#7: How suppliers make or break your eCommerce business (and how I lost millions in sales)

Welcome my fellow eCommerce Entrepreneurs - this show is for the Kurious about eCommerce and for those that want to get better at digital business.

In today's show, I am going to look at the third and final part of our three-part series about finding great products to sell on your eCommerce website.

In the previous two shows, I talked about the benefits of choosing a niche, how to find a great niche and how you should want to curate the best products for your niche market (Episode 5). Last week we looked at how to curate the products and to research products for your eCommerce site (Episode 6).

In today's show, I talk about how Suppliers can make or break your eCommerce business. I also share a few stories from my own eCommerce journey about suppliers and how one particular supplier changed their terms of supply and it cost my beauty eCommerce business millions in lost sales (no exaggeration - literally millions!)

Here's a summary of the points from this show.

1. Look at supplier values. Does the company you are looking to buy from have similar values to you? Long-term success is dependent on shared values. 
2. Understand Supplier Requirement. For example:
   1. Do you need a brick and mortar store?
   2. What is the Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)?
   3. Are there certain countries you cannot sell to?
3. Be aware of price-fixing. 
4. Remember that they have a business to run too. 
5. Build a personable relationship with them.
6. What else can they give you?
   1. Gift with purchase
   2. Marketing help
   3. Dropshipping services
   4. Other incentives
7. Have regular reviews with your supplier

Links:

• MattEdmundson.com
• Kurious.Digital