TWENTY GREAT Things to Sell by Mail
We've all heard stories of mail order fortunes being made by those
around us. All too often however, fortune eludes the rest of us:
we instead find ourselves struggling in a business which boasts
dubious honour as having one of the highest drop-out rates amongst
newcomers to its ranks. So exactly why do some enjoy magnificent
success, while others find dismal failure the only end product of
their sojourn into the world of mail order?
The most likely answer lies not in expertise or presence of
business acumen, as much as in careful selection of the product -
or more likely products - offered for sale. Sometimes one product
can be relied upon to produce a steady income, especially if it's
one for which the operator is sole supplier or prime source; a
product for which no acceptable alternatives are available
elsewhere. More likely however, a range of products will be
needed in order to offer any realistic hope of a reliable and
regular income for the operator. And if that range of products
should comprise one or more of the acknowledged best-sellers of
mail order, then so much the better.
This manual aims to identify just a few of the more profitable
goods and services suitable for distribution by mail. But before
we do that, we might consider a few of the characteristics that go
towards making an item suitable for selling by mail order.
A compact, lightweight product will of course keep packaging and
postage costs down, with obvious benefits to the operator's profit
margin. If the product or service fulfils an ongoing need and no
suitable alternative can be obtained via high street shops or
other retail outlets, then we're getting closer to identifying a
really profitable mail order product. If a worldwide market
exists for what you offer, you could make a fortune. And if you
offer a range of suitable products or services, related or
otherwise, you stand to earn a place for yourself among the really
big names of mail order.
Now let us look at some of the most profitable mail order lines,
any one or combination of which you might incorporate into your
own business venture.
1 Accommodation Address and Mail Forwarding Agency
For a variety of reasons, accommodation addresses and mail
forwarding agencies prove popular with a wide range of business
and private clients. From the businessman's point of view, the
use of a mail collection and forwarding service might be designed
to preserve the privacy of the individual and his or her family.
This service also appeals to the mail order operator, who for
whatever reason, has no desire to attract personal enquiries. The
reason might instead be that the mail order dealer carries out all
business from a home which he does not actually own; it might be
tied to his or her normal employment - retirement homes, warden
controlled dwellings, licensed pubs and hotels being just a few
examples. The individual might not be allowed to use his or her
normal address for business purposes where that home is one
provided by the employer.
Another category of likely clients include expatriates, and other
individuals whose employment causes them to move around a great
deal. An accommodation address allows at least some degree of
permanency to offer correspondents.
Look into the pages of 'Exchange and Mart' and other popular mail
order and opportunities' seekers magazines, and you'll discover a
number of accommodation address services operating, often with the
added benefits of a prestigious city centre address to offer
clients.
Fees are normally charged on a weekly or monthly basis, sometimes
topped up by a charge for each item or package of items forwarded
to clients. Often a range of additional or spin-off services are
offered: fax facilities, secretarial services and telephone
answering facilities for instance.
A call to my nearest main post office suggests that few
formalities are involved, other than to inform the post office
that mail in several different names might be expected at the
accommodation address. Check it all out first though, just in
case rules change or vary between offices.
Anyone interested in this lucrative area might contact a few
already established services to obtain inside information on
costs, procedures, facilities and such. Then set out to better
them!
2 Looking to the Unusual
A gap in the market, a special need, a fad - and here we have all
the hallmarks of high market demand which the mail order operator
can usually quite easily fulfil. Cabbage Patch dolls complete
with personalised adoption certificates, and items for use by
left-handed customers are just two examples of recent best-sellers
in the mail order trade. Another recent invention is an adaptor
which when linked to the everyday telephone, transforms a female
voice into male, thereby affording some protection against
anonymous callers.
And one highly enterprising individual in the United States,
apparently made his fortune from sales of the most unusual of
'pets'; one that requires little attention, doesn't back-answer,
and costs nothing to feed - rocks! Sounds silly? Not to him it
didn't; pet rocks sold in their millions.
If you think a success story can not be repeated once someone has
capitalised on whatever product or service is involved, why not
consider introducing the British buyer to something as yet
available only in America? Be careful you don't fall foul of
copyright or patent laws though, and make sure the item or service
actually has a market outside of its country of origin.
