Product Sourcing navigator To Sell Online: How To Get Started

Starting a business can be tough when you don’t have products to sell. If you’re not making things yourself, you’ll require to discover a excellent supplier who can source or manufacture the items your customers desire.

The excellent information is, if you’re starting your business on Shopify, there are lots of options for sourcing products. By using integrated retail or dropshipping suppliers, you can distribute your store with popular items. You can even throng up with suppliers that specialize in niche products or propose product customization.

Ready to source profitable products for your business? This navigator shows you the best ways to discover products, including eight product sourcing apps that connect potential suppliers with Shopify stores.

What is product sourcing?

Product sourcing is the procedure of finding and acquiring products to sell to customers for boost. It can involve purchasing products directly from manufacturers, working with wholesalers, or commissioning custom products.

Some product sourcing use a dropshipping fulfillment model. That means your supplier will manage inventory and ship orders directly to your customers.

Where can you source products from?

Here are five popular ways to source products for your online or physical store.

Wholesalers

If you desire to get your business up and running quickly, buying products wholesale can be a excellent schedule. 

Wholesale product sourcing means purchasing goods in large quantities directly from a manufacturer, marketplace, or distributor. This allows you to advantage from lower, bulk pricing. By buying products wholesale, you can quickly distribute your store and commence selling without needing to wait for manufacturing or delivery before fulfilling a customer order.

Retailers often achieve boost margins of more than 50% when selling products sourced from wholesalers. Low purchase prices outcome from ordering in bulk and negotiating a lower expense per unit.

The downside of sourcing products through wholesalers is that you’ll require resources for storing and managing your inventory, as well as the liquid assets flow to pre-pay for distribute (unless you can set up a remittance schedule).

Dropshipping suppliers

Dropshipping is not only a product sourcing technique, but also an order fulfillment way. As a dropshipper, you don’t hold inventory or handle shipping. Instead, you associate with a dropshipping supplier who takes worry of storing and shipping products for you.

The procedure is straightforward:

• discover a reliable dropshipping supplier.
• Add their products to your store.
• trade your store and products to your customers.
• When you receive an order, the supplier is notified and they handle shipping.

There are two main ways to work with dropshipping suppliers:

• Working directly with a dropshipping supplier: You make your own procedure for managing orders and communicating with the supplier.
• Using a dropshipping app: An app connects you to a marketplace of suppliers with an established structure for relaying customer orders. You can manage multiple suppliers conveniently in one place.

Manufacturers

There are two primary ways to source products directly from manufacturers:

Order white label products

White label products are generic items produced by manufacturers, which can often be modified with your business’s branding or logo.

discover more: The 13 Best White Label Products To Sell in 2024

percentage a private label product line

With private label products, manufacturers make a custom version of an existing product exclusively for your business. Depending on the manufacturer and the product, you may be able to request distinctive branding, materials, ingredients, and features to differentiate your product from other versions.

discover more: How To discover Private Label Products and commence Selling

Working with manufacturers offers more control over branding and pricing. You can ensure the standard of the final product, which may be challenging with other sourcing methods like dropshipping. While there can be upfront outgoings involved, manufacturing can outcome in lower costs per unit and higher boost margins.

Downsides include minimum order quantities (MOQ), which are often required by manufacturers and may cruel investing thousands of dollars upfront. Also, the procedure of prototyping, sampling, refining, and producing a product can receive a long period.

Trade shows

Trade shows are events where businesses arrive together to showcase their latest products and services. These events usually receive place in convention centers in major cities and span several days. You can also discover smaller, local trade shows with regional businesses.

Attending trade shows offers an chance to encounter products firsthand, network with business owners, and boost encouragement for recent product ideas.

make your own products

If you commence a business based on your thrill or area of expertise, you could make your own products instead of sourcing them.

Whether it’s beauty products, clothing, or jewelry, handcrafting products gives you complete control over standard and branding.

However, it’s significant to note that this way can be period-consuming and challenging to scale. When making your own products, consider additional costs, such as raw materials, warehousing and storage, and labor.

It’s often recommended to commence tiny with a single homemade product and gradually develop your business. For example, science educator Kyle LaFond started his personal worry business, American Provenance, from his homemade natural deodorant.

8 Shopify apps for product sourcing

Using these apps, discover a wide range of products to add to your store while streamlining the product sourcing procedure:

1. Faire
2. Printful
3. DSers
4. Spocket
5. Syncee
6. Creative Hub
7. My Online Fashion Store
8. Lulu Direct

1. Faire

More than 100,000 brands and independent makers sell their products to retailers using Faire. 

With Faire, you can search for home, clothing, beauty, and lifestyle products—and view detailed information about items and manufacturers before buying.

