBay Stores Promotion boxes with new merchandise
• Creating a video review of a few of your top holiday products for posting on YouTube.

Millions of people search YouTube and the web this time of year for gift ideas and product reviews. A good product review video hosted on YouTube can also land a first page ranking on Google for the long tail keywords of the product you are reviewing!

As you can see, there are many different ways you can get the word out about your online store! You don’t have to do them all. Pick one and get started today!

Promotions. Schedule new promotions to start and end on these top online holiday paydays. Shoppers will either land at your store ready to make a decision (in which case a promotion ending on that date can spur them to buy today!) or they are at the start of the buying process, and a brand new promotion will keep your store front and center in their mind.

Price Awareness. Online product prices can be very volatile the last three weeks of the holiday selling season. Make sure that your products are priced and position appropriately to generate sales and maximize profit margins.

Shipping Options. If you’re not offering express shipping options at this point in the game, do so knowing that it will hurt your late in the season holiday sales. The #1 thing buyers want to know once the clock strikes December is that they’ll receive their purchase in time. Especially if it’s a hot item that’s running out of stock in stores. If you’re not offering express shipping options, you’ll likely lose the sale to someone who is.

Provide Real-Time Customer Service. This can be a tough one for solopreneurs who are busy shipping, marketing and more! But providing real-time customer service during the holidays can also make the difference between getting the sale or losing it. Customers who don’t get their product questions answered right away will go in search of a store who will.

As soon as their product ships, notify your customer and provide a tracking number. An added customer benefit is to follow up with an “Your Item Has Been Delivered Email”. With shoppers making multiple purchases online, you want to make sure that they know the item has been delivered to them. Shipping services like FedEx can actually be configured to notify the customer directly via email with shipping notifications, delivery exceptions and confirmed delivery.

Amazon FBA. It’s still not too late to outsource your fulfillment, express shipping and customer service to Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). Whether your sell on Amazon or use Amazon Multi-Channel fulfillment, outsourcing the time-consuming process of order fulfillment so you can focus on product marketing and visibility is one of the best ways to generate bigger Online Holiday Paydays!

November 26th is Small Business Saturday.

The day when millions of shoppers “Pledge to Shop Small”.

As we cover in the Holiday Selling Guide, this is the day to remind people on Facebook, Twitter and in your email marketing that it’s Small Business Saturday and let them know about YOUR online store and what you are offering for the holidays!

American Express started the Small Business Saturday initiative in 2010.

Already more than 2 million people have Liked the Small Business Saturday Facebook page. Go over there and Like it, share it and reference the promotion in your marketing today!

While Small Business Saturday was originally started for local small businesses, independent online merchants should also leverage consumer awareness of this promotion.

Small Business Saturday received a lot of media attention this year.  MSN.com has featured the Small Business Saturday promotion in the upper right hand corner of their homepage all day today.

Run Your Promotion or Promote a Product

If you have a promotion ready to go for Small Business Saturday, spend today Tweeting it, Facebooking it and also send a special email to your customers.

If you don’t have a promotion ready, pick one of your best or most popular holiday products and showcase it and let people know that you are participating in Small Business Saturday!

You can even get special signage at the Small Business Saturday Facebook page.

And if haven’t planned ahead?

Don’t make it perfect, do it anyway!

If you missed Small Business Saturday this year, be sure and put it on your marketing calendar for 2012.  Small Business Saturday is an annual event and always falls the Saturday after Black Friday!

Solving the Solopreneur Struggle

In the spirit of Small Business Saturday, let’s talk about one of the biggest problems small business owners stuggle with.

Trying to do it all yourself!

Whether it’s…

• Creating a professional online presence with a quality business logo
• Designing seasonal graphics to promote holiday sales
• Setting up your social media presence so that it drives traffic to your store or website
• Writing content for your blog
• Getting quality inbound links to your store
• Editing a product video (which can get you a first page ranking on Google in your niche)

Yet all of these things are part of running successful ecommerce business!

