TopTen Report: Dollar Days Recession-Buster!

I’m pretty confused. The headlines are all about a recession one day and a recovery the next, Ben Bernanke is assuring me that  the financial crisis is over, and the price of gold is making my head spin. Brazil is boosting its export market to the USA, and I’m sitting here in Hangzhou, China… watching the country continue to build, build, build. It’s a lot for me to wrap my head around. It probably is for you, too. While leading verticals like Toptenwholesale.com and its network of sites (manufacturer.com, wholesaleu.com, offpricenetwork.com) help buyers locate general merchandise, apparel, accessories, gifts, electronics, handbags, jewelry, toys, and more… there’s a few others in the industry that seem to have a better handle on reality than most right now. A great example of one of them is DollarDays, a wholesale distributor who offers some superb options to the people who are either preparing for lean times in the job market… or maybe even those who are looking for something to bring revenue in while they are unemployed!

Let’s face it, in the middle of this non-recession(?), it pays to have a set of alternatives up your sleeve. I’ve mentioned the rise of opportunities during these economic hard times before, and I’ll say it again: this kind of market presents a lot of chances to service customers who are looking for the best deals, and the most personalized service. While the big box retailers do fine at their job of moving massive amounts of goods, they fail at identifying each customer’s needs on a case-by-case basis. This is where you step in, and make everything right for the frustrated consumer who needs immediate attention! DollarDays offers a whole bunch of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs as well as a quick-install, affordable option to start your own online store.

Here’s some additional highlights:

• This is a company that sells over 25,000 different wholesale goods on its website, and they are very interested in helping you to begin and grow your own business.

• Visitors have a choice between getting set up through their affiliate program, or by allowing the option to stock and sell their own goods.

• While there are hundreds – if not thousands – of sites that sell DollarDays goods, there are also plenty of brick and mortar stores that stock their products as well.

• If you don’t have the space to stock products, DollarDays offers a convenient drop-ship program that allows venders to drop-ship certain products by the piece.

• If you plan on buying a lot of goods from DollarDays, you can enroll in their Platinum Program, which could mean huge savings for you.

Look out for the twitter and facebook links on their site as well, and while you’re at it… make sure you get connected to our pages as well, where you can sign up to receive tweets, feeds, and updates from us about all the ways you’ll continue to Find it. Source it. Profit!

R.G. Riley: Profile of an Off-Price Powerhouse!

What makes a seller successful? In simple terms, it all comes down to how well you manage your business, and how easy you make it for the customer to take part in a transaction, right? Well, that’s the boring textbook version… while you can easily find a huge array of companies like these on the pages of Toptenwholesale.com and its network of sites featuring manufacturer.com,wholesaleu.com,andoffpricenetwork.com, I’d like to point out that one particular seller is certainly worthy of being featured in today’s blog post: R.G. Riley.

“All the consumers are looking for a value, so we’re

able to provide that value and that price because of

the volume we buy.”

R.G. Riley proves that sticking to a game plan is crucial to success, by offering only wholesale closeouts and graded irregular t-shirts, sweat shirts, sweat pants and related active wear. With featured products from Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Gildan, Badger, Russell,  Delta, and other labels… this company has been in the business of bringing customers the right fit at the right price for over 75 years. Simplicity seems to be the theme with this powerhouse seller too, as they  specialize in case lot prepacks, which are sold by the case. Determining unit cost is as simple as dividing the case price by the number of prepack units. Anyone can do this kind of math! In addition to a simple selling strategy, R.G. Riley’s high-volume inventory changes by over 40,000 dozen per week. Visit their website sometime, to find everything you need from the company’s main contact information, links to tradeshow activity, a public online catalog and a secure online ordering system. They even offer a web site help page that explains the online catalog and ordering modules in detail, and an FAQ page that addresses many common questions and provides additional information about ordering, delivery, and company terms and policies. If that isn’t enough, you can even check out their facility by taking a virtual tour with online pictures, too!

