baseball

8 years ago

after weeks of thinking of a new niche, I kinda decided to do something with baseball

Thinking of a niche - or researching the potential of a niche? If you don't know what you will sell or what part of the niche traffic you will target - you may not have a workable niche.

What led to your decision to choose the broad niche of 'baseball' - and what did you find when you drilled down into subniches? Critical question.

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DWolfe

8 years ago

Just because they sell the "Cheapest Baseball Bat's" does not mean people buy bats elsewhere. Just like some products on Amazon can be purchased elsewhere for less. The trust factor alone will enough for people to buy from them first.

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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by DWolfe

Just because they sell the "Cheapest Baseball Bat's" does not mean people buy bats elsewhere. Just like some products on Amazon can be purchased elsewhere for less. The trust factor alone will enough for people to buy from them first.

This is true, but there are like 2/3 really famous site for bats, with a really lowprice, so everyone will just go to that site, I realize that I have to find another niche, thanks!

Thanks

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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Thinking of a niche - or researching the potential of a niche? If you don't know what you will sell or what part of the niche traffic you will target - you may not have a workable niche.

What led to your decision to choose the broad niche of 'baseball' - and what did you find when you drilled down into subniches? Critical question.

I wanted to do something with baseball, because I've seen a lot of people complaining that baseball bats are too expensive, so I figured if I could get them cheaper somewhere a lot of would buy them

Thanks

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Steve B

8 years ago

Originally Posted by guy101

I kinda decided to do something with baseball

To me, you are not ready to do anything just yet. You haven't identified a real niche yet - baseball is a huge market where you need to drill down and find some specific problems/needs/desires that baseball fanatics have that you can skillfully address.

If all you're going to do is try to compete selling bats (and gloves and balls, and hats) you are in for a rude awakening. I can say with all confidence that you will never be able to compete on price alone. You don't have the capital (I can safely assume) to buy wholesale like the big boys in the sports industry.

So if you want to get into baseball, find a small corner of the market that isn't being effectively addressed and provide a solution. It's how micro niche businesses work.

Steve

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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Steve B

To me, you are not ready to do anything just yet. You haven't identified a real niche yet - baseball is a huge market where you need to drill down and find some specific problems/needs/desires that baseball fanatics have that you can skillfully address.

If all you're going to do is try to compete selling bats (and gloves and balls, and hats) you are in for a rude awakening. I can say with all confidence that you will never be able to compete on price alone. You don't have the capital (I can safely assume) to buy wholesale like the big boys in the sports industry.

So if you want to get into baseball, find a small corner of the market that isn't being effectively addressed and provide a solution. It's how micro niche businesses work.

Steve

I understand, I have such a hard time finding a good niche, since everything that gets drop shipped , is already sold somewhere for really cheap at a big site, so I am having a really hard time finding something original. thanks btw

Thanks

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DWaters

8 years ago

If you plan is to sell physical products but you cannot find them at a price that provides you with a decent profit margin then you may want to re-think your plan. Do not get locked into a niche just because you "think" it is a good niche.

I sell physical items on Amazon and my focus is on sourcing the product, a good profit margin, and finding new items that sell regularly. I never really think much about the niche, just about the various factors that make the product a good one to sell.

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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by DWaters

If you plan is to sell physical products but you cannot find them at a price that provides you with a decent profit margin then you may want to re-think your plan. Do not get locked into a niche just because you "think" it is a good niche.

I sell physical items on Amazon and my focus is on sourcing the product, a good profit margin, and finding new items that sell regularly. I never really think much about the niche, just about the various factors that make the product a good one to sell.

hmm, I might looking for another niche than, I guess I was way to impatient with the whole looking a niche process. thanks for the tips

Thanks

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1Bryan

8 years ago

Originally Posted by guy101

justbats.com and buy their stuff here. I've looked around at thomasnet and aliexpress but couldn't find anything interested.

The Dollar Tree sells pasta for $ 1 a box.

Does that mean everyone in the world will just go to Dollar Tree to buy their pasta?

