How to Sell Products from Home (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Home-based businesses allow entrepreneurs to earn income by saving on travel costs and childcare. If there is high demand for a product, selling it from home can be profitable. Some sellers create goods at home, while others resell used or wholesale items. The right product, combined with efficient organization and good time management, can help you succeed in selling from home.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Implementing Strategies and Buying Commodities

Step 1. Think carefully about the types of products you are familiar with and that you could successfully sell from home

What do you like to do? Most everyone enjoys working on projects they believe they have good skills for. What are you good at?

• If you know how to craft, sew, or cook, you may want to make and sell furniture, accessories, jewelry, and edible goods.
• If you have an eye for bargains, you may want to buy and resell antiques or other items.
• If you'd like to work with a network of entrepreneurs and interact socially with customers, you could become a consultant for an existing direct-from-home business.

Step 2. Define the competitive advantage of your products

To work effectively from home, you need to make sure you're not selling an over-inflated or failing product. You need to be sure you are offering attractive goods - convenient, practical and inexpensive to produce:

• Here are the factors that give a product sold from home a competitive advantage:

  • Convenience. The product makes life easier for customers.
  • Practicality. The product can be shipped easily. Usually, this also means that it is easier to produce.
  • Costs. Producing it does not require an eye of the head. Aim for profit margins that are around 50% or higher.

• Here are the factors that prevent a product from being successful:

  • The product is overly mechanical or requires a lot of responsibility. If it demands particularly high quality standards or is a burden, avoid it. It doesn't have to get in the way from a practical point of view.
  • The product is offered by large retail chains. If the asset you are looking to sell from home is available from Carrefour, don't expect big returns.
  • Registered trademarks. Unless you want to find yourself spending all your profits to fight legal battles with large corporations, steer clear of trademarked items.

  

  Step 3. Determine the size and competitiveness of the market

  Of course, you've decided to sell miniature crafts, such as doll collector chairs. The question that arises is: from a business point of view, is it profitable? You may also be the best craftsman specializing in miniature objects in the universe, but this won't have much weight if no one would buy your product or if this market is already saturated, with very low margins.

  • Market size essentially represents the amount of money people are currently spending on buying the product you are going to sell. You can usually do online market research by consulting industry studies, journals, and government published reports. The larger the market, the greater the sales opportunities.
  • Before entering a given market, it is important to consider its competitiveness. If there are a lot of companies involved and the profits are low, the work ahead will be very difficult. However, if there are not many companies involved, you will have the opportunity to get more revenue.

  

  Step 4. If you can, stock up on the product by buying it in bulk

  Buying in bulk means getting a product or the raw materials needed to make it directly from the manufacturer. Consequently, you avoid the markups made by intermediaries. If you can buy everything you need for production without intermediaries, the profit margins will be much higher.

  • You will only get the best wholesale prices once you are well informed. Contact several possible suppliers (by e-mail, in person or by phone) and request a sample of the product you intend to order. The test sample will allow you to determine the quality of the product you want to buy.
  • Also, find out about the minimum order you can place. If you have to buy 1000 sets of dish drainer to complete the transaction at a competitive cost, it might not be a big investment, especially if you're just starting out.
  • If you are joining a direct selling company, sign up on their website or through their consultant and order the starter kit with the goods to sell.

  Part 2 of 4: Building a Product and a Business

  

  Step 1. Start creating the product

  Few retailers successfully buy wholesale and then resell purchased products without changing them in a more or less significant way. You will likely find yourself buying raw materials from a vendor or a number of suppliers, and then spending time and manpower in order to get the product you are selling.

  

  Step 2. Do numerous tests

  You may think you have an absolutely reliable product in your hands, but no one understands it better than customers. The consumer uses the product, sometimes daily, sometimes wrongly. The user constantly asks himself the following question: "Is the product worth the money spent?". Testing the good among focus groups, friends or even (especially) strangers allows you to get an idea of how to improve it.