R.G. Riley is an outstanding wholesale clothing distributor featuring inexpensive clothing, including irregular clothing and overstock apparel. Their customers include discount stores, chain stores, food and drug stores, ebay.com merchants, flea market vendors, dollar stores, general merchandise stores, thrift and goodwill stores, as well as charitable organizations. They will also be on display next year, at the following venue:

Off-Price Specialist Show

February 14 through February 17th, 2010

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sands Convention center

Salon A

As a leader in the off-price wholesale clothing industry, R.G. Riley asks do you resell inexpensive irregular clothes and off-price apparel? Do you need irregular clothing and overstock wholesale apparel in all size ranges from Mens, Missy, Boys, Girls, Infant, Toddler, and Plus Sizes? If the answer is yes, then you should make a call, send an email, or at least browse their site today!

Wholesale Hats: What’s Selling This Season

Among the wide array of fashion accessories for both men and women, none have been as varied – except maybe shoes – as the humble hat. It can give you a feeling of power… or make you shrink away into the shadows when you don’t want to be noticed. The right hat can give you an authoritative look… or make you seem mysterious and even shadowy. Let’s face it, hats are not going away… and as a savvy wholesale or retail specialist, you should pay attention to the fact that Winter is going to bring a whole new wave of customers who want to put a lid on their domes this season! Take a look at our own Toptenwholesale.com search results page to see some examples of companies that offer great hats at unbeatable prices! To see more ideas, check out manufacturer.com, wholesaleu.com, and offpricenetwork.com as well as a huge selection of general merchandise, apparel, accessories, gifts, electronics, handbags, jewelry, toys, and more!

Today I’m going to give you a little bit of help in selecting the right hat for your wholesale business, especially for those of you who are doing online sales and e-tailing.

• Choosing the hats to carry can be a lot like selling shoes, or watches, or even jewelry… but the price point is much lower, and that can make it easier for you to offer a wide variety of styles and materials, instead of cautiously keeping a limited supply on hand.

• The style choices and trends in the hat business follow distinctly cyclical cycles, which means that your inventory of hats that aren’t selling today could be flying off the shelves tomorrow!

• It’s also got a lot to do with the seasonality of wardrobe choices, since Winter tends to bring the richer and plusher fabrics to the fore… and these are always complimented nicely by a proper hat. Keep your eye on what materials are hot right now for jackets and scarves, and you will already have a good idea of what kind of hat material will pair up nicely.

• Hollywood has never made it easier to follow the fashion, as movies have brought hats back in a big way. Kate Hudson with a wide brim, the normally glammy Beyonce in a simple knitted wool hat, Brad Pitt and his signature newsboy cap, Mickey Rourke and the rugged cowboy hat. I’ve even noticed Justin Timberlake… who – in my opinion – has always been a bit of a fashion victim, but making news nonetheless in a variety of hats that customers are eager to find for themselves. You should be helping those customers find them, on your site.

As you can see, picking the hat isn’t the biggest issue… since there’s something for everyone out there, and a lot of existing marketing to support your selections. On the other hand, you’ve got to make sure that you stand out in the crowd when it comes to offering your customers the right blend of fashion and service. Here’s a few things you’ll want to keep your mind on, as you set up your site with a smoking-hot deal on hats:

• Make sure people know about your quality hat selection… whether you’re selling MLB caps, Stetson, Kangol, Cubavera, or even some of the designer-inspired gear… slap those logos up on your page! It will give your buyers something to reinforce their feeling of satisfaction, knowing that they’ve found a site that isn’t afraid to show who they carry.

• Selection is important… since there’s a hat for ever head, you need to carry a good range of choices. Be varied, and don’t be afraid to put two seemingly contrasting styles next to each other. After all, the one who gets noticed is going to get the sale.

• Make it easy to order… offer service online 24/7, design product category pages that are easy to navigate, create informative individual product pages are full of detailed color samples and other helpful information, etc… be creative!

• SSL provides encryption between web browsers and web servers… so make sure you’re using it. Putting a big header on your order page that says “100% Secure Ordering 128-bit encryption key over Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to provide the highest level of security” will only help you secure the sale, when the customer hesitates to click the buy button. Just make sure you’ve actually set it up correctly, or you’ll be dealing with some major headaches later on.