Using traditional methods, getting the list above completed could cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars.

But there is a solution for getting skilled freelancers who live in the U.S., Canada, Europe, etc. to do the work for you on a TASK-BY-TASK basis for $5.

It’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money and NBC News.

I now have clients using it to:

• Create store logos
• Store graphics
• Write ongoing blog posts
• Create product videos… and more

It’s one of the most popular video training series we’ve sold, and in the spirit of Small Business Saturday, you can learn how to get some work off your overfilled plate as quickly as next week!

If you missed this the first time around, here’s your chance to learn how to do this for less than the price of a couple of holiday mochas. (Fewer calories too!)

Get the details here!

… Then Tweet and Facebook your Small Business Saturday promotions!

Yours in online selling success,

- Lisa

10 years ago this month I walked away from a very successful career in corporate America with a dream to become a successful online business owner.

Looking back on it now, as a single parent with a 4 month old and a 4 year old, it was a pretty gutsy thing to do.

The “how” wasn’t clear to me when I made that decision.

But the “why” was very clear.

I wanted to be able to run an online business from my home and have the flexibility to be as hands on in my kid’s lives as possible. I also had a lifelong fire burning inside of me to be an entrepreneur.

So for me, not only is every Thanksgiving a celebration of blessings, it’s also a celebration of entrepreneurship.

Your “Why”

And I know that each and every one of you have your own personal “why” for running your business.

Whether it’s family oriented, financially based or personal fulfillment, behind every business is a person with an important “why”.

An Entrepreneurial Thanksgiving

So I wanted to take a moment on this “Entrepreneurial Thanksgiving” to tell you that I’m honored to be able to bring you the “how-to’s” that will help you successfully accomplish your business goals and fulfill your personal “why”.

Whether through training classes, coaching groups, consulting, emails or blog posts, I am dedicated to bringing you the high-quality, leading-edge strategies and tactics that will help you get where you want to go.

Finishing 2011 Strong and Looking Forward to 2012

We have a lot of exciting new things planned for 2012!

And I’ll be sharing those with you in the coming weeks.

But first, we need to finish 2011 strong!

For some that means Black Friday Power Sourcing tonight!

For others, there’s listing, packing and shipping tomorrow.

I’ll be hitting the Black Friday sales for some arbitrage  sourcing tonight and early this morning, so that I can ship more boxes to Amazon FBA on Friday.

(If it’s not too crazy, I’ll try and get a video at the stores.)

So whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving today or getting ready for the weekend, I’d like to wish you a “Happy Entrepreneurial Thanksgiving”!

- Lisa

PS: If you have a question about how to finish off 2011 strong, post it below!

As ecommerce competition heats up, great product sourcing skills are the name of the game for online success.

While Marketing skills and knowing how to sell your products online are also of paramount importance, without in-demand products to sell,your business won’t get off the ground or thrive.

The best marketing in the world won’t sell a product that people don’t want.

Fortunately, there are millions of products to sell online, with new products coming into the marketplace every day.

Product innovation is moving at a more rapid pace than ever before in history. And global reach has opened up untapped pools of buyers hungry for products in marketplaces that are saturated here in the U.S.

In this three-part series, I’m going to explain how Amazon customers shop, give you tips and strategies for sourcing great products to sell on Amazon and options for places to source them.

In part-one we’ll look at “Understanding the Amazon Customer”.

Understanding the Amazon Customer

With 44% year-over-year retail growth, Amazon is known for attracting the web’s best customers.  Amazon’s customers tend to have a higher household income and more education than eBay or Walmart customers.

Amazon’s Prime customers (as stated by Amazon) are their best shoppers, coming back to shop at least once a month. (See chart below.)

Quantcast Data on Amazon shoppers also reveals that:

• 29% earn between $60-$100K per year
• 31% make over 100K per year
• 63% have no children
• 16% are “Amazon Addicts”

Amazon Traffic Frquency

In fact, a  recent report from CBS Money Watch explains the impact that demographics have on buying habits. Shoppers under age 34 make up half Walmart’s customer base.

