A wholesale is said to purchase products directly from the manufacturer. He/she then sells it to other small businesses. Instead of operating from a store, they supply inventory to small businesses that in turn sells them to their end customers. Whether you own an e-commerce store or brick & mortar business, the wholesaler distributor is the link between store owners and manufacturers. You may perhaps prefer to work with several of them or just a single one based on your business needs. However, finding the best distributor can be the tricky part.
What should the distributor offer?
The distributor should help with the following:
- Affordable prices
- Connect with reputed products and manufacturers that are required by your business.
- Can be easily reached, cooperative, trustworthy and reliable.
5 Tips on how to find a wholesale distributor
However, before starting the search, you should first identify the products that you plan to sell. Based on this criterion you can narrow down your search and get hold of a well-established and reliable distributor.
- Try the manufacturer: You will only notice reduced profits by paying wholesalers. Try to begin at the very source to eliminate unwanted costly middlemen. Contact the manufacturer directly in case you plan to sell branded items. Based on minimum order requirements, they may probably sell their products to you. Otherwise for small demands, they may refer you to contact their established local distribution channel. The lesser people to contact, the lower will be your product cost, the benefit of which can be passed on to your customers. Thus, you will become more competitive. Do request for a product sample that you wish to sell. You inspect its quality and determine if it is worth the investment or not.
- Know your niche industry distribution channels: A product may travel to the retailer through different ways from the manufacturer. Remember, not all wholesale supplier serve similar market. Hence, get to understand better our industry supply chain and distribution channels. Identify an appropriate supplier. The different types that exist are manufacturer, Exclusive Distributor/Importer, Regional Distributor/Wholesaler and Jobbers. Get to know their responsibilities and functions. If you have started a new business, then you may have to shelve more money to buy from small wholesalers. With increase in sales volume, you can move on to bigger wholesaler to enjoy better pricing.
- Be specific with your online searches: When doing online search, do not limit yourself trying to find general wholesaler distributor. Rather include important keywords taken from your niche or products. Use brand names, model numbers and product names. Comparison shop to know the regular industry prices and derive competitive quotes. For example, if you plan on selling sports items, you could start your searches with wholesale sports bottle or wholesale sports apparel. That way, you can find the right distributors who have the specific items you would want to purchase in bulk.
- Productive First Contact: Try to contact more than one wholesale supplier, at least a few of them. For this purpose, you may use the wholesale directory or phonebook listings. Get to know:
- Their supplied region
- Wholesale unit prices
- Minimum order requirements
This initial contact can be made through email or phone. You may call them up to seek more information if desired or to move forward with your deal. Avoid sounding much bigger than what you actually are. Let them know if you are still doing comparison shopping. Start small.
- eBay and other online platforms: eBay is known to target mainly retail consumers. You may find less wholesale options here that are more suitable for retailers with low volume requirements. But your new e-commerce store is sure to benefit from this portal. Perhaps, you may come across people dealing customers directly on eBay. They may also serve B2B clients. Contacting such people over this portal is easy and quick.
Using the above tips, it is easy to know how to find a wholesale distributor.