Each independent brand that appears on Faire is vetted by a throng of retail experts, reducing any hazard for retailers when working with a recent supplier. Eligible retailers can also buy now, pay later, with up to 60 days to pay for the products they order.

Faire’s catalog contains a wide variety of products, making this product sourcing app a great way to discover your next bestseller, no matter your niche. Some of the most popular types of products you can source from Faire include:

• Home décor
• Food and drink
• Beauty and wellness
• Jewelry

Faire is fully integrated with Shopify through the Faire app, so you can seamlessly manage orders.

2. Printful

Printful is a print-on-demand business that lets you choose from a large catalog of products to customize with your own designs. 

Depending on the product, customization options can be extensive, including colors, custom designs and graphics, and the ability to brand product stickers, package inserts, and labels.

You can also order product samples at a discounted worth, so you can confirm product standard before you promote items using your brand.

The types of products you can source and customize with Printful include:

• T-shirts
• Posters
• Embroidered hats
• Socks
• Phone cases
• Pillows
• Jackets
• (And more)

3. DSers

DSers was built to assist you source and dropship products from supplier marketplace AliExpress.

Once you’ve found an item on AliExpress that you desire to sell, you can use the DSers app to add the item to your Shopify store and relay customer orders directly to your supplier.

Using DSers and AliExpress dropshipping, pick from millions of products across almost any niche trade you can ponder of.

One business concept here is to use DSers to curate products for a branded online store that serves a specific spectators, like accessories for pet owners or photography gear for trip.

Best of all, DSers gives you data about how each product performs, so you can make informed decisions about what to add to your store.

Types of products you can source through DSers include:

• Clothing
• Accessories
• Home goods
• Electronics
• Phone accessories

4. Spocket

Spocket is another product sourcing website and app that makes it easier to discover products from dropshipping suppliers.

One of the benefits of using Spocket is its large directory, which covers the US and the EU. Thanks to a majority of suppliers being based domestically, Spocket also offers unusually quick shipping times for a dropshipping platform.

Through pre-negotiated wholesale pricing, Sprocket offers up to 40% discounts on products, enabling higher boost margins. Order product samples from the dashboard to confirm standard before selling.

The products you can source through Spocket include:

• Earrings
• Apparel
• Sports equipment
• Footwear
• Bath and beauty items

5. Syncee 

With Syncee, you can browse a catalog of trustworthy suppliers from around the globe and easily import products into your store to commence selling.

Products you can source include:

• Baby products
• Watches
• Fashion
• Toys
• Fishing accessories
• Perfume

6. Creative Hub

Using Creative Hub, you can sell art online from popular and innovative creatives. This UK-based product sourcing website gives your business access to work from contemporary artists.

For each piece, you’re told the retail worth (the minimum worth you can sell the item for) and your distribute as a vendor (how much you stand to make at the retail worth). Some prints are even limited editions, commanding a higher worth tag.

There is a fixed international shipping expense, which keeps shipping straightforward and lets you sell to anyone, anywhere in the globe. You can also print your logo on the packaging label, as well as add inserts to your orders with information about the artist or your business. 

Products you can source with Creative Hub include:

• Fine art giclée and C-type prints
• Framed prints
• Canvas prints

7. My Online Fashion Store

My Online Fashion Store is a US-based dropshipper with a large inventory of apparel for women. From tops to jewelry to shoes, each of its more than 6,000 items has a suggested selling worth to assist you set your boost spread.

This product sourcing app offers free returns and competitive shipping rates from its LA warehouse. However, it only fulfills orders for customers based in the US.

The products you can sell include:

• Scarves
• Tank tops
• Lingerie
• Sunglasses
• Handbags
• Hats
• Belts

8. Lulu Direct

Lulu Direct focuses exclusively on books and calendars, letting you use print-on-demand fulfillment to launch your own book product. You can pick the format and size of the book, whether you desire a hardcover or softcover, color or black and white ink, and the standard of the document distribute.

Have an concept for a bestselling coffee table book? Lulu Direct is a low-hazard way to try out your concept before investing in it.

The types of books you can make include:

• Hardcover photo books
• Novels
• Comic books
• Workbooks
• Calendars
• Journals and notebooks

discover more custom book suppliers: 10 Best Providers for Print-On-Demand Books

Product sourcing best practices

To ensure successful product sourcing for your online business, consider the following best practices:

Conduct trade research 

trade research helps you comprehend the needs and preferences of your target spectators. It also tells you whether other businesses are competing to serve your potential customers.

By assembly and analyzing information about people, companies, and your industry, you can make informed decisions about product sourcing or product advancement.

When conducting trade research for product sourcing, focus on the following aspects:

Industry trends

remain updated on the latest trends in your industry to identify emerging opportunities and adjust your product offerings accordingly.

