How to Buy Wholesale

Some general requirements for qualifying to buy products at wholesale prices.

Today's Internet is filled with many people who are interested in locating wholesale sources that they can buy from and then resell the products online either through their website or on an auction site like Ebay.

The problem most people run into is finding a reliable, inexpensive wholesale source who carries products that are different than those being sold by everyone else. There are also many, many companies selling online who claim to be selling wholesale but are really just selling discounted retail items rather than being a true wholesaler.

So how do you go about locating a true wholesale supplier and then convincing them to let you buy from them? Many people will contact a company and ask for wholesale pricing only to get turned down. In almost every case this is because they approached the company as an individual instead of as a business. Nearly every true wholesaler will only sell to businesses and not to individuals. That means that in order to qualify for wholesale pricing you must first set yourself up as a true business.

There are literally thousands of wholesalers who will work with small businesses including people who are selling online through a website or auctions as well as people selling at flea markets and small brick and mortar retail shops. Typically the minimum requirements to buy from any of these companies is that you have a sales tax number (or business license if you are from a state that does not charge sales tax).

You also will typically need a bank account in the name of your business, business cards and letterhead printed with your company name. Many of the wholesale companies will require you to fax your sales tax number to them on your own letterhead before they will do business with you. If you do not have a brick and mortar retail location it is sometimes also helpful to have either a yellow pages ad or a well developed website to prove business activity.

While all of that sounds pretty daunting, it is really quite easy to do. You will need to find the licensing department for your state and see what the requirements are for getting a business license in your state. Typically you just have to pay a small amount of money, fill out some paperwork and set up a trade name to get licensed. Try a Google search for business licenses in your state name.

Once you have your business license you can go to your local bank and open a business checking account. Banks usually have accounts that are set up to handle small online businesses where you don't have to carry a large minimum balance in your account. Be sure to shop around at several local banks and get the best account with the most benefits for a business of your size.

While you are working on getting your business license and bank account set up, you can easily get business cards and letterheads printed from an online company like iPrint.com. They have pre-designed templates that you can use and just fill in your company information. Thier printing prices are lower than most local print shops, plus they sell in smaller quantities. That means rather than having to get 1000 business cards printed right off the bat you can go with a smaller quantity like 250 business cards.

Once you have your business license, bank account, business cards and letterhead you will stand a much better chance of finding many true wholesalers who are willing to work with you. As you are looking around for wholesalers and choosing where you are going to buy your products, be sure to consider how long they have been in business, their prices, their location, what shipping options and costs they offer, what their minimum purchase amount is, whether or not they have a return policy, whether you can purchase online and their terms of sale.

Contrary to popular belief the lowest price may not always be the best bargain so be sure you know everything you can about a potential wholesaler before doing business with them. As in all areas of business there are some not-so-savory wholesalers out there so the more research you do in advance the more likely you are to have a good wholesale buying experience.