REALLY long time no post!

Sorry I haven't posted in a REHEHEELLLY long time... I have had medical issues, plus my computer crashed and I lost all my bookmarks/passwords.

Anyhoo... this page was down for I don't know how long? I'll have to re-upload my pictures and try to update asap.

Happy Business To All.

Chris - Owner CCGSales and SmallBizLinks

A request from Barbara in Utah...

Barbara,

Thanks for checking out my blog. The company you're looking for is called Occunomix. Their product link is:

http://www.occunomix.com/ourproducts.cfm

The bandanas are called 'Miracool', and are the first product listed.

BTW - they make cooling products for people AND dogs! :-) (look down to 'other products') They sold great for me during the hot months. I order them by the small case load (100?) They actually aren't very expensive. I sell them for $3 each or 2 for $5. I usually wear one while I'm selling them. I don't know if you will be selling them face to face, but I find the best selling point is to have a cooler full of cool (not ice) water with some bandanas soaking and ready to go as well as for demonstration. Some people want immediate relief, some buy them dry for later use.

Hope this info helps. If you find any good wholesale or business sources, feel free to post them to the blog for all to check out. Thanks and have a great day!

Chris M
Owner - CCG Sales and Smallbizlinks.blogspot.com

What sells, what doesn't...

Long time gone...

I have been busy with other business and this was the first time in a long while that I was able to get to the flea market and set up the old booth. I got some new stuff and some tried and true merchandise (watches - what else? :-) )

I was suprised at the results. I got watches and sunglasses (which sold well, of course) But I had mixed results on my new stuff. Ladies tops (shelf pulls, returns, etc.), baby clothes (same), and finally blue jeans (used).

I expected the baby clothes to move boldly, the jeans to move, and I wasn't sure about the women's clothing. First off... let me say, I got this new (so to speak) clothing from a place I found through a web search. The site: http://www.lowestpricedclothing.com was an interesting site... I was very hopeful and excited from reading the site and the customer testimonials. Unfortunately, first looks can be deceiving. First off, They only take money orders, checks,wired money, and oddly - American express ONLY. (why not all major credit cards?) This company is located in Brooklyn NY. I decided to do the 'check' option, realizing it takes a few days to clear... It ended up taking nearly 2 WEEKS to get my stuff!! I ordered 1 box of jeans (60, supposedly 'mixed mens/womens', various sizes), 1 box of shirts (120 - no indication of size, style, mens or womens), and 1 box of baby clothes (100, mixed)

Now comes the disappointing part... first off, I only received the shirts and baby clothes at first! Next, the boxes looked like they were packed by monkeys! They were literally FALLING APART! After numerous calls to both the company and fedex, the jeans arrived 1 day before I was due to go to market. Next off - the jeans were supposed to be '60 mixed', I ended up with 34, mostly WOMENS, mostly size 34 waist and under!! Again, the box was in atrocious shape... I called the company back and they said they must have been stolen in transit. Riiight. I said just send the replacements with my next order... well, after this weekend there may be no reorder.

I sold maybe 1/3 of the shirts (all women's styles btw), but get this... only 4 jeans and only 2 baby clothes. Yeah - 4 and 2 ! I would have expected baby clothes to sell like hotcakes at the flea market. Now, I only marked all my stuff up about 100%, so the baby clothes were $2 each, the jeans $5 each, and the shirts $3 each. (well, a little more than 100%, but nowhere NEAR what the 'testimonials' on their website implied.) I like to sell for less than my competitors, and I consider myself a good face to face salesman, but these products just did NOT move!

Well, let's just say - lesson learned! I'm gonna mark them down next week and see if that helps. I'm also not going to wait for another order... I'm going to get the rest of my jeans and then see if I can sell what I've got. Trial and error to see how to move these 'hot' items.

Anyone out there have experience with http://www.lowestpricedclothing.com feel free to post a comment, and let me know if you had luck with them. Thanks!

Chris M.
Owner - CCG Sales and the smallbizlinks blog

A little reminder for the readers... PART II

Well, well, well...