Fewer Walmart buyers went to college or earn over $100,000 per year compared with Amazon’s customers. 48% of Walmart’s young customer base have children. (Kid costs take a bite out of your discretionary spending.  I know, because I’m raising two. )

These are all factors that play into c0nsumer’s disposable income and the need to find a bargain.

Are You Sourcing for the Amazon Buyer?

Once you understand who your Amazon buyer is, you’ll be in a position to figure out what they want to buy.

The specific products they’ll buy in each category are different. But there are common traits that apply to the products that Amazon buyers want to  buy.

Amazon buyers don’t want cheap, low quality products. They are looking for quality products and are willing to pay for it.

They are not looking for rock bottom prices. Amazon buyers, especially prime customers are willing to pay more for quality as well as  the trust, safety and confidence that comes with buying from Amazon

Amazon buyers are looking for the “best in category.” When a buyer goes to Amazon, they aren’t looking for the cheapest price.  They’re expecting to find high-quality products including those that are the best in their category. The high-end, higher-ticket items.

Amazon buyers are early adopters. They buy leading-edge products. High-income, well-read consumers with disposable income know what’s new, what’s the best, what’s up and coming in the market.

They replay their existing products with more frequency. This type of buyer is more likely to replace their cameras with the latest and greatest, buy the “it” toys for their kids, and shop for the latest fashions. They come to Amazon expecting to see the latest models, styles and colors.

What this means is that the products you source to sell on Amazon must appeal to the Amazon buyer.

To summarize, what are Amazon buyers looking for?

• Quality
• Selection
• Leading-edge
• Better products

So how do you identify these  in-demand products that Amazon buyers are shopping for? We’ll talk about that in my next blog post…

There is one other aspect of world-class sourcing that we need to talk about here.

And that’s the age-old struggle for successful retailers. It’s understanding that you are not your customer.

You both have different wants, needs, values and very possibly, different bank accounts.

Source for Your Customer, not for Yourself

In the light of our recent recession, most everyone has felt a financial pinch.

According to the financial reports, the only group that didn’t feel the pinch quite so much are those with incomes of 100K+ per year. Their spending stayed about the same, and they were the first to start spending more after as soon as the recession started to ease up.

If you’re a small business owner, you’ve likely felt the financial pinch as well.  And your own disposable income may have taken a hit.

But even if your income has taken a hit, you still have to get into the Product Sourcing Mindset and source for the Amazon customer.

Don’t get into the “I must find cheap products to bring to the Amazon marketplace and price them as low as possible.” mentality.

eBay’s John Donohoe recently said that all buyers care about is price. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If that was the case, Amazon.com, Nordstrom, and Apple would all be out of business. Instead their sales are surging.

The money is still there. And it’s being spent on Amazon.

But to grab that customer spend, you have to supply the Amazon marketplace with they type of products their customers are looking for…

So take a look at your “Product Sourcing Mindset”r.  If things have been less than rosey for your business  these past couple years.  Maybe you’ve been selling in another marketplace where low prices are the name of the game…

You can’t bring that mentality into your Amazon sourcing. It will only hurt  your sales and your profits in the long run.

Give it some thought until my next blog post this week!

-Lisa

Are YOU Ready to Join the Amazon Revolution?

If you haven’t yet integrated Amazon into your business model, now is the time.

Learn  about the revolution that’s happening on Amazon…

Think Halloween products only sell in the month’s before October 31st? Not if you sell online!

In the online world, Halloween themed products sell all year long.

Whether for kid’s dress-up play, a themed costume party, a local school drama club production or the Halloween collectibles shopper, the only place you can off-season Halloween products is online.

Seasonal Halloween sales are a $7 billion dollar industry, reports  the National Retail Federation.

But off-season sales are strong all year long.

According to Terapeak Research, more than $2 million dollars worth of Halloween products were sold on eBay between Nov 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011.

