What is "Fake" Supply?

The concept of "Fake Supply" originated in the landscape of contemporary marketing and particularly, in the startup world.

As new entrants in marketplaces often face challenges in attracting suppliers initially, the innovative notion of "fake supply" was strategically devised. In essence, the term "Fake Supply" refers to the tactic of artificially creating the supply-side of a marketplace when you cannot immediately form relationships with a lot of suppliers.

"Fake Supply" does not involve deception. Rather, it's about being resourceful and creating your own inventory to stimulate activity. It's an effective method to validate the existence of supply and stimulate traffic. This can boost a marketplace's credibility, generating more interest among potential suppliers and leading to business growth.

Examples of Fake Supply

1. A new online clothing boutique may initially stock its platform with items bought from wholesalers or other retailers, portraying a high variety of options. This can attract buyers and eventually convince other brands to sell on their platform.

2. An art auction website at its initiation might showcase art pieces owned by the founders or procured from local artists. By presenting these as items ready for auction, the site can attract the attention of bigger, more renowned artists and thus enhance its inventory.

3. A platform selling handmade crafts might begin by showcasing products made by the founders or friends. This provides an illusion of plenty and can slowly invite artisans from various sectors to stock their products on the platform.

4. A newly minted online bookstore could start by selling books from the personal collection of the founders. This initial inventory can pull in readers, and gradually, independent authors may show interest in promoting and selling their books on this platform.

5. A platform for renting musical instruments may initially offer equipment owned by the founders or rented from music schools during their off seasons. This initial offering can attract musicians seeking for rental instruments and encourage music instrument owners to list their equipment there.

Marketing Tactics Similar to Fake Supply

1. Dropshipping: An ecommerce business model where the shop owner doesn't keep products in stock. Instead, when a product is sold, they purchase the item from a third party and ships directly to the customer.

2. Minimum Viable Product (MVP): A version of a product with just enough features to be usable by early customers, used as a tactic to assess the demand for a product before larger-scale production.

3. Growth Hacking: Marketers use this strategy to acquire as many users or customers as possible while spending as little as possible.

4. Front-end Sales: A strategy to sell lower value products to lure in customers with the aim to upgrade them later to higher value products.

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