eCommerce Niche Dilemma

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Hello fellow Warriors, without further ado...my first post:

I am looking to start an eCommerce store based on a Dropship model. Being that this would be my first store, I wanted a niche that is related to my passion/hobby which is music creation. After looking at the catalogs of some related suppliers (that do dropship) I found a specific product line within the "pro audio" field that would be both interesting to me, and one that I could provide a lot of information/value on the site as well. The main deterrent in going forward thus far has been that the market is very competitive for that keyword and the related long-tail keywords. Below are some pros and cons about the specific niche:

Pros:

25,000 monthly searches on main keyword, and solid long-tail.
Smaller, medium sized item for shipping.
Preexisting knowledge, interest in niche
Found two reputable suppliers on both coasts of the US.
Item has M.A.P pricing, so amazon for example wouldn't be able to advertise a lower price than I would.

Neutral Points:

Selling price on product is between $75-$1000. This could be both good and bad for me as higher ticket items tend to require more deliberation on the buyer's end.

Cons:
Heavily competitive market, in addition to Amazon & eBay we are talking huge stores like guitarcenter.com, zzsounds, bhphotovideo.com, jr.com all in the top 10 results of Google search for main keyword.

While I haven't checked what my actual margins would be, I wanted to get some of your opinions first. Specifically, am I wasting my time? Should I look at a niche that has far less competition, and one that would give me more of a chance for me to rank on Google even though my interest in the field would not be there?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated,

Cheers!
#dilemma #ecommerce #niche
  • Profile picture of the author waynemoney
    I would think that your price point would be the key.. What a mean is that if you can get it for $50 and Everyone else is selling it for $100 and you sell it for $80 than if you utilize amazon, ebay, and google to list your product for sale then you would have a great chance at competing..

    If you pay $90 and it sells for $100 on everyone elses site then forget it you can not compete.

    People for the most part look for the best price and then the most respected place they can get it from.

    The approach I would take would be to do reviews on the product and just utilize the affiliate links to send them to the product on amazon. in the case that you dont have a good profit margin for selling it yourself.

    More details... would be nice
    how much can you get it for and how much does everyone else sell the products for?
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    • Profile picture of the author Comercy
      Will look into what I can get the product for shortly. Also, my idea is to make a well designed web site. I don't mind using eBay or Amazon initially, or to funnel some traffic to my site but ultimately I would like it to be a standalone store.
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      • Profile picture of the author LarryS
        If the product has M.A.P. pricing, you will not be able to compete against the Big Name Stores on price, so how will you differentiate yourself?

        Will you be able to supply lots of information or reviews on the products that the other sites don't offer?

        You will need to establish yourself and your website as the "expert" on these items. What can you offer that the other guys can't? If you don't offer a "Unique Selling Proposition", there is no reason for someone to buy from you ( an unknown website) versus the Big Name Stores that already have established trust.
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  • Profile picture of the author Comercy
    I thought M.A.P would work to my advantage, in that it will protect how low the big name stores can sell it for, essentially resulting in my store and theirs selling it for the same price...?

    Great points on the "Unique Selling Proposition." I was thinking a lot of videos, reviews of course, and a more intuitive, solution driven website, i.e. pairing the customer with the perfect product variation for his needs. I was thinking of also including a free tutorial video with every purchase, that would explain how to set the product working (as it is slightly technical in nature)..
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