Investigating the feasibility of an e-commerce niche before you dive in?

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My question is simple. How do I go about investigating the feasibility of various niches?

I'm looking to do my due diligence before I begin trying to source products and begin my venture. The problem is, I don't know exactly what the due diligence should involve to make sure I am choosing the best possible niche and products.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
#dive #ecommerce #feasibility #investigating #niche
  • Profile picture of the author mydream247
    Hi,

    Smart move to do your homework before jumping right in, there are several products out right now that can help with niche and product research, one being Freecom Blueprint as well as several others.

    Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author ZanyZebra
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author wheelstb
      Originally Posted by ZanyZebra View Post

      Good.

      You've begun your quest by asking a key question on 'what niche?'.

      There's an even more fundamental question to ponder, 'what business model?'.

      Virtually nobody considers it in the beginning and end up wondering why their dropshipping business margins are wafer thin or how to game google with the latest generic affiliate offer. (somewhere in the backlog of my posts i've written quite a lot about this so won't repeat here).

      Good luck with your answers and with your venture.


      Thanks for the advice.
      I've selected my niche because they are part but I have used all of my life and have personal experience with. I believe this gives me a unique perspective to be more successful than most sellers who are simply trying to move product.
      My business model isn't too complicated, but I believe it is the best place for me to start.


      Here is my basic plan:
      start selling on Amazon and eBay and other similar sites.
      Use drop shippers as a means of fulfillment. Right now, stockpiling inventory is out of the question.
      Start a website. But do not sell directly on the website. Link it to my pages on eBay and Amazon.
      Use blogs and social media to build up traffic/presence on my website.
      Once I have gained traction selling through the other channels. In particular, once I have an email list then start selling on my website as well.

      I'm having difficulty sourcing a supplier or suppliers. I am contacting manufacturers and asking them for the contact information of wholesalers. The problems I'm running into are: order quantities are too large or the products are extremely generic. One wholesaler that I could've worked with had very generic product descriptions. I wasn't even able to differentiate when I was researching them against what was on eBay or Amazon.

      Is my approach to finding wholesalers the correct way to go?




      Any advice on my plan would be appreciated.
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  • Profile picture of the author jmferret
    I'd seriously recommend you do some homework on the matter. Easy to say for me, cause I already had an offline shop and launched online store based on stats I had. But I still believe you can do that online and with your friends, family as well. Ask people what they think about the products in your candidates list. While you don't link to them and sell them unlikely you'd be banned online. Collect such stats and then start small. You have not much to lose but some time really.
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  • Profile picture of the author jayparkinson
    Hello,

    To start with a successful E Commerce Business and to know the most profitable E Commerce Niche for the start up business the first thing that I would like to know is the website you are moving into. As, suggestion can be made best and will be profitable to you only after that. So, it would be great if you can share the website so as to provide you with best possible solution.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Originally Posted by wheelstb View Post

    My question is simple. How do I go about investigating the feasibility of various niches?

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
    There are a few criteria to look for when investing into a business or targeting a niche.

    Number one is profitability.

    The products you intend to sell must have enough profit in them to generate adequate returns.

    Secondly is the niche in the sunrise or sunset phase?

    You want something that has a long term growth potential.

    Would you invest in film cameras, VHS, DVD, Taxis, Encyclopedias ??

    Avoid the declining markets.

    That is the first thing.

    There is so much more but start with those for now.
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    • Profile picture of the author jmferret
      Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

      There are a few criteria to look for when investing into a business or targeting a niche.

      Number one is profitability.

      The products you intend to sell must have enough profit in them to generate adequate returns.

      Secondly is the niche in the sunrise or sunset phase?

      You want something that has a long term growth potential.

      Would you invest in film cameras, VHS, DVD, Taxis, Encyclopedias ??

      Avoid the declining markets.

      That is the first thing.

      There is so much more but start with those for now.
      These a certainly good points! Ideally, if one is able to anticipate the market, which is just about to grow, that's where he finds some real money.