Another 1.9 million in Halloween product sales happened on eBay between Feb 1, 2011 and April 30th.

And because most people don’t think about selling Halloween themed products throughout the year, if you’re one of the lucky sellers in this niche, you can have a strong foothold in this market.

Sourcing Halloween Products at Rock Bottom Prices

So what’s the best way to source great inventory for this multi-billion dollar niche?

Get started on Halloween of course!

October 31st (and often before) marks the date that offline retailers start taking deep discounts on their Halloween products. Unlike online merchants, brick-and-mortar stores can’t display Halloween merchandise all year long.

Beginning the week before Halloween and continuing until the last scary pumpkin is sold off the shelf, scour your local stores for great deals on Halloween products.

Here is a list of products to look for:

• Kids costumes
• Adult costumes
• Face makeup
• Wigs
• Dept 56 and other collectible Halloween houses

• Halloween nutcrackers
• Halloween candy
• Pet costumes
• Large/life sized Halloween decor (used for drama productions, set designs, themed parties)

Even Halloween candy! Already bags of Autumn Mix candy are selling on eBay for up to six times what you can buy them  for at local stores.  (One bag sold for $45!)

And don’t forget:

• Limited edition Halloween themed items

• Halloween themed jewelry

• Halloween bedding and towels

• Halloween colored light bulbs

• Halloween CDs and DVDs

Even Halloween board games!

If you’re looking for ideas about what to source, head over to eBay or Amazon and using the keyword “halloween” do some research and see what’s selling!  You’ll be surprised at the plethora of different products that make up this $7 billion dollar niche.

Then, armed with Terapeak for eBay and FBAScout for Amazon, head to your local store and scout the deals, looking for items that are selling for pennies on the dollar.  Don’t delay though, the best deals sell out early… so get some sourcing time in today.

And don’t forget about wholesale suppliers, if you find this is a niche you like, go to a trade show or do locate a wholesale supplier so that you can source and sell Halloween themed inventory all year long!

PS: Looking for a hot niche? Think Zombies.  This new MSNBC article reveals that Zombie related product sales are worth over $5 billion dollars to the economy.

So don’t less this multi-billion dollar opportunity pass you by! The products make be scary, but the profits are a treat!

Happy Halloween!

-Lisa

PS: Just two days left on the 3-pay option for my brand new series “How to Integrate Amazon Into Your Business Model”.  If you haven’t yet joined the Amazon Revolution, find out why you should today.

With exactly two months to go until December 24th, for online merchants, it’s showtime!

And even if you’ve been meticulously planning for the holiday selling season, there are so many details involved, it’s easy to inadvertently make common mistakes that can derail your holiday sales.

Don’t let these 7 mistakes be the Grinch that steals your holiday sales and profits…

7 Mistakes That Can Derail Your Online Holiday Sales

Mistake #1. Discounting too deep, too early and for too long. While media reports of holiday shoppers clamoring for deep discounts and word of Wal-Mart’s new holiday price guarantee could rattle even the most stalwart independent online merchant; discounting too deep, too early and for too long will kill your profit margins.

Sure you may sell more, but you will make less at the end of the season.

Which means you have to compete for those holiday sales on something else…

• Selection
• Delivery
• Customer Service
• Quality
• Integrity

Keep in mind that the #1 thing online shoppers want during the holiday season is selection and confidence that their product will arrive on time.

And they are willing to pay more for it.

Not all buyers shop on price. In fact in the wake of Wal-Mart’s recent announcement, there has been a huge backlash from customers citing all the reasons they won’t shop at Wal-Mart despite their low-price guarantee.

Higher income customers especially, will pay a premium to get a unique gift, the latest gadget and superior quality and service.  So don’t shortchange yourself or your business.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t run any promotions or offer free shipping promotions during the holidays.

Just know that trying to compete on price with a big-box retailer during the holidays is a recipe for dismal holiday profits.

Mistake #2. Running a 2 month long holiday ‘promotion’. A good retail promotion is a time limited discount on a particular product or group of products.

