the no-nonsense guide to buying wholesale products for resale

I'm an eBay seller who frequents eBay's discussion boards and groups, and one of the most common questions I hear is, "Where can I buy wholesale products?" People want to know where they can buy wholesale products for resale on eBay or on Amazon or at flea markets or other venues.

Sellers will not share their wholesale sources. After working long and hard to develop a base of trustworthy and dependable suppliers, who would want to give away that information to a competitor? You are pretty much on your own as you try to find your own wholesale sources.

Not surprisingly, scammers and fraudsters are waiting for you to make just one ill-informed move so they can dip into your bank account. Others tell you about so-called "fantastic" wholesale sources, but actually they are just promoting their own affiliate sales, hoping to make a commission from whatever useless or out-of-date information products they can sell you. (Please note: other than the ads placed here by HubPages or any Amazon or eBay modules, this page contains NO affiliate links or other hidden links that will earn me commissions or any other revenue. It is intended to be strictly informational.)

It's very easy for a new seller - and even some experienced sellers - to fall into a trap and lose money to internet hucksters. You don't have money to throw away. So how do you avoid these problems and get the merchandise you need? I'm not going to tell you where to buy your product, but I am going to give you some tools to help you do your research. And make no mistake about it - it takes work to find the wholesalers who have the merchandise you need at the right prices. If you are new to the wholesale buying business, roll up your sleeves!

I hope the information here will help make it a little easier for you. And remember:

• I do not endorse any product source that might be mentioned here.
• YOU have to do the research.
• YOU have to decide if a vendor is trustworthy.
• And only YOU can determine if the price is right.

begin at the product source and move forward from there

You know what you want to sell.

You've done your research and know that a market for your product exists.

You have a reseller certificate from your state (easy to get, this enables you to buy merchandise without paying sales tax but also requires you to collect sales tax on sales you make in your state).

Now you have to find one or more wholesale product sources.

It's always best to begin by contacting the manufacturer directly. If the manufacturer does not sell directly to retailers, ask for the distributor's name and contact information and get in touch with the distributor.

If you can source your products locally through the manufacturer or their legitimate wholesale distributor, it's to your advantage. By working as close to the source of your inventory as possible you keep your transportation (shipping) costs to a minimum. Don't forget, when you price your product for resale, the cost of shipping that product to you must be figured into your selling cost. If you have to pay for the product to travel a thousand miles to reach you, that's a lot more expensive than going to a warehouse within driving distance.

Another advantage you gain by sourcing nearby is the ability to establish a more personal relationship with the distributor or manufacturer. You may be able to learn things that will help you improve your sales. And as your sales grow, you become more important to the manufacturer or distributor and develop more leverage with them.

If for any reason you are not able to make contact with a manufacturer or distributor (local or not), there are other steps you can take. These include attending trade shows and finding sources online. Keep reading!

At trade shows you can meet wholesalers in person and get an up-close look at products you might want to buy. Try to attend trade shows whenever you can. If you have a legitimate business you will usually receive free admission. Visit a trade show's web site well in advance of the show to learn about eligibility, registration, exhibitors and other show details. Below is a list of some of the major online trade show directories. You'll find that each of these web sites provides other helpful information beyond trade show listings.

• Tradeshow Week® has been reporting on tradeshows and the tradeshow industry for decades (you know, before the Internet!)
• One of the largest online trade show directories is tsnn.com. Their search engine makes it easy to find trade shows by event name, industry, location, and date.
• biz tradeshows has information about tradeshows everywhere in the world

Socially conscious commerce is rapidly growing. Many people are looking for certified fair trade merchandise, products that are eco-friendly and sustainable, or merchandise that addresses other social concerns.

These days, World of Good on eBay is one of the best places to look for wholesale suppliers of fairly traded, eco-friendly, and otherwise socially conscious goods. Visit the World of Good Trust Provider Directory.