• Brag a little… about your customer satisfaction, that is. Offer a little insight into your store’s history, and give some testimonials from happy customers. Be honest. This will only lead to more sales with other happy customers, and everyone will win in the end.

Well, there it is… my little primer for those who want to throw their hat into the ring… and get going in the hat game. You want my personal point of view on the hottest hat trend for the season? I have always been keen on basic knitted watch caps myself, but I’m going to go out on a limb here… and say that for the ladies, cloche hats will make a big comeback. This one sure looks good on Hillary Swank, and it will look good on a lot of other girls out there too!

Check out TopTen Wholesale Winter Fashion Favorites!

It’s getting close to the end of another decade in fashion, and the styles that we are seeing these days are certainly keeping up with the overall mood of global news… since it looks like everything surrounding the financial crisis and political re-shuffling that’s been going on has impacted nearly everyone in some way. Fashion seems to be taking a plunge into some distinctly military-themed apparel, as well as fresh ultra chic and glammy club-inspired gear. As a wholesale or retail specialist, what are you supped to do? It almost seems like there’s too much choice, and carrying something for everyone might not be the direction you’re trying to go in, unless you’re a drop-shipping powerhouse. For starters, try taking a look at our own Toptenwholesale.com search results page to see some examples of companies that offer great seasonal fashions at unbeatable prices! To see more ideas, check out manufacturer.com, wholesaleu.com, and offpricenetwork.com as well as a huge selection of general merchandise, apparel, accessories, gifts, electronics, handbags, jewelry, toys, and more!

In other words, the past few years of anything-goes seems to be coming to a head this year, and I reckon things will take a more decisive direction again, as soon as the news reflects more stability and predictability in everyone’s lives. This also means that you are going to have a lot of great options for selecting wholesale fashions and accessories for your cache of collectibles this year, because the emphasis will be on how you market the goods, not necessarily upon what you carry!

Plaid patterns will be part of the look this year!

Awesome, huh? Well, it might seem like shooting fish in a barrel at first… but if you don’t form a solid sales strategy based upon a foundation of fashion 101, you will be left with a dead inventory of overstock that looks more like the contents of every closet you’ve ever filled since you were five years old. Not so good. Let’s take a minute to look at what the fashionistas out there are talking about, and try to find the right line to follow this season as you Check out my quick list of TopTen Wholesale Winter Fashion Favorites!

• First, take a look at some classics… designers like PRADA and D&G will always be respected for taking daring steps into uncharted waters, but the power of classic appeal is undeniable. Make sure you look closely at what Geoffrey Beene, Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Halston have on offer, because they are generally the ones to turn to for rock-solid classic style that doesn’t fade fast.

• Now that you’ve made note of the classics, take a look at what else has made the list. This year, designs from J. Crew and Michael Kors have been noted as style picks by some, especially for those seeking a refined look.

• The short dress was hot all Summer long, and it will continue to be a force in fashion through early Winter. Worn on its own as a breezy and light piece, or paired with leggings, jeans, and even layered with longer skirts and sweaters… well, let’s just say it’s not hard to promote an item like this one… especially since it usually holds at a price point that makes it attractive to wholesalers and online sellers.

• Jeans will never die, and this year is no exception to the great run jeans have enjoyed for the past 50 years. While this season is leaning more towards glammy fashion on-the-go, jeans offer the easy way out for those who don’t have the time or energy to get dolled up. They also keep your shoppers coming back for more, since this is the one all-time favorite apparel item that is notoriously well-paired with accessories!

• Dressed up, or dressed down… street chic is one of the driving forces behind fashion these days. With high-quality manicures and hair styles, it’s become the look of the decade to sport lower-end apparel with more glamorous shoes, bags, scarves, and other components that make the outfit shine. This is the ideal look to promote on your seller site, because it appeals to almost every demographic from the youth market, to the moms on-the-go!