While you might think you’re doing your customers a favor and driving sales by offering 30%  off on your entire store until Christmas, it actually works against  you. There’s a whole psychology around retail pricing and promotions.

A short, time-limited promotion will drive more sales, than long promotions without a deadline. Promotions based around a current event like Cyber Monday also help customers focus and execute on their buying decisions.

Mistake #3. Not creating holiday gift lists. The holidays are overwhelming for your customers. With a list of gifts to buy and thousands of online options, they often don’t know where to start.

Short on ideas and short on time, they need your help to find the most gift-worthy items in your store.

By creating a holiday gift list of the best holiday items in your store, you not only provide a service to your customers, but you also have the opportunity to drive them to your higher quality, higher margin products.

Here are a few gift list examples:

• 10 Hot New Cooking Gadgets for the Gourmet Chef On Your List
• Our 15 Best Selling Gifts for Dads Who Don’t Wear Ties
• 12 Gemstone Bracelets That Say “I Love You” in Color!
  
• 8 Creative Toys for Kids Under 8

Place your gift list prominently on your website, blog and if possible, your marketplace store. Post your gift lists on Facebook, Tweet them out.

A good holiday gift list can easily go viral driving floods of new traffic to your store.

Mistake #4. Ignoring marketplace incentives. If you sell in a marketplace like eBay or Amazon, be sure to get up to date on the holiday sales incentives being offered to sellers. Amazon’s 3rd party sellers can get in front of Amazon’s best Prime customers by fulfilling their inventory through Amazon FBA.This is especially important if you want to sell in the lucrative toy category. On November 15th, restrictions in the toy category go into place, but you can work around them if you fulfill your products through Amazon FBA

eBay has come out with a variety of incentives this year that they say will boost sellers visibility in search.

Mistake #5. Skimping on customer service. There’s no faster way to lose a holiday sale than not responding quickly to a customer inquiry. Shoppers have one thing on their mind this time of year – to get that gift and get it now!

Website owners can use a tool like Olark for Live Chat to provide real-time interaction with their customers. Amazon sellers who sell through FBA will have Amazon customer support doing their holiday customer service for them. And eBay sellers can add common questions asked by buyers to the Auto Answers system, although if possible, having a dedicated person monitoring My eBay during the busy selling season will allow you to assist the customer in finding the perfect gift.

Mistake #6. Not speaking the language of the holidays. If Grandma Mae comes to your fly fishing store looking for the perfect rod and reel for Grandpa Joe, she wants to see some evidence that you are participating in the holidays.

Messaging about holiday deliver, special holiday items, gift-wrapping for Grandpa Joe’s new tackle box (maybe an upsell to the rod and reel) should all be prominently displayed on the home page of your website.

Holiday shoppers who come to an online store where it’s ‘business as usual’ are not as likely to stay engaged with your site as those with clear holiday messaging (and holiday gift lists). You can get great holiday graphics done for $5 at Fiverr (learn how to use Fiverr here.) or for a very reasonable price on ODesk or Guru.com

Mistake #7. Closing up shop too early. Last year only 12.4% of shoppers had completely finished their holiday shopping ten days before Christmas. You need to be prepared to sell and ship right up through December 23rd. 13% of holiday shoppers start their holiday shopping the week of Christmas. 

Offer express shipping and handling. And prominently post these options on the home page of your website or in  your eBay listings. A graphic with your delivery options works best.

And remember… the holiday sales don’t end on December 23rd.

One of the most popular up and coming activities on December 24th and 25th is… you guessed it! Shopping online!

-Lisa

The holiday selling season is filled with possibility for online merchants!

The biggest selling season of the year, last year’s holiday season boasted the first BILLION dollar online sales day ever!

And this year online holiday sales are expected to increase by another 11%! All indicators point to the biggest online selling season to date.

In fact…

Holiday sales are already happening!

