selling clothes online???

[lindsay.carlson.58]

Hi There,
as a stay at home mum I am thinking of setting up my business selling ladies clothes online.. has anyone done this and got any advice for me.
Any help would be appreciated on things like wholesalers (uk or abroad) advertising or just any help really before I take the plunge..
thank you

 

[Jon]

Hi Lindsay

Nice to have you on the site

First thing to ask is have you identified which clothing items you want to sell and what is an acceptable markup for you on them?

I used to sell lots on eBay. Mainly technological items but I had a short venture with clothes

I bought 100's of socks of various colours from Germany... They did not sell

I bought 100's of hot pants of various colours.... They do not sell

In a nutshell I suppose I am saying that I did not know or understand the market properly and just went and bought which I thought was cheap without looking into if there was a market for it

 

[Jon]

Oh yeah as there is a BRILLIANT guide to using eBay written by one of our members here

http://www.themoneyshed.co.uk/money-saving-tips/how-reliable-is-ebay/msg2245/#msg2245

Make sure to leave them some applause!!

 

[mnporter2001]

And it just so happens that I also do T-Shirt printing, and so can give you the links to two of the cheapest wholesalers in clothing in the UK

Cheers
Mark

 

[Hayley]

Hi Lindsay

I had an eBay shop once - I didn't sell clothes but sold various other items including baby items. I found that eBay is a very competitive marketplace, so like Jon says understanding the market is important. What would be your unique selling point for example - price perhaps, or particular style of fabrics or specialist sizes. It's worth considering what would be unique about the clothing items that you're thinking about selling.

There are other avenues where you can sell online e.g. getting your own ecommerce website but you'd then need to think about marketing the site. eBay does seem to be the place that many people go to to buy whatever it is that they need these days.

When I had my eBay shop, I used wholesalers in the UK. I just searched for as many as I could online and ordered samples from a few of them until I found some that I was happy with. One thing to consider when importing clothes or any other item from abroad is the duty that you may have to pay. Here's a fact sheet from HMRC about Customs and Excise which might help: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm

Good luck with your venture!

 

[Jon]

Some great advice there Hayley - I hope Lindsay does come back to see it !

 

[lindsay.carlson.58]

Thank you guys for all your advice!!
will definitely take a look at the links you have mentioned
Ive heard various other people buying in bulk and it not selling, im just trying to get as much info about everything before I commit...
I just want to earn a bit of money working from home like all the other mums out there but its hard knowing what will work and will not.
Thanks again guys
Lindsay.