I will write a general rules starting dealing with wholesale supplyers: Rule 1
Initially trust no-one. When you first get in to the idea of wholesaling you will receive a dozens of offers and so called one off offers. It is better to miss out on all of these whilst your learn your market, than to get striped and lose your hard earned cash before you've blinked. The best way is to use Dropshipping service , or Wholesale lists
Rule 2
Decide your market and spend a long time understanding the products you want to deal in. What the market is for them, where you will sell them and what your costs will be in doing so then you can begin to understand what your buying prices should be. You must choose a niche in where you will be working like Designer handbags
Rule 3
Understand the price levels in the market.
Most of us are simply low volume dealers. The way we are going to steal a margin on the likes of the major resellers is beacause we don't have the overhead or distribution networks that they have and so our markups should be less.
I have see several wholesalers who supposedly deal in branded consumer goods bidding on certain websites for customer returns and graded goods. These can easily be reboxed and made to look new so you need to be very careful.
So first you need to establish what the price is for your product at the highest level in the distribution. That way with a bit of thought you can establish if the prices you are being quoted are likely to be genuine or not. You will not do this without extensive research but it is worth it in the long run.
Rule 4
Once you engage with a potential supplier, you need to carry out a number of checks and I suggest as a minimum
1. Address check, check that the address for their business is legitimate and checks out to be associated with them. 2. Ask for evidence of incorporation as a business, some may not have this but its worth asking. 3. Ask them for a bank reference and do not just assume that the bank they give you is genuine, check that as well. be wary of anyone who gives you different payment details to the business name they trade as. 4. For overseas companies, trade consulars in the national Embassies can be very informative. 5. Check the payment terms, never, repeat never pay anybody by T/T, wire or other unsecure method unless you have cast iron proof that they are legitimate and have the capability to supply. even then I would never use wire (western union) unless it was a very small amount may be less than $50. 6. Ask for customer references from previous deals. 7. Never launch straight in to a large deal without conducting a trial order first. 8. If you can, and I always would, consider visiting the supplier even if they are overseas. The cost of this pails to insignificance when you consider what you might be spending.
Please keep this rules in your mind and you'll be safe! Good luck!
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