Wholesale Lists

As soon as you start searching the Internet for information on wholesale products you quickly discover the vast number of lists and directories of product distributors for sale.

A product distributor is any business selling goods for resale. A wholesale distributor buys from a manufacturer and is licensed to sell to licensed resellers, or retailers. If you are selling physical goods, online or off, to the general public, then you are a retailer, though people who sell only on the Internet are sometimes referred to as etailers.

Wholesale directories, wholesale lists are pretty much just what the word says, a compiled list of wholesale businesses distributing goods across various product categories. Are they reliable, and are the businesses listed legitimate? That's a tough question and there is really no way to know unless you can find reviews or talk to other people who may have used the list.

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Here are some lists and directories of product distributors that we think are honest:

salehoo.com

onesource.com

wholesale101.com

skipmcgrath.com

Of the directories listed, Salehoo, One Source, and skp McGrath have very high name recognition, and all have a long history with eBay. Wholesale101 is a relative newcomer whom I personally believe to be legitimate.

Salehoo, One Source, and Wholesale101 are membership sites. One Source has a one time membership fee of between $250 and $300 depending on what discounts apply. Salehoo has a one time membership fee of $67. Both One Source and Salehoo offer lists of thousands of suppliers and both verify the legitimacy of each business listed. Salehoo and One Source are the two big names in online wholesale directories. Both websites update their supplier lists frequently, and both are responsive to needs, wants, and concerns of members. Wholesale101 is a free (at this time) membership and the owner offers numerous text files of for many different kinds of produt distributors and sources. The lists on Wholesale101 appear to be static, and I have no idea how often the owner updates them.

Skip McGrath offers an eBay selling system that includes how to find product suppliers. He also heavily advertises the One Source membership. Skip McGrath and One Source have both been major players with eBay and both have good reputations.

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Do You Really Need an Online Wholesale Directory Memeberhisp?

Ultimately, that's a question you have to answer. If you know exactly what you want to sell, then probably not. If you know, for example, that you want to sell Martin Guitars, then you go to the Martin Guitar factory and either become an authorized reseller, or you find out who the authorized wholesale distributors are and negotiate with them.

Let's take another example. It seems like everyone wants to sell Apple ipods. Contact Apple and find out how to become an authorized dealer or find out who the authorized wholesalers are and deal with them. I have an account with DBL, one of the larget wholesale distributors for consumer electronics in the United States. DBL is also authorized to distribute certain Apple products. I asked my sales rep about selling Apple and was told that Apple has requirements that retail sellers must fulfill before meeting authorization requirements, such as having an authorized repair person on staff. Why would this information be important to you? If you want to sell Apple products and are concerned that they be legitimate Apple goods, then if you are not getting them from Apple or from an authorized wholesaler, the legitimacy will always be suspect.

How about buying authentic Apple iPhone or iPods directly from the factory that makes them in China? If you are serious about that, then you should go to China and be willing to spend some money. I'm not joking.

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In my opinion, online wholesale memberships are helpful if your area of focus is consumer mass market goods. Things such as cheap electronics, clothing, dogfood, comic books, dollar store items, sporting goods, camping, hobbies and crafts, giftware, and so forth. If this is you, an online membership might help take you to sources you need and cut hours off of research time.

If you are searching for wholesale suppliers so that you can sell on eBay, don't bother. EBay is already a wholesale selling environment. Most prices are already at or below wholesale price. If you purchase from a wholesaler to sell on eBay, you'll have a tough time making a profit, if any at all. To sell on eBay, you'll need to buy in bulk from a manufacturer or deal in liquidated products.

If you want to sell on eBay and are willing to do the hard work, you can make a living with second hand items, thrift store items, garage and yardsale items, one-off idiosyncratic giftware items.

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For many successful eBay sellers and ecommerce etailers, Salehoo is an important resource in the research of fresh product suppliers and acquisition of hot selling products. Salehoo can be an effective tool for you, too, if you follow the few, simple tips we have to offer.

First, just in case you are new to product sourcing, Salehoo is one of the two or three high profile online, wholesale product supplier directory memberships. The purpose of such memberships is to provide an extensive, reliable online rolodex of contact information for the different kinds of product suppliers that retailers, resellers, eBay sellers, flea market vendors and others use to purchase products to sell to the public. Salehoo, for example, provides over 8000 listings for:

genuine wholesalers

dropshippers

liquidation closeout specialists

light bulk wholesalers

factory distributors

discount retailers

Chinese manufacturers and distributors

Tip #1: It is important to understand that Salehoo is not a product supplier. We have discovered that many people think that Salehoo is itself a seller of wholesale dropship goods, but this is not true. It merely provides the contact information.

Tip #2: Participate in the forum. The Salehoo forum, or the forum of any other legitimate online wholesale directory, is where the real action is. This is where you learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of product sourcing. This is where you are likely to find your best leads to the low cost products you need to make a profit.

Tip #3: If you can't find what you want in the directory and aren't getting satisfactory answers through the forum, send a private message to the Salehoo staff for help and advice. This applies to any other wholesale membership you might want to participate in. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Tip #4: When using the directory, be sure to pay attention to the ratings. When you find a wholesale or dropship supplier, go to the forum and ask for current feedback on reliability. Members will tell you exactly what they think.

Tip #5: When you find a company that looks promising, be sure to verify the kind of product supplier they are. That is, are they a true wholesaler and/or dropshipper? Are they liquidators or factory distributors? Are they discount retailers? The Salehoo directory will usually give you that information, but don't be afraid to ask the company outright any questions you have. Be sure to tell them that you are a member of Salehoo. If you find them through some other membership, be sure to reference the membership in your communication.

Tip #6: Use the Salehoo market research tools and training materials.

Tip #7: Before you start selling products on eBay, ask for product feedback on the forum. You are likely to get useful advice that will save you money and time in your auctions.