Buying from wholesale to sell for profit

Goodas1980

Hi Newby here,

Ive got a few hunddred pound saved and Ive been wanting to find a product now to buy in bulk to sell on for a profit but im struggling to find a wholesaler, can anyone help?

Ive looked at a few items in the wholesale section on Ebay and ive checked what the items currently sell, although there is clearly a profit to be made I cant help thinking "why cant I get my goods from where they got them"?

Surely if I can find a wholesaler and deal with them direct I will be able to get it cheaper than on Ebay wholesale, or am i wrong?

Ive serched for a thread about this but cant find one, if there is can someone give me the link, cheers.

grintricha

the problem you have is that people jealously guard their suppliers, wouldn't you?

hermum

You're better off selling something that you have an interest in. People aren't likely to offer the info on where to buy stock from to a prospective competitor. Think about what you want to sell, then try & find specific wholesalers.

Goodas1980

grintricha wrote: »

the problem you have is that people jealously guard their suppliers, wouldn't you?

I thought that may the response but I thought it was worth a shot lol, I was mainly hoping for a point in the right direction really.

larlie1983

Goodas1980 wrote: »

I thought that may the response but I thought it was worth a shot lol, I was mainly hoping for a point in the right direction really.

Try putting the product/brand name + wholesale into Google and see what comes up. Once you've found a wholesaler who sells the product you want to sell put the wholesalers name into Google and you'll probably get reviews of the wholesaler. You can then make a decison whether to buy from the wholesaler.

RFW

Goodas1980 wrote: »

Hi Newby here,

Ive got a few hunddred pound saved and Ive been wanting to find a product now to buy in bulk to sell on for a profit but im struggling to find a wholesaler, can anyone help?

Ive looked at a few items in the wholesale section on Ebay and ive checked what the items currently sell, although there is clearly a profit to be made I cant help thinking "why cant I get my goods from where they got them"?

Surely if I can find a wholesaler and deal with them direct I will be able to get it cheaper than on Ebay wholesale, or am i wrong?

Ive serched for a thread about this but cant find one, if there is can someone give me the link, cheers.

Not all wholesale sellers on Ebay have suppliers, if they do it may not be just as simple a case as going to them and getting a product for the same price as anyone else.
I could give you at least half a dozen of my suppliers who will not sell you goods at the prices we pay, due to the quantities we buy and the length of time we have dealt with them.
A few hundred pounds is not really a bulk buying amount, I'd suggest starting off in a small way and seeing the products that sell and how much you can earn. If you're starting from scratch you need to know what you want to sell and how much you can earn on it and how quickly it sells. If you buy a thousand items at 50p and can sell them for £2, it's a decent profit but not if you only sell one a week and not f you haven't taken selling fees and other expenses into account.
Also wholesalers don't all have an online presence, so it may be an idea to find a wholesale district local to you (Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, London, Liverpool, etc have wholesale areas) and have a wander round, a lot of traders would be happy to have a cash customer.

bris

Go to any big city and fing the wholesale district. In Glasgow for instance the Gorbals are full of wholesalers, you will find everything from socks to large electricals. Most Cities have districts like this, the problem is opening accounts with them as most operate a strict "business only" operation. They can spot ebayers a mile off and will take you for a mug at first, you will only see the real prices if you buy off them on a regular basis.

Happy_bunny

A good starting point might be The Trader magazine or Exchange and Mart, I know the trader lists various wholesalers and bulk sellers which at least will at least give you some ideas!

Please, please do take care though, the buying part is easy - its selling for an amount that gives you a decent profit after fees/costs and your time that's the hard part! :rotfl:

Do[STRIKE] some [/STRIKE] loads of research first before thinking about your savings into anything.

Really not trying to dampen your enthusiasm, Think it's great you're trying something new but urge caution!

burtons

Why don't you become a affiliate seller for amazon.

pleasedelete

Have you looked at auctions at auction houses. Some do bankrupt stock etc but often best buys are a general auction which often has new stuff. Check terms as you pay more than you bid with buyers premium and vat.

We used to have a family antiques business and so still go to at least 1 auction a week but often new goods are so cheap I buy an odd lot and resell (all legit through another business). For example £20 for 5 mixed boxes turned out to have expensive pet stuff sold for £200 plus odd bits that went for about £50 and loads of rubbish which I sell at a car boot sale a few times a year. That rubbish got £850 from boot sales in April and included 150 plastic dinosaurs!

It is a bit harder work as stuff tends to be one off (you might have 200 though) but only once.

I google via iPhone before I bid to check a rough selling price. The stuff is never listed so younhave to go and look at auction.

Hammyman

Goodas1980 wrote: »

Ive looked at a few items in the wholesale section on Ebay and ive checked what the items currently sell, although there is clearly a profit to be made I cant help thinking "why cant I get my goods from where they got them"?

Because:
I am NOT going to be telling you where I get my stuff from.


You're going to have to do a lot of research. Basically if they allow Joe Public in, they're too expensive.

BTW you ARE registering as self employed to do this?