A Lesson Well Learnt

Joining the bandwagon of online marketers was something I got engaged too without prior knowledge and this is my story of the failures that I experienced before success came by.

Whenever I look back at my marketing journey, I wish that I should have researched first because I lost a lot of money, most of which was from a student loan that I had secured. It all started when I had success from an old time friend who was drop shipping goods from china and selling them to eBay and Amazon. Being an enthusiastic marketer and at the mention of the figures which yielded from the trade, I decided to jump in.

I researched for the best products to sell and settled for clothes. You know how the fashion industry is promising especially at a time like then when spring was approaching. I didn’t know how to find the right producer to supply me with goods, but being cautious as I was I used my instinct and landed for one whom I felt I could trust.

I contacted him and we negotiated on the price. I told him my specifications and the labeling that I had thought about and we agreed. I needed samples first but according to him, the minimum number of samples that he could send was 30 pieces because of the expenses involved and I was supposed to first pay half of the first order.

I felt that I trusted him and did exactly what he said. After about two weeks of wait, the consignment approached. To me the clothes looked great and I loved them. The producer had taken time to incorporate all my intended specifications and felt glad about that. Since spring was first arriving, I didn’t waste any time but send him the remaining money plus another order of the same quantity as the first.

That was my mistake. I never took time to clearly scrutinize the quality of the clothes before giving him the order. After the consignment arrived, I had already made all the necessary arrangements to warehouse the goods as well as ensured that I had conformed to all legal requirements.

The goods arrived just a week to spring and I went directly to market them. I made one sale on the first day in Amazon and two on eBay. Two days to spring, the sales started picking up. I was so happy that I was making good money.

This however, didn’t last long. Just four days into spring I was astonished to realize a lot of bad review on my Amazon seller’s account. The clothes which had fast colors were fading very much that there were many customers requesting for a refund. I couldn’t believe it. I had no option but to refund them which was so disappointing and paining.

When I tried contacting the producer, he was categorical that he sent samples which I was satisfied with hence I gave him the order and thus he was not to blame. Feeling stupid I knew that I had lost everything but it was not the end of me. I knew that one day I would be able to get successfully into the global market and so I never quit.