Well let's say that you have found something everyone is talking about or all the kids are pestering their parents for. Great! Now how do you get hold of it to sell? Well, that's one of the biggest challenges you will face when building your online business, but if you think that trawling thorough masses of online offers is the only way then you may be surprised.

Below are a few very simple ways to track down manufacturers details, It's actually easier than you think, the most important thing to remember is that you just need a few pieces of info to get your search started, a name or website address is often all you need to track down the full details. Here are some unconventional methods that you can try out today.

Method 1

Lets say there is a high street fashion label that you really like and would love to sell online, they sell it in your town but you have no idea where it comes from, the first way is simple.. Ask! It sounds daft but quite often if you ask the girl at the counter or get friendly with someone in the shop they may just tell you, most of the time the owner of the shop doesn't work there all the time if at all so if you ask the Saturday girl she's not bothered if you know, if you asked, "do you know the name of the company on the invoices that you get for these clothes?" You will be surprised how many people will tell you if they have the info to hand, if they are the only one in the shop and they have to go out the back to look it up the chances are slim but it's definitely worth asking, they can only say no!

Method 2

Keep an eye open for when they get their stock arrivals, usually a truck will pull up out the front first thing in the morning to bring in the stock. This is a good time to take a wonder past! It's not unusual for the driver to leave a trolley of boxes on the pavement (sidewalk) for a while, if you can get close enough just glance over the label on the boxes as you walk by and look for the suppliers name or website address, anything you can use to look them up, maybe if the driver is friendly he may tell you the supplier as he may deliver exclusively for them. You only have to ask! Both these methods I have personally used when tracking down specific brands and they do work! It takes a bit of confidence and a little cheekiness but it could make a real difference to your business.

Method 3

Check the retail box, if it's a product that comes boxed then you can find allot of details from the packaging. Unless the store has re-branded the item you will be able to find details like,manufacturers name, website, postal address etc usually in small print on the back. If you can make a note of the manufacturers name and website you can then go home and Google the info.

Once you find their website they will usually have a section listing the suppliers they use for their products, failing that you can email them and ask, they will be happy to tell you who their appointed supplier is for your area. I do this quite a lot in my research and I have found countless suppliers details and even been offered exclusive supply deals from manufactures in the past just by looking at the packaging and taking it from there. Just remember to be confident and professional and if you don't ask you won't find out!

Why not try it out this week as an exercise on something you would like to sell.

See how much info you can digg up.