I’m so glad that you found this article to be useful. In regards to your inventory question, I think it depends on what you are trying to sell. For us, our competitors all carried a wide selection so we felt that we needed to as well. In most cases, you are forced to carry large quantities of a single product because most distributors (at least in China) won’t sell to you unless you buy in large quantities. Fortunately, we found someone that was willing to let us “test the waters” albeit at increased prices.

If you are selling something truly unique, then I don’t think it’s necessary to fill out your store but only you can be the judge of your target market.

Most importantly, I was curious to hear about how you started out with the inventory. Now I know the answer. Did you, btw, think about the opposite way to go of starting with only a few product but getting a bit more of each? Do you think that would ever make sense, or is it limiting the customers too much?

Thanks for sharing! Really useful stuff!

I just read your personal blog for the first time today. I hope every turns out okay and that you will still have time to pursue your small business.