Selling gifts means catering to adults and children of all ages, and that means that you will eventually have to add toys into your product inventory. Toys can help you to reach your primary audience, better cater to your existing customers, and improve your sales. However, if you're not used to sourcing wholesale toys, or choosing toys for retail, you might have no idea where to start.
License 2 Play has been in the toy industry since 2004, and we're here to help. This article will go over the basics of sourcing wholesale toys, choosing the right brands to stock in your store, and how to get a feel for the toy industry, trends, and more.
Choosing the Right Toys
Buying wholesale toys can seem risky because you have to consider what's popular or trending, what people will buy, and what works well as a gift for your primary-age demographic. This means that you have to identify who you are selling to, and what they might want. For example, if you frequently sell gifts to parents with younger children, then items like Radz, Colorforms, Disney, and other brands would work very well in your store. If you're trying to find gifts for kids aged 8-13, collectibles like Shopkins, UglyDoll, and similar make excellent gifts. Finally, if you're aiming for a slightly older teenage demographic, jewelry, accessories, and toys and plush dolls from movies and games like Angry Birds or Warcraft are also a great choice.
You can also consider choosing from the TOP SELLING TOYS OF 2016 instead of trying to cater to one demographic.
Sourcing Wholesale Toys
Once you decide which toys you want to stock, you have to source them. Your distributor or manufacturer should be able to deliver your toys in the volume you need when you need them, and inside of your budget. They should also have a quality reputation, be established in the business, and be capable of meeting your needs.
Create a Budget – If you know how much you want to spend then you can source wholesale toys at a volume that meets your needs. Walking into a meeting, or going to shop online from a product catalog can quickly go over budget if you don't understand what you want to spend in advance.
Visit Trade shows – Trade shows like the TOY FAIR 2017 offer you the opportunity to meet toy wholesale suppliers and distributors in person, see toys before you invest in them, learn about trends, and much more. However, it is always a good idea to make sure that you know what you are interested in before you go to a tradeshow.
Look for a Local Wholesale Distributor – Choosing a local wholesale toy distributor, supplier, or manufacturer will allow you to cut transportation costs, will make it easier to visit to see the merchandise in person, and will allow you to get orders more quickly.
License 2 Play is a local distributor, manufacturer, and supplier of wholesale toys including top brands like Disney, Angry Birds, Shopkins, Warcraft, Finding Dory, and many more. Contact us for more information, visit our product page to see our brands, or sign up to get started with placing an order.