Whenever you buy from a wholesaler online, whether the source is from China, Korea or any other countries, you may come across a trade term that you are unfamiliar with. You may have felt unsure or uncertain on what your supplier really means. There are 7 wholesale terms that are frequently used by wholesalers and manufacturers alike. Just understanding these 7 wholesale terms will get you by when dealing with Asia wholesalers.

OEM

OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer. It refers to manufacturers or wholesalers who make and produce goods and products, for other companies to repackage and sell. When a China wholesaler offers OEM service, it means that the company provides private labeling, and may even repackaged the product using your own packaging. Wholesalers that offer OEM service for its customers, however, require a minimum order amount per unit.

ODM

ODM stands for original design manufacturer. Similar to OEM, it refers to a company which manufacturers a product for other sellers to sell under their own brand. Normally when a China manufacturer offers a ODM service, it means that the company can produce products (such as garments) with your own desired designs. These china companies have their own in house design team that won’t have any problems recreating the style or product that you have in mind.

MOQ

MOQ is a short term for minimum order quantity. All genuine wholesalers will normally require a minimum order quantity for the buyers to make a purchase from them. Generally speaking, there are three types of MOQ used by wholesalers:

• Based on the total amount
• Based on per unit
• Based on total amount and unit

Most wholesalers in China will use the second and third type of MOQ. For example, they may require a minimum order amount of 60 pcs per style/color/size and a minimum order of USD$2000 per order. If you do not reach their minimum order amount they may cancel your order, or treat is as samples order, and add a surcharge to the total.

CNF

CNF stands for cost and freight. Like the name suggests, the term CNF refers to sellers who are responsible to pay for all the costs of merchandise and shipping expense for the goods to arrive at the buyers destination.

CIF

CIF stands for cost, insurance and freight. CIF is similar to CNF, with the exception that the seller now has to pay for insurance as agreed to by the buyer.

Commercial Invoice

A commercial invoice is a trade document which is prepared by the wholesaler or manufacturer for the buyer, specifically for custom purposes. Some wholesalers will under declare the value of the items in the commercial invoice, so buyers won’t have to pay too much in taxes when goods arrive in ones country.

FOB

FOB stands for free on board. It refers to sellers who are required to deliver the goods and products on board the ship at the point named at his own expense. Normally a buyer who uses FOB, has employed a third party to handle the shipment. Some use a third party shipper, as they can combine the goods ordered from various manufacturers, and ship it together (this technique also saves on shipping costs).

T/T

T/T stands for telegraphic transfer. It also means cash in advance. This is the most common payment method accepted by wholesale manufacturers in China. There are of course other ways for you to transfer money to your wholesaler such as letter of credit (L/C), bank drafts, and an open account. However, T/T is most preferred by China manufacturers as the money that you have transferred from you bank account will get credited to their bank account directly. The following information are needed to ensure a successful transfer of your money to the recipient’s account:

• Bank Name
• Account number
• Bank Code
• Brance Code
• Swift Code
• Branch Name
• Seller’s Name
• Seller’s Tel No

Conclusion

Many wholesalers (and manufacturers) use these wholesale terms for easy understanding between them and their buyers. However, first time buyers who are unfamiliar with such trade terms may be at a lost. If you would like a complete and longer list of trade terms you can have a look at exportbureau.

When customers shop online, they are not always interested in buying. Some just want to browse or look at the things available for sale. These shoppers are called “window shoppers”, a person who only looks, but does not buy. So how do you convert these window shoppers to someone shopping for real at your web store? The answer is easy. Give away free stuff to your customers so that he will be more encouraged to make the purchase. It doesn’t matter how small the free stuff seems like to you. In your customer’s mind, anything that he receive which is free is good bargain for him. The phrase everyone likes free stuff is true. In this article, I will cover 7 ways for you to give away stuff for free to your window shoppers and customers which won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

1. Free Ebook

Who doesn’t like to read? Giving away a free ebook is an excellent way to develop a stronger relationship with your repeat customers, as well as your first time buyers. Furthermore, your customer will receive the free ebook right away, even before he receives his ordered products. After reading the free ebook, he may even anticipate the arrival of his products. I recommend giving a free ebook that is somewhat (or closely) related to what you are selling on your website. For example, if you are selling baby stuff for parents, it doesn’t make sense to give a free ebook on music. Unless the ebook is on how to train musical babies! The following are some ideas on what kind of ebook that would be more suitable for a website selling baby related items:

