How To Buy Wholesale For Resale [Beginner Guide]

Before I started experiencing consistent success in my wholesale business, I had to spend countless hours each week searching for products to sell.

That is until I discovered the right product sourcing strategies that actually worked and saved me a lot of time and effort in finding the best deals.

If you are just getting started in wholesale or are looking for ways to scale up your business, this article outlines everything you need to know about how to buy wholesale for resale.

Let’s get to it.

What Does Buying Wholesale Entail?

Buying wholesale involves acquiring goods in bulk directly from either the manufacturers or the wholesalers.

You then take the products for resale to make a profit from the difference of the wholesale price and sales price.

Here is the process simplified:

You buy products in bulk from a wholesaler
You receive a discounted wholesale price for your purchase
You then sell the products to customers at a higher price (retail price)
You make a higher margin (that is, the difference between the wholesale and the retail prices) compared to buying from retail sellers.

This business model is very different from buying retail. Since wholesale purchases are almost always made in large quantities, you get a discounted wholesale price for the products, which means you can then make more profit on the resale.

This is one of the major advantages of buying at wholesale. It is important to note that pricing is key for the wholesalers as well, which is why many of them set a minimum order requirement for anyone who buys their merchandise.

A minimum order refers to the least amount of products you, as a retailer, can buy from a wholesaler in order to do business. This figure is set in order to allow a wholesaler to achieve its target for revenue and profitability.

This is a tactic that many retailers use to maximize their profits, and you can leverage it as well by ordering your top-selling products from wholesalers.

Tips to Find Wholesale Suppliers

There are a few different methods you can use to find wholesale suppliers.

Start with Your Local Chamber Of Commerce: A good place to start is your local chamber. You can also attend industry events, trade shows, etc., as well as subscribe to your industry’s trade publication so you can stay up-to-date with the information that will help you pick the best suppliers.
Contact Other Business Owners: If you have relationships with other business owners, you can crowdsource from your network to discover which wholesalers to work with, as well as which ones to avoid. Social media, industry groups, and forums are also great places to find wholesale distributors.
Use Online Marketplaces: Alibaba, eBay, Etsy, and other online marketplaces are great options that serve different audiences. They each have thousands of manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers to choose from. Alibaba, in particular, is ideal if you are looking for manufacturers overseas. These platforms also have messaging features that make it very easy to get in touch with suppliers from anywhere in the world.

Still stuck. Use our guide to help find wholesale suppliers.

Choosing a Wholesaler

Once you have a list of possible wholesalers, it’s time to choose the one you will work with. To do this, consider the following questions to help you make the right choice:

Is the Wholesaler Reliable?

Google each of the wholesalers on your list. Read the reviews about them left by other retailers and try to gain some insight whether it’s worth reaching out to them.

For instance, are there negative reviews about the wholesaler consistently being late, showing up with damaged goods, or not even showing up at all? If so, they won’t be good for your business, so strike them off your list.

Does the Wholesaler Have Good Customer Service?

To refine your list even further, check whether the wholesalers have responsive and helpful customer service. You need to be able to easily reach them when you need to and not be required to jump through hoops to get any assistance.

By the end of this process, you should be able to narrow down your list to a few top choices.

What Type of Merchandise Does the Wholesaler Sell?

Depending on the products you intend to sell, you need to choose a wholesale partner that carries the products you want.

Of course, you can work with multiple wholesalers to acquire the inventory you need, but make sure the wholesalers you choose have products that align with your type of store so that you maintain brand consistency.

What is the Wholesaler’s Price Point?

The entire point of buying wholesale is to be able to maximize your profits and buy in bulk. So, when choosing your suppliers, make sure they can give you pricing that allows you to hit your profitability targets.

How To Find Wholesale Products To Sell On Amazon

Now that you have your wholesale suppliers, it’s time to find the wholesale items that you can sell on Amazon.

Choosing the right products for your retail business can play a major role in determining your level of success.

Unfortunately, this part isn’t always easy because the majority of wholesalers don’t seem to have disposable income for marketing (you’d be surprised just how many wholesalers out there still don’t have websites!)

So, unless you meet people in person or find them via your networking efforts, it may be hard to get all the information you need to find the right products to sell.

If that sounds like too much work, that’s a good thing. That is exactly what keeps other sellers from embarking on the process. Don’t worry though, I have some tips and tricks to make your life a lot easier.

As someone who has already been through the experience, I have access to a lot of information on how to buy wholesale for resale.

Below, I’ve listed a few tips to help you out:

Follow the Trend

One way to find great products that sell like crazy is to simply follow the trends in the market. Products that are hot today become products for sale tomorrow, which gives you plenty of opportunities to plan ahead and make a good profit.

