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How difficult was it to find your supplier?
 

Just wondering..... did you find them online? locally? How deep did you search? Found them on a forum? Someone told you where to look? Found them by googling? ect. Just looking for some insight, not asking who your supplier is, been in this too long to know no one will tell you their supplier. Currently my suppliers are going down hill. Looking for any advice/tips i can get.

Book a flight to the Mainland.

Everything you need it online. GOOGLE is your BFF.. My supplier that I use for "high quality" items took me like 3 years to find. I order a lot and never had a problem with them they told me they have a special deal with DHL

^ this

Took me forever to find a good one but it was worth it.

Yeah i think i can safely say the one best ones are the ones that usually take time to find, i'd say multiple searches led up to my gems.

Ha, every one says that... :ballchain:

took long enough, but it was worth the search ,endless cups of coffee and phone calls :)
though i have my suppliers, i never stop searching for others just in case :ranger:

Have the money for it, but with school and everything don't really have the time. But it is definitely something i planned on doing a while ago.

I'm still trying to find a good supplier, I've been using Alibaba to search, lots of ⊗⊗⊗⊗ people though :(

Might sound funny, but try to hook up with a church or some group of the like. They get a bunch of people to go and it's way cheaper. You explore for a few days and then other days you can wander off on your own...to the markets.

First try all major search engines which varies greatly with results and look at several pages within the search engine as so many people mistakenly just look at the first page and miss many great companies that are no on the first page.

Also in the search engine vary your phrasing on what your looking for it impacts the results. Second from what I found the best distributors are the ones that DO NOT sell products on there webpage this give me comfort to know they are a actual wholesale distributor/supplier as they do not deal with the public.
Third look for companies that you can do credit with, It shows they have more of a financial stable business but this isnt a major factor as it used to be. Fourth I see if they require me to fill out some type of form that requires more information on me so they can be assured Im a actual business as well. I recommend not giving very personal details such as your SSN or drivers # unless you are applying for credit with them. A copy of business insurance or your federal or employee ID number should suffice. Those that are operating without being legit maybe able to pass with a copy of there phone bill or something along the lines but not likely if you plan on dealing with a legitimate dealer as they want the same assurance as you do about them.

Fifth I would say is having a Minimum order amount of there product. Sixth is I never deal with any company that does not have proof of a warehouse/brick and mortar store. Do not assume if theres a big building with signage on there web page that this is there actual place of business. A tip on how to really find out is get there address and use the google maps feature and then go to street view to see if it comes up as the actual business. You can usually see some type of sign on the building or signage on the st within google maps street view.

These are just some of my requirements before I even think of dealing with anyone as then you know for the most part that you're eliminating uninsured middlemen and more then likely getting closer to the best possible pricing of your product line as well as a company who will handle problems if they arise. By combining some of these small things it puts your mind at ease with knowing more about the company your are trusting for your income.

Im sure everyone has there own unique way this is just part of my requirements of a supplier.....Sorry i hate long posts as well

I don't know what's so hard about finding a good supplier. I personally have 5 really good ones on DHGate and they all took less than 10 minutes to find. There's a tab called "Sort by: Feedback" go with the supplier with the highest percentage and volume or mixture of both, chat them up, ask questions, make a minimum purchase, easy. Might not seem "big-time" or legit using suppliers on DHgate, but I personally have never had any problems and not a single seizure for the past couple years.

^^^ Found plenty of suppliers after making this thread. It was really pointless of me making this. All it took was a google search.

It took me about a year, and thousands of dollars, to find a good supplier.

I tried many on the way, but many came up short in one area or another. With some quality was an issue, or maybe consistancy, and with others it was shipping, etc.

I always try to have more than one supplier for what I am selling. That way, if one goes away, I am not out of business as well.

A good ole google search does the job i think.!

The problem with using Google is there are many, many imposter sites out there. They CLAIM they are a wholesaler, but they are really a middleman, listing the wholesaler's inventory, adding a markup and taking orders.

The problem is, when buying to compete on sites like eBay and Amazon where margins are already razor-thin, pricing can make or break you.

Yes, nice post. Exactly how I run my setup

I stumbled onto my newest supplier by looking as I drive around to thrift stores.

Little did I know a huge supplier was very close to me hidden in a huge building behind many warehouses and a trucking place.

I asked them if they had any connection to any other wholesalers of different types of items and they gave me two nice ones. About dropped when they handed me the info.

^^^^ That is some serious luck...

It sure is.

They actually lead me onto an importer of all things---- socks.

Any kind of sock you can think of.

I need that in my life.