Choice of Dollar Merchandise is Key to Dollar Store Success

Picking the best dollar merchandise is important to profitability. The reality is your profit margins are going to be very low with a dollar store, so picking the best merchandise is very important. Even a few bad product decisions can kill your success. Here are 6 tips to find the best things to sell:

#1) Get lots of wholesale catalogs
One of the best strategies is to first indiscriminately get as many wholesale product catalogs as you can locate. Having the catalog in hand means you can know get the products if you need it.

#2) Shop in competitor’s stores
If you have competitors in the area, try to identify the common dollar merchandise they are all selling and get the same items. If everyone is selling the same thing, you know there must be a market for it.

#3) Ask your visitors
You might want to have a feedback form near the counter that allows your customers to leave feedback about what kind of items they want you to carry. This can be a great strategy for getting some new ideas. If you keep seeing the same product come up time and again, you know you have something worth looking into.

#4) Go to trade shows
These are the best places to find new products. Even if there are no trade shows in your city, chances are there will be in a large city near you. These shows can have huge amounts of products available, and can give you lots of ideas you never would have thought of.

#5) Do not forget about seasonal items
Sure, they are not going to be constant money makers, but getting seasonal products (i.e. Christmas, Easter, etc.) can make you a lot of money in spurts. Therefore, do not discount the importance these products have to your final success.

#6) Test
Some dollar store owners buy large quantities of products before they even know they will sell well. This error ends up costing them a lot of money, and eating into their profits.

No matter how much research you have done on something, you really do not know it will sell until you have actually tried it. Never forget this, because it will save you a lot of money.

The dollar merchandise you buy is very important for having a successful dollar store. Since your dollar store profit margins are sure to be low, it is very important for you to have the right things in stock. Mistakes mean you will not be as profitable as possible. Use these 6 tips, and you will be on the way to increasing your income.