As a retailer, you may already know the importance of stocking POS (point of sale) products. It really doesn't matter what type of store you run, from a convenience store or gas station, to a retail outlet, or anything in between, point of sale purchases can add some extra profit to your product line.

One of the best types of POS products to stock is sunglasses, especially inexpensive ones. As ZZ Top describes in their song 'Cheap Sunglasses', there are many times when a customer rolls out of bed, heads out to the great outdoors and realizes that, with the sun beating down, they need to find themselves some cheap sunglasses.

Now cheap doesn't have to mean poor quality. In fact, the better the quality of your cheap sunglasses the more likely you will not only have return business, but some great word of mouth advertising as well.

So how do you go about finding quality, inexpensive sunglasses in the first place? Well we are glad you asked. We have put together a simple sunglasses buying guide for retailers. These simple tips will not only help you to locate a reputable dealer of quality, inexpensive sunglasses, but they will also help you to know what to look for in the sunglasses themselves.

Sunglasses Buying Guide Tip #1 - Research: Customer Service & Third-Party Reviews

So first thing is first, you need to do your research. Not only should you conduct your research by reading through a potential company's website, but you should also perform some additional investigation through third-party review sites.

On the company website, look for contact information. Can you find it easily? Or is it hidden away? Do they provide a toll-free number, or do they just have an email address?

The more ways a company provides a way to contact them, such as through email, telephone, live chat, Facebook, twitter, etc., the easier it should be to ask any questions should an issue arise with your order. If they have a Facebook or twitter presence you should also spend some time researching their profiles to see how they deal with customer complaints.

Along with their own social media presence it is also a good idea to look at some third-party review websites, such as Yelp, to see what others are saying about their experience with the particular company.

Your initial research should just be based on customer service and reviews alone. As mentioned earlier, cheap doesn't have to mean poor quality, but it very well could, so don't limit yourself by price and choose the least expensive wholesalers just yet.

Sunglasses Buying Guide Tip #2 - Understanding Your Consumer

You also need to understand who your target consumer is and what their buying habits are. From there you should do some research on what designs and styles of sunglasses are currently fashionable, and which ones are most popular with your target consumer.

There are plenty of fashion blogs and websites available that are specific to sunglasses, but one of your best bets is to fallow the trends of celebrities. A great site to follow all the celebrity gossip, from what they are wearing to... well we don't need to go there - is TMZ. Watch the show or read the blog, you are bound to get a few ideas of what styles of sunglasses are currently popular.

Sunglasses Buying Guide Tip #3 - Putting It All Together

After you have compiled a list of specific designs and styles that are currently popular with your target consumer you can now narrow down your list of potential sunglasses wholesalers. Find out if they offer the types of sunglasses that will sell well in your store. Are they offering the most current designs? How often do they update their product line? Once you've narrowed down the list based on these factors now you can start to compare price, although there are further features to take into consideration.

Sunglasses Buying Guide Tip #4 - Further Considerations

As mentioned throughout this post, cheap doesn't have to be poor quality, but sometimes it does. So find out if the company offers a sample pack so you can test out a few different designs and styles of sunglasses before you commit to a full shipment. A few other factors that can help you to narrow down your list are:

- do they offer free shipping - are there bulk discounts - what is the return policy - is there any guarantee

Taking the four tips from above into consideration, finding a sunglasses wholesaler that provides quality and inexpensive sunglasses can be fairly simple, and if the research is properly performed, can occur without incident.