10 Sure Ways to Find Wholesale Suppliers

Have you ever tried searching for a popular product and yet were unsuccessful in your attempts in finding a wholesale supplier? Do you know how others manage to find a reliable wholesale supplier while you were left to just wonder? I hope this article will help you in your search for good wholesale companies. There are certainly some effective ways of finding a supplier which I have tried to elaborate in the 10 ways below:

Where can you find good wholesale suppliers?

1. B2B marketplace

Many wholesale distributors have registered their companies on the b2b  marketplace where they can reach more potential buyers just like you. Of course when searching for a supplier using this route you must be extra careful with scammers and frauds. They are many illegitimate sellers who portray themselves as genuine wholesalers but  they aren’t. Try to verify the company and ask from the seller the contacts of 4 of their most recent buyers (must be located outside the country they are doing business in). You can then ask their buyers directly of their company’s legitimacy. This is just to safeguard yourself and minimize your risk.

I have been scammed once while doing business on alibaba but my loss was pretty small (about USD$300) as it was money for samples. I have also had good experience doing business via this route by finding many genuine suppliers, two of which I am still doing business with. You can find many wholesalers with great products, excellent prices and wonderful customer service via b2b websites such as Alibaba, TTnet and Global Sources. Are you looking for a complete list of b2b websites? If yes, do check out the top 12 list of b2b websites which I have written on my blog.

2. Search engines

Do a search on popular search engines such as google, yahoo and MSN and you are bound to find millions of results for the term that you are looking for. Narrowing down your search term may help in bringing more specific results. Be creative when searching using search engines. Use google’s keyword tool. How many people have searched for the term that you are looking for? If the search term is highly popular just think of how many people have seen the wholesaler which you found on the first results page? Be smart. Increase the results number from the preference page so you will be seeing 100 listings at one go instead of 10. Or be creative and search using a different language.

3. Auction sites

Auction sites such as ebay are a great place to find wholesale distributors, wholesale supplies or just items that are way below their normal price. If you are lucky, you can find goods that are priced below wholesale! This is because sometimes the companies or individuals bought a bulk lot of goods from manufacturers but for whatever reason decided to no longer sell retail or be in business. So they auction their bulk lot on auction sites at a serious loss. Their loss is your gain!

Just do a search for anything wholesale (i.e wholesale handbags) and you will get hundreds of results. Use your creativity when searching. Sometimes you don’t have to join the bidding game. If you found someone selling a wholesale product that you are looking for at a wholesale price why not contact the seller directly and ask him for his website or product catalogue? You will be amazed at your results. The key here is building up your trade leads and potential wholesale suppliers. It never hurts to try.

4. Directory

You should be able to find hundreds of wholesale distributors just by investing a few days of your time. If you can invest more time a thousand leads is not as far-fetched. This wholesale directory for example has over 1000 wholesale suppliers and its only been six months since it has been created. There are hundreds of directories out there with listings of wholesale suppliers. I recommend hunt4wholesale, dmoz and yahoo. They have thousands and thousands of b2b companies listed in their business listings. Just digging in those three directories may take you over a month if you don’t have a specific product in mind. If you do know what product to sell then the neatly organized categories and link to the b2b websites should make your hunt for finding a wholesale supplier fast and easy.

5. Trade magazines

Searching in trade magazines is definitely a fantastic and smart way for finding wholesale suppliers. B2B magazines that have well established themselves normally only accept listings from manufacturers, wholesalers and suppliers that are reputable in nature. These b2b companies have proven themselves to be very credible whether in terms of service or in their length of existence.

6. Yellow pages

Search the business listings on the yellow pages whether your source is from a book or a website. Some companies will list their email address or website address if they have one. At the very least they will provide you with their contact no and business address. Send them a trade inquiry even if you have to invest a couple of dollars for stamps and envelopes. It will be well worth it.

7. Chamber of commerce

Are you looking for a product from a specific country lets say India? Have tried other ways in finding wholesale suppliers but results were less than satisfying? If you answered yes I think you should give the Chamber of Commerce a try. They will give you potential suppliers and manufacturers which you can get your wholesale supplies from. To find the email address or contact no of the chamber of commerce in India just do a google. Almost all chamber of commerce have a website setup so it should be easy for you to obtain their information. Once you have their email address you can shoot them a trade inquiry. Introduce your company and ask them for assistance in finding wholesale suppliers for the specific product that you are looking for.

8. Newspaper

Most listings in the newspaper are retail in nature but don’t strike off finding suppliers because of it. Always be on the lookout for potential suppliers at the business listings section. You may not find many b2b companies but the few available can certainly be a gem.

9. Trade shows

Attending a good trade show can bring you hundreds of leads and wholesale suppliers. Trade shows that are b2b in nature like the Canton Fair can be a good place for you to start finding genuine wholesale companies with great products and low prices. If you have money to invest in air fare and accommodation going to a trade show is the smart way to find wholesale supplies.

10. Looking at product label

Image credit: cbcastro

Some products will have a contact information at the back of the label. Just visit the grocery store and check the labels of a few of the items to see what I mean. Normally these companies are big and well established and they may require a big minimum order quantity in order for you to do business with them. Either way, I think there is no harm done if you contact them directly to ask for prices, catalogue and their terms for trade. You might find a good supplier with a reasonable MOQ, good prices and simply great people to have a long term business relationship with!

You can also try your luck by searching for a specific brand of item (that you would like to sell) online. They may have a website available where you can see their product pictures, information and prices. Even if the website is catered for the retail market you can send them an email and ask if they accept orders from resellers. And if yes, you can then ask them for wholesale prices.

Final thoughts

Mistakes are the portals of discovery. -James Joyce

You should keep track of your potential wholesale suppliers by being organized. Create an excel spreadsheet of all the suppliers and the ones that you have sent a trade inquiry. Finding a wholesale supplier can be challenging at times but it should be hassle free. If you follow any of the ways above you should be able to get some new leads or at the very least some potential suppliers. So what are your normal ways for finding a wholesale supplier? Are any of them listed in this article? Share with us on your ways for finding a supplier by dropping a comment below.

One Response to “10 Sure Ways to Find Wholesale Suppliers”

1. commerce online Says:
   December 21st, 2008 at 10:34 pm

   commerce online…

   Good Post! I definetely be adding simlar topics to my site. Love the template!…

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