Behind the Buy: How PulseTV Finds the Products You Can't Stop Watching

By Khalil, Lead Buyer at PulseTV

[Khalil picture right justified]

If you've ever watched one of our product videos and thought "how did they even find that?" - you're not alone. We get that question a lot. The truth is, finding the right product for PulseTV is part science, part instinct, and occasionally part comedy. It's a process that has been refined over 30 years, and one that our entire team takes seriously (we think it's kinda fun too!) Here's a look at how it actually works.

We Go Where the Deals Are

It starts on the road. Our buying team travels across the country multiple times a year, hitting trade shows that most shoppers have never heard of but that are essentially gold mines for people who do what we do.

Twice a year we make the trip to Las Vegas for ASD Marketweek and The Closeout Show - two events where you can find rare product opportunities that simply do not exist anywhere else. These are the kinds of deals where a vendor is moving the last stock, or a brand new product is looking for its first major retail partner, or a closeout is so well-priced that you have to act immediately or someone else will. We love it.

[Picture at show]

Closer to home, our Chicago-area location gives us easy access to the Inspired Home Show, which focuses on kitchen innovation and products from bigger name brands - and we attend a local show at The Merchandise Center every other month where many of our longtime vendor relationships were first built and continue to grow.

We've also been invited to special events around the US for top retailers where we can see sometimes 100 vendors in just 2 days! It's like speed dating with plenty of established businesses and startup companies. The head can spin with seeing so many items and new people, but we've formed many long-lasting relationships from these kinds of meetings.

Between shows, our inboxes never stop. The team reviews well over 200 new product opportunities every single week from vendor emails alone. The whole PulseTV team also keeps an eye on what's trending - it's not unusual for someone to pop into a conversation with "hey, I just saw this on TikTok..." and for that to spark a new product conversation.

If you have a product you think belongs on PulseTV, by the way, you can submit it directly through our product submission form. We do actually read them!

The "WOW Factor" Is Non-Negotiable

There's no AI agent or algorithm in play: here's how we decide what makes the cut.

I personally have been attending trade shows since I was 16 years old, starting out by carrying the backpack and taking photos for my aunt Anisa, who co-founded PulseTV alongside my father and their cousin back in 1996. Anisa has been doing this longer than anyone on the team and still helps in our buying conversations, writing copy, and fronts more of our product videos than anyone. It's truly a family business!

What I look for in a product comes down to a few things: it has to tell a story, it has to demo well on camera, and it has to be something unique enough that you couldn't just grab it at your local big box store. We snatch up closeout inventory, work with vendors who are just bringing something new to market, and seek out patented items that the Walmarts and Targets of the world simply won't carry. Our product videos are a core part of how we sell - think of it like an As Seen on TV model where the demo drives the impulse. If a product doesn't have that WOW factor on camera, it's probably not right for us.

Rejection can be quite fast. A mass email showing 25 variations of children's blankets? Pass. An item that's too common, too fragile to ship safely, or too boring to demonstrate? No thank you. It really is important to not select anything remotely breakable for shipping - glass decorations and anything that isn't sufficiently padded tend to cause more problems than they're worth by the time they reach a customer's door.

Every Sample Gets Tested. Every Single One.

This is the part we take most seriously. We want to make sure power banks cycle through properly, RFID blocking wallets will protect your identity from card skimmers, and solar-powered items actually work to recharge their batteries.

Before any product goes live on PulseTV, a sample is in our hands. We evaluate it for ease of use, value for the price, and whether it actually does what it claims. The sample also becomes the basis for our product copy, our photography, and our videos.

Sometimes the results surprise us. We tested a set of outdoor solar lights that claimed to stay lit for six hours through the night. Reasonable enough. What we didn't expect was that after a full day of sunlight, those lights ran for twenty full hours. That kind of result makes the buying decision very easy with an enthusiastic thumbs-up! See those lights here: 11150

The rechargeable handheld blower was another moment. It looks small - definitely a fraction of a full-sized leaf blower. When we powered it on, the kickback from the fans hit like a small engine starting up. The whole team felt it instantly, and we knew we had a quality product on our hands. See the rechargeable blower here: 11059

Not everything passes. We once looked at a closeout power bank that seemed almost too well-priced. The key to properly testing a power bank is to let it drain completely and then recharge it from zero. This one charged fine the first time - and then never worked again. When we looked at the packaging, the copyright date was nearly ten years old. It had been sitting in a warehouse long enough for the battery to be essentially dead on arrival. Even at a great discount: the product has to work properly!

Then there was the floating fire lantern test - the kind you light and release into the sky. We picked a beautiful day. What we didn't account for was the wind, which sent one directly into a tree. We decided pretty quickly that this was not a product we were comfortable putting in customers' hands. We did, however, end up with a pretty entertaining video of the whole thing!

It's a Team Sport

Buying is ultimately my responsibility, but it's far from a one-person operation. When I'm on the trade show floor, I photograph every confirmed item and those worth a second look and drop it into a shared Facebook album where the whole PulseTV team can comment, ask questions, and weigh in. The most common response when something great comes through? "When is this coming in??"

The team keeps the whole machine running once a product is on its way. Kris handles reorders, keeping a close eye on what's almost sold out and making sure we don't miss a beat on fast-moving items. Jeanie coordinates pickups and logistics across the country, making sure what we buy actually makes it to our warehouse in one piece. Jazz takes all the pictures and prepares to run you through them in the videos. Sherri learns about the products to provide you with excellent customer service for your frequently asked questions. We're a small team that moves fast, and everyone has a role - meet the staff here.

One Last Thing

I'll leave you with this: the test of whether a product truly belongs on PulseTV is simple.

Would I buy it as a gift? Would I use it myself?

Walk through any room of my house and you'll find MANY PulseTV products. That's not a marketing line. That's just how we shop, and how much I like what we do!

If you want to see the results of all this work, start with our best sellers or browse what's new.

Suggested meta description: "A behind-the-scenes look at how PulseTV's buying team travels the country, tests every sample, and finds products you won't see anywhere else." Tags: behind the scenes, buying process, product testing, PulseTV, deals, trade shows, family business