This is the number one question I get about my Poshmark business:
“Where do you buy your products from?”
While I can’t specifically answer that question about my inventory, I can give you some tips on how to get started.
There are lots of very successful sellers on Poshmark that source their products from thrift stores and liquidators. I am not one of those sellers. I worked hard to move up the food chain, where I believe there are more profits and better quality products. Here’s how I did it and how you can, too.
I believe strongly that the Riches are in the Niches. I focus on handbags because after researching products for a few months, I found that this product category had consistently good velocity of sales as well as profits. I did not want to be a seller that lists every type of product for sale. That may work great for some people, but since I did not know anything about fashion, I wanted to focus, learn and research just one category of products.
While you are doing this research, you also want to create an account on LinkedIn if you don’t already have one. On your LinkedIn profile, you want to represent yourself as your business entity. List yourself as Founder, President, Manager – whatever you like, but give yourself a title and explain what you do. You don’t need to mention where you sell your products. Here’s an example:
Jerri Posher – Founder, Brilliant Shoes
Brilliant Shoes provides exceptional value and a wide array of brands of casual, professional and sports shoes. Our team is constantly on the lookout for great deals to pass on to our customers.
You get the idea. If you want to build a business, be sure you look like a business. Begin connecting with anyone else you know on LinkedIn. Friends, business associates – anyone. Connect with me.
Then, begin working on connecting with as many people as you can that are connected to the products that you want to sell. Designers, brands, retailers, sales people – anyone that you come across. Cast a very wide net.
Once you have some connections, think about the problems they face and how you could possibly solve them.
My opening question has always been: “Sell me your problem inventory” – stuff that hasn’t sold, returns, end of the season – whatever.
If you can solve a problem, you will be able to build on those connections. I started by literally buying their junk – terrible condition products that no one else wanted to buy. This is key. Most buyers just want the buy the best product at the lowest price – THIS DOES NOT WORK. You want to focus on solving those problems.
How can you add value? That is how you get attention.
I have heard these suppliers tell me directly that the reason they began selling to me was that I was not trying to “cherry-pick” and buy only in-demand products at low prices. I invested a significant amount of money buying handbags that I would eventually donate or sell at cost – just to prove to these suppliers that I could be a valuable resource for them.
This process takes time – but you will eventually connect with someone that can change your life. Be persistent and patient. I connected with over 100 people before someone would sell me what I really wanted. Keep focused on being a problem-solver – find out what their problems are and if you can help solve them, you will create a strong and long-lasting supplier relationship.