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About to start my wholesale venture
 

Hey guys, im about to get back to the states and start my own wholesale business.

I got burnt from ebay in the past (dealing with VeRO items), i bought the ebay stealth book and everything, but i figured out you can only have a "real" business if you sell authentic items. I didnt really like the idea about creating multiple accounts and hiding from ebay all the time.

I gathered a list of suppliers i trust and everything, i plan to sell in flea-markets, ebay and find other merchants in my area that would be interedted to buy wholesale.

Does anyone have any tips?

No good tips from me... but good luck! It's always good to see ambition!

Selling only authentic items is a great first step, and a very important one. Trying to build a business that will last based on counterfeit merchandise is nearly impossible.

My suggestion is to find a niche and not try to compete on price alone. Don't try to compete with Wal-Mart - you can't. But if you sell a niche product at a reasonable price and have great customer service (or can otherwise add value) you will have a good business that can last.

And it is not only WHAT you sell, but HOW and WHERE you sell it. One woman in Chicago put her daughters through college by selling bottled water. Every time there was a parade or event during the summer, she was there with ice cold water, walking the parade route and selling it for $5 per bottle. That may seem like a rip-off, but when it is 90 degrees outside and there are few other options, it seems like a reasonable transaction.

Thanks for the comment, it is true that 'when & when' i sell my items is very important, but x-mas is ahead of us so i predict a good start.

What you said about Wal-Mart is not always true, because you can get alot of stuff for 15%-25% from the MSRP, so if Wal-Mart is cheap and they only make 300% pofit, you can be cheaper and make 200% (for an example, it wont work with every niche)

It ALL Depends on what you really want to sell,,I Have been a Distributor for MANY Years,,,,,and the Truth of the matter is that those 300% markup items are normaly accessories to the MAIN Product,,,,,

For Example a 52in Sharp Lcd TV Wholesales to Best Buy for lets say $969.00,,,they will sell it for $999.00, Thats Right,,,, Consumer Electronics Sell for Markups of 3%-10%,,,,Thats FACT,,,,,BUT the First thing they try to sell you is an Extended Service Plan for AT LEAST $69.00 (as high as $199.99 Depends on item and store) These Plans costs them anywhere from $5.00-$25.00 ,,,,,,,Maybe an Hdmi Cable for $40.00 that costs them $5.00,,,or a Blu-ray Movie for $40.00, that cost them $10.00,,,or how about a Bottle of Water/Soda for $2.00 that cost them $0.40(Best Buys favorite Tactic)


The VERY same thing applies ALL Over,,a Designer Dress, wholsales for 479.99 and Retails for 499.99,,,However a $5.00 Matching belt sells for $50.00, then there is Matching shoes, Purse's, Scarves, Stockings, and the whole Thing,,,

Thats where your Magical 300% Markup items can be found,,,,,,Now your Quest becomes having a Large Enough Variety of them so that your OVERALL Sales of Everything and up to Something,,,,It CAN Be Done Im Proof,,,,

So Take your time and Good luck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

As always Slapped and jeffweico make informed tips.

Sadly, since I don't know much about what you are selling, my only other tip is to be very very careful with shipping. Keep detailed logs - make sure you don't lose on shipping since profit margins generally are razor thin.

Do you mind me asking what type of goods you distribute?

Consumer Electronics and Accessories

Start your own website if the items are good.

Ok, maybe I want you to do that too because I do SEO. hahaha

slapped i worked in sales for a major store and had access to the comp systems and could not only see the margins on items but also change then to make deals that were profitable. many consumer electronics are low margin this is true. 3% - 10%

But Lcd Tv's are different. Huge Margins. Some were are much as 30% +
so it depends on what you are selling. But you are not going to get ur hands on samsung and other major lcd manufactures unless you are a bigger chain

You are 100% Correct,,,I Had a LOT To say about that Exact Subject in this Thread:

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/wholesa...tml#post131732

I Made Several posts on the Subject from Post #90 to Post #112

Check it out you may enjoy the Read.

I have no tips, but good luck.

If you're making say 5% profit on electrical goods then you are actually doing well, quantity is the key.

The big retailers will also have loss leaders to entice you into their store, you should use this same tactic.

Don't forget that selling retail can have it's advantages too, you need to think out of the box sometimes.I have never sold vero or wholesale

Just do more searching as possible as you can ,also try more different products .As long as you work hard for a few times,you will sure fine the suitable product and method to deal with.No people can tell you which product is good,cause there is no fixed product to be always good,it depend on different seller and different time.

But working hard and try more always are right way to go .