How to Find B2B Wholesale Sporting Goods

After buying wholesale sporting goods, you can sell the goods at a markup.

Businesses can purchase wholesale goods from manufacturers or from wholesale distributors. Wholesalers often require the buyer to provide a federal tax ID number as proof that their sale is conducted B2B, or business-to-business.



The benefit of buying sporting goods wholesale is that, unlike food or drink, sporting goods don't have a limited shelf life.

Instructions

1. Consult a major wholesale distribution warehouse, and ask if they carry sporting goods. These warehouses often carry wholesale goods of many everyday consumer items, ranging from lawn and garden supplies to kitchen towels. Some examples of large wholesale distributors include WholesaleCentral.com, Rhinomart.com, Wholesale.com, TopTenWholesale.com, and Trademic.com, although there are many options.

2. Look through a sporting-goods industry trade magazine, which will carry ads by business-to-business wholesalers who want to sell their goods to merchants like you. Contact the phone numbers listed on these ads.

3. Look at the exchange rates between the currency in which you trade and the currencies of other nations that manufacture sporting goods, like China and India. If the renminbi or rupee are low relative to the U.S. dollar (assuming your business trades in U.S. dollars), then it could be advantageous for you to contact Chinese or Indian manufacturers or wholesale distributors.

4. Have your federal tax ID number ready. Many wholesalers will require this when making a business-to-business sale.

5. Ask the wholesaler if they charge sales tax. Some do, and some do not.

6. Ask the wholesaler what the return policy is for items that don't move off the shelf. Some, but not all, wholesalers will allow an unopened bundle of items to be returned. For example, a pallet of 100 soccer balls can be returned, unless it's opened and 19 of those soccer balls have been sold to the public, in which case you're on the hook for the other 81 balls.

7. Ask the wholesaler how much of a grace period you have before payment is due. Most wholesalers will want payment either immediately or within 30 days, but some may allow 60 days before payment is due. Having leeway with the payment schedule can help your business cash flow.

References

• Bloomberg News: Wholesale Inventories
• Close Out Industry: B2B Resources