• BOHO-style is still around, even after hitting its peak around 2005. It’s an easy one to accessorize, and with all of the free-flowing fabrics and colors to choose from, it is easy to carry on your inventory as well.

• Accessories rule! Hats, scarves, gloves, wraps, leggings, and other hot accessory items will be taking a large part of the order lists this year, as buyers try to keep their budgets under control. Once the core wardrobe has been built, many shoppers will be on the constant lookout for anything that adds variety to their existing gear. If you offer it, they will come to you!

That’s all for now, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little foray into the world of apparel and accessories, as we check out Topten wholesale winter fashion favorites! Don’t forget to browse the search results on our site, as you Find it. Source it. Profit!

Top Ten Wholesale Jeans and Women’s Apparel Trends

Fashion trends emerged and grew over the past year to guide wholesalers in the fast-approaching Holiday 2009 buying season. With a special focus on wholesale jeans, sexy underwear and exercise apparel – drawn from fashion blogs, trade shows and other style watchers – here are wholesale buyer and seller tips from Top Ten Wholesale.

Soften Edges of Biker Babe Look
Rebellious styles are still in fashion with Fall/Winter demand for ripped jeans, bomber jackets and motorcycle boots.

See wholesale suppliers of leatherwear at Top Ten Wholesale Leather Clothing . Includes Western Express and other fine leather clothing suppliers..

It’s equally fashionable this year to

(1) Inexpensively update a look by adding to your wardrobe . . . using what you already own; and

(2) Softening up the “whole hog” motorcycle look by adding flouncy tops

Gauzy Blouse

or simple shift dresses.

Women softening the Biker Babe Look are also reducing the head-to-toe leather quotient with denim and jeans.

.
See wholesale jeans suppliers at Top Ten Wholesale Jeans .

Stock Fashionable Plus-Size Jeans
Great style this year comes in all sizes . . . especially when the fashion savvy pair dark jeans with a dark-colored top to create the chic illusion of a long slender silhouette.
.
.

So shows and tells Queen Latifah, with same-color, dark-hued plus-size jeans and embellished top.

Search for suppliers of wholesale plus-size women’s clothing at Off-Price Network .

Shapewear and Under Garments
Keep curvy, clingy holiday dresses line-free and bulge-free . . .

Help fashionistas hide some of those diet-buster holiday goodies . . .

Keep exercise mavens safe under the sweats . . .

Body Shapers – known generically and by brand names such as Spanks, Body Slimmers from Nancy Ganz and others, and Shaper Lingerie – body shapers help smooth bulges, bumps and panty or hosiery lines under those popular, glittery holiday dresses. Shapers also keep new-style “boxy” women’s dress pants bulge-free.

Some shapers come as low-cut torso trimmers . Some extend almost to the knee, as thigh shapers. And other body shaping lingerie covers trouble spots, such as stretchy slimming “girdles” or abdomen wraps.

See Top Ten Wholesale’s List of Sexy Plus-Size Lingerie Sources . See also suppliers of Wholesale Lingerie at Off-Price Network .

Sports Bras – Exercising and athletic women may spend less on their outerwear of sweats and sweatpants, in order to invest in a good sports bra that will protect them during jogs, runs, Pilates and exercise workouts.

Fashionista advice to women is to Never Wear Sports Lingerie Under Street or Party Clothes. (The athletic lingerie is for restriction and low-stress exercise; but it does not produce a flattering figure under a slinky party dress!)

Women’s apparel retailers should consider pairing lower cost, off-price sweats (like from manufacturer closeout specialists R. G. Riley . . . with higher-margin health and comfort sports bras. See wholesale suppliers of athletic clothing from Off-Price Network .

Oh, don’t forget the Boy Undies for Girls and Ladies. Boxer-style underwear from the men’s fashion racks are still selling brisky as casual and at-home underwear for young women. Don’t believe it? Check out fashion spreads in male-targeted publications like Maxim. You’ll see young women in trim and fitted, small-sized boxer shorts, including fun prints.

Share:

• 
• 
• 
• 
•