Pricing Your Products

Written by David Bell


In our scramble to find a way to offerrepparttar lowest prices onrepparttar 124526 Internet, we often overlookrepparttar 124527 basic steps that we should be taking BEFORE we even offer a product for sale. We also overlook something even more important: you don't HAVE to haverepparttar 124528 lowest price in order to make great sales. Following are some things I do before and after determining my bottom line. I sell by having products drop-shipped for my sites, which works VERY well, but these steps should be covered no matter your distribution method. <> Should you be selling this item now? Snowboards don't sell well inrepparttar 124529 summertime. You may have a hard time moving a pair of roller blades in January. Don't waste your time and your site space marketing products out of season. Ask your supplier for a little historical information regardingrepparttar 124530 best time to sell their products. Believe me, to everything, there IS a season. They haverepparttar 124531 figures. If they don't want to share this info with you, find another supplier. <> Identify your costs Profit isn't justrepparttar 124532 difference between wholesale and retail. You have other costs to consider. Think about every penny you spend in order to get that product torepparttar 124533 customer's door, and plan accordingly. For example, your merchant account probably costs you about 2.2% plus 30 cents per transaction. On an item you'll sell for $20, that's 74 cents. Don't forget that calculation when pricingrepparttar 124534 item. Are you warehousingrepparttar 124535 item? How much is that space costing you per item per month? Did you spend money stocking up on shipping materials? How much per unit? What about advertising? Monthly hosting costs? You may need to project some estimated sales in order to arrive at some of these figures. This may seem very complicated, but it's really not. Just takerepparttar 124536 figures one at a time, and you'll arrive at a wholesale cost plus an amount that, when added together, becomes your initial ESTIMATE of "cost of goods sold". Identifying all your costs is critical if you want to price your products properly. <> Check outrepparttar 124537 competition Search onrepparttar 124538 item you plan to sell. Check outrepparttar 124539 competitors' prices. But DON'T get caught up trying to beatrepparttar 124540 wrong competitor. You need to stay within your "venue". My stores are built in Yahoo Shopping (http://store.yahoo.com). 90% of my traffic comes from there. When I seek out my competitors, I look for other businesses like mine ONLY in Yahoo Shopping. Then I compare. If I'm thinking about selling a product, and I get 1,500 hits in 400 stores on that item in Yahoo Shopping, forget it. If I get a hundred hits in 20 to 40 stores, I'll look into it further. So check outrepparttar 124541 competition, narrow down your product list, make a note ofrepparttar 124542 five lowest prices you find, and then ask yourself another question. <> Is anybody going to buy this thing? This doesn't have much to do with pricing, but it should be said. When considering products, there's unique, and then there's too unique. Yak Cheese may sound like something that nobody else has for sale onrepparttar 124543 'Net. There's a reason for that. If you sell more than 3 boxes a year, I'll EAT some.

Internet Freebies and Cheapies to Help You Grow Your Business

Written by Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com


Do you dream of running your own business? Well, get ready to make that dream reality. The internet has leveledrepparttar playing field so that just about anyone can bring in big bucks doing what they love. Welcome torepparttar 124525 global marketplace! Thanks torepparttar 124526 web, now you can make business connectionsrepparttar 124527 wide world over for virtually no money... without ever leaving your home or office. What can you sell onrepparttar 124528 internet that will put you onrepparttar 124529 path to prosperity?

- Products: books, CDs, greeting cards, photo frames, gifts and collectibles, fashions...repparttar 124530 list is endless!

- Services: writing, graphic and web design, coaching, administrative assistance, marketing, tech support, tax preparation... if you have a skill, you should be marketing it onrepparttar 124531 net.

- Memberships: to a technology forum, to a shopping club, to a pet lovers' group, to a freelance bidding auction, to a service swap, to an entrepreneur's network, to a dating service

- E-books: for dog lovers, for knitters, for aspiring millionaires, for handymen, for cooks, for astrology buffs... there is no end to what people will pay to learn about!

Brainchildren are born onrepparttar 124532 web every day. You don't even need a nest egg to make money putting big ideas to work. What you do need: lots of free time, some computer knowledge, a credit card (yes, you will have to make a few low-cost purchases), a network of supporters with varied skills, a problem-solving nature and a can-do attitude.

If you're already on your way to becoming an online success, great! No matter what stage your business is in, here are 10 no-cost or low-cost resources to help your profits soar.

1. An Earthlink Web Domain. What's an online business without a website? There are tons of low-cost domains out there, but I use Earthlink to run my own business and I'm happy with it, so that'srepparttar 124533 one I'm featuring here. For a low monthly fee, Earthlink offers a fantastic, all-inclusive web-hosting package. What you get: your own domain name, website-building software that's easy to learn, up to 30 mailboxes, and tons of enhancements including visitor counters, form scripts, file uploading and a large selection of background designs. Plus, Earthlink gives you tons of free hints, resources, tutorials and advice on how to promote your business online.

2. Microsoft Outlook. I can't fathom how anyone would manage their company email without this program. It's super-fast, offers plenty of storage space and can handle large graphic files. Open multiple email windows and copyrepparttar 124534 contents of one intorepparttar 124535 other! Sort your emails by field and deposit them into separate folders that you create and label for optimum organization. Viewrepparttar 124536 contents of each email without having to open each one. Block unwanted emails from entering your Inbox, or set your auto-reply for when you're away. Managing your contact addresses is a snap - and so is creating group lists for easy bulk-mailing! Can you tell I'm enamored with this program? If you bought your computer inrepparttar 124537 last five years, Outlook probably came with your Windows package... so if you haven't clicked onrepparttar 124538 program yet, do it NOW!

3. Craigslist.org. I don't know who Craig is, but God bless him for providing a F-R-E-E classified advertising forum forrepparttar 124539 world's internet users. Craigslist isrepparttar 124540 secret to my success and it can be yours, too. Post information about your business services to major cities aroundrepparttar 124541 globe... for no money at all! Find people who haverepparttar 124542 skills you need to build your online presence. Buy and sell anything. Broadcast your name and contact info, or be anonymous if you'rerepparttar 124543 shy type! I can't tell you how many cool opportunities I've found through Craigslist. Don't waste another minute - post an ad today.

4. Ezinearticles.com. Want to establish your credibility onrepparttar 124544 internet and advertise your website inrepparttar 124545 process? Ezinearticles.com offers a free article posting forum where you can showcase your skills and ideas. Writerepparttar 124546 articles yourself, or pay a writer to write them for you. Either way, you getrepparttar 124547 chance to present your professional know-how as well as read articles written by other web experts. It's a great way to swap information, promote your site, and make a name for yourself!

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use