Everything You Wanted To Know About Wholesale Suppliers
Here is an attempt to answer some of the most common queries raised about wholesale
suppliers by those are new to e-commerce and have apprehensions about breaking away from the safety harness of a brick and mortar business.
1)One of the most common doubts expressed is whether wholesale suppliers will work with online business who works from home.
Wholesalers are business houses looking for sources who will buy from them regularly, preferably in large volumes. However, as they operate on low margins and high volumes, they are forever on the lookout for new business associates. When they establish a business relationship with a new buyer, they are allocating their valuable administrative time toward managing such accounts. Since volumes are what drive their profits, they may not be really interested in investing their time in an online home-based business, which cannot generate decent volumes.
There is a need to meet and convince them that doing business with you can be profitable for them in the long run. If you can show that you can drive up volume demand in the near future, they may be able to support and help you in your home-based venture.
2)Before you set up that meet with the wholesale supplier, there are certain things that you must ensure.
A genuine, legal business firm is an absolute necessity before you can fix that all important meeting with the wholesale supplier. There are many types of business set ups. It could be a sole proprietorship (DBA), Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Corporation. To operate a business within a state, you must also have a state-based Sales Tax ID or number. Wholesalers do not charge you sales tax. However, since sales tax has to be paid on every transaction, you as a retailer must pay that amount.
A genuine wholesaler supplier will insist on seeing your tax ID before they even talk business with you. There are some suppliers who assure you supplies, even if you do not have a tax ID. Run as fast as possible from such parties. They are nothing but middlemen who want a cut from your profits. They wont get you anywhere. Steer clear and beware of getting involved with such unscrupulous operators.
3)The most important question is how to convince a wholesale supplier that you are worth their time and effort.
This is perhaps the toughest part of the job. The trick lies in letting the wholesaler hear what he/she wants to. Research their website and learn everything about their business and policies. Subtly let them know that you have come prepared. That will take your image up a few notches. Business houses do not like to deal with people who waste their time.
Use your company name when you call on the wholesale supplier. It is important to drive home the fact that you are a registered and legal company looking for genuine business deals with them. That could open up the doors to take the talks to the next level. Remember to state all facts and provide the required information as genuinely and honestly as possible. Never shy away from disclosing the fact that you are into online business.
If the company has a policy not to deal with online business, there is no point in forcing the issue or wasting your time. Move on to the next wholesaler on your list.
4)The question that concerns most online traders is how they can use pictures and descriptions of products from a wholesaler for their website.
This is not a huge deal. Wholesalers who supply to online traders are willing to share their product images and descriptions in an electronic format. This can be easily done by downloading these images from a link on their website.
5)How drop shipping works is perhaps the most frequently asked question.
Drop shipping involves selling products directly from a wholesalers warehouse to your customer without having to physically possess them. Wholesalers ship the products that you request them to your customers directly. You can supply the wholesaler the labels and forms of your company to be included in and on the shipment to make it appear that the shipment has been sent from your end. You are charged for the price of the product sold and for the shipping and administrative expenses.
The best thing about drop shipping is that you do not need wads of cash to do business. You collect cash from your customers before you pay the drop shipper or the wholesaler. Bulk selling offers better margins than selling small volumes. Drop shipping saves you the hassle of owning or renting a warehouse, paying for maintenance and staff and also eliminates the burden of managing shipping-related problems.
by: Jane M Dawson
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