6 Reasons Not to Purchase a Wholesale List

Have you ever tried to look for a wholesale supplier, but couldn’t find one that you liked? Did you feel tired of looking via search engines, and then saw an ad about a wholesale list containing info of over 1000 companies? Did it piqued your interest? You don’t have to resort to buying a wholesale (or dropshipping) list. Granted, there are thousands of wholesale lists floating around on the web. But how effective are they in getting the results (wholesale suppliers) that you want? This article covers 6 reasons why you should never purchase a wholesale list in the first place. Just for your information, I have purchased a wholesale list before, that is why I can write about this article. The thumbnail pictures in this article are from the wholesale list that I bought in 2007.

Why You Should Never Purchase a Wholesale List

1. Outdated wholesale list

Depending on how lucky you are, most wholesale lists are pretty outdated. The one that I purchased in 2007 was probably made in 2002 or earlier. Many of the companies in the list are retired or dead (with no hope of reviving mind you). Those that are still alive may have moved premises or have changed businesses entirely. If you bought a wholesale list containing 1000 sources, you would be considered lucky if you can get just 100 sources which you can contact.

2. No website address

Believe it or not, the wholesale list contains no website address of the companies. Only real addresses and contact number of the companies. It is inconceivable to think that that these big companies do not invest money in a simple web address. The only reason that I can think of is that the wholesale list was created during the time when the internet was not very popular. But that would mean that the wholesale list is very old, like it was created in the 1990s. Again, this goes hand in hand with point number one, the list is outdated!

3. Insufficient contact information

The wholesale list may contain an address, but without a phone number or email address, how do you expect to contact the company? By sending out snail mail to each and every company and then praying for a response? The wholesale list that I purchased almost had no contact number of the companies, and only a few companies even had their fax numbers listed. There were no email addresses (at all!). Of course it would be unjust for me to say that all wholesale lists do not provide sufficient contact information. There may be some that do, but how would you know which one?

4. Disorganized lists

When you browse a wholesale directory, the companies are often neatly listed in categories, but the same can’t be said for wholesale lists. A company selling books can be lumped together with another company selling apparel. This create a really disorganized wholesale list, which is a big headache for anyone to explore.

5. Worthless

After reading point number one till four, what do think does a $1.99 wholesale list is worth? One word: worthless. It may cost you $1.99 but its value is virtually none. You are better off searching for suppliers via b2b websites, trade magazines and wholesale directories.

6. Time not well spent

Why waste time sifting through disorganized wholesale list with insufficient contact information, and no website address to get a look at the products or services? If you can’t contact a company to buy their products what is the point of knowing about that company in the first place?

Conclusion

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information. - Benjamin Disraeli

Buying a wholesale list is easy and cheap, but is not the most effective way for finding a wholesale supplier for the reasons stated above. Anyway, have you ever bought a wholesale lists before? Was it good, or bad like the one I bought? Share in your views about wholesale lists by writing a comment below!

Leave a Reply