Question about inventory/expanding

color

Hi all,
I am at the point where I need to start expanding my product line, but instead of buying wholesale and stocking most of the inventory myself, I want to look into alternatives. 
I am thinking along the lines of displaying products from manufacturers (but not having them in hand) and if they are ordered, then I would order from the manufacturer.  Is this a normal practice?  How would I get good prices like this (as I would not be ordering in bulk)?
Any other ideas on how to sell without stocking your own inventory?  I am not keen on drop-shipping as I want to maintain a certain amount of "control" and "quality assurance".
 
Thanks!!
Linda

www.crazy4color.com

 

kkrafts58

I`m thinking you only want to purchase what you need for an order, because you really don`t have the room for all the inventory, or you don`t want to get stuck with unwanted items? Am I right?  When I receive an order for a food gift basket, that`s when I go out and purchase the items. I do this because I don`t like to have food sitting around and possibly expire. But for most of my items I do keep a few of each in stock, so I can put together a basket at a moments notice. So what you need to consider, is, when someone orders a product, and you  order it from your supplier, will you have enough time to get the product and ship it to your customer?

color

   Yes!  Thats exactly my concern -- the turnaround time to the customer as well as getting a good price from the supplier when I am ordering only small amounts at a time!  I am trying to figure out how other retailers do it online -- surely the places selling strollers, carseats etc. don`t have a lot of stock on hand??  ....but then how do they price competitively if they are not ordering in bulk??