2013 Last Minute Holiday Preparations

Despite the just ended government shut down, my online sales have been going well.  It looks like it’s going to be a strong Christmas season!

Here are some last minute things you should take care of now, in case you’ve fallen behind:

First, make sure you have up to date information on total cost associated with every sku you sell.  You need to know what your margins will be at any given sales price, so you can set your prices correctly based on competition.

Second, if you sell on an online marketplace like Amazon or eBay, spend some time checking out your competitions’ pricing strategy.  Remember, people can set prices differently based on day of the week and time of day, so start sampling your competitions’ prices throughout the day for several days in a row, and keep it in a spreadsheet.

Third, decide what your sales strategy will be for each of your products.  E.g., if you don’t have a lot of inventory on a strong selling product, you may want to raise your prices now and let other retailers sell out their inventory, so you can sell at a higher margin later in the season.

My next post will be right around Halloween, and traditionally my sales slow down in the days leading up to Halloween.  So there should be some extra free time in the next couple of weeks to spend on looking for more products to sell.

Good luck, and let me know how your holiday sales are going!