sewing machine needles breaking
Building Your Line-up: 5 Product-types Every Seller Should Carry
Too often, e-tailers think only in terms of carrying individual products. But according to Lisa Suttora, of http://WhatDoISell.com, "If you're in the mindset of selling one product to one person, you're thinking about making a one-time sale, not about building a business." You're not just vending product X-you're creating a product line and giving your customers a reason to return to your site.
Products with a Purpose
When selecting inventory, it's important you evaluate each potential item and identify the role it plays in your store. There are five categories that typically round out your product portfolio:
1. Meat-and-potatoes products. These carry a strong demand from your target market. They're your mainstay, the cornerstone of your business. Providing a solid profit margin, they represent a large percentage of your overall revenue.
2. Cross Sellers. These are the add-on sales, the tackle boxes you sell with the fishing poles, the cosmetics bags you sell with the cosmetics. Each of these products has a different profit margin associated with it, but each serves an important function and contributes to your overall profit margin.
3. Up Sellers. "Upselling," says Suttora, "plays right into a basic desire we all have-we like to have the best." As a retailer, you need to offer your customers options. Surround the basic model with similar products that are a little bit nicer, a little bit pricier. Today, they may buy what's on sale; tomorrow they may want the most expensive item-there's no real way to predict, so make those choices available to them.
4. Rounders. It's important to have those items that round out your product selection. It comes down to presentation, and to providing your customers a full shopping experience. If they purchase a sewing machine and expensive silk fabric with you, they'll probably want to be able to complete their purchase right there, and get the thread and needles from your site as well. You might not make a large profit off of them, but it's convenient for your customers and makes their buying experience more satisfying.
5. Loss leaders. Sometimes you sell products on which you're just breaking even. You use them for advertising purposes, to bring customers into your store. Once they're there, they'll buy that product, and there's a good chance they'll also stay and browse. Hopefully, they'll see the other, complementary items you're selling and add more merchandise to their carts.
Completing the Puzzle
Every item in your line-up has a place in your overall product solution-they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. When deciding what to sell, ask yourself where each item fits into your product scheme, and what purpose it fulfills. Providing a diverse, well-rounded selection for your buyers gives them a motive to come back, and presents you with an opportunity to build repeat business.
About the Author
Chris Malta and Robin Cowie of WorldwideBrands.com are the Writers and Hosts of The Entrepreneur Magazine EBiz and Product Sourcing Radio Shows.
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singer 140q sewing machine and needles?
I have a singer 140Q sewing machine. I lost the manual. My needles do not seem to pick up the bobbin thread. I thought the needle had a barb on it that caught the bobbin thread. Am I wrong? Is there different kinds of needles. I thread the macinhe and it appears ok. then I start to sew. I lose the top thread. and the bottom bobbin thread doesn't get picked up. I am at a loss. Last time I used the machine. (About two years ago.) It was easy and had zero problems. Today it seems as though it doesn't want to cooperate. I changed the original needle that broke and I put in a universal needle. It seems like it should have a barb to pick up the bottom thread. I thought the original needle did, I might be wrong.
There is no barb on a sewing needle. Take all the thread out of the bobbin and re wind it. Re thread the machine. Make sure you have caught it right in the tension.Check what the tension is on. Make sure you have the bobbin in properly. Hold the thread from the back of the needle, slowly turn (by hand) the knob and watch the needle go down and back up, it should of picked up the bobbin thread.
I went to the Singer web site. They have manuals for all their machines. I couldn't find 140q. They do show you where to look on your machine for the model number. Even very old manuals are available
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