By using quotation marks, the words “and,” “or,” and “not,” and narrowing your search to specific sites or including wildcard terms, you can trim off vast amounts of search “junk” – those results that aren’t exactly what you’re looking for.

Use Boolean search terms & useful search operators.

The goal should be to not only find the right businesses, but to save yourself time in doing that – the fewer the results, the better. The downside is you have tons to go through.īecause of the sheer volume of results, the best strategy is to narrow your searches and keep track of which sites/businesses you’ve already found. Search engines are the supermarket of the Internet when it comes to sourcing for your subscription box.

In some cases, you may be able to work with the owner of a local store if they produce their own goods (like a local candle shop, bath & body goods store, or craft/clothing vendor).Ģ.

Use Evernote or other tools to take pictures and track which products work with your box.

Buy the items you’re considering reaching out to, and place them in your box to get a sense of how they’d affect packing configuration.

In addition to using the stores for inspiration, use them for prototype box products.

The idea is to go to a store that represents your niche – something that attracts the same demographic your business looks for. Some examples might be walking into your local Whole Foods, Bass Pro Shops, Crate & Barrel, or Hot Topic. While they may not be the vendors you buy from, finding a targeted local store within your niche will provide a treasure trove of items you can physically test inside your box. Local stores are great starting places to get inspiration for the types of products you want to include. Once you know if you’re purchasing items or sourcing them for free, you’re ready to start targeting your vendor partners.

Works with both sample and full-sized items.Usually faster & easier negotiations with vendors.Potentially lower margins or higher price for customers.Requires the vendor to eat the cost of ingredients and packaging.Potentially drives your price down (depends on the quantity/quality of items – or samples – included).Potentially impacted product offering (free sourcing usually works best with small, sample or trial-sized items).Pitching your vendor partners on other value outside of monetary compensation.Improved inherent margins for your subscription business (since there’s no cost for products).The difference is significant, and not just for your business’ pocketbook.

Specifically, we’ll discuss:īefore you start procuring your first box, you need to decide between two purchasing models behind subscription boxes: sourcing free products or sourcing products you pay for. To help with just that, below we’ve laid out 7 places where you can source products for your subscription box. Needless to say, sourcing high-quality, targeted products for your niche is critical to your business’ success. Watch: Check out Subscription School’s 60-minute webinar on Product Sourcing for Subscription Boxes It’s a question about product sourcing, also called “procurement,” and it’s this operation that often determines subscriber happiness, loyalty, and the likelihood of referrals. One of the most common questions behind starting a subscription business is this: where do I find the products I include in my monthly box?

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