posted on August 4, 2001 01:47:35 PM new
For me, finding sources of new items wholesale did take time and research. But, I am finding that the even harder part is getting the manufacturers, distributors, to take me seriously as a business. They keep sending me retail catalogs. I've started including my city occupational license number in my letterhead, hoping to give them a clue.
I started by writing the distributors address down off the back of a new retail product I was interested in. Well, I really started by browsing ebay looking for specific items that 1. Have listings and 2. Have a lot of those listings actually sell. And note the likely final bid. Then I looked for sources of like items. No use having lots of good cheap widgets that no one wants or that sell on ebay for less than the wholesale price you paid.
Also, look at auctions of sellers with high feedback numbers, look at their closed auctions. Do they have a high sell rate - maybe they are on to something that is fashionable right now. Search at www.google.com for that item and see if any wholesalers come up. Call or write or email the distributor or manufacturer.
posted on August 6, 2001 07:19:28 AM new
Since I also have a B/M, I am able to buy wholesale from just about anyone. Problem is, from my research on Ebay, wholesale is not nearly cheap enough. Seems you'd have to go way below wholesale to make a profit on Ebay.
posted on August 6, 2001 08:10:10 AM new
I have also noticed that quite a few of the "wholesalers" also sell direct to anyone through their own websites!
I checked out a few to see if their "wholesale" prices to the general public were high enough above what they would sell to a re-seller for, since they require re-sellers to purchase minimums.
I found there was, on the average, only a 15% difference. That's not really enough to allow me to purchase 6-12 of one item and re-sell through an auction venue and make any real profit. Especially since, as already pointed out, most items on eBay appear to go for below the "perceived" wholesale price! I say perceived because wholesalers often have different price list for different folks! The price they quote me first time around may not be their "best" price and you have to keep hounding them OR show them you can do a steady repeat business with them but to do so they need to come up with a better price.
The companies I checked still were not doing on-line auctions, but how long will it be before they are?????
