MasterChef has been a mouth-watering and taste bud taunting delight in our lounge rooms for over six years.
If you, like me, love to count down to the plating, are nervous for the competitors throughout the judge tasting and squirm at the saggy soufflés, I am sure you have been inspired and turned your hand to a recipe or two.
I love watching the techniques and fabulous tools the chefs use. I love that I find myself believing that if only I had great kitchen tools, cookbooks, ingredients and electrical gadgets I too would be able to cook like that.
If you experience even one of these sensations, you are not alone. In fact, sales for kitchenware, cookbooks, kitchen electronics and napery experience an exponential increase when MasterChef airs.
As an online seller, self-confessed shopaholic and kitchen gadget collector I experienced the full power of this trend when I first started my fledgling eBay store a couple of years ago.
It was a fortunate accident that I had sourced the Jamie Oliver 15 Minute Meals Cookbook at a fabulous sale price. I decided to buy a couple and list them in my eBay store. This was a fabulous lesson for me on what I call Trend-Tracking. Every time Jamie was on TV doing his 15 minute meals show, my eBay store lit up. Cha-Ching!
It was a valuable lesson and a profitable one.
I noted that shows like MasterChef, Jamie Oliver and even The Block are so inspirational to the viewers they trigger a buying frenzy. The Block is an online sellers dream particularly if you source the latest lamps, cushions, vases or gadgets like paint sprayers etc. Sales for these items peak as we viewers are inspired by the results of our favourite contestants.
If you sell items online or wish to it really is worth mastering how to identify an emerging trend and test the products ready to profit.
I find trending products I will ultimately sell in two ways:
- Products aligned to
- A TV show – MasterChef for kitchenware, The Block for homewares/DIY, Jamie Oliver Products for Jamie’s TV Shows
- An event/celebration – Mother’s day, Christmas or when Heston Blumenthal opened his restaurant in Melbourne and I found his book at a great price. As Heston was constantly in the media it was an ideal event to take advantage of (as I recently mentioned in my article How I Made A Fortune from Being a Shopaholic (https://thecarousel.com/living/careers/how-i-made-a-fortune-from-being-a-shopaholic/)
- Something provocative – perhaps in the news. I learned this lesson when Arnold Schwarzenegger was reportedly the father of his maid’s child. Shortly after I saw his biography at a fabulous price and sold hundreds. Not long after that I was having cocktails with him.
- Seasonal event – the beginning of spring for gardeners
I research it; I source it and then test and sell.
- I discover a great product, run it through the Savvy Shopaholic formula by
- Researching it – who else is selling it? At what price? Can I source it (often in sales)?
- Testing it – by sourcing a couple to see if it sells
- Listing it online – ensure it will sell before sourcing larger volumes
- Sourcing it – in reasonable volumes. Don’t buy a pallet if you are starting out. It is better to make less profit buying smaller quantities and not be stuck with a garage full of boxes
I did this when I sold Fifty Shades Of Grey. I spotted the emerging trend when it was barely a whisper amongst friends. I bought ten and they sold in a flash so I bought twenty and then hundreds… and then the second book and the boxed set. Cha-Ching! Another wonderful lesson learned.
Whichever way you identify products of interest, the formula will work for you.
Profitable bargains and interesting products you just know will sell are surrounding you right now. Why can’t you see them? You just haven’t had your radar tuned in until now.
We will continue to discuss refining that ability in the coming weeks so you can confidently identify the products that will make you hundreds and thousands of dollars over the coming months.
The Carousel would like to thanks Jo Munro for this article. Get more information about her new book “the Savvy Shopaholic”, by clicking here!