As a former player, I can tell you that having the cheapest bat isn't priority number one. To a player, having a good bat is worth not eating over. Even in Little League (and I played well beyond that), I mowed lawns just to be able to buy the best bat I could, priced 3x-4x over cheaper options. A bat to a player is like a sword to a knight.

Are you a player? Are you a fan?

Sports fans know right away (players even more so) when you are not one. And that's not exactly a good thing if you wanna sell them. Posers are detested.

For example - I have seen obvious posers try to put up a vid on YouTube of themselves swinging a bat. And they look like a rank amateur who never swung one in their life. Worse than a kid on his first day in tee-ball. Do you think that instills confidence? Or do you think it incites even the civilized among us to get a little bit trollish in our judgement of them?

You wanna sell me a bat?

You better know how to swing one.

(You know how rowdy true fans get? Red Sox-Yankees. Either stadium. Outside the stadium. Not pretty. Though not as bad as it used to be, either.)

Thanks
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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by 1Bryan

The Dollar Tree sells pasta for $ 1 a box.

Does that mean everyone in the world will just go to Dollar Tree to buy their pasta?

As a former player, I can tell you that having the cheapest bat isn't priority number one. To a player, having a good bat is worth not eating over. Even in Little League (and I played well beyond that), I mowed lawns just to be able to buy the best bat I could, priced 3x-4x over cheaper options. A bat to a player is like a sword to a knight.

Are you a player? Are you a fan?

Sports fans know right away (players even more so) when you are not one. And that's not exactly a good thing if you wanna sell them. Posers are detested.

For example - I have seen obvious posers try to put up a vid on YouTube of themselves swinging a bat. And they look like a rank amateur who never swung one in their life. Worse than a kid on his first day in tee-ball. Do you think that instills confidence? Or do you think it incites even the civilized among us to get a little bit trollish in our judgement of them?

You wanna sell me a bat?

You better know how to swing one.

(You know how rowdy true fans get? Red Sox-Yankees. Either stadium. Outside the stadium. Not pretty. Though not as bad as it used to be, either.)

After I read your post I totally realized that I was thinking about the wrong niche, since I've never played baseball at all. The thing is, I really like football(soccer), but when I look at what to sell, there are literally so many sites that are football related, it just seems impossible to get between those big companies, same goes for other hobbies, I'm having such a hard time finding a niche. Anyways, thank you for your interesting yet really helpful post haha

Thanks
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1Bryan

8 years ago

Originally Posted by guy101

After I read your post I totally realized that I was thinking about the wrong niche, since I've never played baseball at all. The thing is, I really like football(soccer), but when I look at what to sell, there are literally so many sites that are football related, it just seems impossible to get between those big companies, same goes for other hobbies, I'm having such a hard time finding a niche. Anyways, thank you for your interesting yet really helpful post haha

Soccer isn't a bad way to go. It's world-wide in popularity. Maybe do some more digging in that direction. Selling what you like is easier than selling what you don't like. Not just because you "know" the market already, but because you actually get to do that thing where you "do what you love" or something closely related to it.

Who cares if there are a lot of sites?

There's a lot of sites in every field. The internet's ridiculously large. You can take just about any obscure niche and find hundreds of sites in it. Don't get bogged down by what appears to be "too much" competition.

Read this:

BERA: Issue 3/4 The Sports Industry: Soccer (Business Reference Services, Library of Congress)

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Randall Magwood

8 years ago

Never just come up with a thought to sell "something". Do market research on a particular need/want, and your probability of success will be higher. I would hate for you to sell a product to a group of people that doesn't want (nor need) (or could careless) about your product. I would go into something much more profitable and likely to be successful.

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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Randall Magwood

Never just come up with a thought to sell "something". Do market research on a particular need/want, and your probability of success will be higher. I would hate for you to sell a product to a group of people that doesn't want (nor need) (or could careless) about your product. I would go into something much more profitable and likely to be successful.

any advice on how to do so? or do u know any good courses ?

Thanks
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1Bryan

8 years ago

Originally Posted by guy101

any advice on how to do so? or do u know any good courses ?

If you go the sports angle, with soccer, it's not hard to find what they want. Whatever they have to buy to play the sport, whatever they buy to play it better, already has proven demand.

