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A wholesale seller can help make sure an online store has plenty of product to sell. These middle men exist in every industry. They sell large numbers of products to retail groups at below market price, making up the loss in the large number of units. As the owner of an online store, establishing a relationship with a wholesale seller can ensure that your store has regular supply of the products you sell. They can even simplify your retail ecommerce supply chain. Finding a wholesale seller who can provide what you need can be difficult though. Here are steps to finding wholesale sellers for your store.
Analyze Your Volume Needs
Before you investigate wholesale sellers for your store, consider who much distribution you need. Wholesale sellers do all their business in bulk and will have minimum unit numbers for what they sell. This is the strength of buying wholesale, you get significant discounts form the wholesaler. That discount means nothing though if you cannot move the units. Look at your own expected sales and make sure that you can handle the excess supply every month before you start looking for a wholesaler.
Consider Dropshipping
Another service a wholesale seller can offer you online store is dropshipping. In this system, products bought on your site are shipped to your customers by the wholesale seller. This means you don’t have to worry about shipping and you never have inventory problems. The profit and contribution margins in dropshipping are much narrower though. Additionally, customer service complaints become more problematic, since you are entrusting shipping services to a third-party. Depending on your company’s needs though, drop shipping can be a great option for your company.
Look of B2B Marketplaces
Once you have a good idea what you are looking for in terms of wholesale sellers, look on business to business marketplaces to locate a wholesale seller. These marketplaces offer both domestic and international sellers looking to make deals. You can locate a wide range of wholesalers selling a wide range of generic goods. These marketplaces are a great way to compare prices and get in touch with potential wholesalers.
Check Out Niche Wholesalers
If you cannot get a good deal from the general wholesalers, another option is to consider niche wholesalers. These wholesale sellers offer a limited number of goods focus on a smaller market. The benefit to this is that they can offer much lower prices and lower minimum unit numbers. If your online store deals with only specialty goods, a niche wholesaler can save you a lot of money. There’s no need to pay more for good you will not sell.
Ask For References
Once you pick a solid wholesale seller, check their references. Ask other business if they have experience with this wholesaler and ask about their experiences for business validation. This is especially important if the wholesaler is a foreign company. You will be relying on this wholesaler for a lot. You will be dependent on them to ship goods when they said they did and send the goods you requested. If they are foreign, they will also have to handle any customs issues. Do your homework and make sure the wholesaler you selected is up for it.
Finding wholesale sellers can be easy if you follow a few straightforward steps. Investigate your needs in terms of volume before you start looking. Consider if drop shipping is a service you want the wholesaler to include. Look at B2B marketplaces to locate wholesalers. Consider a niche wholesaler to save money. Check references and research potential wholesalers before hiring them. Follow these steps and your online store will have all the product it needs.