Remember the golden rule of mail order - Test. Test. Test. Then
go in for the kill!
3 Newsletters
An article in a recent issue of an up-market British women's
magazine brought the next proposition to mind. The article
referred to a couple who, having enjoyed the era of the 'yuppie'
and spent their earnings as quickly as they received them, were
forced to come down to earth with a bang when recession put paid
to both sources of income.
They were forced to look around for bargains and all-in-all budget
in much the same way as those of us used to a far less affluent
form of lifestyle. In doing so, they discovered a latent talent
for budgeting, and also found they could acquire decent goods and
services for far less than they would previously have been happy
to pay. The final phase in their growth programme was to produce
and distribute a newsletter revealing their ideas and identifying
sources of quality - but not costly - goods and services. It
sells like wildfire! Clients pay an annual subscription for the
monthly newsletter, and into their second year as publishers the
couple found the majority of their customers renewed their
subscriptions promptly.
In the United States - where else? - another newsletter publisher
has made his fortune from a somewhat more unusual approach. His
monthly offering, known amongst other things as 'Meanies'
Monthly', provides tips and techniques for making subscribers'
money go further - not by normal budgeting methods however - this
newsletter is dedicated more to the budding 'Scrooge'. Scrooge
and fellow scroungers will be told by what means to avoid paying
for a round of drinks; how to prevent family dream holidays from
becoming reality; how to avoid guests dropping in for drinks and
snacks; how to turn teenage children against fashion, and so on.
To understand why newsletters can provide such a useful source of
income from their publishers, we might consider the fact that just
one tip or piece of advice can in itself save the reader more his
subscription costs. A few good tips in each issue make repeat
subscription a virtual foregone conclusion.
A wide variety of newsletters are available to guide readers
through sometimes complicated procedures, changes to the law, or
provide information it would simply be too costly and
time-consuming to acquire on one's own account. Financial
services, mortgage and insurance matters, money making and
business interests, job matters and special interests, all feature
amongst the many newsletters produced in Britain and the United
States alone.
Income can be derived from numerous sources, including
subscriptions, sale of related products and services, and
advertising revenue.
4 Business Start Up Packages and Opportunities Manuals
Information products, including newsletters as mentioned in the
previous section, can provide very high income for publishers,
particularly those who enjoy prime source status. The prime
source or sole supplier might find his or her status results from
having personally written the manuscript concerned. Take a look
through mail order and opportunity seekers' magazines; through the
pages of 'Exchange and Mart'; in national daily and Sunday
newspapers; decide what gap exists that you can fill, then begin
the far from difficult task of researching and writing your very
own business plan, manual or package.
The flurry of activity that accompanied the notable British
business plan 'Key to Success and Wealth' must surely be
sufficient to prove there's a large market out there for new and
interesting information products, particularly those incorporating
some capital accumulation project or business plan.
5 Wholesale Supplies
Many of us, if asked to define the term 'wholesaler', would begin
by describing a very large warehouse, with shelves, large doors
for vehicles to enter, loading facilities, and so on. But this
isn't always the case, and many a highly successful wholesaler
operates either entirely or at least partially by mail.
Stationery, small fancy goods, jewellery, novelty items, clothing,
make up and hosiery, are just a few of the relatively lightweight
and easily portable items offered in magazines read by market
traders and other retailers. 'Trading Place', 'World's Fair',
'Exchange and Mart' and 'The Trader' are a few of the publications
providing details of mail order wholesale services to thousands of
interested traders.
Stock if not specially manufactured, can be purchased from
bankruptcy sales, as job lots, from auctions, or else imported
from source.
6 Typesetting
A much-needed service in commerce and industry, a good and
reliable typesetting service can generate numerous repeat
customers, particularly if charges are competitive.
Custom might come from the mail order trade and operators'
constant requirement for quality circulars and sales letters; from
private individuals and small businesses in need of stylish
letterheads and stationery; from wholesalers and mail order
sellers whose lists will achieve far greater impact if
professionally produced, and countless other small and large
operations. Hotel menus, hairdressers' special offers, local
retailers' Christmas and January sales - all present potential
custom!
You might consider producing and retailing customised stationery
packs: letterheads, compliments slips, invoices, confirmation
slips, and so on. Look in 'The Trader' and 'Exchange and Mart'
for ideas.
