1. Market and Product Research
Before you set about finding a wholesaler for a certain product the first thing I would always advise people to do is to re-evaluate their choice in product. I´m sure you´ll agree what a waste of time it would be if you were to spend countless hours researching for suppliers of a certain product, to then find that either the product or the marketplace you intend to sell it through isn´t a viable venture.
So before you start searching for the wholesaler, make sure you have chosen a viable product and have a number of marketplaces to facilitate the sales.
2. Product Choice
Your search for wholesale products will ultimately depend on what product you are chasing to find at a wholesale price. Choosing the highly competitive products such as (iPods, Games Consoles, ect) will almost certainly cost you time and potentially money before you find a trustworthy supplier. So before you decide to go out looking for a wholesaler, thoroughly consider the product you are attempting to find and in turn profit from.
Think outside of the box, think away from the competitive markets, think niche!
3. Find Good Supply Sources
Finding a good wholesale supply isn´t an easy task, especially for certain products. Spending a few hours on the major search engines might throw up some decent opportunities but don´t underestimate the power of a good wholesale directory. One thing you will learn pretty quick in the wholesale business is there isn´t a shortage of people claiming to be able to offer you wholesale suppliers. The market is currently saturated with directories, sourcing agents, and websites promising low prices and easy money making opportunities.
Try and avoid paying for suppliers until you are really stumped for opportunities. (Even then, paid services may not offer you anything viable.) Browsing free directories like this, wholesale forums, and of course search engines can often be a very affluent area to pick up wholesale suppliers. There are many paid services out there that can provide you with suppliers, a selection of five good sites can be found at: Fresh Sources.
Remember, product choice is often key to finding profitable opportunities!
4. Patience
Patience is a virtue when it comes to finding suppliers. Normally if you put the work in, you certainly reap the rewards. To a degree I would agree with this statement, but when finding suppliers it´s about where you look rather than how long you look for. A quick search engine input or forum/directory sweep can often lead you onto a decent wholesaler in minutes. Looking through your local paper or trader magazine can also lead you on to suppliers located on and offline.
In my experience, its often those people who are searching for unrealistic prices that spend their eternity searching for wholesale product sources.
5. Have a little faith
I often get emails from individuals exhausted claiming they have no where left to look for a wholesale supplier. I know I keep saying it but I make no apology for doing so; The product is key! - I’m inclined to tell you to just forget the most popular products and concentrate on something less competitive. Sure, there is money to be made in these areas but your chances of succeeding while you are a small business are next to none, after all, who wants to work for 1-5% return on their investment?
The wholesale industry often gets bad press when it comes to risking your money, 8 out of 10 times this is due to the unrealistic product people are chasing!
Good Luck!
Written and Published by:
Anthony Trollope
Blog Editor | The Wholesale Directory
