The Five W's of Buying Products for Resale

People who are new to the resale or picking game often wonder and may limit themselves from purchasing products that can make a good profit when sold.  A lot of people follow others and see what they are purchasing or get themselves into a certain field or category and then limit themselves in that manner as they don't even think of the possibilities that are out there..

I don't recommend going out and purchasing large amounts of product that you as a buyer don't have the slightest knowledge about. However I would encourage you to broaden your scope of purchases as you go along in your business.

If we stay in the same market and field for our purchases, we can get stagnant and that can be a killer in our business model. Collectors change their scope of purchase and we have to be on the "in" so to speak to keep our business healthy and thriving.

So how do you go about finding new things to purchase for your business to resell?  Well there is a formula you can follow that will help you. Using the five W's when selecting merchandise can show you how to use logic in order to narrow down the field of home runs or duds that you will come across.

So what are the five W's you ask? It is something that I use in my shopping sprees.

I was once a writer ( still write but not as a full time job). Back in my youth taking journalism classes in high school and college, our professor told us the basic way to tell a story is to use the five W's. These five subjects or questions you ask will give you all the information the public is interested in for your story and help you write it in a clear and concise manner.

So I got to thinking. Why can't I use this as a philosophy for purchasing and selling? Well I can and I do!

The Five W's are as follows for purchases.

1. Who:  I ask myself who made this product and who is going to be interested in purchasing it.  I can then figure out if it is a hot item that lots of people want or something I am going to have to hold onto for a while after purchase.

2. When. We all know that certain period objects such as mid century modern are hot right now. If my product was made during that period, I have a much better chance of a quick sale.

3. What: What is this product? Being able to identify the merchandise is important both buying and selling. Also look at what condition the product is in. Excellent condition will sell in most areas much quicker than those things who have chips, scratches or fading for example.

4. Where. Where was the product made? Things made in the USA are becoming much harder to find and there are people who want to purchase only those made here. This can be new or vintage items. There are also collector bases for products made in the UK or Scotland as well.

5. Why? This one you may scratch your head at.  Why would someone buy this? Does it have great eye appeal to the buyer? Is it a one of a kind that they cannot find elsewhere? These questions asked before purchase can help you market and sell the item quicker.

Now after you have done all that and reassured yourself that this is something you want to purchase, then pull out your smart phone and check for completed listings or sales on Google to see what the potential profit is.

You will learn if you use the above information you can limit your indecision on potential purchases. It makes going out and buying new items a lot easier which is my goal!