Other possibilities include typesetting newsletters for local and
national clubs and societies; providing typesetting and
book-binding services similar to those offered by the 'vanity
press' to writers who otherwise might never see their work in
print, and who for the privilege are often prepared to pay well.
7 Writing
Though not providing a service usually associated with trading by
mail, most writers do in fact work entirely from home, sending
work to British, sometimes worldwide editors and publishers, and
awaiting their reward by mail. But writing what? Novels, plays,
radio dramas, and all of those other writing forms which often
involve years of accumulating rejection slips and increasing
disillusionment before the creator ever gets to make a penny? Most
certainly not! How about writing readers' letters and fillers for
those magazines willing to pay #25 a time for every item printed?
How about articles for mail order publications? The latter
represents a more than likely proposition for payment from editors
keen to pass your specialist knowledge on to less experienced
readers. And even if you don't invite payment by cheque, you'll
find countless publishers more than willing to publicise your
products and services in return for articles and snippets; many of
them happy to provide 'free' advertising for regular articles from
you - an easy way to offset the financial problems of placing
advertisements you find don't work as well as you'd hoped.
8 Copywriting/Producing and Designing Sales Letters and Circulars
This represents another service much in demand by mail order
operators, particularly those with less experience than yourself.
Copywriting of sales circulars and related material is perhaps one
of the most lucrative of writing forms, with the exception of
blockbuster novels and West End plays. A recent article in
'Writers' Digest' points to a growing copywriting industry in
America; one that could easily be emulated here in Britain.
American advertising specialists frequently charge upwards of
£1,000 for every thousand words they produce for direct mail and
mail order specialists in the United States. In Britain, I see
advertisements placed by at least two mail order and
multi-level-marketing professionals, offering copywriting services
at a far less costly £250 a thousand words. When you consider the
financial benefits arising from a well-composed sales package,
then it becomes obvious that anyone skilled in the art of
persuasion has much to offer colleagues in mail order; a service
for which they will recoup far more than they will pay you. It
must also be obvious that even if you don't generate sufficient
business to make a good living from copywriting, as a sideline to
your other mail order activities, the profits should be sufficient
to keep you afloat when other products suffer a temporary decline
in popularity.
So next time you think 'junk mail' when those circulars drop
through your door, pick them up; read them; analyse them; look for
popular words and phrases; look at the layout; count the average
number of words in each paragraph. Leave out nothing as you study
the secrets of those who make their entire living from providing
the most essential components of all profitable mail order
businesses - publicity circulars and sales letters!
9 'How to' Books, Reports, etc.
Joe Karbo had it; so did Napoleon Hill; Melvyn Powers has it in
great abundance, as do countless other mail order professionals
who have recognised and capitalised on the curiosity of people
seemingly less talented than themselves. What they, and hundreds
like them, have latched on to, is a virtually insatiable demand
for information products: manuals, books and newsletters written
by one successful individual and passed on to those who would like
their own share of fame and fortune.
And many, because they are held in such high esteem by their
colleagues, find that no matter what the topic, their work will
find a ready audience. Once the autobiography is out of the way,
they produce further manuscripts, sometimes related to their
personal activities and experiences in mail order; sometimes not.
There is no need to restrict your own efforts to business reports,
get-rich-quick schemes, or whatever other information today's
entrepreneurs are queuing to buy. As already touched upon,
today's successful self-publishers don't write purely from
experience, and countless prolific mail order publishers produce
newsletters, directories, lists, business plans, 'how to' books,
and so on, from information available in local libraries and
researched from the work of other writers.
One useful tip is to acquire mail order magazines and adsheets
imported from abroad - particularly the United States - which are
then scrutinised for whatever gaps exist in the British market.
10 Newspaper Clippings Agency
A time-consuming proposition perhaps - but also a very profitable
one - a newspaper clippings agency is ideally suited to operating
by mail, and presents very little competition. Writers,
historians, researchers, trade publications, newspapers and
magazine editors, are just a few of the many potential customers
for those cuttings taken from past and present worldwide
publications, which when batched together by theme or topic, are
offered for sale in writers' magazines, 'The Writers' and Artists'
Yearbook', or else forwarded direct to likely prospects.