The Fair Trade Federation is part of the global fair trade movement, seeking to build equitable and sustainable trading partnerships and creating opportunities to alleviate poverty. For wholesale products, look for the "Find Products" drop down menu near the top of the page and scroll down to Wholesale Supplier.

The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) is the global network of Fair Trade Organizations, and its members are an excellent and varied source of giftware, household goods, furniture, garments, jewellery, food and beverages - all 100% Fair Trade.

That's right - eBay can be a great product source, especially if you're just starting out and looking for smaller lots while you test your ideas (and, maybe, build up your capital). At eBay, type wholesale in the search box and choose your category. Chances are you'll find something of interest.

To the right you'll see some examples of wholesale lots on eBay - these are iPhone accessories. My search was "wholesale lot iphone" and it yielded many results.

If you look for wholesale lots on eBay, do your "due diligence" to be sure that the wholesale prices are competitive and that the seller has a good reputation. Ask questions before you bid or buy, and keep in mind that the best eBay sellers are happy to provide you with information and want to be sure you are completely satisfied.

Once you have products to sell - and if you want to try selling on eBay - take a look at My eBay Life for tools and information to help eBay sellers.

Maybe.

Do an online search for wholesale products of any type and you'll get back pages and pages of results -- many more than you have the time or desire to review. And a lot of those results will be for lists of wholesalers and require payment. Most of the information is unreliable, and in many cases, the contact information you provided will be sold to spammers and other unsavory characters, so it's best to avoid all of that.

However...

With the growth of eBay and Internet commerce in general, two companies have established good reputations for providing wholesale information in exchange for payment of one-time membership fees: Salehoo.com and WorldwideBrands.com.

Some folks love these companies, others do not, so you'll have to decide for yourself if either meets your needs and is worth the cost.  Even if you decide to find wholesale sources on your own, spend some time looking around these two web sites because they contain lots of useful information, especially for those just starting out.

Drop shipping may be one of the most controversial subjects among eBay and other online sellers. It seems that just as many people hate it as love it. One thing is for sure - many sellers have had bad experiences with drop shipping. And from what I've heard, those bad experiences were the frequently the result of failure to do research the drop shippers and the marketplace.

What is drop shipping? Essentially, it's a way for you to sell products without the upfront expense of inventory or the work of handling inventory and shipping the products to your customers (more details on Wikipedia).

For example, let's say you sell digital cameras online. You list the cameras, providing a description, photograph and price. I buy one of your cameras. When my payment clears you inform the drop shipper, who ships the camera to me. The difference between what I paid you for the camera and what you have to pay the drop shipper for the product and handling is your net revenue.

Sounds easy, right? Well it can be easy, efficient, and effective. But it can also be a nightmare. If you do an Internet search for drop shippers and drop shipping you'll get thousands of results. Some may be from legitimate and reliable companies, but many won't. Before you make any decisions about dropshipping, you must do your homework to learn if a company is legitimate and reliable and if you will be able to sell at competitive prices and make a profit after all is said and done.

Legitimate drop shippers - most often they are distributors - offer the service for a variety of reasons. In some cases, they began because their customers asked them to or because they saw it as a way to help their customers get more product sold. Others drop ship because it helps them get business might otherwise miss out on. In many cases, drop shipping is not their only model - they are distributors who have added drop shipping as one of a number of services offered.

When you use a drop shipper, you give up having complete control over your selling process. Some sellers find that a bit scary -- if a problem arises with the customer, it is the seller and not the drop shipper whose reputation is affected. On the other hand, some items are best left to the drop shipping process. For example, if you sell a very large or very heavy product and carry the inventory yourself, you have to pay to have that product shipped to you, and that increases your cost and the end cost to the buyer. With drop shipping, you don't have that additional cost and can price the product more competitively.

If your budget is tight and you can't afford to pay to keep a large number of items in stock, a good drop shipping setup enables you to sell products without tying up all of your capital.

To avoid getting ripped off by drop shipping scams, don't search for companies that promote themselves mainly as drop shippers. Instead, find a wholesale distributor of your product who has added drop shipping to the list of services they offer to their customers.