Who do you buy wholesale from?

I'm looking to start a couple more eCommerce site and am curious where you other eCommerce site owners buy wholesale from. Doesn't matter what type of product.

 

Well you have to go to the source. You can either purchase direct from the factory or through a wholesale company.

 

Right, I'm aware of that. And I'm asking who are some of the places you buy from.

 

good to see you've really looked into it... And your not just jumping in blind.

madJACK

 

My question is quite valid. You've contributed nothing, please don't post unless you've got something useful to say.

 

Because I like having my end in many buckets instead of just one. I like trying lots of new things.

 

It DOES matter what type of product you are talking about. Many major brands have distributors and others will sell directly as long as you meet their minimums. Some won't sell to a startup at all. Others require you to meet stringent requirements - like have a brick and mortar location.

Until you know what type of product you want to sell, you won't find an answer.

There are wholesalers who buy direct and will sell to you, but with their markup it can make it very hard to compete on price - if that is even a focus of your business plan.

I used to run a mid-size retail chain that had locations in 38 states and we even ran into problems with some types of product - i.e. if you carry brand X, we won't sell to you or we only sell through distributors - and this was with tens of millions of dollars in annual purchases. Many larger brands will treat generic inquires to carry their product as a joke, so you should have a good plan put together and be ready to convince them why they should allow you to represent their product - again, it all depends on what you plan on selling.

 

I think you've totally missed what my question is asking. Note that I'm quite familiar with buying/selling from many different wholesalers/distributors and am very familiar with all sorts of different requirements. I'm not asking "how can I start buying wholesale"...I'm simply asking for lists from people. Think of this as more of a survey than a "how-to" question.

I'm asking "What do you sell?" and "Who do you buy wholesale from?"...simple as that.

 

I call my suppliers a 'trademark secret'.

It took me a very long time and a lot of research to find the right ones, and I don't give up that info lightly.

I have a feeling that others may feel the same.

Of course, you could always place some bulk orders from me & I will give you a price break!

 

Heh finding wholesalers and distributors that are suitable for you and won't turn around with silly requirements later on is a very time consuming task. I doubt anyone would give that information away for free, I certainly wouldn't.

Doesn't this thread kind of need what type of products you are seeking to source as well? The best wholesalers/distributors are the specialists in their particular country in my experience, general ones are pig awful.

 

I don't have any experience with this but ...

Why not to sell other's people stuff through an affiliate program , when you reach a good size of sales you can make with them a deal so all deals to go only on your website (purchase) and they to take care of the rest . Also to give you a bigger percentage .

You won't have to deal with buying/sending goods and the little percentage they will get it's worth I think as you will have more time to focus on selling products .

Just my $0.02

 

I tend to agree with everyone else. You'd probably have just as much luck asking for everybodys bank account information. It took me over a year to form solid relationships with my distributors, and I'm not going to give anybody the details about what I sell, where I get it from or how much money I make in the process. Maybe this is just a survey, but most people don't like to openly discuss their sources of income in a public forum becuse anybody can read it and start competing against you.

 

You can always check out worldwidebrands.com. they have lists of dropshippers and wholesalers.

 

what is a wholesale license?

 

Basically a business license for those in the wholesale business. Kinda like how a realtor needs a realtor's license and a car dealership needs a dealer's license.