Trade magazines incidentally, are noted for their regular reliance
on good and ongoing sources of cuttings for the many snippets and
filler items used in their pages. Trade magazines are those which
cater for operators in specific professional and commercial
sectors. British caterers' and bakers' trade publications might
therefore be approached with a selection of cuttings taken from
their American counterparts, or perhaps from the pages of early
British magazines. Fleamarkets and car boot sales are excellent
sources of early magazines and newspapers.
Details of British trade publications are available in 'Writers'
and Artists' Yearbook', or in more compact form in an annual guide
to trade publications published by: G Carroll, Venture
Publications, 11 Shirley Street, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 3WJ
11 Antiques and Collectors' Items
Look in any special interest publication or hobby magazine, and
you'll find a number of advertisers offering lists of collectors'
items and other products for sale to readers. The leisure
interest pages of 'Exchange and Mart', contain advertisements from
suppliers of stamps, old postcards, prints, ephemera, small
antiques, large antiques, and various other collectors' items. A
stamp or self addressed envelope is all you send for a detailed
list of what's available. Make your selection, send your cheque,
and wait for the postman to call with the goods.
Those a little reluctant to enter what is frequently seen as a
specialist area, will discover there's very little to learn about
some collectors' items. You might not be able to make an
immediate start in expensive antiques, but anyone can wander
around car boot sales and fleamarkets, picking up whatever books,
kiloware stamp supplies and early paper products are available, to
which a respectable profit margin is added before listing the
items for prospective clients.
And because so many societies and special interest clubs exist for
collectors of whatever type, an excellent mailing list can be
acquired by joining the ranks of other 'collectors' whose personal
details will usually be provided for you in annual membership
directories.
12 Comic Cartoon Service
A while ago, in a popular women's magazine, I came by a truly
unique mail order service, one in which an artist produced cartoon
drawings of subjects suggested by the customer placing the order.
A big head on small body - the essential requirements of all good
caricatures - nothing offensive or distasteful - just a unique and
highly personalised gift idea. I now see regular advertisements
for this particular service, which at this point apparently faces
little or no competition.
Even if you've never tried your hand at art before, there could be
an opening here for you, and several courses are available to
those interested in creating cartoons for profit. Try local
colleges and correspondence schools for suitable courses, and
look in the pages of writers' magazines where advertisements from
correspondence schools regularly feature.
13 Hobby Supplies
Study those special interest and hobby magazines again, and count
the number of advertisements for all manner of materials which
when acquired in bulk, broken down and offered in manageable sizes
to readers, can often be relied upon to attract regular repeat
custom. Competitions enthusiasts for instance, flock to entry
forms suppliers whose advertisements feature regularly in
'Competitors Journal'. For a small monthly fee, these suppliers
provide mixed batches of forms, thereby saving the competitions
enthusiast the long hours and cost involved in collecting forms
for themselves. Craftworkers require ongoing supplies of patches,
ready-to-make craft kits, remnants, trimmings, blueprints and
plans, but not all have access to high street stores offering
suitable products. A catalogue or list of suitable products could
be all you need to tap a nationwide market.
14 Running Correspondence and Special Interest Clubs
Whether they do it to find romance; someone to correspond with, or
just to find someone with whom to share a special interest, the
majority of people have need to meet with others who share a
common interest. Not surprisingly then, there's a great deal of
money to be made from bringing like-minded individuals into
contact with one another.
Pen pal and correspondence clubs are advertised in virtually every
local and county newspaper; some find their place on the pages of
what are essentially mail order and opportunity seekers'
magazines.
The organiser of the club or society might do little more than
circulate a membership list or newsletter including members'
details to all subscribers, who might then communicate with, or
contact another member or members of their choosing.
The organiser of a pen pal club might instead offer a selection of
hand-picked prospects for which the client will be charged a set
fee; any more names and addresses attract additional payment.
Special interest clubs tend to operate on much the same lines,
with subscribers making an annual payment, in return for which
they receive a monthly newsletter and sometimes a members'
directory. The newsletter might include details of events, dates
for the diary, articles, special offers and discounts, readers'
letters, and advertisements placed by members and non-members.
