If you are new to this forum I suggest you read everything below.
Unless you have on a long holiday to Mars for the last ten years, you may (or may not) have noticed that there's been a virtual explosion of online auction websites that have suddenly jetted out of cyberspace and into our homes; changing the way we shopped forever. This has also had a profound effect on how much we paid for everything our hearts desire as well.
All of a sudden, anybody had the chance to kiss their boss goodbye and work for themselves. Importing to resell was not something limited to those with large wallets, rocket cars and mansions, it was something we could all do for fun and money.
Unfortunately, along with the flood of green importers that invaded the market came the unscrupulous souls that crawled out of the cyber holes with both hands out. Many and varied are the stories of piles of hard earned cash vanishing into digital voids, leaving people with no sign of their precious merchandise, or clever fakes in place of assured genuine items.
This website features a comprehensive guide to finding anything you want to supply at true, factory direct wholesale. There’s also a complete guide to staying safe from the wholesale scammers that prey on inexperienced importers.
For those who would rather someone else did this hard work for them, we recommend the use of the wholesale directory
Salehoo. We are happy members of this website. If you are looking at moving into a business of on-selling for a profit, you can’t go past this website for it’s support and extensive listings.
This website also contains:
1. Techniques that are little used but have great results for promoting your items for sales outside of your auctions, so you profit more for less effort.
2. How to over-deliver to to ensure buyers will return to your auctions time and time again. This saves finding new customers which is an expense you just don’t need. Ideas of how to use after sales service as a promotional tool so you can enjoy the benefits of the same customers buying from you time and time again.
3. Time tested hints that ensure you get maximum return for minimum effort, saving you stress, money, effort and time.
4. How to add value to your auctions at minimum or no extra cost and advice on keeping fees, packaging and postage costs to a minimum.
6. How to make sure your item comes up in searches every time maximising hits on your auction.
7. When you should list to make sure you get maximum bidders on your auctions.
8. Tips to have you snapping photography shots like the pros
9. How to cut down on your error, stress and email workload so mistakes are kept to a minimum.
If you want to find wholesalers, you need to go direct to the manufacturer.
Manufacturers rarely sell directly to the public, but they employ sales reps to be in charge of moving massive shiploads of product to local wholesale suppliers or distributors, who in turn sell to the retailers (us). If you want to find wholesalers you need to speak to these sales reps.
The sales reps know all the details so if you want to find the wholesalers, all you have to do is ask them. In most cases, they will simply tell you. It is their job to move product so all that is required is that you put it to them in the professional manner that any business striking a deal with another business would.
So how do you find who manufactures the product?
Well, for a start you can look at the product itself. If you are selling DJ equipment, go to a shop and have a look at the back of it. Sometimes, if you are very lucky and you look on the back of your chosen product it may just say ‘Distributed in Portland and Australia by…” Make a note of any information you can find anywhere on your product and start there.
If not, somewhere (either stamped on the equipment or within the owners manual/warranty) you will find the name of the manufacturer. It will be something like ‘Williams Electrics Ltd.’
You then do a search for the phone number (either online or through the country’s white pages) and call Williams Electrics Ltd direct. The receptionist will ask you who you would like to speak to. This is where it helps to be a registered business. You need to sound like a professional retailer so put on your business trousers and go to work.
“Hello, I am Jonathon Smith of Smith Retailers Ltd. in Portland. Could I speak to a sales rep please?”
She transfers you through to Tim in the sales office. “Hi Tim, My name is Jonathon Smith of Smith Retailers Ltd. in Portland. I was hoping you could give me your authorised suppliers list so I can contact them.”
Tim says no worries and will provide you with the wholesale suppliers that are in th US, Australia and anywhere else that you require. This is Tim’s job, and he will be more than happy to provide you with the wholesalers. If you become a good paying customer, Tim gets a pat on the back and a big smile.
Tim may ask you some questions about your business. Just answer as honestly as possible or say you are simply researching this avenue to find out whether or not it is a viable option.
That’s it. You have gone directly to the source and cut out any middlemen that you will find with an internet search.
What’s next?
Now you have the information, it is time to scope out which distributors will work with you. You are a small home based business; there is no getting away from that. Some distributors will want to work with you and some won’t, there is nothing you can do about it. Just don’t be too disappointed with initial knock backs. This is not for the faint hearted, and this is why many fail and turn to middlemen. Don’t be one of these people.
So give the first wholesaler a call and see what they have to say, let’s say their name is Denon Distributors. You will need to have your business trousers on again for this. You will need to ask for the sales rep again, let’s call her Susan.
“Hey Susan! My name is Jonathon Smith from Smith Retailers. I would like to get some information about setting up a retail account with Denon Distributors.
