If you are having trouble competing online, here's a suggestion: go where the people are. As wonderful as it is, the online model depends on drawing customers to your site. Yet there is another way. You can take designer sunglasses to them instead. You don't even need to set up a brick-and-mortar store to do it.
Below are some suggestions outlining how you can take your products directly to. Bear in mind that none of them precludes selling online. You can do both. Furthermore, increasing your in-person sales could very well boost your online sales. You will not know if you don't try.
1. Local Vendor Events
Summer is the season for local events. Cities and towns all across the country offer art and music festivals, farmers markets, family fun days, and on and on. The one thing they all have in common is the need for vendors. That's right. Event organizers are almost always begging for vendors to fill up available slots. Some slots inevitably go empty.
Selling at a local event is easy. All you really need is a tent, a table, and your inventory. A mobile credit card reader opens the door to cashless sales as well. You sell for 8 to 10 hours over two or three weekend days, then pack up and move on to the next event.
2. Flea Market Sales
You might find there are not enough local events to sustain your sales. Don't be surprised if that's the case. At the same time, don't stop there. There are plenty of other opportunities, including selling at local flea markets. You'd be surprised how easy it is to sell designer sunglasses in a flea market setting.
Flea markets are distinctly different from traditional retail in the sense that people normally go flea market shopping already planning to spend. You have access to a group of people who are expecting to buy things on every trip. So why shouldn't they buy your sunglasses?
The other great thing about flea markets is that they almost never require a commitment. It's not like you have to sign a two-year lease. Most flea markets allow vendors to come and go as they see fit. You pay for space for either a week or a month at a time. If you set up in a flea market and it doesn't work out, you can move on without consequence. And no, flea market rents generally aren't prohibitively high.
3. Co-Op Sales
A third option is the local co-op. If you are not familiar, a co-op is a cross between the traditional retail environment and a flea market. You rent space in the co-op which you use to display your products. You don't have to physically be in the space whenever the co-op is open. Rather, renters divide the responsibility of staffing the co-op among themselves. You might only have to put in a few shifts per month, depending on the number of vendors.
Taking designer sunglasses directly to your customers isn't as hard as you might think. Actually, you are limited only by your own imagination. Just remember that you will probably have to get permits to sell in certain venues. Check with your local authorities for information. Other than that, going to where the people are is pretty simple. You just have to find the right opportunity to seize.
