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.
trick or treat!
Great Blog post Lisa!
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Trick or Treat! Thanks!
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“Trick or Treat”
Trick or Treat!
TRICK OR TREAT! GREAT TIPS
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TRICK OR TREAT
Thank you, Lisa
Thanks for that good information Lisa, it really surprised me. Of course figures don’t lie and we all know that children love dress up play. I just never thought about the other costume users you refer to!
I’ll refer to your blog post when I pass on this information to my readers.
Fran
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Trick or Treat!! Happy Halloween!!
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TRICK OR TREAT!
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TRICK OR TREAT! Love these tips, last year I lucked out by hitting our local Wal-Mart when Halloween stuff was 75% or more off – spent about $60 for over $300 worth of items!
Trick or Treat! Wonderful sourcing tips I didn’t think about before. You are the best! Thanks Lisa.
Trick or Treat! Great tips for a niche and wonderful time to source. Thanks for the tips.
Connie
Trick or Treat – Great article!
Trick or Treat! Great ideas, thanks!
Trick or treat! I never woulda thunk it. 🙂 Thanks!
Trick or Treat! Thanks for the great suggestions.
Hi lisa,
Great tip it a treat! LOL
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Thanks Lisa for your wonderful tips! Trick or Treat!
Trick or treat!! Time to go shopping!! Thanks Lisa for all the great info
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Trick or Treat! Thank you Lisa
Trick or Treat!
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Trick or Treat! 🙂
Trick or Treat!!
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Trick or Treat! Thanks for the great ideas, I’m going shopping as soon as I shower!!
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Thank you for all your info!
Trick or Treat!
I have never thought of Halloween as being year round. Thank you.
Hi Clayton,
Yes! And that applies to Christmas products as well. You’d be amazed at how much Christmas themed merchandise sells year ’round. Offline stores can’t stock it, which leaves the field open for online stores.
-Lisa
Lisa, thanks for the great tips! I found great Zombie and 50% off Halloween items today! I need to stop eating this bargain candy and sell it however!
LOL Betsy! Yes, that’s the danger with having a house full of delicious candy in your home warehouse! 🙂 And the benefit of selling it on Amazon and using Amazon FBA. It stays in THEIR warehouse.
Great job on the Zombie product sourcing!
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Trick or Treat!
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Trick or Treat! Great info — I never thought of selling Halloween year round.