Susan will start to ask you some questions about your business. You will find that most true wholesalers will almost always require you to be a retailer or run a registered business before you have access to their wholesale catalogues. If you are serious about getting true wholesale prices without having to order from middlemen, you will need to convince Susan that you are able to meet minimum sales requirements to be able to apply for a wholesale account with her company. If you really are serious about taking this on, you can reserve a company name and then incorporate the company.
Be ready for Susan to ask you other questions that you are just going to have to disclose the truth for. It really helps to have a business plan so that you may field these questions professionally. A great website complete with videos is
www.bplans.com/dp/ - this will help you forecast your projected sales, talk about your audience & funding type, general industry overview, analysis, financials etc etc.
If you are new to this, you simply have to be honest as all they have to do is check your company details to see you have only been in business for a couple of weeks. If they find that you have told fibs, Susan will cut off your supply right in the middle of all your auctions. She will only really want to know you are trustworthy in order for you to get credit with the company, so for your first deal you will more than likely have to pay upfront, but then you have your all important first trade lead and reference.
You can’t change the fact that they may not want to work with home-based internet businesses but you can make it difficult for them to say no to you. Offer to pay cash because you don’t have any business credit references as yet. If you are sure you can do it, promise good sales to the wholesaler you are interested in and hope they accept your proposal.
Again, this is where many people give up and decide to go through middlemen as this is the soft option. You need to ask yourself “Am I serious about developing this business?” If your answer is yes, then you just have to deal with these questions and go through this initially. Keep in mind that this could save you THOUSANDS in the long run. You CAN do it though and you will come out a lot better off than all the other sellers on eBay that give up and go through middlemen.
If Susan won’t give you a wholesale account, go to the next wholesaler on the list that the original manufacturer supplied to you. Don’t give up. This is the only way you can find true wholesalers. If none of the wholesalers will work with you, then you can be sure they won’t be working with any other home based internet business owners either. You will have the edge and have learnt valuable negotiating skills for the wholesalers who WILL work with you.
This is how middlemen and retailers do it. Repeat this process and you will find them.
True Wholesale Sources
In order to make real money as an importer, you need to cut out the middlemen who claim to offer wholesale prices, but order from true wholesalers and then take their cut of
your profits.
Sometimes a company will not deal with it's own customers and will instead enlist distributors to wholesale to resellers, but where possible, it is of course best to order factory direct.
Listed below are the 'secret' sources that most directory owners and middlemen don't want you to know, as they will ensure that you will always be able to find anything you need at true wholesale without ever needing to pay directory fees again.
www.SuperPages.com.
SuperPages is the leading online Yellow Pages directory service with millions of US business and residential listings nationwide. Here you can find yellow pages phone listings, directions, online shopping sites, maps, and addresses for local or national businesses.
Do a search for wholesale __________ (whatever it is you are looking for), then check to see if they will ship to your country. If they don't, you could consider working with a US mail forwarder. Click here for more information on
mail forwarders or visit
this link.
www.Alibaba.com.
Alibaba is an English-language website primarily serving Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME's) in the international trade community, with nearly two million registered users from over 200 countries and territories.
More than 300,000 people visit the site every day, most of them global buyers and importers looking to find and trade with sellers in China and other major manufacturing countries. The Gold member section features products that are Made In China.
As there is so much rampant fraud on the internet these days, only ever deal with sellers who are TrustPass verified with Alibaba. Type in your search, then choose selling leads from the drop down menu, all the TrustPass verified sellers will come up first. Venture past these members at your own risk.
Please read the
Safe Importing Tips section of this website before you deal with non TrustPass members, I wrote this section because of Alibaba! Below is a list of communities that are the same idea as Alibaba, but it is best to search them all when you are on the hunt for specific items.
ETradeShow.org
ECPlaza.net
Importers.com
ec21.com
Trade-India.com
Offer21.com
Fuzing.com
Manufacture.com - Taiwanese Products
WorldTradeAA.com
BusyTrade.com
TradeBusiness.com
www.ExportBureau.com.
Export Bureau is an international exporter, supplier, company and manufacturing directory. ExportBureau as a non profit global directory that has been providing a completely free unbiased export company information.
It now also provides free instant online company history reports to the public through as well as the worlds international trade statistics available free to the worldwide public for every industrial category. Unlike Alibaba, you have to be a legitimate, registered company to be part of the directory.
www.Made-In-China.com.
China manufacturer directory and product catalog, providing trade leads amongst China factories, manufacturers, suppliers, and global buyers. Always make sure you order samples to check the quality.
Source-From-China.com
www.AsianProducts.com
eBigChina.com Directory
All similar to Made-In-China.com.