The catch isn't in what they'll buy.

It's in how you are going to reach them so that you are the seller.

Does that make sense?

Like, you know they buy cleats. Soccer balls. Shirts, shorts. Magazines. Video games related to soccer. You don't have to figure that part out at all. Making a list of what they buy is one of the easier things to do.

Finding out what you can sell them based on how you reach them and all the data points related to sourcing stuff to sell, margins, etc, etc.

That's the slightly harder part.

But it shouldn't be too hard to get yourself making some money in a field like that. It's far easier than trying to convince people to spend $ 97 on information.

When I played both baseball and basketball, spending $ 150 on sneakers or $ 125 on a bat or $ 200 on a glove ...

Those were all the normal costs of being a player.

And I wasn't even middle class growing up. Middle class looked rich to me. I had to have the P/T job to buy those things for myself.

You just need to find out the way you are going to reach them and sell them what they are already in line to buy. And trust that they are in line to buy it and that price comparison isn't the biggest thing on their mind to a realistic extent.

Yes ...

If you try to sell a $ 500 soccer ball, probably won't happen.

A dozen $ 50 ones? Could definitely happen.

Worldwide, more money is spent on soccer than any other sport. More than baseball, basketball, football or hockey.

So the trust should be baked in that they will buy stuff. You don't have to dig as deep as folks who create ebooks on topics and want to try to sell them for $ 97 do when it comes to figuring out proof of concept that they'll buy.

Dick's, Modell's, Nike, Addidas, etc already did that for you.

The easy part in retail (ecom or offline) is knowing what people will buy. For the most part. So much proof of concept already out there. The hard part is in how you are going to get your margins right, source product to sell, position in the market, all those things.

It's never "Do they buy soccer balls?"

It's "How can I get them to buy my soccer balls?"

And "How can I have the widest margins on those soccer balls?" Or "How can I get them to bulk purchase soccer balls?"

Thanks
1 reply

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guy101

8 years ago

Originally Posted by 1Bryan

If you go the sports angle, with soccer, it's not hard to find what they want. Whatever they have to buy to play the sport, whatever they buy to play it better, already has proven demand.

The catch isn't in what they'll buy.

It's in how you are going to reach them so that you are the seller.

Does that make sense?

Like, you know they buy cleats. Soccer balls. Shirts, shorts. Magazines. Video games related to soccer. You don't have to figure that part out at all. Making a list of what they buy is one of the easier things to do.

Finding out what you can sell them based on how you reach them and all the data points related to sourcing stuff to sell, margins, etc, etc.

That's the slightly harder part.

But it shouldn't be too hard to get yourself making some money in a field like that. It's far easier than trying to convince people to spend $ 97 on information.

When I played both baseball and basketball, spending $ 150 on sneakers or $ 125 on a bat or $ 200 on a glove ...

Those were all the normal costs of being a player.

And I wasn't even middle class growing up. Middle class looked rich to me. I had to have the P/T job to buy those things for myself.

You just need to find out the way you are going to reach them and sell them what they are already in line to buy. And trust that they are in line to buy it and that price comparison isn't the biggest thing on their mind to a realistic extent.

Yes ...

If you try to sell a $ 500 soccer ball, probably won't happen.

A dozen $ 50 ones? Could definitely happen.

Worldwide, more money is spent on soccer than any other sport. More than baseball, basketball, football or hockey.

So the trust should be baked in that they will buy stuff. You don't have to dig as deep as folks who create ebooks on topics and want to try to sell them for $ 97 do when it comes to figuring out proof of concept that they'll buy.

Dick's, Modell's, Nike, Addidas, etc already did that for you.

The easy part in retail (ecom or offline) is knowing what people will buy. For the most part. So much proof of concept already out there. The hard part is in how you are going to get your margins right, source product to sell, position in the market, all those things.

It's never "Do they buy soccer balls?"

It's "How can I get them to buy my soccer balls?"

And "How can I have the widest margins on those soccer balls?" Or "How can I get them to bulk purchase soccer balls?"

Thanks bryan, I really appreciate that you took so much time to help me.

Thanks

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baseball

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