If you have ever walked into a retail store, you will notice the plethora of items surrounding you. These items made their way into the store due to the work of a retail store buyer (or also referred to as a purchasing agent). The job of a retail store buyer is to plan, manage, and select the goods to be sold in a retail setting while also still remaining competitive in the retail space. As a reseller, we are performing the same tasks for our businesses’ with the exception that our items will be sold in a digital market. Today, I wanted to share some insight on how retail store buyer’s choose inventory and show how we can use some of these methods as a reseller.
Years before I began reselling part-time, I was the main buyer for a local buy-sell-trade store back in New York. In this position, my main responsibility was to sort and select inventory for the store (in a similar manner to how we as resellers stock our own accounts/closets). Within this role, I had to not only learn about trends in children’s clothing but I also had to learn about teen and adult trends as well. It was during this time that I started to learn how to put myself in a buyer’s mindset. This mindset has continued with me today as I am a full-time reseller here in Florida.
Items To Consider When Buying:
As a buyer in both my own business and for my previous employer, there are few questions that I always ask myself before purchasing an item:
(1) Brand Recognition– This refers to whether or not a customer will recognize a brand if they see it in my closet or store. If a customer is unfamiliar with a brand, then they may express some hesitancy in the item. This is especially true if the item is outside of the business’ customer demographics.
(2) Type of Product– This refers to whether a product is desirable to a business’ customer base. If an item is not appealing to a retailer’s customers, then it will not perform well when it comes to sales and will more than likely end up being liquidated.
(3) Demand for a Product- This refers to whether an item is in demand by customers. The more in demand an item is, the more likely it will sell at full price and avoid sales/liquidation at the end of a fashion season. In reselling, this can be considered when looking at how saturated an item is in the market.
(4) Within Budget- This is especially important in a retail setting as many purchasing agents buy large quantities of items and try to negotiate prices with vendors. However, as a reseller, it is important to stay within a budget and not overspend on inventory.
(5) Depth of Sizes- This refers to size inclusivity when it comes to buying items. The more variation in sizes that a buyer can acquire, the better. This is true in both the retail and reselling markets.
(6) Seasonality- This refers to buying seasonally appropriate items at the correct times of the fashion year. Usually, buyers will try to have seasonal items on hand 3-6 months ahead of time so they are prepared for the upcoming fashion season when it is time. Depending on when an item is purchased, can also impact how long it could take for a seasonal item to sell.
Identifying Trends:
Another facet of a purchasing agent’s job is to identify trends and buy the next season’s hottest items. In order to do this, retail buyer’s will attend fashion shows and visit designer studios. Although that is not realistic for most resellers, that doesn’t mean that we cannot do our own research when it comes to learning about upcoming trends. As resellers, we can observe fashion show trends virtually, observe past sales history, and study trending items on social media influences and fashion sites.
If you are interested in learning more about how to identify trends and use them as a reseller, check out THIS post and THIS post.
As resellers, we are essentially purchasing agents for our businesses. When sourcing for items to sell, it is important to keep some of that business mindset in mind when making purchasing decisions. In order to maximize our success, we should try to take an objective approach when it comes to sourcing and remove as much personal bias as possible. By doing this, we are setting ourselves up for maximal success.
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