      But the good news is nobody stops you from endless development of your business. I constantly do that in offline and online trade. Some products become "hot", you reap the profit, then competition increases, meanwhile you look for other potential "rock stars". It never ends, which is good, cause that's life!
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    If answering this question wasn't a big part of my profession, I would probably take this process somewhat for granted because it's easy to forget what it's like to just be starting all this for the first time. The research and testing niches/products just becomes the way you start look at everything. Anyway, there's a lot more to this than what I'm posting here. There's been some good comments previously, too. Here's the basics:

    First, be very patient with yourself and stay diligent. It might seem like you're never going to find something, but you will if you stick with it.

    Second, you need to do a lot of brainstorming: no restraints at first - just write down all sorts of lists. List of products/services you are passionate and knowledgable about, lists of products you have recently bought; lists of things you recently discovered, lists of things people are writing about in forums and articles. Chances are that your lists will contain broad, not specific items (i.e., "children's chairs").

    Third, start doing keyword research on your items (check for search volume). This will also lead to other similar keywords. Understand the difference between "information searcher" keywords and "primed buyer" keywords. Now go back to your items with a fresh pair of eyes and try turing your items more specific (i.e., "children's star wars chairs"), then test these keywords. If you find the right keywords (related to your product), and they have good monthly searches, then take them into strong consideration, and move forward.

    Fourth, understand your market and competitors. There is a lot to say about this, and there are some great tools out there to help identify competition. I've actually made one. If it looks like you can compete via strategies like SEO, SMM, PPC, and content campaigns, then you're probably ready to build a store.
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    • Profile picture of the author wheelstb
      @JMferret
      thanks for the tips. I have been using the products all of my life. So I've developed a lot of experience in various continents. My experiences were provoked me to pick this niche.But I will definitely do my research as well.


      @JayParkinson-right now I don't plan on initially starting with a website.


      @OzzieBoomer
      I completely agree profitability is the number one printer investigate. I'm having trouble determining profitability because I haven't been able to find suppliers that will provide me with what I am looking for.


      This is a niche that I am sure will always be around. As people age it will only become more prevalent.


      There are a lot of players in the niche. But given that I have personal experience and use these products on a daily basis I believe I have a sustainable advantage. Or, something that can be molded into a sustainable advantage.
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    • Profile picture of the author wheelstb
      Originally Posted by dave_hermansen View Post

      If answering this question wasn't a big part of my profession, I would probably take this process somewhat for granted because it's easy to forget what it's like to just be starting all this for the first time. The research and testing niches/products just becomes the way you start look at everything. Anyway, there's a lot more to this than what I'm posting here. There's been some good comments previously, too. Here's the basics:

      First, be very patient with yourself and stay diligent. It might seem like you're never going to find something, but you will if you stick with it.

      Second, you need to do a lot of brainstorming: no restraints at first - just write down all sorts of lists. List of products/services you are passionate and knowledgable about, lists of products you have recently bought; lists of things you recently discovered, lists of things people are writing about in forums and articles. Chances are that your lists will contain broad, not specific items (i.e., "children's chairs").

      Third, start doing keyword research on your items (check for search volume). This will also lead to other similar keywords. Understand the difference between "information searcher" keywords and "primed buyer" keywords. Now go back to your items with a fresh pair of eyes and try turing your items more specific (i.e., "children's star wars chairs"), then test these keywords. If you find the right keywords (related to your product), and they have good monthly searches, then take them into strong consideration, and move forward.

      Fourth, understand your market and competitors. There is a lot to say about this, and there are some great tools out there to help identify competition. I've actually made one. If it looks like you can compete via strategies like SEO, SMM, PPC, and content campaigns, then you're probably ready to build a store.

      Dave,
      Thanks for the advice. I will definitely start with list making and move forward with the rest of your advice from there.
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      • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
        Originally Posted by wheelstb View Post

        Dave,
        Thanks for the advice. I will definitely start with list making and move forward with the rest of your advice from there.
        You bet. Good luck with everything.
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        We help sellers get the MAXIMUM amount for their websites and all buyers know that these sites are 100% vetted.
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  • Profile picture of the author jmferret
    Just last weekend discussed this topic in this Reddit thread. Hope it helps to clarify some points.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneu...for_an/czqqmsw
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