• How to understand your baby better
• 7 ways to develop a closer bond with your newborn baby
• Baby tips for new parents
• All you need to know about breastfeeding

If you are selling products for both babies and children, you can also consider giving a free story ebook that the child may like. The ebook should be colorful and filled with lots pictures and catchy illustrations for the kid. So, giving away free ebooks sounds good you might say, but how do you give away free ebooks if you don’t own any? Firstly you can create the ebooks by yourself using a pdf creator. If you are used to writing, creating a free ebook should be a fairly easy thing for you to do. And since, you will be redistributing the ebook on your website many times, the time spent on creating the ebook is well justified. The second alternative is to give ebooks which have already been published on the web and that gives permission to users to redistribute it. This is the fastest, and easiest way for you to offer a free ebook for your customer. You can simply search for a title, download the book and offer it as a gift for your buyers. The following are some websites that compiles hundreds and thousands of ebooks available online for free:

• Free ebooks
• Ebook directory
• 2020ok

2. Complimentary Item

Photo credit: laanba Another way to hook your customer to buy on your website is by giving away a complimentary item based on his purchase. For example, if you are selling lingerie, and your customer has just purchased a mini dress, you can give a panty as a complimentary gift. The panty may be sold on your website for $10, but it costs you only $1 per panty to buy from your supplier or manufacturer. You can also consider giving a gift based on his total purchase. For example, if his order is above US$50, he will receive a free mini perfume, which is selling on your website for US$15, but which cost you only a few bucks to buy from your supplier.

3. Free Voucher

Giving away a free voucher is a technique used by many companies whether online or offline. Vouchers attract buyers like honeys do to bees. The reason its effective in attracting customers is because, the customer has nothing to lose, and instead receives a voucher which is free to use for his online purchase. Do give a $5, $10, $15 (or any other amount) voucher to your customer. Don’t give any less than $5 or your customer may lose interest. The bigger the amount, the more attractive the voucher will become to your customer. You might want to consider giving a voucher to your existing customers. I am referring to your customers that have bought at least once from you before. You can give a voucher in which the total amount is based on his last purchase. For example, if he spent $100 on his last purchase, you should give him a $20 voucher, and not any less. On the other hand, if you have a customer who spent only $20 on his last purchase, then he will be entitled to a $5 voucher for his next purchase.

4. Free Wrapping

Why not give a free wrapping for your customer who bought the product as a gift for another person? The cost of a paper wrap is less than $0.50 each, and the time spent wrapping the product is quiet minimal. Plus you can also include a free card on the package where your customer can write a special message for the recipient.

5. Free Samples

Photo credit: tracyhuntur

This is an ingenious way to promote some of your less popular items or bring attention to a new product in your store. Many companies employ this technique in their stores. Watson for example gives away small packets of hair shampoos, eye drops and cream to anyone who makes a purchase at their outlet. You too can offer free samples of your products to your customers.

6. Free Kit

Photo credit: _ES

Why not offer something really special to your customers in the form of an all inclusive kit? You can brainstorm ways to make the free kit look like its worth a lot more than it actually is. The idea is to include a free kit with items related to your product categories and complete it with some stickers, photo magnets, a notebook (with your company’s website address at the back of course), and any other items that you wish to add.

7. Free Shipping

You may not consider shipping as a free stuff because its not. Shipping is a service that you offer to your customers. Hence, you can entice your customers to shop at your online website by offering free shipping. You may want to restrict the free shipping to local customers. Make sure the incurred cost for shipping is minimal. If you are selling very bulky and heavy items, you might not want to offer this free shipping option to your customers. However, for the rest of you who sell light, average sized items, offering a free shipping option is a fantastic way to encourage your customers to buy at your store.

Conclusion

When you give away stuff for free, your customer will always appreciate it. It can move your customers to action, and he will more inclined to buy from you. So have you ever given away any free stuff for free? What did you give and what were your customers response to it? Please share in the comment below.

Many sellers sell their products on ebay, as it is the most popular auction site of its kind on the web. However, the
killer fees do hurt many sellers, which is why many sellers look elsewhere to find other ebay alternatives.

So are there any other websites like ebay where you can sell your products online? This blog entry covers comprehensively 12 alternative ebay sites where you are able to list, and sell your items online. Many of these websites have very low listing fees, however, I did not compile them here as I am afraid they will change over time and I would like to keep this information as timeless as possible.

