How do I validate demand for this idea?

Question

It's a marketplace where global manufacturers/wholesalers can connect directly with consumers.

They can post their products at wholesale prices and decide how many people need to purchase the deal for it to be shipped out. Let's say they choose 100 consumers. If they don't meet the number, the customers get a refund.

This would be for items not sold in your country.

Are there any startups out there doing this?

How do I validate demand for this on the consumer and manufacturer/wholesale side?

Ana Bibikova · Accepted Answer

Sounds like a cool idea, however, I would suggest to interview at least 5 manufacturers asking them about their user stories - what services do they use now aside from the obvious alibaba.com and what is their main pain point there. In my experience, the main challenge for manufacturers outside China is logistics. Only few are prepared to work with less than a full load containers (20Ft at least) because cargo companies don't support these complex solutions where they have to pick loads from various places, get several bill of ladings etc. Freight companies outside China also don't like to work with several BLs. So, even if you offer manufacturers direct access to customers, there still might be bigger challenges with delivery. Anyway, I suggest you talk to at least 5 small/medium sized companies from countries like Thailand,  Vietnam, Turkey, Malaysia and see what they have to say. Then go for a full scale survey with at least 200 participant to see if there is a demand for it from the customer side.

Roman Velitskiy · Answer

This sounds compelling, but I'm afraid the logistics behind this and the number of shipping companies the manufacturers will have to work with will be a nightmare.

Taskmagnet.com · Answer

@rvelitskiy Yes after reading the post, you are right. Ignore the logistics for now and assume factors such as political and economic legislations across borders. Any way, man do go to the moon now, it could be easier. How are apps like wish.com doing it?

How do I validate demand for this idea?

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