wholesalepalace.com Blog

Come next month, millions of Americans will be getting checks in the mail.  Free Money!  Many national retailers have already stated that they will be offering sales and incentives for customers to spend those checks in there stores.  The real question is, what will SMALL retailers be doing to grab some of the cash?

Ask for it - One of the easiest ways to grab this money is simply to ask for it.  Offer a “Tax Rebate Sale”, or put together a package deal worth $600 (the amount most tax payers are getting).  Place big signs in your store, or include a coupon code in your online advertising to help promote the idea.

Often times, small retailers neglect to take advantage of special advertising opportunities.  Don’t miss out on a potential windfall next month when those checks start rolling in, ADVERTISE!

The economy may be hurting, but that very problem may mean a big BOOST for flea Markets this year.  With shoppers desperately wanting to stretch every dollar, many shoppers are expected to turn to flea markets looking for good deals.

Flea markets are popular throughout the US because customers know they can find good deals.  “Slight used” items like tools, jewelry, and clothing are expected to be big sellers this year.  So are the necessities like hygiene and food items.

Many flea markets have both temporary and long-term vendors.  Check resources like Key Flea Market or Flea Market Guide for flea markets in your area.

Most wholesalers have excess inventory from time to time.  It’s just the nature of the industry.  The key to “profit” with excess inventory is to move it quickly.  I say “profit” because most of the time you are breaking even or even loosing money on the inventory.  Never the less, removing it from your warehouse quickly is the key to freeing up funds to buy more profitable merchandise.

One of the best places we’ve found for moving closeouts fast is a website called liquidation.com.  You must start all auctions at $100, so you are taking a risk if you list high value items.  However, if your goal is to move your merchandise quickly, you will definitely find a buyer here.  While you can use other auction sites like ebay, liquidation.com is known more for the b2b products, so there are many retailers looking for good deals.

If you have very large closeout lots, you can also contact companies like Discount Wholesalers or Via Trading.  These companies have programs in place were they can purchase excess inventory and resell it to smaller buyers.

As promised, we are drastically changing the Wholesale Palace directory to meet the changing needs of our customers.  We are far from done, but here are just a few of the major changes taking effect today.

1)  Flat fee:  We have switched from a pay-per-click model to a flat-fee directory model.  This new flat fee completely eliminates the fears of pay-per-click fraud, and lowers our advertisers yearly spending.

2)  Highly optimized results:  This is where the new Wholesale Palace really starts to stand out from the crowd.  Our new search results are highly optimized.  Both for searches looking for goods, and for the major search engines.  Our listings now include the name, address, description, and phone number for every advertiser.  As well as two “deep links” to the advertisers website and a picture.  These areas are fully customizable and can be adjusted by the advertiser at any time.

And we’re not done…. Keep checking back regularly to see what else we’re doing to revolutionize the wholesale directory

As more and more studies continue to point towards a recession, 2008 will probably not go down in the record books as a great year for most Americans.  Many businesses are just struggling to get by, growth for 2008 will be a real challenge.

The one piece of good news to come out of these reports is that most Americans are still very optimistic, even bullish on our economy as a whole.  Most Americans seem to feel that by 2009, the economy will take a turn for the better.

Sitting down and calculating an actual advertising budget is an essential growth aspect for any business.  Yet it seems that almost none of the small businesses that we talk to have a well thought-out, calculated budget.

Having a budget can also help you analyze your current marketing strategy and help you verify that your current advertising is working.

Your first step should be to determine what you spent last year.  Then add your growth percentage and divide that number by twelve.  Here is an example:

Lets say you spent $20,000 on advertising your business last year.  That means you had an averaged monthly budget of $1666.  Try to increase your budget by 10% this year.  This means your new yearly budget should be $22,000, or an average of $1833 per month.

By continuously (and carefully) increasing your years ad budget, you should see an increase in sales and revenue!

What do retailers want when they search the internet for products?  What do wholesalers want then they list their companies on search engines?  We here at Wholesalepalace.com have been studying that very question for over 2 years now, and we’ll be implementing some big changes in the coming weeks.

Our new vertical directory will be designed specifically to help retailers find the products they need quickly, while helping wholesalers get the maximum exposure of their products.  Stay tuned…

<rant>
Ok, I realize this has nothing to do with the wholesale industry, but I feel the need to comment.  Due to my workaholic personality, I do not watch a lot of television.  However, there has been one TV show that I’ve watched regularly since last year, Jericho on CBS.  Jericho is a post apocalyptic TV drama that follows the lives of the people who live in the small town of Jericho Kansas after a nuclear attack.  Without question, this is the best show currently on TV.  The writing is fantastic and the story line seems very realistic.

For those of you who haven’t followed the drama, Jericho was cancelled by CBS last year due to low ratings.  Fans of the show were so outraged, they sent millions of “nuts” to CBS headquarters.  It worked, and CBS brought the show back.  It was a smart move because even though the ratings were low, the buzz surrounding the show was extremely positive.

Unfortunately, the ratings for the show have remained low.  Its hard to understand, since the show only seems to get better with every episode.  So to all the business owners out there who need a “get away” on Tuesday nights at 10PM, check out the show.

Hopefully CBS has room in next years 2009 lineup to keep the best show on TV alive, even if the outdated Nielson ratings system doesn’t show high ratings numbers.

</rant>

Times are tough for retailers.  Wholesale prices continue to rise, gas prices are crazy, and the dollar bill in your pocket is worth more to a Canadian than it is to you!

So how do retailers survive in a week buyers market?  The answer is simple (even if its not easy), Careful and Methodical Management of your business.  This means managing every aspect of your business more closely than usual.  From the cost of your inventory, to the cost of your paper clips.

Many retailers have asked me if raising prices are the answer to weakening sales.  There is no simple answer to this question because it depends largely on your market and the products you sell.  The hard facts are this, if your wholesale suppliers are raising prices, you may not have a choice.  Keeping a health profit margin is key to both the short and long term survival of your business.

You flew to Las Vegas to find a few new trade suppliers.  You ended up with 300 business cards and 25 pages of scribbled notes in the notepad you carried.  Now what?

1) Organize - You should start by organizing your notes.  Re-write your notes in a more intelligent and organized manner.  Try to categorize suppliers by industry (Jewelry, General Merchandise, Etc..) and make additional notes that you didn’t make at the show.  As each day passes, your memories from the show will fade, so be sure to write down as much as possible.

2) Prioritize - Now that your notes are organized, put them in the order in which you plan to contact them.  Lets face it, you’ll probably never call that “plastic forks” distributor, even if his sales pitch was great!  You may not call some of these suppliers for years, if everything is in order it will help you recall and order new product lines faster.

3) Act - You spent the money to travel there, now you actually need to order the products you fell in love with.  Many small retailers can be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the show and the information they collect.  Continually adding new products to your business is important, so pick up the phone and start ordering!