By the way, the following websites have been arranged by Alexa’s traffic rank. The lower the rank the higher the traffic.

1. Amazon

It is most likely that you have already heard of Amazon, one of the most popular places where you can sell your products online. Amazon which was first popular because of its huge inventory of books, now has dozens of other product categories including electrical stuff, baby products, musical instrument, housewares, DVD, sporting goods and toys. You can sell almost anything under the sun at Amazon, and because of its huge popularity and mass traffic, selling your product on their site would be the intelligent thing to do.

Alexa traffic rank: 28

2. Etsy

Are you a crafty girl and would like to find a place where you can promote your beautiful handiworks online? Etsy would be the best place for you to sell your crafts. Etsy is a specialized website for sellers like you to sell products that fit into any one of the following categories: handmade, crafting supplies and vintage products. Etsy has many faithful followers and is supported by a large community. According to Alexa, Etsy has a traffic rank of 720, therefore you don’t have to worry about potential buyers not seeing your listed item. Etsy describes themselves this way in their about us section:

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.
Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.

Alexa traffic rank: 720

3. Bidster

Bidster has an unusual bidding format which is the lowest unique bid auction wins. Although Bidster does not specialize in a specific product category, I noticed many of its product range are from the electronics category (such as computers, nintendos, cameras, etc). This is what Bidster has to say about its unique auction format:

Bidster.com operates lowest unique bid auctions, a very popular online-based entertainment concept. The concept has existed in the UK for several years and is regarded as an auction service - not a lottery.

Alexa traffic rank: 45, 973

4. Bid4Assets

Bid4Assets is an online auction marketplace for high value assets (and products) such as jewelry, real estate and rare collectibles. Hence, its auction website is the best place to sell jewelry and other high end goods that you may have. What is so unique is the inspiration behind the website’s conception:

Bid4Assets was inspired by a real world auction experience. In February 1999 the company’s founders were bidding on a $5 million building at a traditional auction on the COURTHOUSE STEPS® in Baltimore. For two hours, nearly a hundred investors stood shivering in the cold and snow with cashier’s checks in hand. Our founders imagined a better way to auction high-value assets: the Internet. Bid4Assets was incorporated that week, and in November 1999 bid4assets.com was launched.

Alexa traffic rank: 67, 040

5. CQ Out

CQ Out is a UK based auction website that offers its users an opportunity to sell their products via their website. CQ Out is quiet popular and has over 300 thousand active listings currently spread out in more than 25 main categories. They even have a specialized category for business to business selling. You can sell a variety of items in CQ Out including books, art, electronics, toys, stamps, videos, jewelry and others.

Alexa traffic rank: 88, 496

6. Old and Sold

This website is the right and best place to sell your antiques collection whether it is books, silver items, china potteries and porcelains, music records or other general antiques.

Alexa traffic rank: 93, 880

7. ePier

Similar to CQ Out, ePier too allows its users to sell a variety of items via its auction website. Some of its more popular categories are antiques, art, crafts, beauty products, sports memorabilia, toys, bears and games. ePier has many active listings and participants in their community.

Alexa traffic rank: 168, 705

8. Delcampe

Delcampe is the place to sell collectibles, postcards, stamps, coins, money and antiques. It is one of the other unique alternative ebay sites that you can sell your products online.

Alexa traffic rank: 170, 253

9. Tazbar

A fairly popular auction website, Tazbar currently has over 20 thousand auction listings. I like the website very much because its categories is neatly organized in the left. If you click on “crafts” for example, there will be a further breakdown of sub-categories on the left navigation. This auction site is based in the UK.

Alexa traffic rank: 216, 331

10. Made It

From my understanding, Made It is an australian website that lets its users buy or sell unique independent goods. It does not necessarily have to be handmade, but if you have a handmade product that would categorize it as unique. MadeIt describes independent as follows:

Independent refers to small, unique, boutique goods that are not found in department stores. Similar to what is sold at high-quality markets. Independent also refers to one off or small runs of handmade goods.

