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Dropshipping & Wholesale Suppliers Discuss Dropshipping on/off eBay, Amazon, Shopify, Etsy and other platforms.

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Default Researching and contacting wholesalers with little money

Little background was i was selling some sat boxes and got the VERO thing a few times and then had the cash symbols in my eyes and sold a couple of branded sunglasses and got a mco21.

I dont want to go down that road again so was looking at trying to start a legit business just as a supplement to my main income.

So I have been looking at stuff and have got some low value stuff coming from china. Hopefully should make 100% profit after fees on each item(fiver).

I have been doing what i read in some other topics and googling wholesalers uk randomly and also in what I want to do and it seems alot of shops have wholesale in their name just to attract customers and they arent proper wholesalers.

I have been looking at another one which does general stuff and in the description it has stuff like this(mixed lots)

"Mixed pallet of consumer electronics. Customer returns through national retail, products verified to be faulty as per customer reported fault Pallet stored in dry UK warehouse, ready for immediate shipment"

does that mean they are all faulty, some are faulty or none are faulty?

Plus I have 2 problems with going direct to the makers of some of the kit i want to stock and that is it says they will only deal with PGA dealers and I have only really got £400.(PGA part was what i read and not from the makers mouth).

Obviously I will keep reading and gain alot from the stories i have read but just looking for some stories how people got started from little cash.

Cheers guys
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It can depend on which area you live. If you are near Manchester, Birmingham or London there are thousands of wholesalers who will be happy to deal with you - probably for less than you are paying in China.
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Originally Posted by J1mgg View Post
Little background was i was selling some sat boxes and got the VERO thing a few times and then had the cash symbols in my eyes and sold a couple of branded sunglasses and got a mco21.

Obviously I will keep reading and gain alot from the stories i have read but just looking for some stories how people got started from little cash.

Cheers guys
Many people start off 'small'. There's not a thing wrong with that. In fact it can help you develop good business sense.

Starting local ( as GrannyT suggested) would be a big plus for you.

It would reduce costs and give you control.

Look at items that interest you. Pick a small variety & start from there :D
Good Luck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J1mgg View Post
I have been looking at another one which does general stuff and in the description it has stuff like this(mixed lots)

"Mixed pallet of consumer electronics. Customer returns through national retail, products verified to be faulty as per customer reported fault Pallet stored in dry UK warehouse, ready for immediate shipment"

does that mean they are all faulty, some are faulty or none are faulty?


This reminded be of my brother. He got his hands on one of those pallets.

To this day his attic is chokka of parts stripped from the goods. In many instances the merchant selling these already has long standing customers who will get the pick of the deal.

You need to be aware of that.
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I can't agree more with GB.

Put your self in their shoes. They have a warehouse full of crappy returns, most broken, missing parts and basically knackered.

If they want to get rid of electronics they have to pay to dispose of them through the proper channels.

OR they can sell them off as *grab a bargain/amazing deal/get rich quick/guaranteed millionaire overnight/crappy load of junk for sale*

or more aptly: please take my junk away AND pay me for the privilege!

Be wary of anything that looks too good to be true. As they say there's no such thing as never looking a free gift dinner in the mouth.

Buying from China is great. But what happens if some of your stuff is broken? Can you take it back easily?

When I buy stuff here there is nearly always something that is broken, wrong or simply not what I ordered... but at least I can return it easily.
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Agreed, Fizzy.

'Local' shopping can be your friend in terms of cost and convenience.
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Buying a small order with a small amount of money also lets you confirm that the supplier is legitimate, and that the items are of decent quality; if it turns out to be trash, at least you didn't waste much money. I would always start off with a small order. Once you have the items in your hand and all is to your liking, you can make a larger order.
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Good point too Elijah.

Carefully choosing and researching is the method.
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Thanks for all the advice. I will keep on looking through the forum and trying to pick up little ideas here and there.

I am in Edinburgh if anyone knows of any decent wholesalers/liquidation stock of sports equipment.
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Interesting advice being offered - research is key indeed.
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One more piece of advice. If the "supplier" is ready to accept payment as soon as you express interest, it is most likely a scam. A real supplier would go over the details with you, make sure that you understand everything and confirm what you want exactly before requesting payment. They should also send you an invoice stating all the particulars of your order before they ask for payment.

I found this out the hard way... luckily I did not spend a fortune with the conman. It made me wiser and go out of my way to verify each supplier was legit though, and now my current supplier is just great. I literally could not be happier with the service provided. So perhaps it was just a blessing in disguise.

Also, it does not hurt to Google their email address. I am constantly surprised by the idiocy of the "suppliers" who con people and just use the same address over and over, even though a quick Google will often reveal what they have done to others with the very same address.

Last edited by Elijah; 04-20-2012 at 06:11 AM.
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I have been looking about most of the day on google and comparing on eBay with regards to prices and profitability, I have also just sent my first email of to a manufacturer to see who they use to sell and distribute their good in Scotland.

