How to Buy Wholesale Goods

So-called wholesale clubs are not selling goods at wholesale. Stores like Costco and BJ's rely on membership fees and bulk sales to assure they can give their buyers discounted pricing on a host of products. To truly buy at wholesale, you need to be a retailer or look like one.

Instructions

Buy From the Wholesalers

1. Register as a business in your home state. This gives you a retail identity, a resale identification number and the credentials to represent yourself to wholesalers as someone who can sell an appropriate volume of their products.

2. Look like a business. If you are not ready to set up shop as a full-fledged business, looking and acting like one can be the next best thing. Create a company name, print up some business cards and go shopping.

3. Find the right wholesalers. Choose the wholesaler based on the products you want to purchase. Many Web sites are geared toward specific companies and products, but simply going to a wholesaler and asking the right questions can be enough to get deep discounts. For example, furniture manufacturers and wholesalers don't expect you to buy 20 units of each item they sell. What they want is a business relationship they can rely on for the long term; if you can sustain a long-term buying relationship, they will offer sizable discounts.

4. Sell online. To steadily buy wholesale, you need to sell retail. You can sell from a store, the trunk of your car or online. Set up a Web page and test the Internet waters. Even if you only sell on eBay and Craigslist, you can make a profit by selling to the masses.

5. Go to trade shows and conventions that promote the products you are looking for; they're designed to entice retailers to particular wholesalers.

6. Join clubs and organizations associated with your product line. Whether you're selling coins or curtains, there are clubs that cater to your inventory. Getting together with common retailers will lead you to the wholesale network that supplies them.

7. Barter even at the wholesale level. Wholesalers often give deep discounts on products they can't move. Always ask about specials and price breaks for volume in dollar value and item amount.

8. Use more than one wholesaler. If you rely on only a single supplier, you risk missing out on pricing and supply opportunities. If the wholesaler with the best prices is frequently out of stock on the items you most need, find another one that isn't.