Alexa traffic rank: 507, 811

11. Handmade Catalog

Similar to Etsy in purpose, Handmade Catalog like its name suggest, allows its buyers to search for products that are handmade in nature. If you are in the crafts or handmade business, you may want to consider selling your products on handmade catalog as another alternative to etsy. What HandmadeCatalog says about selling on their website:

Craft shows can be expensive and run for a limited time. If want to sell your crafts online, but don’t want the hassle of maintaining your own site, then you have come to the right place.

Alexa traffic rank: 727, 050

12. Gothic Auctions

Gothic Auctions has been around since 1998 (according to their website). It is definitely the best place to sell all your gothic clothing, unusual books and strange belongings if you have any. Although the website does not have that much traffic based on Alexa’s ranking, the fee for selling on Gothic Auctions at the moment is free, so its worth checking out.

Alexa traffic rank: 2, 091,241

Conclusion

There are obviously many more websites like ebay where you can sell your products online in an auction based format. This article only covers 12 of those many ebay alternatives. By the way, do you know of any other alternative ebay websites which you would like to share with the rest of us? Please drop a comment below if you do!

Do you feel confuse sometimes when choosing a specific product for your store? The times when you are not at all certain what to buy for your customers, which items to sell or even the ones that will be popular? Selling can be tricky sometimes, and so is buying. Both are interlinked of course, you buy from a supplier and then sell back to your customers. You can’t possibly separate one from the other. So product match is a critical part of the whole buying and selling process. You must choose carefully when buying, and buy carefully from suppliers. This article is part three of the series How to Know When You Have Found The Right Wholesale Supplier? The links to part one and two can be found below:

• Part One: Right Price
• Part Two: Credibility

Product Match

Its very easy for you to fall into the trap of buying from a wholesaler that offers a decent range of products and at the lowest price possible. But, wait a second. That would make you and the other 80% of sellers selling your product just about the same!? If your products don’t stand out, and your website or store is pretty average, plus your service is just okay, how do expect your customers to talk about your store with their friends? Do you think your customers will boast about that ordinary company selling about the same products as the store right next to it? Of course not! Your customers will only talk if your store is unimaginably and surprisingly remarkable. Unremarkable, and you will be forgotten in a minute (or less). Make it a goal for your business to be remarkable in all aspects. Shakespeare once said: “Nothing so common-place as to wish to be remarkable.”

Friends share only the truly good stuff or the truly horrible ones. So one of the surest way for you to gain publicity is by being the best in your core strength area, whether it is price, convenience, store selection or others. Another way to gain free publicity is by being horrid, that means really really bad that your customers will tell the first person, and the second person and the third, and so forth about how bad your store is. Of course, this unhappy customer is unlikely to return again to your store unless you know about him, and are able to understand the reason for his displeasure, and correct it if you can.

So back to the main point which is product match. You buy from a wholesaler that offers an incredible range products, so when your customers buy from you, they will talk about you. But sourcing great products is not enough. You need to ensure that the products are a match to your customers. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who are you selling to?
• What desires in your customers that you are fulfilling with your product?
• Do your customers want your product?
• How much are your customers willing to pay for your product?
• Are the products that you intend to sell a good match to your customers desires?
• Are you fulfilling a need in your customer that no other product can?

Do your homework. Don’t jump into a business without doing some research. Set aside a period for your market survey and research your market. If you plan to sell online, why not check out what others are selling and buying? What products are selling like hot cakes, and what products are selling as dry as the sahara? You can use ebay, or mpire as a research tool. If you plan to open a store, casually observe some of the fast selling items in your store niche. I’m not saying to neglect the less popular items. Just be aware of the 20% of the products that are making 80% of the store’s sale. With this awareness and knowledge, you will be able to plan your product sourcing more carefully, and won’t just jump into the wagon of selling.

Conclusion

Product match is an integral factor when choosing a wholesale supplier. You simply and utterly cannot ignore this fact. If your product is wanted by your niche market, you have a high chance of succeeding in your business. Abraham Lincoln once said, “What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” If you don’t want to kill your business chances of succeeding, make sure your product is a match, what you are offering is remarkable, and the publicity that you are getting is a positive one. You will succeed.

