Wholesale Companies

Do you think that buying items wholesale from a reputable dealer or broker then selling them for a
modest profit is a good idea?  Me too, however I wish you the best of luck.  It’s kind of the mentality
of trying to do it the easy way.  Type in “wholesale suppliers” into a search engine and you will be
returned with a lot of responses.  Most of them contain information on how to buy wholesale goods.  
.  Some of it is good, and some is garbage. Sifting through it is the chore.  You have to decide what
you’re looking for.  Taylor your searches to contain the keyword of the item you’re interested in
along with “wholesale” such as “Hammers, wholesale.
Listed below are a few websites that I have found that are pretty well run.  Most of them have a
minimum ordering amount but it is usually reasonable.  Some claim to be drop shippers and really
are not.  To find out the exact meaning of drop shipping I recommend going to this website.  They
have a large ebook that you can download for free that gives you all the information that you could
possibly ever want.  It is extremely thorough and excellent reading material. www.dropshipper.com

Basically these websites are middlemen.  They buy their items in larger quantities and then turn
around and sell them at “wholesale” to you.  

Wholesale is the problem term.  It really depends on where you get in on the food chain.  You could
be 3 or 4 middlemen down the road from what a real wholesaler is.  The best way to think of a
wholesaler in pure terms is a manufacturer who sells his goods in quantities for a price cheaper than
retail.  Then that person marks the goods up and “retails” them according to his fancy.  Knowing
what the real price is of that item makes all the difference in the world.  I found that most
“wholesalers” don’t really carry any real quality items, its mostly what I call trinkets.  Dollar store
items, inexpensive tools, seasonal items, as seen on TV goods, and low priced gadgets are most of
the normal items.
Sometimes these people charge you a fee to be able to be a member, which gives you the privilege
to buy their goods.  All this is merely saying is, they did their research and you did not, so pay a fee
so we can tell you what to buy whether we are right or wrong.  And you know how I feel about
research.
Wholesale on Ebay

Ebay added a wholesale lots category and it’s pretty good.  Again you need to know your stuff
before drooling over the volumes of items for sale.  A lot of time individual sellers put more than one
item in a lot and say they are selling them wholesale.  The price is not any different.  This does not
fool some people like myself because I know what the product should cost.  These kind of people
are merely utilizing the sales tactic of offering a “bargain” My theory is if your going to offer a
bargain, make it a true bargain.  I sleep better at night sticking to that theory.    There are also
some genuine bargains there too.  I saw some really interesting products and also actual
businesses for sale there.  Some time’s people start some online ventures and for personal
reasons want to get out of them.  This usually is not any different than buying a brick and mortar
business.  I always surf through this area looking for items or parts that go hand in hand with what I
am doing.  A lot of times I can find furniture parts or tooling that I can buy to make my production life
easier.

Here is the list of some sample companies and their websites.  Some have unique products that will
stimulate some great ideas for you

1.        www.aaacloseouts.com
2.        www.abcdistributing.com
3.        www.countrysidecloseouts.com
4.        www.tdwcloseouts.com
5.        www.dropshipper.net
6.        www.globalwholesalesources.com
7.        www.thebargainhouse.com
8.        www.mbkwholesale.com
9.        www.wood-n-crafts.com
10.        www.1usacloseouts.com
11.        www.surplus.net
12.        www.intlwholesale.com
13.        www.liquidation.com
14.        www.bargaintownliquidation.com
15.        www.overstock.com
16.        www.rothmancloseouts.com
17.        www.wtraders.com
18.        www.desinerwholesale.com
Distressed or Returned Goods

Pay close attention here for fear of being separated from your hard earned money.  
There are bunch of people that have no moral values whatsoever.  In fact it actually
amazes me at how many people try to cheat you and I.  But year after year these
predators find ways to entice you and me into what I call the BBB. (the bigger and better
deal)  Here is the best advice I could ever give you, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
Here is how it works.  There are several sites that offer bulk quantities of goods for
amazing prices.  When a retail store no longer decides to carry an item, or in some cases
gets the wrong items, or discontinues an item, they have to do something with them.  
Somehow some liquidators get their hands on these items (I don’t know how but who
cares) and make them available for sale.  Normally if a retail store has a return they
usually return the item to the vendor.  I am guessing the vendor somehow makes these
items available, anyhow here is all this stuff you can buy.  MOST of it is customer returns,
which means the customer returned it for a reason so you don’t want it either.