Amongst the many special interest clubs operating in Britain
today, we find fan clubs (for celebrities living and dead),
autograph collectors' societies, bottle collectors' clubs,
ephemera and postcard collectors' groups, writers' societies, mail
order dealers' and homeworkers' clubs. You name it, and where
there are sufficient people sharing a common need or interest ,
there will almost certainly be someone to have capitalised from
coordinating the activities of previously isolated individuals.
Seek out advertisements for clubs and groups similar to that you
intend to operate, send for details, identify the best features of
each, arrive at a competitive subscription price, then off you go!
You could even join a number of similar groups yourself,
especially where membership lists are circulated, from which you
derive a ready supply of potential customers for your own
business.
15 Correspondence Courses
Self-improvement and educational courses are popular products for
selling by mail, not least of all because of the convenience of
learning in one's own home at one's chosen pace.
Anyone with specialist knowledge can write a perfectly acceptable
correspondence or home study course, which might then be provided
on an instalment basis, with or without assignments provided for
clients. Some of today's more popular courses are offered on a
one-package basis, in much the same way as manuals and instruction
books are provided by mail order publishers.
And finally, if you don't want to write the course yourself, how
about buying and selling used correspondence courses? As long as
the subject matter is up-to-date, this is a service as yet very
much under-exploited in the British mail order market. Greatly
reduced costs for your courses should well be all you need to earn
a good living from the growing market for information products.
16 Leaflet Distribution
Cut down on others' advertising and postage costs by offering to
deliver circulars and samples to homes and businesses in your
area. Advertise your service in mail order magazines, in trade
publications, 'Exchange and Mart', even in 'Yellow Pages'. For a
set fee per 1,000 advertising pieces, deliver to your own area, or
else build up a county-wide or national team of individuals
willing to do the 'leg-work' while you gather in orders and ship
out the work from the comfort of home.
17 Astrology and Good Luck Services
Browse through 'Old Moore's Almanac' and you'll wonder why you
aren't offering books on the occult, card games, lucky charms,
football pools and racing forecasts, self-improvement books and
tapes to countless readers of this popular annual booklet first
published almost 300 years ago, and attracting a massive clientele
today.
Astrology services demand a responsible, caring attitude, but do
not necessarily require that you personally provide the service.
Try enlisting the services of a trained astrologer, whose findings
you will relay to customers, either individually or by means of
regular newsletters.
Courses are available from the Faculty for Astrological Studies
and through several correspondence schools. Several inexpensive
self-tuition guides are available from advertisements placed in
'Old Moore's Almanac', available from most newsagents and
stationers.
Useful Addresses
The Faculty of Astrological Studies, 20 Ensor Mews, London, SW7
Mayo School of Astrology, 8 Stoggy Lane, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon
'Old Moore's Almanac' is published and distributed by: W Foulsham
and Co. Ltd., Yeovil Road, Slough, Berks., SK1 4JH
Useful Reading
Dreams and Omens, The Big Book of Luck and Fortune, Card Fortune
Telling, Old Moore's Easy Guide to Astrology, The New Guide to
Palmistry, are just a few of the inexpensive titles available
from: British Journal of Astrology, 837 Yeovil Road, Slough,
Berks., SL1 4JH
18 Curriculum Vitae Service
A curriculum vitae is little more than a listing of biographical
and career-related details, produced in a compact, easy to read
format, ready for forwarding to prospective employers and training
consultants. Though actually very easy to prepare, remarkably
few people elect to produce the document themselves when someone
else is able to produce a more professional curriculum vitae on
their behalf. Curriculum vitae specialists charge somewhere in
the region of £25 for each document they produce. Considering
that the CV might extend to only 2 or 3 pages, and remembering
also the size of Britain's unemployed population, then it comes as
no surprise to find this features amongst the most profitable
services offered by mail.
Though you could operate a perfectly professional service with
just an electric typewriter at your disposal, many CV agencies
today find repeat custom generated from the memory banks of their
word processors, where clients are offered an updating facility
at very small cost.
Several good books are available to guide readers interested in
writing their own CVs, or else wishing to take advantage of a
highly profitable business proposition.
