If you've been following this blog for any length of time you know The Cheap Place offers wholesale patches at reduced prices to resellers. Those resellers then turn around and sell them online, at biker rallies, and at local festivals. It's a great way to put some extra money in your pocket part-time, or even earn a living if you've got a good head for business. But for the new entrepreneur, inventory can be an issue that either makes or breaks your business.
For example, it's normal to assume you would only want to stock patches your customers are interested in buying. With thousands of different patches to choose from how you know which ones will become great sellers and which ones are likely to flop?
There's really no easy answer to that question except to say that practice makes perfect. The more experience you have as a patch retailer the more you'll come to instinctively know what's good and what's bad. Even when you do learn how to stock patches you're still likely to have some flops, so don't get too hung up about it. In the meantime, here are some helpful tips:
- pay attention to seasons - e.g., concentrate on rally patches in the weeks just before and after a given bike rally
- avoid redundancy by offering too many patches that look the same
- track customer buying habits throughout the year
Most of all, don't give up if you're not making money hand over fist after your first season. It's a common rule of business that it takes 2 to 3 years before breaking even, let alone making a profit. If you can stick it out for a few seasons you should be well on your way to making a good go of it.