Still not seeing many opportunities, but I have another 30 days or so before I can maybe start selling little items anyway.

Cheers again all.
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Research is great and of course it is required - but sometimes it pays to take a calculated risk. For example I did it and it paid off. My calculation was based on how much I was prepared to invest and potentially lose. Obviously I didn't invest my rent!

That is how I found a lot of things that I regularly sell now. I selected a wide variety of cheap items and simply put them on at 99p starting prices and let the bidding do the rest.

Then it was just a case of seeing what people were interested in. It was quite surprising seeing things I thought would be popular not getting a single bid and other more random stuff going to silly prices.

I was in the same boat as you - I couldn't see much profit in the some of the stuff I was choosing and wasn't sure about other things. But when I finally went for it, it paid off!

Good luck
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Old 04-20-2012
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hi

researching can be very time-consuming & should be done regulary as your markets will change.

I find researching products that i have no interest in a total bore & am still yet to invest in these lines even though i have evidence to prove that it will be profitable & popular.

This is a bad quality that I must shake off.

Terrapeak has proven very heplful - you could just subscribe for a month at a time during your research periods.

Keep an open mind at all times - I have had success with lines that I stumbled accross either online or when out & about.
There are clues everywhere.

When sussing out a supplier from across seas - feedback is vital (although not 100% accurate - so take with a pinch of salt).
Research their address & business name - google it.
Only invest what you are willing to loose.
I like to leave them alone for a while after inital contact & quote (about a week)- if they pester me, I disregard them.
Pay with ppl - & using a credit card if you can - this offers more buyer protection (you can do a bank chargeback if you are unhappy). I have used Escrow once, it was ok - i prefer pp though. Plus I have heard that to make the chargeback as simple as possible - clear out your pp account before making the credit card payment - ensuring that the full amount comes off the credit card.

Source out your local wholesalers - this is the safest option.

Pallets - i have only heard bad things about them - sorry.

Good luck
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Ill give you my research and knowledge that took me AGES to find the right supplier / people to work with.

The first person I actually started dealing with was someone through this site, he doesn't spend any time on here anymore really but I started buying off him, well actually he was sourcing the products I was looking for an also giving me some fantastic ideas of things to stock. To this day I haven't looked back. The person through this site gave me some great advice and some background on who to and who not to deal with in China and told me the specific things to deal with.

I sell a wide range of goods that I use a source in China, I have ONLY 2 suppliers some may say this is a bad thing BUT they are ultra reliable. They ALWAYS give me good deals as I spend LOTS of money with them and in my mindset I am still a small part of their business. They treat me well, keep me updated on my orders even when I have them overlapping with dates of shipments etc.

Really research suppliers abroad as for me, yes it is cheaper to import even with shipping etc. GB and Fizzy are also both right, starting small like I did with my lovely £200 got me right off the ground, I turned that into £1000 and then I keep doubling on every order I make after selling the product through.

You are not going to be a millionaire in a day so YES you are right (OP) start with your £400 or even start with £100 and I promise you even IF you lost it due to a supplier scamming you, you haven't lost the earth.

At least if its a UK supplier as someone said above you have 'control', you can go back and say this that and the other.

GOOD LUCK
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All of these posts are correct.

It's reasearch
It's options
It's doing the work

And then the best part

Beating ebay
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Anyone had luck paying suppliers who only accept Western Union or Moneygram? Most people steer away, but are there legitimate ones who don't accept Paypal?
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@Laritha

Good point for this discussion.

There are trusted sellers who accept WU.
You would have to factor the fees into doing business.

Other options would be an escrow service and a different paypal account from any ebay accounts.

This too is part of the process of 'selling'. Paying for the items in the safest manner.
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Old 04-21-2012
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Most suppliers will not accept PayPal anyway, so do not run away just because a potential supplier does not accept it. My current supplier is WU/bank transfer only, and I was hesitant at first (after my last experience), which is why I asked him to allow me a small order just to sample it. He was fine with this, even though it was under the stated minimum order quantity. So I paid by Western Union, and my order was shipped the next day. This was after I had confirmed that he and his business were ligitimate, and his reassuring professional service, so I had little doubt that all would be fine.

I was actually surprised by the level of professionalism after my bad experience with the previous conman. After he confirmed what I wanted, he sent me a pro forma invoice. And once I had paid, he sent me one more final invoice, which he also printed off and attached to the parcel for customs

The fact that he went to go and confirm shipping weight/cost, and delayed his payment request until he confirmed it (he had to wait until the following morning to weigh the parcel and get the price, as it was late in China at the time), removed any lingering doubt from my mind that I had at last found a good guy.

Last edited by Elijah; 04-21-2012 at 08:13 PM.
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Old 04-23-2012
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i have had success with sellers that didnt want pp payment by paying the fee pp charges.
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