So now you can buy a whole truckload of tools or apparel for pennies on the dollar.  Wow
what a deal right?  If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.  Here is what happens.  
Lets say you want to order a truckload or even a few pallets of something.  You ask for
the manifest to see if there is anything you can use on the load.  Lets say you find
something that interests you that you think you can sell.  So you give them your credit
card and wait patiently for your truck to arrive.  A lot of the time, it does not come in the
time period they said it would.  Then you unpack and start inventorying your stuff.  Now
you may find that you did not get what you paid for.  Items are missing, or substituted.  
Heck I know people that ordered tools and got toys or filthy clothes with holes in them.  I
always ask myself these questions.  If I had access to some great stuff for a great price
would I make it available to everyone, or market it myself?  Don’t bet your hard earned
money that someone has a heart to make sure you get some great deals and are taken
care of financially.  Some or most places won’t even offer a manifest, which means you
have to buy the items blindly.  

Now please do not take all of this negatively, I am sure there are some very reputable
vendors.  But like most things in the world, someone gave them a bad name.  Just do the
research!  If you find a company you really like, go for it.  I prefer to be original and not
leave my success up to someone else’s credibility.




The second thing I do is inquired if I can go visit their warehouse.   Call them up and ask
to visit their facility.  If they say no, erase their name from your hard drive.  Even some
places I have visited arouse suspicions; look at their place of business.  Are there lots of
pallets around?  Do they have a truck-loading bay?  Are there trucks in it?  Is it clean?  
Do phones ring in the offices?  Do people sound like they know what they are talking
about?  Do the secretaries speak the appropriate language?  I found a place in Florida,
visited it, and then was glad to have not purchased anything from them.  When I showed
up, with appointment, everyone was too busy to give me the tour.  I waited an hour.  
Chances are if they make you wait an hour, they won’t answer your email or return your
phone calls either.

Be wary of these companies, there are some good ones and some that I don’t trust.  You
can buy stuff by the truckload.  Mostly the items are customer returns, discontinued items,
or overstocks.  Sometimes the manifest is available for these items, always ask for it
before purchasing.

Most items come from name brand stores and you have to be careful with some of the
items.  For example I can buy a truckload of craftsman tools.  Cool right?  Well maybe.  
Lets say the majority of the load is customer returns.  Lets say that a lot of the items are
missing parts or need something ordered.  Easy enough.  If you’re handy you could fix
some items and/or order the missing part.  Now you can sell it online right.  Sometimes
yes and sometimes no.  First you can’t sell Craftsmen tools purchased this way without
removing the craftsman name from the tool.  This is a big negative for people who want to
buy the craftsman name, that’s the marketing, draw in the first place.  Sears does not
want their tool that they got rid of to come back to the store, so they require the name to
be removed.  Always check that detail out, that’s probably the best advice you can get.  
Also remember there is a reason the name store does not want these items, don’t get
caught with a truck full of shoes with two left feet in the box!  Here is a list of some of the
websites; some even have mailing lists (free) that you can review the latest offerings
every week.

I will add this part to make a point.  I don’t like this way of doing business.  But it does not
mean they are all bad.  I just like to be in control of my own destiny and my own products.  
I do not like to put the control of success into someone else’s hands.  When I order these
kinds of surplus goods, there is a reason they are surplus.  They are either obsolete,
damaged or yesterday’s news.  This type of buying, like anything else I expand on takes a
lot of study.  Go to the links and check them out.  Decide what kind of risk your
comfortable with taking.  When you’re a seasoned expert, consider this more seriously.

1.        www.surplus.net
2.        www.wtraders.com
3.        www.bargaintownliquidation.com
4.        www.globalwholesalesources.com


Now make sure you don’t skip this part.  You have read all this and now I am going to give
you the solution on how to filter through all these companies to find the good from the
bad.  This website will be one of your best tools.
www.buyersinfo.net
Join it, it’s free.  Then go on the forum, and choose the category about good and bad
companies to use.  This is super valuable; there are a lot of people who have been
burned by the cheaters.  They are super eager to make sure those companies don’t get
anymore business.  This is a great forum for people to use to generate feedback about
good companies to work with.  It took me seven months to find this information, and the
site is fairly new.  I am glad I over research things.  I will not include the list of the
companies that you should not buy from.  I will let you decide for yourselves which ones
you should avoid.

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