How to Start a Mail Order Company From Home
You can start a mail order business from a spare bedroom or your kitchen table. The key is finding products that traditionally sell well by mail. Look through mail order catalogs and at mail order ads in consumer magazines. Look at the types of products that are being sold successful by mail, such as novelty items, vitamins and information products. Make a list of the types of products that you want to sell. It is best to specialize in a certain industry such as gift items or candy products, for example.
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Instructions
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Apply for a vendor's license through your local city hall or county administration office. Register the fictitious name of your mail order company as a DBA (doing business as) at the same office.
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Find a wholesaler or manufacturer supplier for your mail order company. Go to Tradepub.com and search for potential suppliers through their free trade publications. Visit the Macraesbluebook.com website for a list of potential manufacturer suppliers, according to Businessknowhow.com. Align yourself with a direct sales company like SMC (Specialty Merchandise Corporation) if you want to sell gift and novelty products, for example.
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Call some of the wholesale, manufacturer and direct sales suppliers. Find out which suppliers offer the products you want at the cost in which you want to buy them. Ask your potential suppliers if they offer drop shipping, which means they will allow you to order single items at wholesale prices. Select the wholesale, manufacturer or direct sales supplier that best meets your needs and offers drop-shipping services. Use a drop shipper to ship products to your customers if you prefer.
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Write a sales letter that best describes the benefits of ordering your products. Keep the sales letter limited to about two pages. Create brochures for some of your top products or order these brochures from your wholesale or manufacturer supplier. Order catalogs from your supplier that are printed with your business name and address on them.
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Place classified ads in consumer magazines or newspapers with large classified ads sections, such as "Popular Science," "Popular Mechanic" and "The National Enquirer." Place your classified ad in specialty publications like "Dog Fancy" if you sell pet supplies by mail, for example. Run your classified ads on a consistent basis as long as they are earning you a profit. Advertise in more publications to increase your sales.
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Order products from your supplier when customers send you money. Send your supplier just the wholesale cost for the products, and keep the rest of the money as profit. Place items in shipping envelopes or boxes, depending on the size of the order. Stick shipping labels with the customers' name on each envelope or box. Mail the product to your customer.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep a list of customers in a notebook or computer. Mail catalogs and brochures of various products to your customers every month or two. Eighty percent of your sales will come from return customers, according to Entrepreneur.com.
