Ashley Alderson walks first-time wholesale buyers through market strategy: register online, spend day one surveying vendors and day two buying with a detailed plan by category. Use the Faves app to capture SKUs and sync to Shopify, build relationships with vendors, and know which markets offer cash-and-carry so you pack right.
Hey guys, it's Ashley and I'm back with another quick tip to keep your business going. We are on a season break here at the podcast. We'll be back with season four December 28th, so I hope you can join us then. But for today, your quick tip is about going to market. I get tons of questions about going to market for the first time, so I want to give you a couple of quick tips that I know will help you along your journey. So most often we work with those who are going to market in Dallas, in Atlanta or in Las Vegas. And so when you're registering for those markets you can quickly register for them online. We have all those links at the Boutique hub and we also have a complete list. I'll make sure we link that up in the show notes of this quick tip, but a list of all of the markets happening this year so you can find one of those larger markets or a regional market near you. Now you're going to register for the market and then when you go A couple of things you should know to expect Day one is always a great day to walk around and get the lay of the land. Don't feel like you have to go in guns a blazing and buying everything you see because chances are you're going to see a lot of similar products at different booths. And so you're better off to go get a lay of the land. Find some vendors you're familiar with, scout some new vendors and take pictures of the things that you like that fit into your open to buy plan. And then when you come in on day two, you can go back with confidence and start to make some of the purchases that you know fit your plan. That means the next tip is you have to come with a plan. Don't come with an open checkbook because by God you're going to drink a margarita and you're going to blow your budget. That's just what happens at market. So what is your actual buying plan? How many skus do you need to buy and how many dollars worth do you need to buy per category? Whether that's casual tops, fashion tops, graphic tees, sweaters, outerwear, bottoms, denim accessories by jewelry by hair accessories by beauty accessories, shoes, you name it. Break it down so you have an actual plan when you come to market. Next tip is feel like this is a great discovery opportunity. But not all purchases have to be made at market per se. Come and take tons of pictures and build relationships with the brands that are there. Get to know them, get to know their quality, get to know what types of things they carry that you can always come back to and make purchases with later. Next tip make sure you have a great tool like the Faves app to help you get your buying done efficiently. I'll link up a code for you to use Faves in the comments, but Faves has been a huge partner of ours for the past year and I don't understand why anyone wouldn't use this app. It is so easy to take pictures of what you're buying at market, even just take a picture of the SKU it will automatically upload into your app and then populate into your Shopify account. So huge beneficial tool that's going to make simplifying what you bought at market much easier to find. All right. Finally, make sure you know if your market has cash and carry available. Dallas Market has tons of great cash and carry on floor seven Atlanta has some really, really great jewelry cash and carry. So if you're coming with cash and carry, bring a roller bag or something with you. Not a huge one because not all places like those rollerblades, you know, taking up space. But come so that you can take some of that cash and carry home with you. And if you have frequent flyer miles and are able to take another carry on or another full size checked piece of luggage, it's really beneficial to bring that home with you or to head to your hotel room at night and do a live sale. Now there are also tons of vendors who offer live sales that upset market, but you do have to make sure you sign up for those ahead of time. All right, final quick tip. As you're going around market and you're looking, you're quickly going to find a lot of vendors that you're familiar with. If you are shopping on Fashion Go or Faire or now on Hubs Hubventory, you're going to find a lot of those in the temp section. But I really want to encourage you, do not be scared of going to showrooms. Some of the best quality brands in the entire building are in showrooms and showrooms will gladly welcome you in with open arms to come and try out their lines. Now this is where you're going to maybe find a little bit better quality merchandise. You're going to find some items that are zip code protected and you're definitely going to find the most unique fashion and accessories and decor. All the lifestyle things children's brands in showrooms. So again, don't be intimidated. Walk in the showroom and introduce yourself and get to know what lines are available to you. And if you guys have any questions on going to market, reach out to our team anytime at the Hub. We have a gazillion resources in the Hub to help you get to market. And for sure, when you come, come and meet us. We have a showroom in Dallas. We have a booth set up in Atlanta. We always have meetups and events in Las Vegas. And we want to get to know you. So check out where the Hub is going to be, download our must see list, and all the activities we have planned at each market. We would love to get to see you there. All right. Hope you enjoyed this week's quick tip. We'll see you next week. And we'll be back for season four on December 28th.
