[pc86]

If you are willing to invest a slightly higher amount to test the waters, you can buy a small batch (e.g. 100 units) but sell at the large batch price (e.g. what you would if you had 10k units). You will lose money overall but if your 100 units sell out in 3 days you might not lose as much sleep placing that order for 10k units.

Depending on the product the variance in price between a small order and a large order can greatly influence perceived demand.