  For example, you bought 100 peelers in bulk. You have written your name on the packaging and you resell them with a 100% profit margin. If you can make quick sales, that's not necessarily a bad idea. However, what would you do if the vegetable peelers dissolved under hot water? What would you do if, after just one week of starting your business venture, you find yourself with dozens of customers angry that the product has ruined their dishwashers? If you test a good, you make sure it is valid. If you don't, you would have to compensate customers, so you would lose money and your brand would not get a good reputation

  

  Step 3. Apply for VAT number

  You must contact the Revenue Agency to obtain it, in this way you can legally sell from home and your income will be subject to direct taxation. Also be well informed about all the laws envisaged for e-commerce or the selected sales method.

  

  Step 4. Open a new bank account to separate the proceeds of your business from the income of the rest of the family

  In this way, it is easier to keep track of profits and expenses; moreover, once a transaction is successful and you have updated the records, you can transfer the earnings to your personal account.

  • This method also makes it much easier to pay taxes, because you have to be precise about the expenses paid and the receipts.
  • Link a PayPal account to a bank account to make online transactions more efficient.

  

  Step 5. Buy software to run your business with a desktop or laptop

  This program will help you organize an inventory database, invoices and books. It will sound boring, but it is better to get bored than to pay fines or go to jail in case of irregularities.

  You may decide to hire an accountant or bookkeeper to take care of this job for you

  Part 3 of 4: Advertise Efficiently and Sell Fast

  

  Step 1. Advertise your new business and the products you offer

  An asset is typically sold in one of the following methods: repeat purchases (this means the customer liked it the first time and wants to buy it back), word of mouth (enthusiastic reviews from influential and trusted people), and advertising. If the quality and usefulness of the product are already high, you can't do too much to affect repeat purchase and word of mouth. And this is where advertising comes in. Promotion serves to increase interest in an asset by selling a dream, an ideal or a status linked to its use.

  • Order business cards and distribute them to everyone you know or meet.
  • Create business pages on social networks, convince friends and family to follow you. Encourage them to invite other people and update their status frequently to constantly grab the attention of followers.
  • If you've joined a direct selling firm, review the products for the purpose of finding personalized promotional ideas for the brand.

  

  Step 2. Experiment with PPC (but don't just rely on this method)

  PPC stands for pay per click. In practice, the advertiser (which would be you) pays the website (called publisher) on which their ad appears every time a customer clicks on the link. However, more and more people are finding it difficult to generate leads, or a list of potential customers, with PPC. Social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, also offer promotional and advertising content. Social networks of this type can be helpful in building a brand, but that doesn't necessarily translate into quick sales. Try both of these methods to promote yourself, but don't focus your ad budget on just those strategies.

  

  Step 3. Get organized to allow customers to access and buy your products

  Unless you physically want to sell them in your home (not recommended), you typically need to put them up for sale online. There are several advantages and disadvantages regarding this method:

  • The pros:

    • Lower startup costs. The cost of an online domain doesn't cost as much as a retail store. Posting ads on eBay is relatively inexpensive.
    • Greater visibility. Even if you live in Italy, you can reach customers worldwide.
    • Immediate sales and practicality. If you sell the products online, customers will be able to buy them with a click directly from the sofa at home.

  • The cons:

    • Safety issues. Credit cards and online accounts can be hacked, arousing the ire of customers.
    • Difficulties and times associated with the delivery of goods. For example, shipping a product to Tanzania can be complicated and take weeks.

    

    Step 4. Consider creating your own site

    If you intend to sell online, open a web page for customers to buy from. Connect your PayPal account to the site. Make sure the page structure and design are intuitive to customers to make selling easy. People who are familiar with the product and site layout often find them easier to understand than those who are unfamiliar with them.

