Our company publishes the Internet?s leading Directory of genuine wholesale ?Drop Shippers? (wholesalers who ship products, one at a time, directly to your customers; eliminating the need to stock inventory). As a result of the information we research and publish, we get questions all the time about what products small Internet business owners should try to sell online.

I've been at this for years, and have become very successful in my Internet business. But let?s face it, folks. If I knew what was going to sell well on the Internet tomorrow, next week, or next month, I wouldn?t be writing this article. I would have retired and purchased a small private island by now. In the retail business, whether you are online, in a physical store in the local mall, or at a roadside stand, it makes no difference; choosing the products you are going to sell is always the hardest part of getting started.

I can't whip out a crystal ball and tell you what to sell. However, I can tell you about the biggest mistakes that I see new Internet businesspersons making, all the time.

Too many people are fixated on four things:

• Selling only products they like.
• Selling only products they know a lot about.
• Selling only products they think are "Cool" or "Sexy".
• Selling only products they think "The Hottest Products on the Internet".

I get four basic emails from people who are stuck in this rut, and I can pretty much tell that right off the bat, by the way the email begins.

An Email from a person who only thinks they can sell what they like starts something like this:

"Dude, I'm like, a Skater, and I need to find a drop shipper for, like, Skateboards + wheels + stuff".

The first problem this person is going to run into (aside from the fact that he needs to learn how to write a business email!) is a problem for all four types of people here. There may not be a drop shipper for the products they want. We'll talk more about that in a few minutes, though.

The second problem is "tunnel vision". This person may actually find a drop shipper for "skateboards + wheels + stuff". If he does, great. However, someone who has such a narrow vision of the Internet Marketplace will never branch out and fulfill his own potential.

Say he does find the drop shipper he's looking for, and opens a store. Because of the narrow vision that led him there, he?s likely to stick with that store, and that store alone. He?ll make some money, but unless he gets really lucky, he won?t make a really good income out of it. He'll piddle along selling "skateboard" stuff forever, when he could have done so much more.

What he needs to do is broaden his scope. If he's interested in "skating", wonderful. But instead of focusing on just that, he should explore selling all kinds of sporting goods.

Sam Walton, the revered Founder of Wal-Mart, was once a starting quarterback on his High School football team in Columbia, Missouri. He also liked to play basketball. Can you imagine what would have happened if Sam Walton never tried to sell anything besides football and basketball equipment? There would probably be a pretty big store in the US selling just footballs and basketballs today, because Walton was a very good retailer. But it never would have grown to the size and scope of Wal-Mart today if Sam had allowed tunnel vision to crowd his overall view.

It's okay for our "skater" buddy here to open an Internet store that sells skateboard equipment. Niche marketing is a good thing. But in his overall business, he should look for other products with which to eventually open other stores as well. One store leads to two, two lead to four, and so on. Never get stuck limiting your entire business to just one type of product!

An Email from a person who only thinks they can sell what they know about goes like this:

"Hey there;

I?ve been riding horses all my life, and I own a small stable where I teach riding. I?m opening an Internet Store where I'm going to sell all kinds of stuff that other riders will want to buy. I've got to find a drop shipper for saddles and Western Wear and such".

Again, this person's first problem is going to be that he may not find a drop shipper of the products he knows so well. But, we'll get to that in a bit.

His second problem is similar to the first person?s problem, but not exactly the same. This person isn?t fixated on selling only what he likes; he?s just a little bit scared of having to learn about something new. He?s obviously going where he feels safe. That's okay, but let's remember what I've mentioned twice so far: he may not find a drop shipper for the products he likes. Genuine drop shippers do not grow on trees, folks. There isn't one for every type of product. It's very important to keep that in mind when you start out!

So, what does this person need to do? He needs to understand that being in business is about learning new things every day. New ways to market, new software to get used to, simpler ways to do his monthly books, etc., etc., etc. Learning new products is just as critical. Again, never limit your business to just one type of product. You don?t have to like what you sell. You just need to make money selling it!

An Email from a person who only thinks they can sell what's "Cool" goes like this:

"Hi;

I'm looking for a drop shipper of electronics, like MP3 Players, Plasma TVs and such. Please tell me where to find them."

A request for drop shippers of electronics is a dead giveaway. Almost everybody who starts an Internet Store wants to sell electronics. It?s the Cool, Sexy market, and even if you never sell anything, you can show your friends your site and say, 'Dude, I can get you an excellent deal on the hottest new stuff!'

Electronics, like any other Cool or Sexy market on the Internet, is not the place for most people to start. That market is absolutely flooded with other people who already had the same idea, and the profit margins have plummeted. Why? Too many inexperienced Internet sellers. They start price wars, figuring they?re going to clean up by undercutting everyone else?s prices by a little bit. Problem is, the next guy comes along and undercuts the first one a bit. Then the third person comes along and undercuts the second. And so on.

Pretty soon all you have left are tens of thousands of people trying to sell electronics for pennies more than what they pay for them, just to advertise a slightly better price than their competition.

Not good.

The person who wants to sell Cool and Sexy stuff needs to understand that they are not out here to look Cool or Sexy. They're here to make money. Four Slice Toasters and Propane Camp Stoves aren't sexy, but they sell and their markets are not overcrowded, and that's what the goal is.

Finally, an email from a person who thinks they need to sell only the Hottest Products on the Internet goes like this:

"Hello;

Can you tell me were I can find out what the Top Selling Products on eBay are? I want to know what everyone else is selling and get in on it."

BAD IDEA!

Look at it this way. If you were in a giant field filled with nothing but concession stands selling Salted Peanuts, what?s the smartest thing you could do? Set up yet another Salted Peanuts stand, or set up a Lemonade Stand?

I'd sell Lemonade, wouldn't you? :o)

In our business, we look at the Lists of Top Selling Products on the Internet, too. Then we run the other way as fast as we can. We don?t want to be just another face in the crowd selling the same thing as everyone else. We want to think about products that may be complementary to the Hottest Sellers, that not many other people are selling.

If everyone and their Grandmothers are selling Salted Peanuts, we want to be the ones selling Lemonade. :o)

Chris Malta
http://www.WorldwideBrands.com
Info@info1.mydssd.com

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Chris Malta is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He has worked with computer Systems for 18 years. He's been involved in eCommerce systems, networking and site design for more than 9 years. He's taught college-level computer courses in Western NY. He developed The Drop Ship Source Directory, and he and his partners at Worldwide Brands, Inc., publish the Directory and run eCommerce sites of their own using Drop Shipping as their only business method.