Surplus.net.
For closeout, surplus, overstock, liquidation and below wholesale products and services. It has been ranked as the largest and most trafficked surplus dealer network in the world by virtually every independent source.
These companies are able and willing to sell their products in smaller quantities, i.e. by the case, etc. making it easier for flea market vendors, and small stores to stock them.
Fashions.net.
A huge directory of apparel manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers, run by the same people as Surplus.net.
So there you have it!
The crucial links where directory owners find their trade leads and wholesalers find their products. If you want to do searches on google for sites that are harder to find but are more like to target your niche market, try doing searches with key phrases like:
Overstock ____ (whatever it is you are looking for)
Surplus ____
Liquidation ____
Factory direct ____
Refurbished ____
____ supplier
____ distributor
____ manufacturer
____ sources, and so on and so forth.
Start small, always order samples and keep in mind that if a deal seems to good to be true, there is a fairly good chance that it is.
How To Stay Safe When Finding Wholesalers
1. Find out as much information as you can.
Do as much research as you can to ascertain the credibility of the seller. Check the company is actually registered in the country that they say by asking the seller to provide you with a valid registration, or do a search of that countries companies registrar. Find out the physical address and give them a call to verify the company actually exists. Check the phone number you have been given matches the country of origin and look up the white pages of that country.
Never go with a seller who provides you with just an email address or website alone. If a website looks legitimate by all intents and purposes, check their domain information by typing it into a
'whois' feature, this will tell you where, by whom and when the website was registered. Be wary of sites that are registered in a different country or sites that have been set up very recently. Be wary also of sellers who provide you with a yahoo or hotmail address as legitimate companies will almost always have
seller@company.com addresses.
2. Background checks
Make use of online credit services such as Dunn & Bradstreet to make sure that the seller isn't registered with them. Obtain all the seller's contact details, including their bank's telephone number and a fax of their personal ID, tell them you need it to do a background check. You can then sign up to someone like
web-detective.com to check their credit history. Get in contact with their local credit agency for information about their local dealings with other companies.
Check the name of the company with
The RipOffReport, which is a worldwide consumer reporting Website & Publication. By consumers, for consumers, to file & document complaints about companies or individuals who ripoff consumers.
3. Get it on paper.
Prepare an indepth sales contract and list your conditions of sale, how you have agreed to pay, a complete inventory, shipping details etc. For a directory of INCOTERMS (International Commercial Terms) - a universally recognised set of definitions of international trade terms, visit
Import911 so there is no discrepancy as to which shipping method you have agreed on. Fax it to them and get them to sign it. If you can't do this yourself, ask family members and friends if they know a lawyer or law student to draw one up for you.
4. Use 'SafeTrader' with your wholesaler.
Using an Escrow service with your wholesaler is just like using SafeTrader at TradeMe.
Escrow.com, an accredited escrow company, acts as a secure third party to protect the Buyer and Seller. Beware of sellers trying to convince you to use other Escrow services, it is very easy to set up a fake website or engineer fraudulent emails. Insist on setting up your own transaction, only with Escrow.com.
5. Try to use safe methods of payment.
Credit Card: This is a relatively safe method as credit card companies will usually refund you if you are a victim of fraud. Wholesalers may be cautious of taking credit card orders because if the card or number is stolen, then the funds are deducted from their bank account to refund the victim after they have already sent the goods to the fraudster. It is up to the wholesaler to acertain whether or not the order is fraudulent, this is why most companies will only ship to the address on the card.
A 'Standby' Letter of Credit: This is where the bank acts as a SafeTrader for you. It is an exchange of documentation where the bank acts as a guarantor for you, agreeing that they will pay the supplier when the goods arrive and are inspected, you will need to convince your bank that you are good for the full amount. Make sure you check every detail on the letter of credit issued to you.
Cash On Delivery: Although it is fairly remote they are going to go with COD to New Zealand, you can give it a bash.
6. Choose other methods of payment carefully.
PayPal: PayPal is fairly safe, as long as the seller is verfied, check their buyer/seller number alongside their verification to confirm their number of transactions. Never deal with unverified sellers. PayPal will freeze an account if you report a scam so only make credit card payments, never e-cheque or cash from your bank account.
7. Try to avoid Telegraphic or Wire Transfers.
A TT or wire transfer is when the full or part payment is made directly into the seller's bank account. Most legitimate businesses prefer TT to get a deposit, or require the full amount in advance as it is the least possible risk to them. If they absolutely will not go with any other payment methods be very wary, there is no reason for legitimate wholesalers to have a problem with safe methods of payment.
Don't be pressured into going with TT for a first time transaction, it should only be regarded as a fast and cheap method of payment between buyers and sellers who have built a up a mutual trust.