    It is becoming easier and easier to create a personal online sales channel. Today, there are many services on the internet, such as Shopify, that allow you to pay someone else to build and maintain the sales tools. The fewer commissions you have to pay eBay for each transaction, the more money you will have in your pocket

    

    Step 5. Sell your products on eBay

    There are several factors to make a listing on eBay, the largest online auction site there is, attractive. In general, the idea behind it is quite simple: you create an ad, decide how to sell it and then, once someone has bought the item, you can send it to them. Here are some variables to keep in mind:

    • Photos are important. Take tempting, useful and clear images. If users are able to see the products well, you will sell more.
    • Decide whether to run an auction or use the fixed price format. The auction method works best for rare items, because people are likely to struggle to get them, while the fixed price method works best for more common items, where supply exceeds demand.
    • Be nice and courteous to everyone, even rude people, to keep your score high. If your competition offers an item like yours for the same price, your reputation will give you a competitive edge.

    

    Step 6. Sell on Amazon

    The operation of Amazon is quite similar to that of eBay, except for the lack of the auction mode. To sell on Amazon, all you need to do is create a profile, post a listing for the item (adding descriptions, condition and price), and then ship it after the sale is complete. Like on eBay, pay attention to your score and feedback.

    If you want to start selling a wide range of products on Amazon, you can open your own shop on the site, customized to your brand and that allows customers to do an easy search to find several items at a time

    

    Step 7. Sell products on Etsy.

    It is a digital market designed for the sale of handcrafted creations. Unlike sellers on eBay and Amazon, who offer a little bit of everything, those on Etsy feature homemade items with a personal touch. So, if you have a knack for crafting items, such as fabric coasters, platinum jewelry, or folk art, Etsy is the site for you.

    

    Step 8. If you are adventurous, you may want to sell items door to door

    Whether you want to supplement your online income or complete a transaction by leveraging your personal appeal, door-to-door selling is a viable method. It certainly isn't easy and it's not for the faint of heart, but with a little knowledge and a lot of determination, it can increase your profits.

    Part 4 of 4: Ensure lasting success

    

    Step 1. Ship the products immediately

    If you want to make a great impression on customers, pack the product elegantly (and solidly, to make sure it doesn't break in transit), go to a post office and send it - nothing simpler.

    

    Step 2. Offer refunds and replacements

    Unfortunately, sometimes the customer will not appreciate what they have bought. Clarify your refund / exchange policy, but don't burn bridges by refusing to compensate someone. Learning to deal with refund costs is good business practice, and this should keep your reputation on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy high.

    • Take into consideration the comments you receive to further improve the products. Remedy impractical designs, negative interactions, or product defects.
    • Remember that the customer is always right, even when they are wrong. It is one of the greatest difficulties for anyone running a business, but it is also one of the oldest rules in existence. If you treat customers with an attitude of superiority, they will feel it. You may feel satisfied after giving them four to an unsympathetic buyer, but this is definitely not going to do your wallet any good.

    

    Step 3. After some time, expand the commercial offer

    At first, focusing on a couple of products can be a good strategy, as this allows you to become familiar with the process and not waste too much time trying to juggle images, descriptions, demographics, and so on. After you have developed a good position in the market and gained security on an e-commerce platform (such as eBay), it may be profitable to start selling different products, but related to the ones you already offer.

    

    Step 4. Gradually, start increasing your sales volumes and quality

    If you intend to make good money, you need to analyze the transactions after a couple of months and figure out how to increase them. Here are some ideas to take inspiration from:

    • Negotiate better prices from wholesalers. As you buy more in bulk, your bargaining power increases. Don't be afraid to use it! Remember that these sellers want to do business with you.
    • Look for sources of recurring revenue. Think about the methods that will ensure you get customers to come back. Will you be able to have a return with e-mails, letters sent in the mail, a subscription or other creative tactics?
    • Get help or outsource. Could hiring other people help you make more deliveries and increase your sales? Especially if you're only selling part-time, the constant trips to the post office and the time you have to spend processing payments could hurt your profitability.

    Advice

    • If you have children, plan to get help, even if it's only part-time. This way, you can work non-stop throughout the day.
    • If you're selling a product at home, set up an area open to customers. Will you be the one to deliver the goods at home? Find a space to store stock and prepare customer orders.