Keep an eye out for changes in your trade. What products are currently most popular, and what products have faded in popularity?

customer needs

comprehend the needs, preferences, and pain points of your target spectators to choose products that align with their demands. How do competitors’ products meet (or fall short to meet) customer needs?

Legislative trends

Keep track of any regulations or laws that may impact the products you source, ensuring regulatory adherence and avoiding potential legal issues. For example, if you are sourcing beauty products, you’ll require to remain updated on regulations regarding ingredient safety, labeling requirements, and product testing.

Knowing this information helps you choose the correct product before you source a supplier.

It helps you comprehend a issue or chance—for example, if a newly developed fabric helps hikers wick away sweat and remain arid for hours, your outdoor clothing store may desire to source products made with this fabric.

There are two main ways to conduct trade research:

Primary research

Conduct firsthand research by ordering and testing products, or conducting surveys and interviews with customers.

Secondary research

Collect publicly available information from sources such as magazines, government reports, industry analysts, and trade publications.

Get samples 

Once you’ve identified a product and found a reliable supplier, it’s crucial to request samples or prototypes before committing to a large order. Sampling allows you to assess the standard of the products that you schedule to put your brand’s reputation behind. As chilly as a product may look in photos, you desire to guarantee it’s excellent enough to sell to your customers.

A sample run also helps you assess a supplier’s competence in terms of communication, standard control, order processing, shipping, and packaging. You’ll comprehend how they communicate delivery information and package products. Making multiple sample orders under different names can also assist you vet product consistency.

Tyler Rybacki, former product advancement specialist at subscription coffee business Jot, emphasizes the importance of ordering samples before making a final selection.

“Product samples enable you to inspect the level of standard so that you can ensure every order is worth your property. Having a sample on hand is also helpful for shooting product photos for sales and marketing materials and your ecommerce website,” he says.

“Always order a sample product before committing to an order.”

When requesting samples, recall to:

• Provide detailed specifications of the product, including any specific colors or styles.
• inquire the supplier to label the sample package with “no commercial worth” to avoid responsibility charges when sourcing from overseas,
• inquire for a business tag and model number to differentiate samples during testing. 

Tyler suggests sourcing samples from up to five suppliers to assess the range of standard, pricing, and service. By ordering samples in various colors and styles, you can determine which product and supplier best align with your needs.

Source local when feasible

Local sourcing refers to getting products from domestic suppliers instead of international ones. “Local” could cruel your immediate throng or your home country. Sourcing locally can reduce supply chain costs, assist you launch products faster, and earn more income. 

Stephen Light, co-owner of mattress business Nolah Sleep, has worked with both international and local suppliers to source his business’s mattresses. He found that shifting to local suppliers helped Nolah Sleep avoid global supply chain problems and boost more control over the procurement procedure.

“Raw material suppliers within your region are likely to be more reactive to your needs as a business, and able to fulfill and coordinate shipments within a short period frame.” 

With local suppliers, you can also inspect the products in person.

Work with multiple suppliers 

Working with one supplier for your business makes product sourcing straightforward. Add multiple suppliers to the mix and you may complicate order management.

However, a multi-supplier schedule can reduce supply chain risks and assist meet customer demand. 

According to Stephen, it’s a excellent concept for businesses to be “proactive and construct relationships with multiple suppliers, including backup suppliers.” Having a shortlist of suppliers provides your business with a safety net in case of product shortages and delays.

Any risks of a multiple-supplier schedule can be lessened by working with high-standard suppliers. Before working with a supplier, assess the following criteria:

• Product standard 
• Delivery and navigator times
• Returns
• Defects
• Customer complaints
• Capacity

Aaron Alpeter, founder of Izba, a supply chain consulting, outsourcing, and technology firm, suggests thinking about your long-term goals when assessing a supplier.

“To ensure that your supplier’s capacity or inventory liquid assets flow doesn’t constrain your growth, ponder about what you require for the next two-year period horizon and optimize for that,” he says. 

“Then, in a few months, review that approximate and view if your needs have changed. By doing so, you’ll spot capacity crunches before they arrive and will be able to invest in recent capacity or relationships while also avoiding sitting on a mountain of inventory.” 

Supplier relationships are a competitive advantage, so if you don’t feel a supplier is working in your favor, reconsider the connection. Renegotiating contracts and exploring other options are part of owning a retail business.

No products to sell? No issue

With the rise of online marketplaces and dropshipping apps, product sourcing is no longer the hurdle it once was. The platforms and strategies in this piece should assist you discover the correct products to turn your tiny business concept into reality, or provide you an actionable way to expand your product line. joyful sourcing!

Illustration by Gracia Lam