posted on July 16, 2001 02:09:57 PM
hello! I have been selling on ebay for six months now. I have been pretty succesful with it and would like to take it a step further by making it kind of a part time job. I like to sell name brand clothes and I preffer thrift shops and yard sales, but I was wondering if there were any good wholesale sites out there that sell name brand clothes, that you don't have to buy by the truckload. I have been searching for quite some time, but haven't found to much. If anyone would be willing to share I would be greatful.
momhelp
mothers little helper
http://momhelp.freehomepage.com
posted on July 16, 2001 02:21:11 PM
Good luck, cause I cant find any either! My problem is, I dont even know what I want to concentrate on yet! Books? Dolls? Gifts? Antiques? Glass? Pottery? Toys? All of it? LOL!
posted on July 16, 2001 02:43:47 PM
The concept of whole sale is buying in bulk (a truck load so to speak) whole salers would just be retailers of they didn't sell in bulk. Wouldn't be all the profitable for them. There are a few places that say they sell wholesale and although they are cheaper then retail they really aren't wholesale. If you live near New York or anything other major city you may be able to find someone that way that is willing to deal in smaller quanties then real whole sale. Most major cites have a clothing district. However be careful with these also they are usually knock offs.
posted on July 16, 2001 03:07:49 PM
We have a Saks Fifth Ave outlet near us and the bargains in high-end name brand clothing can be extraordinary. I cruise through on a regular basis just to find clothes for the family (wonderful mens and childrens clothing) and rarely come out w/o finding something that has been marked down 60-80%. A friend of mine flew in from the Bay Area this last weekend to shop and she made a killing there. So you might check around your area for outlet malls, even be prepared to travel a little distance to load up on quality merchandise.
posted on July 17, 2001 02:00:22 PM
Why don't you try the obvious - eBay.
Go to the categories you like to sell in, search LOT or LOTS and see what comes up. There are lots of folks that cant be bothered selling small items piece by piece, they sell by the case and I get the impression that you are thinking in that sort of quantity, not skids or containers.
I sometimes sell lots of things I don't want to deal with in the Business;Wholesale,large lots category. If you go there, minus out ginsu, laser, knife and knives, earrings etc. Lots of crap, but the occasional box of gems as well, figuratively speaking.
Yes, You can buy AND sell the same merchandise on ebay and make money- but you have to pay attention. I have been selling character watches for $5 to $7 off a case of 96 I bought for $19 almost 3 years ago. Bought it because I wanted 3 or 4 for personal uses and it was cheaper to buy the case - found it in what is now Everything Else.
typos
[ edited by donrob2 on Jul 17, 2001 02:06 PM ]
[ edited by donrob2 on Jul 17, 2001 02:08 PM ]
posted on July 17, 2001 03:01:28 PM
If you live in Los Angeles or New York you can hook up with garment jobbers who buy retail losers - that is, those that did not sell within 3-4 weeks.
They sell low on the retail dollar - all are NWT - however, your first purchase is anywhere from 2-3K - never less. THey send them on pallets etc.
You can make money - but as the old adage goes - you have to have money to make money as the upfront cost to buy from jobbers is steep.
posted on July 17, 2001 04:45:01 PM
I just went over to Everything Else to see what've over there. Am I allowed to say that I saw several auctions there for somebody's e-book that claims to list wholesale suppliers? I'm not sure what the rule is around here...about mentioning live auctions. Anyway, the thing isn't hard to find. it was kind of fun to read the person's long blurb, too.
posted on July 17, 2001 07:14:50 PM
We have a Sacs outlet near here and their prices are really good. I also was at the Mall of America a couple of years ago and Nordstroms also has a outlet there and I purchased jewelry and made a good profit. I cannot find any wholesale sites on the web that are any good. Also another suggestion. If you can find a salesperson that sells designer clothes, sometimes you can buy their samples. We have a resale shop that sells them and they are really nice. I am sure there are places to buy high end items but they are hard to find.
posted on July 17, 2001 08:34:37 PM
You really have to watch out some of those e-books, as many of them are totally worthless. Look at several pages of the person's feedback (because likely this e-book is the only thing they are selling) and see what others said.
I paid $5.00 for one of these e-books and got a file with about 80 or so links. About 10 of them were already dead, and about 40 of them were selling "as seen on tv" crap and similar non-eBayable stuff. About 10 of the links were useful leads to me. I felt it was worth $5.00 but not much more. You could definitely find these yourself with enough time spent searching yahoo.
posted on July 17, 2001 09:08:40 PM
momshelp said:
but I was wondering if there were any good wholesale sites out there that sell name brand clothes, that you don't have to buy by the truckload
First off, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. In my 10 years in retail, most of the "difficult" lessons learned were in relation to buying merchandise and dealing with suppliers. The reason you're having difficulty is that small quantity buyers are "not wholesale".
The other replies that talked $2k or up to "really" find good deals is accurate. Then, you have to be sure it will sell. Tough choices & not for the faint of heart. When I buy one item for $3.00 at a yard sale, I really don't care if it sells or not, but when I buy 100 items at $3.00 each, I had better know if it will sell.
Be careful! Most of the money I lost in the first few years of retail was because I relied upon suppliers to sell me quality merchandise at fair prices and to sell me merchandise that people wanted to buy. Some did NEITHER! I'm enjoying success on ebay selling new items that took 8 YEARS to find quality suppliers for.
My best advice, first, make sure you can afford to lose the money you put into it. Second, try it for 6 months to a year, BEFORE you take the plunge & quit your job. Third, try to establish an ongoing relationship with one supplier that will work with you. You'll have to try several first. Fourth, and most important, remember that SELLING it is the easy part, BUYING that which you can sell is the HARD part.
The advice about clothing districts is VERY GOOD advice. You'll have to buy at least 12 pcs to get any kind of a deal at all, but they are out there. Make sure you know how to check quality, and inspect each piece carefully! The items in the clothing districts typically won't be brand name either. Brand names are out there, but they're very hard to find.
Try www.wholesalecentral.com Good Luck