I guess mr 'automated blog poster' just can't get the message!

So... mr affiliate # 6575 @ worldwidebrands.com didn't take the hint.

You will be receiving an email from me regarding this matter at info@auctionbullet.com . I am forwarding your info to any anti-spamming groups I can think of. You just HAD to spam my silly little blog didn't you?

Chris
Owner of SmallBizLinks.blogspot.com

A little reminder for the readers...

It's been WAY too long since I actually posted a new message (not counting my replies). I'm a little concerned with certain poster(s) (you know who you are!) I'm gonna lay down some ground rules right NOW!

You can post 1 (that's ONE) link to your site. I refuse to let people SPAM this blog. If I catch anyone posting and re-posting the same link, I will immedietly delete ALL of your previous posts with said link. This blog is for the meaningful exchange of legitimate business sources, NOT spamming or repeatedly posting the same stuff!

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

There! Now that I've got that off my chest, please feel free to continue discussions.

Chris @ Small Biz Links
Owner of this silly little blog

Welcome Back!

It's been a long time since my last blog entry! I've been doing a lot of freelance IT and computer work during the cold months (too cold for the flea market) Brrrr...

Anyhoo... I sent out an invitation on the alt.wholesale newsgroup... hope I get a few more visitors. IF YOU'RE READING THIS, FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR EXCHANGE LINKS! LOL!!

I read an interesting article about the google/blog connection and how to get hits and traffic:
http://www.freetraffictip.com/gbc/ It is supposed to help you get a google spider asap and get more hits. Combine this with a google adsense account, and you can get a steady income stream via ads. I signed up for adsense and I'm waiting for a reply.

Let's see, what else is new? No new wholesale items lately, I probably won't start buying/stocking until March or April (as soon as it gets warmer) First on the list, sunglasses... then more watches of course, then more hiphop/blingbling jewelry. I'm also looking for a HOT toy... those radio controlled 'ufo' copter thingees :-) They are really kewl! I haven't seen too many people selling them locally, I'm gonna jump on it in the spring if no one else has them.

Enough for now. I'll try to post as often as time allows. Of course YOU could post some juicy tidbits of wholesale or retail wisdom for all to read (wink wink). Bye for now!

Long Time, No Blog (or) Me so lazy...

Hey all,

I've been busy and lazy since my last post. I've only sold at the flea market 2 times. The weather has been *so* hot and humid. I may get an indoor booth space just for the air conditioning. Unfortunately, sales in the summer months are slower inside, so I'm weighing comfort vs sales.

Also, since last time I've gotten some new sources, one of which was disappointing. I got supposed 'geneva style' watches from some company out of Los Angeles. (I'm not going to name them) Their website *clearly* describes the watches as 'geneva'. Well, I ordered nearly $300 worth. Granted, I got GREAT prices on them, but they were NOT 'geneva'!! They were brands like 'Beverly Hills' and 'Fred Belay' etc... also, I got the WRONG type of 'bling-bling' style watches as well!

They sold ok... not as good as my usual watches, but they *were* less to buy wholesale. All in all, I think I'll go back to getting my best sellers ('Paul Jardin' style) From Anytime Wholesale in PA, and my 'Geneva' style (bling-bling) from Watches LLC out of Texas. It may cost a little more wholesale, but these are consistently better sellers for me.

My cooling bandanas sold really well also. I ordered another case last week. The hot, sunny weather really helps sell my sunglasses and cooling bandanas.

I'm still looking for deals on sunglasses (case lots). I found a company with GREAT prices (.50 per) but I have to buy in lots of 1000 or more! I'm gonna see if someone at the flea market wants to go in 'halveses' on one of these big cases. I could sell them $1 per pair and still make 100% profit!

Well, enough for today... here are a few interesting links for you:

80s Tees
GREAT T-shirts! Ask for Kevin, he offers discounts for bulk purchases.

US Census Bureau
Need some business stats for your business? Try here!

Prepaid Cellphones
Prepaid cellphones? Hot sellers? I may investigate this.