Have you heard of Hubba? Hubba is a tool Todd uses to generate over $60,000 in monthly sales. Finding suppliers may be your number one headache. However, if used properly, sites like Hubba can quickly ease the pain and become your sales-boosting best friend. Let’s walk-through how to use Hubba when it comes to finding suppliers and snagging those coveted exclusivity agreements.
While finding suppliers is always about overcoming the inevitable rejection, Hubba lists smaller brands that are typically more open to Amazon sellers. With Hubba, success is optimal.
Get Started
Head over to Hubba.com which, as of 2018, had over 61,000 brands listed. First, click the Apply button and create your account. Once you’re in, a home page will display your brand matches depending on what brands you’ve previously searched for. Todd always recommends finding a niche product, especially if you’re just getting started. Learning everything there is to know about sporting goods or pet products or sewing supplies will set you up for success. You’ll know how to sell those products and can quickly create better-selling bundles and kits.
Filter
With over 60,000 brands, you’ll find great stuff but also a bit of junk. Go to the Search Tab and click Filter to start weeding through the good, the bad, and everything in between. You’ll see a list of categories that brands fall under on Hubba. Click through each category to keep narrowing your search results.
Once you’ve narrowed your search, click select all on the right-hand side and scroll down for your updated brand results.
Pick…
It’s time to pick a brand and reach out to the supplier. But how do you know which brands sell well on Amazon? Or which brands are capable of bringing in top sales?
First, open Amazon.com and search for the brand name. If it’s an official brand on Amazon, you should see it listed on the left-hand side under brands. Click the brand name so your search is narrowed to only that brand.
Next, start looking through the results for winners. Check out the number of reviews – is there a decent amount? That’s an indicator of top sales.
…Using Software
Once you’ve eyeballed your results, use tools like Jungle Scout for additional information. Jungle Scout provides a product’s sales rank, revenue, the estimated number of sales, reviews, who’s selling it (FBA vs. FBM), and if it’s sold by Amazon. Keep in mind, the approximate sales is just that – an approximation – so take that number with a grain of salt.
Also try Unicorn Smasher, a free product analyzer, for a second source. Sometimes Jungle Scout and Unicorn Smasher have drastically different sales numbers so it’s good to double-check.
Keep Digging
Use Jungle Scout to sort products by sales rank. Aside from finding products that sell well, search lower selling products with potential. Check out their images, bullets, and descriptions: are there enough quality images (7-8 is optimal)? Are there “lifestyle photos” (images showing people enjoying the product)? Is the title too long? Is there enough information in the description? Are the bullet points robust with keywords? If you find yourself answering no to most of these, this product has the potential to grow with an optimized listing.
Also check to see who’s selling the product. If a brand is selling its own product, that’s a prime indicator that you may be able to sneak in and snag an exclusivity agreement by optimizing their product pages and boosting sales.
Look at Price History
Next, use products like Keepa and CamelCamelCamel to view the product’s price history. Check out the range of pricing over several years and note if Amazon has previously sold the product. Stay away from all products Amazon has sold or may sell again. The last thing you want is to compete against Amazon. CamelCamelCamel is great because it provides the sales rank history. That sales rank number should be consistently high. You want to make sure you’re not investing in a product that’s on a temporary upswing. If the sales history is low but you’re savvy with SEO, Todd still recommends contacting the brand and vying for that exclusivity agreement.
Contact
Once you’ve found some great products, jump back to Hubba and, under the brand, click a box titled CONTACT BRAND. This contact button should open up a chat window that allows you to send a message to the supplier. Check out Todd’s supplier request email templates for help sending a message primed for success. Hubba sends you an email when the supplier has gotten back to you. With Hubba, Todd has seen a 50% response rate.
Keep Grinding!
Once you’ve contacted a brand, start the process over again and keep scouring for new products. If anything, Amazon is a volume game. But remember, if you find a product that’s not selling well and the listings look great, don’t bother. There’s nothing more you can do in these situations to boost sales and snag an exclusivity agreement.
