Shasta (like the soft drink - or the mountain?) ...
First order of business is to understand what "wholesale" means, and how that term is applied for re-sellers of products and services.
There is no such animal as a true wholesaler... they are, in fact, "discount re-sellers" - re-selling merchandise at various levels in pricing. Lots of companies say they sell at "wholesale" because it's simple to say (or they are running a scam - hard to tell which is which) - and most folks know what that common-use term indicates. The fact is, they may not always be the best source of products for your re-selling pleasure. My preference is to buy direct from the makers or manufacturers representatives, but that is just me...
For example, if I owned a product sales company, I could choose to sell at deep-discounts to other re-sellers, as well as selling at full retail value. In that case, I would be selling at retail pricing, but offering deep discounts to others for re-selling at retail (or yet again re-selling at a somewhat less discount - as is very often the case). This "further down the food chain" sourcing is what most beginners find most easily, but may not always be the best deal they can get for the very same products.
The general assumption for qualifying for those discounts varies widely from re-seller to re-seller, so this is where research and due diligence applies. Where the caution comes in is that you should be buying as close to the source as possible, that way, you are assured of having the widest possible mark-up margin in your own re-sale operation.
Example: Long ago, when I started selling jewelry from a single retail location, because I was frequently asked who my sources were by other jewelers, I quite often sold to these other jewelers the merchandise they needed at a deep discount (15%-30%-50%-67%) off the market retail price, because, I was either the manufacturer or I purchased goods directly from the manufacturer. The discount that I applied was based almost entirely on the volume purchased, either on the individual purchase, or in most cases, total annual volume purchased by one buyer.
As time went on, more and more of my business came from other retailers (allowing me even deeper discounts for bulk buys from the manufacturers), both local and all over the country - and in some cases, outside the USA as well. The fact that I grew to having many retail outlets only increased my exposure to other retailers, who in turn, bought a significant portion of their inventory through my "wholesale" operations. This allowed me to sell my retail stores, yet keep them as "virtually locked-in" customers for my re-sales services, and for them having a steady, reliable, lowest-cost supplier of trade goods.
Now, on to your question....
The answers you are looking for are necessarily wide and deep, so I'll need to know a lot more specifics to even begin to direct you to the right sources. It may even be beneficial to start even before that point in your retail career. An example being: What market research have you done? Have you considered the six most important points before you purchased the first item to re-sell?
Who is your market, and what are they looking for?
(Assumption NOT allowed! You have to deal with the facts as they are, not as you'd wish them to be. Assumptions like those are the fastest road to failure - and riding the express train to the poor-house there exists.)
So... fire away. I may not give you the answers you want to hear, but I will tell you what you DO need to know.
Please do your post to a new thread... that will make it so others with an interest in this subject will find it a bit easier. (That would also save me the bother of moving the conversation to another new thread too!
)
Thanks.
Your turn...
-Nick
GM hereabouts.
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