• 39% of holiday shoppers started their holiday shopping in September
• Major e-tailers have been promoting holiday products since Sept. 1st
• Holiday shoppers are buying more holiday items earlier than ever before
• Online shoppers are making their holiday purchases in a very specific way
• There are more ways than ever for this year to maximize your holiday sales

That’s the good news!

The bad news is that possibility won’t automatically turn into profits, unless you take the right actions.

• Unfortunately many online merchants get bogged down during the holiday season… .
• Spending valuable time on holiday selling “to-do’s” that don’t generate the best results.
• While ignoring the tactics and strategies that do!

And that’s why I created this brand new MP3 Audio  “Ten Holiday Do’s and Don’ts to Make This Your Best Online Holiday Selling Season Ever!”

To cut through the holiday frenzy, and show you ten simple things you can do make more holiday sales this year!

Make no mistake, holiday profits don’t come to those who leave their holiday sales to chance!

So if you’re ready to skyrocket your holiday sales, pick up a copy of “Ten Holiday Do’s and Don’ts” and make this your best holiday selling season ever!

One of the big challenges that smaller online merchants have is tapping into suppliers for super-hot, name-brand, in-demand, in-season inventory.

There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t received emails from people asking how they can get access to supplier names for the latest gadgets, in-season fashions, designer shoes and handbags or the latest and greatest hot toy .

But the issue is not in getting the supplier names.  That’s the easy part!  The issue is that many big name brand suppliers (i.e. Apple, Nike, Microsoft, UGG ) won’t sell directly to you.

Case in point… this week’s launch of the Missoni for Target product line launch. A launch with a shopping frenzy so intense, it brought the Target.com website to its knees  (Who says people aren’t shopping?) and set the perfect stage for eBay sellers to make a tidy profit!

As an independent online merchant, there’s no way you can get your hands on these products directly from the supplier.  It’s a Target exclusive. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t sell and profit from this uber-hot product line!  In fact, many online sellers have!

How you ask?

By tracking trends and using arbitrage sourcing.

Tracking Trends and Arbitrage Sourcing

Savvy online sellers who kept tabs on the fashion industry knew that the highly anticipated Missoni for Target line was scheduled to launch on September 13th. This limited edition line, that features the Missoni “zig-zag” design has been well-publicized and will only be available in Target stores and online through October 22, 2011.

By tracking trends,  you’d be able to forecast that this kind of limited edition product line with a high pre-launch demand was likely to sell out.  A key indicator that it’s ripe for some arbitrage sourcing!

And the trend trackers did just that! They made sure they were first in line on Tuesday to arbitrage source this in-demand merchandise.

And it paid off.

• Missoni candles that sell for $12.99 at Target sold for $99.99 on eBay

• The Zig-Zag Spinner Upright Luggage Suitcase that retailers for $169 at Target sold for up to $305

• $44 Missoni sweaters are selling on eBay for $120

An easy $299 profit (less fees) for a simple arbitrage sourcing trip to Target! (or Target.com)

And the list goes on!

A Missoni Bike just sold for $1500 on Craigslist – 4 times it’s original Target price!

All together, Missoni and Target plan to release 400 items over the next 30 or so days, which are projected to sell out.

But that’s  just one example of the profitable combination of trend tracking and arbitrage sourcing.

You can use this process with any product, in any niche. And you don’t even have to arbitrage source super-hot, name-brand products!

Recently I picked up some discontinued Lego sets that were marked down 70% at Target. Once Lego discontinues a set and supply diminishes, they go up in value.

At 70% off, my cost of goods was much less than anything I could have sourced from Lego (if they would even sell directly to me, which they won’t!)

Now I’ll pack them up, ship them to Amazon FBA and let Amazon do the rest!

This blog post is not about how to capitalize on the Missoni/Target partnership.

The purpose of this post is to show you how the process of tracking trends and arbitrage sourcing works.

… And how profitable it can be.

The key in knowing what to buy is in keeping an eye on the trends. In your niche, product category, product line. Without tracking the trends before-hand, you’ll end up being a “me-too” seller, trying to to sell products off a hotlist.