Identify a Market Need

If there is a specific need in your niche, you could build a portfolio based on that. For instance, organic cleaning products or dishwasher-safe baby gear, etc.

Check what others in your niche are selling and having success with. Make a list of these strong sellers as possible products for your own store.

Focus on Personal Passions

A lot of Amazon sellers focus on products related to things like sports, social causes, hobbies, and other personal passions. The great thing about these types of products is that there will always be demand for them.

Regardless of which of these three routes you take, it’s important to find quality products that can be bought at a low cost before making any significant investments. You also need to ensure that there is adequate demand so the product can be sold quickly and at a profitable price.

You can use a wholesale arbitrage tool like Tactical Arbitrage to easily spot the best sellers and determine what’s most profitable.

Here is a list of some of the most profitable wholesale products to choose from:

- Eco-friendly Products (food containers, culinary supplies, feminine products, etc.)
- Specialty Food Products (unique coffees, rare teas, etc.)
- Specialty Clothing (outdoor gear, fandom-related wear, unusual socks, etc.)
- Pet Products (toys, food, clothing, specialty gear, etc.)
- Smartphone Accessories (phone rings, magnetic car holders, phone banks, etc.)

Tips for Buying Wholesale

Below are a few tips designed to help you get the most from your dealings with your wholesale partners so you can build a successful and profitable retail business.

1. Always Choose the Best Quality

Regardless of what you’re selling, it’s vital that you offer good quality if you want to keep your customers. In order to do this, you have to form strong relationships with the manufacturers or wholesalers you are working with.

Whenever possible, you must see, feel, and experience the products you intend to sell first hand so you can analyze their quality for yourself. Don’t just rely on some pictures on the internet. Make sure the product is something you would actually like to buy.

2. Maintain Control over Cost

Sourcing your products yourself will allow you to have more control in regard to the cost associated with the items.

You will gain better control of the quality of your goods and also keep up with all the costs involved in every aspect of your business. This will allow you to make better-informed business decisions.

3. Use Real-World Sensibility

Any time you’re examining a potential item for sale, consider the ways in which adding that particular product to your merchandise may help you to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Each product you purchase must add freshness and value to your store.

You also need to validate your buying decisions by inquiring about your supplier’s ability to fulfill the order so you get assurance before placing an order of any size.

4. Learn Proper Negotiation Tactics

Never be afraid to negotiate with wholesalers on the price of goods anytime you need to do so. Let your suppliers know whenever your sales are doing well and share how much business they can expect from you so you can get a better deal.

Just remember to always be fair and honest in all your negotiations so you can form long-standing relationships with your suppliers.

5. Organize Storage Space

Prior to placing your wholesale order, you need to know exactly how you’re going to store it – unless you’re sending in all of your inventory order directly to Amazon’s warehouses.

If you are storing the order, ensure that you have an adequate room with the right type of shelving to make it easy to find your inventory. Also, keep everything labeled so you don’t lose track of any items.

Using Tactical Arbitrage For Wholesale

Wholesaling involves finding the best deals at the lowest prices and then reselling the products to customers for a higher profit margin. To do so effectively, you need the right tools.

Tactical Arbitrage is a tool that can help you with most of the product sourcing process. It works particularly well for wholesale sourcing and online arbitrage in the Amazon space. It also has a multitude of features that will help you build and grow a successful retail arbitrage business as well.

With this software, you can quickly scan and sort wholesale manifest and find possible product ideas.

How Tactical Arbitrage Works

You can use the software to search through wholesale products, allowing you to sift out the ones that will net you the most profit. To do this, all you have to do is import a manifest which you can acquire from most wholesale companies.

Tactical Arbitrage then scans the manifest, calculates pricing, and helps you determine which products are the most profitable by comparing them to the existing Amazon listings.

You can also sort the products by sales rank, as well as a variety of other metrics that will help you make better business decisions.

The software also shows you how many people are selling each product, and how many sales have been generated for each product so you have a good idea of how in-demand the product is.

The bottom line is that Tactical Arbitrage saves you tons of time and effort. This, in turn, means that you will be in a better position to scale your business for even more profitability.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it. Everything you need to know on how to buy wholesale for resale.

Whether you’re buying products in bulk to resell them individually in your local shop, at flea markets, on Amazon, or other online marketplaces, the process for sourcing wholesale products remains the same.

You need to choose the right products, find reliable suppliers, build relationships with them, secure the best deals, and optimize your profitability.

Use this article as your resource to get started right now building a successful strategy for buying wholesale merchandise.

And remember, as an entrepreneur and hustler, your time is precious. Use a tool like Tactical Arbitrage to free up more of your time so you can work on growing your business.

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