I am excited to announce that after a long incubation, my dream of getting my goods featured on DealDey has been realized. I had all but given up on it and have since been waiting for the day I would be called to come pick up the goods I supplied. Thus, I did not easily believe when I saw that listing. Infact, I was certain that the USB LED listed on the glam site was supplied by another merchant. Until I scrolled down to the highlights and saw my details under supplier, I just could not afford to believe and then be heartbroken.
The dream which was actualized at the start of this week was born last October. It was an early morning in my first days as an online shopping customer. The whole concept really captivated me and I became a shopaholic overnight; spending hours on end browsing through interesting inventory on the web. This particular day, I was on this (non-Nigerian) mega online store which a friend - Willie - had introduced me to a few months before. They have an unbelievable stock of over 80000 different products; and at great prices too. Somewhere along the line in my browsing, a bulb lit up in my head; a great idea. I figured: if I was able to get items in bulk at such great prices, I could easily start an import and distribution business through DealDey.
I soon took the first major step towards actualization by ordering a bunch of low cost digital thermometers. It took about three months for them to reach the country, thanks to logistics issues and my inexperience. Well, they got here and guess what, I wasn't very excited to see them. My reticent self simply considered it would be a feat to get them featured on DealDey. It's usual for me, when it comes to things I've never attempted before and which I'm scared of failing at. In such cases, a lot of willpower is required to get me to even try when in my mind, I've already failed. Fortunately, at some point during my procrastination, about 50% of the thermometers were sold off, thanks to my mum's intervention. She did something I wouldn't even attempt for fear of rejection: she marketed them to her peers at work, one after the other.
One morning, shortly after I returned from NYSC camp, I forced myself out of the house and soon, I was at the DealDey HQ at Raymond Njoku, Ikoyi. I took along about twenty thermometers, positive the deal was going to be accepted. With me also were the audio jack splitters I had recently ordered. If one did not sell, at least, the other would. Unfortunately, today was not to be my lucky day. After my short pitch of the products, the sales representative politely disqualified my goods on grounds of them being "deeply discounted" and "not useful enough". I felt quite defeated. On the bright side though, I left that meeting with a more accurate idea of what the company's commision on deals is. My own assumptions had been way out of range. Also, the sales rep. revealed to me the company's target profit per deal. An impressive figure indeed; now I wonder if it has increased.
Unarguably, the most profitable aspect of my trip to Ikoyi that morning was meeting Soji, an acquaintance from UNILAG at DealDey; he was staff. Our acquaintanceship quickly got promoted into friendship, thanks to a lot of ginger on my end. In a short time, thanks to much encouragement from him, I had invested another $600 into my business. This time, my order was treated with haste and within three weeks, the next batch of goods was in my hands. I hesitantly got across to Soji, informing him of the arrival of the goods he had promised to help me with. A few meetings + a few weeks and bam, my dream was just one step away from reality. Thanks to my new friend's selfless help, my goods were out of my hands and now in my big distributor's. Not once had I been to Ikoyi since I got these goods and I had gone this far? Now, I appreciate Teju's advice on #famzin
Week after week, I visited the DealDey's attractive homepage, scrolling through and anticipating my deal before hitting the bottom. May, June, then July passed and my deal did not come up. My precious capital was stuck in inventory that was proving hard to sell; and all my hope was on my friend, who happened to be away from Lagos for NYSC. Along the line, I gave up all hope, often picturing my lights in some god-forsaken corner of the company. There almost went, another shattered dream.
This morning, in the cold of the shower, oblivious of the fact that my deal had come up, I remembered my gadgets. In my despair, I said a short prayer to God, asking him simply to help me recoup my capital and that all profits would be paid as tithe. Unknown to me, my prayer had been answered even before I said them. Here, on this seat, a few hours ago, through my Chrome browser, I navigated to the "gadgets and electronics" section of DealDey and there it was: my first personal DealDey deal. I know they must have put it up yesterday, judging from the time left on it.
I see this as a small beginning for bigger things to come. This breakthrough has simply challenged me to keep seeking out the most interesting products I can find. Once my capital from this deal touches down, I would get to work on finding the next irresistible and interesting product which DealDey is going to help me market. Hopefully, things would move much faster the next time, since I have passed the beginner stage. I've learned a lot from my experience so far and I'm damn sure the next import won't be a mistake.
Many thanks to Soji for helping me so much on this. I owe him one. I expect to see a SOLD OUT on this deal before its time online elapses. That would be the only befitting reward for all the time that has been lost trying to get featured. People of the world, abeg, make ona rush ah, make ona buy my ogbonge USB LED light finish o.