8. Avoid Western Union like the plague.
Never, ever use it. Western Union is only safe if you are sending money to a relative and it is a favourite of many internet scammers. Flatly refuse to use Western Union in any other case. It may seem like the deal of a lifetime but you are almost guaranteed to lose the full amount. Visit Western Union's
Consumer Fraud Awareness page for more information.
9. Have a holiday.
If you are going to spend $10,000 - $20,000 on merchandise and you've been thinking you would quite like to see a bit more of this wonderful world we live in, then go to these countries and establish your own trade contacts. See that the shipment is loaded onto the boat and act as your own buying agent. If you already run your own business, claim this holiday back as an expense, if you a registered for GST, claim back the GST on the items you sell. If you don't have time for a holiday, do a search for buying agents in that country and pay someone to go and make sure the shipment gets on the boat for you.
10. Trust your own judgement.
Use your own common sense. If a deal seems altogether too good to be true, there's a fairly good chance that it is. That said, most scammers set off multiple alarm bells fairly quickly. I just visited a website that claimed to be based in London, they showed a beautiful building that would have astronomical overheads, yet their website was quite obviously hosted free. You would think that they would have enough money to set up hosting that didn't plaster ads all over their site if they were legitimate.
11. Check everything you are told.
Check every detail that the seller tells you before taking their word for it. I had a company in "Italy" inform me that they would forward the items to DHL (a worldwide shipping company), DHL would then hold and inspect the shipment for me. I was to forward the money to DHL, they would hold the money until the goods arrived, DHL would then release the money.
This is basically the service provided by escrow.com, never in my knowledge has a shipping company ever offered this service. I was thrilled, it was the answer to my prayers, a shipping company that acts as an escrow service for free?! Hallelujah!
I rang DHL to confirm the good news, and was informed that they never have or will act as an escrow service, they have never looked inside a shipment unless commanded by customs and would never consider doing so. Her exact words: "We just send the cartons to the address on the top, we're not that keen!"
The address the scammers gave me was
deliveryservice@dhl-shipping.com,
www.dhl-shipping.com is an msn homepage, the correct address is
www.dhl.com. I emailed the address anyway just to see what would happen, I expected at least a copy of a DHL email but received a disappointing, plain text effort. Just, check and recheck
everything they tell you before parting with your hard earned cash.
Ordering From US Wholesalers That Don't Ship to Your Country
One way around websites that do not ship to your country is to set yourself with a company like
USGlobalMail, who specialise in international mail and package forwarding services. They offer international shoppers the opportunity to rent their own US mailbox and receive mail & merchandise from any US company.
Some companies will charge you very high shipping rates or an extra fee to ship to your country, to cover the employee that has to go to the Post Office to send you your package. Once you are a member, you can take advantage of the free shipping offered at any of the sites on the list, then the mail forwarding company offers low cost international shipping rates on all forwarded packages.
Another way to import from overseas wholesalers is to ask the company if they allow buyers to organise their own shipping. You can hire an agent to go to the company, pick up and deliver your items anywhere in the world. Check out
this directory of international shipping and moving companies to find the lowest shipping cost to overseas destinations.
With
USGlobalMail, once they receive your package, they immediately notify you via e-mail, then you can login to your account and find the detailed information of your package including the sender's name, the brief description of the package, quantity, weight etc.
USGlobalMail ship with DHL, USPS, UPS, and FedEx, four of the largest and most highly respected international carriers. This allows them to choose among the four and offer the best price to your location. They also give you the choice of how fast your mail will be delivered.
USGlobalMail then re-package or consolidate multiple packages into one to reduce your shipping weight. Customs charges and import tax still apply on your package but they will declare whatever you tell them to. Honesty is of course the best policy.
Registration requires that you fax, email, or mail a copy of two forms of identification and the front and back of your credit card.
Wholesalers also require the address that they are sending the goods to be the address on your credit card, so you need to either change the address on your current credit card to the one that the forwarder gives you, or apply for a credit card that is dedicated to buying from overseas. Statements for that card will then be sent to the overseas address and you will need to organise with your forwarder to get those to you.
You can also then take advantage of magazine subscripitions that you can get overseas that are so cheap it is not funny. Check out the amazing deals at
Mags For Less.
You'll find the DHL published rates
here.
Compare rates with those offered by
USGlobalMail.
Starting Small.
If you choose to sign up with USGlobalMail, there will be no need to search for wholesalers that agree to ship to your country, you can just take your pick of the ones that you wish to work with.
If you are new to this forum I suggest you read everything above.
Wholesale 101 For Newbies
Re: Wholesale 101 For Newbies
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November 2009
