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One of the biggest mistakes that product entrepreneurs make is to think that more distribution = success, when in reality what more distribution represents is that one decision maker (a Buyer, etc) has decided that they want to give your product a chance. Yes, that is good news, but it doesn’t mean that you’ve now “made it”.However, in my opinion, the true test for a great business is having profitability and maintaining brand equityWhen I was a buyer, part of my job was to delete all products that were underperforming every 6 months and create a new assortment and a diagram of where things would go on the shelf. Yes, out with the old and in with the new, over and over.

However, in my opinion, the true test for a great business is having profitability and maintaining brand equityWhen I was a buyer, part of my job was to delete all products that were underperforming every 6 months and create a new assortment and a diagram of where things would go on the shelf. Yes, out with the old and in with the new, over and over.

So, what does it mean to have a product that “performs well”? The true test for a great product is having consumer sales, not retail sales. Let me expand on that, being on a shelf, any shelf doesn’t mean that people will actually buy what you have, it just means that you’re halfway there. Selling it to people that are using the product means that you now have a successful product, congrats!

Because the measure of success is consumer sales it becomes extremely important to choose the right shelves to be in! That means that it’s your job as a business owner to research and choose the right places that will be a perfect fit for what you have to offer.

New entrepreneurs can get very excited when they’re chosen to be part of a certain banner or platform, and although it is a cause for celebration for sure, in this post I want to explore what it means to be in two platforms that might be the biggest available at the time: Amazon and Ebay.

Here is the truth, without holding back, of the downsides of being on Amazon and Ebay:

Amazon:

• The margins they get are one of the highest for a distributor and yours would decrease as a consequence OR your consumers will end up paying a lot more than the regular price.
• You are now competing with a huge line up of products. If you’re a small brand it becomes very hard to be noticed.

Ebay

• Anyone can have a posting and there is a lot of competition.
• Quality is not the first thing in the mind of an Ebay consumer.

Of course, as with everything in life, there is a bright side as well. It’s not all bad and there are specific things and reasons why Ebay and Amazon can work for you:

Amazon:

• If you only walk away with one thing from this post, let it be this one: Amazon is an amazing place to find new clients when you have the right branding. A lot of my clients use it as a “testing platform” in order to find new clients who will try what they have and continue purchasing in the future (I have a few secrets up my sleeve when it comes to how to optimize the use of Amazon that I share only with clients).

Ebay:

• It’s a great place to test consumer’s reactions to new items without many consequences since ongoing manufacturing of one specific item is not required here.
• I’ve also suggested clients the use of Ebay when they are getting rid of inventory, as long as it doesn’t affect their branding.

As with any platform or store, there are good sides and bad sides when you use it. My general recommendation is to do your research and make sure that it’s a fit for you.

If you are looking for advice on when and how to sell more product, while maintaining your brand equity, you can apply for a complimentary strategy session here, where we’ll talk about next steps for your business success.