19 Personally Speaking
Today's up-market gift service strives to find new and more
interesting ways of conveying those age old messages 'Happy
Birthday', 'Merry Christmas', and so on. Teddy bears have the
message embroidered on the sashes around their waists, aeroplanes
parade long flowing banners with appropriate messages for all and
sundry to see; giant crosswords come complete with clues and
answers relating to the life, interests and characteristics of
recipients.
Other highly personalised gift services operating primarily by
mail, include personalised children's story books, with details
about the recipient built into the text; bride and groom books
including personal details of wedding party and guests; and on a
far less expensive note, numerous smaller personalised gifts are
available to that person seeking a unique gift for someone
special. Bookmarks, pens and pencils, brooches and other items of
jewellery, cups and mugs, eggcups and cutlery, all can be
purchased, personalised, and dispatched direct to the intended
recipient. If you need any more ideas on highly personal gift
products to offer by mail, look through 'Exchange and Mart', 'The
Trader' and most glossy women's magazines, particularly at
Christmas time.
Numerous franchise operations have recognised the profitability
afforded by the personalised children's book trade; some of them
also customising wedding books, stationery, greetings cards and so
on.
Though not restricted to operation by mail, the relevant franchise
opportunities can in fact produce an additional source of income
to those who offer other mail order services, especially where
related products and services are offered.
Franchising is a business opportunity where, in return for an
initial franchise fee and sometimes ongoing management fees and
stock purchase commitments, the business man or woman receives the
support of an already established business, whose products and
services he or she is entitled to market on licence. Normally
full training, back up support, and ongoing advice are provided by
the franchisor to those operating in its name. Franchise
operations normally confer a degree of security on the newcomer
to business, who even so, must take appropriate advice from legal
and financial advisors before committing him or herself to costly
business propositions.
Amongst the franchise opportunities involved in the personalised
children's book sector, we find 'Create-A-Book', a company
established in 1980, to provide a range of books for children and
grown ups. Wedding books, business cards, bookmarks, letter heads
and greetings cards also feature in Create-a-Book's extensive
product range. More information on this particular opportunity is
available from:
Create-A-Book, 29 Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 3LN
Other firms providing much the same services include:
My Book, Linkside Business Centre, First Floor, Summit Road,
Potters Bar, Herts., EN6 3JB
My Very Own Book, D & K Enterprises UK, 46 London Road, Sevenoaks,
Kent, TN13 1AS
Other useful products for selling by mail include personalised
address labels and rubber stamps, both of which can generate
regular repeat custom for quality, competitively priced goods.
20 Proofreading and Indexing
The proofreader's job involves reading through work received from
the author; sometimes from typesetters, looking for spelling and
typing errors, inaccuracies to text or grammar, ambiguities, and
possible omissions.
Those with some expertise in certain areas should find their
services in demand by publishers of books on appropriate subjects.
In the mail order trade, there are countless publishers who would
also welcome the services of someone able to read, evaluate and
correct manuals and business blueprints before they bring a swarm
of returns from dissatisfied customers.
'Writers' and Artists' Yearbook' and 'Writer's Handbook' provide
an excellent introduction to proofreading, and also contain
details of worldwide publishers to whom your services might be
offered.
The indexer references and cross-references a book's contents in
order that the reader might easily arrive at the point he requires
in the text. A clear, well-organised mind is essential, as is an
ability to spot related items suitable for cross-referencing in
the eventual index. Again, those two books mentioned in the
previous paragraph will point the reader in the direction of
publishers who might provide employment.
A correspondence course in indexing is available through: Rapid
Results College, 27 - 37 St. George's Road, London, SW19 4DS
The organising body of professional indexers is: Society of
Indexers, 28 Johns Avenue, London, NW4 4EN
Proofreaders and indexers might place their advertisements in any
mail order opportunities magazines, in 'The Bookseller', and other
magazines of interest to writers and publishers.
And Not Forgetting.....
the numerous other goods and services that can be relied upon to
provide a good and ongoing income in mail order: mailing lists,
big mails, circular mailing, printing and photocopying, business
management and advisory services, publishing directories and
employment guides, books and cassette lending libraries, publicity
agencies, tracing family trees, specialised gift agencies,
advertising agencies, fan clubs, import/export services, dating
bureaus, cherished car number plates, plot writing, computer
services, biorhythm charts, swap shops and bartering facilities,
out of print book finding services, etc., etc., etc.