If two companies are selling the same product at around the same price, who do you buy from? Is it company A or B? What will be the factor that determines your choice? The answer is credibility. Being credible simply means being looked upon as trustworthy, or worthy of believe and confidence. You will certainly buy from a company that you view as credible versus the other one which you are not sure of. So how does credibility play in the role of you finding the right wholesale supplier? By the way, this is part two of the series. Part one talks about the importance of the right price as the factor when finding the right wholesale supplier. Here are the links to Part One and Part Three:

• Part One: Right Price
• Part Three: Product Match

Credibility

A credible company will not leave any doubts into your skull. You will feel 100% confident dealing with them. There won’t be this nagging feeling at the back of your mind that wonders about the legitimacy of this company. If you are successful in finding a truly credible company, then congratulations to you. Doing business with a credible company allows you to have a long term business relationship, which truly serves you. You do not really want to be in a constant state of searching for a wholesale supplier. Why waste all your useful energy like that? What you really want, is to find a credible wholesale supplier, with good products and selling at a fair price, and then focus your efforts on selling. I’m not saying that you should be complacent once you have found a good wholesale supplier. All I am saying is you should not dedicate the bulk of your time and energy finding suppliers. You should strive to find a good one, and then double your efforts in getting that products into your customers hands.

So how do you know if a company is truly credible? Especially when you are buying from that supplier for the first time, it can be quite nerve wrecking. Its hard sometimes to discern a credible company from a distrustful one, isn’t it? I have listed a few checkpoints below that makes a credible company, truly incredible:

• The company has been around for a long period, and has already served many clients and customers.
• The company has built its reputation as being the source for that product.
• The company frequently provides useful information about your market, and helps you in the process.
• The company welcomes your inquiries, and do not hesitate to relieve your doubts.
• If a company has a website, all the information regarding the company including the often overlooked “about us” section is viewable to the public. They openly write about the date their company was created, why it was created and how they have been serving their customers.
• The company published their list of clients on their website or on any other promotional material.
• The company shows photos of their office, warehouse, products and staff.
• You feel like you are having a one way conversation with the company. All your questions such as how do I buy from this company, what are the available payment methods and how fast will they ship my items, are answered in either their general information section or frequently asked section.
• Someone you know have done business with this company and gives his thumbs up. If you are referred to this company by a friend, that means your friend is a happy customer, if he was not, he would not have referred you to them in the first place.

This reminds me of an article published on Webcredible awhile ago about the importance of building a credible website. This is my favourite portion of it:

Anyone can put up a website promising to deliver the ‘best service at the lowest prices’. Web users must be able to believe there’s a real organisation behind your website.

Conclusion

If you know that you are dealing with a credible company, that would be one of the factors that will determine that you have found a right wholesale supplier. A credible supplier will encourage you to make repeat purchases, and offer you the chance to grow your business along with them.

Coming Up

In part three of this series, I will explain to you why product match and being remarkable are important factors when buying wholesale, and how customers will spread the word around about you.

Have you searched for a wholesaler but are not sure whether you have found the right one (or which one to select)? Often, you are bombarded with many potential wholesale suppliers with fantastic range of products to sell. So how do you know for certain when you have found the right wholesale supplier for your business? This series of article will cover 3 key areas that you need to look at when making that critical decision: right price, credibility, and product match. For the first part, I will talk about the right price.

Here are the links to part two and three:

• Part Two: Credibility
• Part Three: Product Match

Right Price

When you sell a product, price plays an important factor. You can’t possibly be in business selling goods without making some profit. For your business growth’s sake, finding a wholesale supplier that charges a reasonable price for their products, will mean that you can make a larger profit for that product.

If you are selling a unique item, and there is a demand for that product in your niche market, charging extra for that product would be a smart thing to do, since there is a lack of competition. However, that is unlikely the case in most instances. These days, its hard to find a really “unique” product. More often, that product is just a variation of current products available in the market, such as a different color, different taste, different packaging, etc.

If what you are selling is not unique, or is only a commodity, you need to survey at what price your neighbours are selling your product. Don’t be lazy. Do your homework. When I say neighbours, I really mean other businesses close to you selling products similar to the one you have in mind. For example, let’s say you want to sell handmade soaps. You know that there is a retail shop just around the corner at your hometown, selling bath and beauty products, one of the items in their inventory is handmade soap. So at what price are they selling? Check it out and write it down for reference.

Then, when you are looking for a wholesale supplier, take into consideration of your market survey research on price. If a bar of handmade soap is retailing for USD$3 and you found a wholesale supplier selling at USD$2.50 would you still buy? That’s not including the shipping and other miscellaneous charges that you need to take into consideration. Making sure that you make a healthy profit margin is critical to your business’s success. If you are happy with just  a 50cents profit, that’s fine. Especially, if you are reselling in bulk, and would make extra profit by selling in larger quantities. But if you are selling in a normal retail fashion, 1 or 2 pieces that is, then making a 50 cents profit is not the right way to go.