By tracking the trends in a niche, you know that certain models, styles, products are hot and/or which are in limited supply (or being discontinued).

You stay ahead of the curve.  You’ll know when you see a good deal. And that knowledge is where the money is made.

How about you?  Do you track trends? Have you tried arbitrage sourcing?

Tell me below!

-Lisa

Running an ecommerce business costs money.

Whether it’s buying a new computer with faster processing capabilities, sourcing new inventory so you can sell more and make more, updating your workspace to make it more efficient or, bringing in project based help to get your holiday inventory listed…

It takes money to grow.

Unfortunately for small (and especially home-based, online businesses) the availability of growth-captial is in short supply. Especially from traditional sources such as banks and credit cards.

Enter Kabbage, an Atlanta based company with one goal – “Funding for your online business.”

Kabbage provides short-term loans to online sellers using credentials that other lenders don’t/won’t. They use marketplace and PayPal data from your online business to process your request for capital. An analysis that includes things like transaction volume and consistency, customer feedback/reviews, your product line and more.

Understanding the World of Online Sellers

What sets Kabbage apart from a traditional lender is that they understand the world of online sales, whereas many traditional banks do not.  In fact, traditional lending institutions can be downright leery of lending money to a home-based online sellers – even those with a proven track record.

Kabbage also understands that many online sellers only need a short-term loan to help them get to the next level.

It may only take $1000 to attend a trade show or $3000 to source new inventory once you’re there, but not having access to that $4000 means the difference between your ability to grow your business or staying stuck until you can earn enough money to fund your tradeshow trip or buy new inventory.

Kabbage Founder and CEO Rob Frohwein says:

“Thousands of online merchants have obtained working capital and grown their businesses since our push into the market in April 2011. Although small business fuels the majority of growth in the U.S., it is extremely difficult and time consuming for these businesses to apply for and actually receive financing from a traditional bank. Kabbage fills this need by providing money to these businesses in a quick, easy and painless way, helping them to further grow their businesses and boost the economy.”

Online sellers can apply and be approved for a short-term advance, also known as “Kabbage Kash” in minutes. Once approved, you can use your cash advance line if/when you need it.

It’s free to apply and be approved. Once you use your cash advance, you have six months to repay it. Cash advance rates are determined by your credit history and store performance, as well as the length of time you keep the cash advance. If you pay it back earlier than 6 months, you’ll pay less.

Kabbage has a patented technology that enables them to evaluate seller’s businesses and credit history. Currently Kabbage supports eBay sellers, Amazon sellers and Yahoo store owners.

This week Kabbage announced that they’ve just received $17 million in funding which will allow them to add funding support for merchants who sell on Facebook, Etsy, Sears and Shopify.

Your Ability to Source Quality Inventory Increases Your Sales

I first met the folks from Kabbage this spring and recently caught up with them again here in Seattle at the Amazon Seller’s Conference in July.

At that time, I sat down with Russell Walraven to talk more about the company’s goals to help online sellers grow. Fresh off the announcement that Kabbage would now be supporting Amazon sellers, Russell said that the response to Kabbage cash advances was overwhelmingly positive.  Seller after seller stopped by the booth to tell the Kabbage group that the #1 thing they need is cash to buy more inventory. With Amazon sales skyrocketing off into the stratosphere, lack of product to sell was the only thing holding back Amazon sellers from selling more.

Interestingly, Amazon category managers at the conference told me the same thing. “We need more product. Amazon’s growth is only limited by product selection. And we’re looking to 3rd party merchants to fill that need.”

Kabbage provides a win-win situation for online sellers ready to expand.

Many of my clients and students have already applied for and used Kabbage as a source of funding for their business.  They’ve raved about the simplicity of applying and the fact that Kabbage speaks in “plain english” as just two of the reasons they feel that the folks at Kabbage understand their needs as online sellers.

You can learn more about Kabbage and see if you qualify for an advance in seconds.

-Lisa