How To Buy At Wholesale Prices
A guide to helping anyone contact and use wholesalers even if they are only starting out in business.A guide to helping anyone contact and use wholesalers even if they are only starting out in business.
HOW TO BUY WHOLESALE
Before we get into specific sources I need to dispense some general rules about dealing with wholesalers. The first is that you need to MAKE A SMALL EFFORT to be able to deal with them. Let me explain why as Im sure your brain is telling you that surely they should make it as easy as possible to be able to deal with them NO THAT IS WRONG!
For example – at the top of the chain you will have the company that makes a film. They want as many people in the world to then buy that film. Their job is to advertise and create as much interest as possible. Having created the demand there is no point if the consumer cant get hold of the product so to supply the product we have countless retailers who will sell the film. We are talking high-street stores, supermarkets, corner-shops, Internet stores, mail-order and YOU.
The wholesaler is the middleman. Its job is to take stock in bulk from the film company and distribute it to the many thousands of retail outlets, making a profit in the process. The film company does not want to get involved in dealing with thousands of accounts it just wants to concentrate on what it knows best making movies.
So whats the problem? Well a wholesaler is meant to be a distributor to the retailer NOT a retailer themselves. Given the fact they are buying cheaply from the film company, a retailer would be outraged if the wholesaler sold direct to the public. If this happened retailers would most likely not bother to sell the film companies products. This wouldnt be good for the film company imagine companies like WalMart or Tesco not stocking the latest blockbuster releases.
So the wholesalers must keep up the pretence of not dealing with the public and only dealing with genuine traders i.e. retailers. This is why they erect a few barriers to put off the end user however the good news is that we can EASILY slip in through the backdoor by knowing what to do and by obeying a few golden rules.
Do not think for a second you are doing something wrong (you are not) and do not be nervous the wholesalers really want to sell as many items as they can, they really do want to deal with you, they just need you to play the game correctly.
Because wholesalers are not dealing with the end-user you will find that they often appear inefficient and dinosaur-like. Remembering that they are not a retailer and so they often have lousy web sites (if they even have one). They also will advertise the RRP (recommended retail price). This is the price they recommend the retailer to be selling the product for.
To get the wholesale prices you will generally (but not always) be required to join first (for free avoid anyone charging a fee) before they give you the real prices.
Lets also bear in mind that as well as not wanting to upset their masters (the film company) and their customers (the retailers) a wholesaler will also NOT want to deal with millions of customers who buy occasionally, maybe only once.
So they would prefer to deal with traders who are going to spend bucket loads. How do they know this will happen well they cant possibly know if you are going to become a superstar or not and this is where we come in. Even if you want to buy for your own personal use its ok – as long as you dont tell them this.
They will not turn away potentially massive business so as long as you appear to be a trader you are in. Remember – someone running a market stall is a trader who may become a shopkeeper who may turn into a chain. Wholesalers dont ONLY deal with huge retailers.
As well as keeping the prices under wraps the main obstacle is by getting you to fill in some application forms. You will generally need to phone or fax a wholesaler to get these warning, your emails can get completely ignored as customer service is way down on their priority list.
Now lets get your story right. Many wholesalers will say that they deal with trade only. There is no need to be a shop owner. Trade can be mail-order via the Internet (i.e. eBay). If asked I would use this description as well as saying you trade via market stalls. Only volunteer this information if asked as many wholesalers wont even bother they are busy people and sometimes the rules are lax.
Make up a trade name it sounds better to them. Using your initials is always good i.e. JB Trading.
Sometimes they have large minimum orders (i.e. 100) to put people off although mostly they dont. Sometimes this only applies to the first order.
If you are really unlucky then they may ask for proof of trading such as letterhead, business card or an invoice from someone. Even this is quite easy just concoct something using your word processor i.e. Word and they will accept it lets not forget that you are not claiming to be a huge retailer just a small-time trader. You dont have to have a limited company or be a corporation, most businesses in the world are run as one-man bands.
When you contact them ask for a catalogue. They will generally just ask for your name and address. Use your trading name and use your home address and home phone number. Perhaps ask them if they have a minimum order size.
Another obstacle is that they sometimes ask for references. In my experience these are never followed up but are another way to put off the average Joe. It would be quite easy to use a friend i.e. SP International Export (and using your friends address).
Applying for a credit account is not a good idea as they are then very likely to really want references. Mostly you can pay by credit card and therefore the checks on you are minimal or non-existent.
Once you have played by the rules and jumped through a few hoops you will have access to the trade prices and information. Once you are in you are in so this is just an initial inconvenience.
This is an excerpt from the best-selling book by Mark Eastwood entitled ‘How To Buy Cheap DVDs and Games and Make Money’ – this article can be reproduced and published as long as it is credited to Mark Eastwood, and the web address of http://www.cheapdvdsandgames.co.uk is displayed.
