Finding Inventory

[huskerjerseys]

I need help finding inventory for my site. I am trying to figure out how to make this site work. The market building a Nebraska Cornhuskers apparel website is pretty huge. There is little competition, and I feel it is because only a few sites are able to get the inventory needed to pull off a site like this. I would love to be able to compete with nebraskaredzone(dot)com but have no idea where to start in coming up with inventory for this project.

I can make the site and maintain it easy enough, but could use your help in where to turn to find inventory!

Thanks!

[JEccles]

the first thing to do is to find out who the manufacturers are for the products you want to offer. Then, contact them to find a wholesaler you can work with. Will you be stocking or drop shipping? Make sure you let them know that.

[huskerjerseys]

I will be dropshipping. So how does one contact Adidas to inquire about their suppliers? How do I become an authorized dealer of licensed products? These are the main issues I think.

[JEccles]

You need to ask the manufacturer that and I do not think they will drop ship. if you are going to be using drop shipping, then you need to search out wholesalers who will do that, then narrow them down to the ones that carry the appropriate products. Drop shipping is not as easy as it seems. You lose a LOT of control when you rely on others to basically do the work for you. You also pay a higher products cost as most of these companies are not true "wholesalers" in the exact meaning of the word.

[The Old Sarge]

... how does one contact Adidas to inquire about their suppliers? How do I become an authorized dealer of licensed products? These are the main issues I think.

Most big companies, like Adidas and Apple will require a huge financial commitment on your part. Things like guarunteed annual sales of a certain amount.

We once had dreams of becoming an online seller of iPods, iPhones, etc. without the wholesalers and middlemen. Apple required minmum annual orders of $100,000 and a non-refundable "deposit" to insure such.

This is how the Big Boys keep the pesky little ants (like you and me) out of their empires ... fair or unfair.