Some wholesalers will give you a different wholesale price depending on the quantity that you have ordered. Let’s say you want to buy a bar of Aloe & Celendula Natural Soap, which the supplier is selling for USD$2 for one. But, if you raised your quantity to 10, the price gets further reduced to USD$1.50. The price for orders 60 and more is USD$1.30, and for orders 120 bars or more, the price is only USD$1.25. That’s a 37.5% savings for each bar of soap, not bad at all.

However it is worth mentioning, a wholesaler that charges either too high or too low a price may make you suspicious. Is this company really legitimate? Bottom line is, check the retail price, and make sure the wholesale price that you are getting, is reasonable enough, and will enable you to make a healthy profit margin.

Conclusion

You must buy at the right wholesale price just as you must sell at the right retail price for your business success. Les Brown (a designer) describes the price factor when selling his goods this way:

Our things are not overpriced. I have travelled a lot and I have seen prices of good garments sell for a lot overseas. For instance, overseas you will see linen pants for US$250, but no one will buy a linen pants for that price out here. So I know that price is not the issue.

Coming Up

In part two of this series, I will look into how credibility is a factor that you should pay attention to when you buy wholesale from suppliers.

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!

How many times have you tried to buy wholesale but could not find a suitable supplier? Did you know that there are many directories containing hundreds and sometimes thousands of wholesale listings? These directories were created to help people find suppliers, and connect you with wholesalers, and with the right product that you are looking for. In this article, I have compiled a list of wholesale directories that you can use to find suppliers. Feel free to bookmark this page so that you can come back later to refer to the links.

Hunt4Wholesale’s Top 11 List of Free Wholesale Directories (to Buy Wholesale)

1. Hunt 4 Wholesale

Hunt 4 Wholesale has over 1000 wholesalers organized in more than 150 categories and sub-categories, with hundreds of new suppliers added weekly. Special emphasis is given in the clothing and accessories, and closeouts categories.

2. Wholesale Page

Wholesalepage has many listings in the apparel, jewelry and arts & crafts categories. Unlike most wholesale directories which has a long lists of categories, Wholesale Page is not cluttered. Its wholesale listings is organized,  and has a main category which is subdivided further into smaller categories. You can also search for a product or website by region.

3. The Wholesaler UK

The Wholesaler UK only lists businesses or wholesalers within the UK. It has quite a number of websites listed there with an emphasis on apparel, gifts and toys suppliers.

4. Dmoz

Don’t overlook this giant directory that has been around since the 1990s. You will find over 1000 wholesaler suppliers listed in its trade category with many of them in the packaging, and sporting goods section.

5. Yahoo

Just like Dmoz, Yahoo directory has  thousands of wholesalers listed in its business to business category, with many suppliers listed in the following sub-categories: apparel, furniture and food.

6. Wholesale Central

Wholesale Central is a very popular wholesale directory that has been around for a few years. It has a built in shopping cart system so many of the wholesalers have setup a shopping website via wholesale central. If they do, you can purchase directly from wholesale central.

7. Get That Wholesale

Get That Wholesale is a wholesale directory that connects buyers with sellers. They have tonnes of wholesale listings which are neatly organized in specific categories.

8. Wholesale Distributors

This neatly categorized directory contains detailed information about each company including year established, minimum order amount, payment and shipping information, address and website. This directory gives you easy access to wholesale suppliers without the headache of searching for all the necessary information pertaining to the company.

9. Legitimate Wholesale

Offers a list of legitimate wholesale sellers. This wholesale directory only accepts wholesalers that requires a minimum order amount of $500 from buyers, or resale ID. There are many listings in the toy and apparel categories.

10. Toy Directory

Toy Directory has over 2000 manufacturers and wholesalers listed in their wholesale directory. Like its name, this directory specializes in toys with an emphasis on specialty toys. If you are looking to start a toys business, this directory would be a good source for you. You can search for a specific product category and contact the manufacturers directly (registration required - it’s free). You can browse product pictures and descriptions.

11. Wholesale Yellow

Another wholesale trade directory with a special emphasis on specialty foods, and beauty products. I checked its candy chocolate suppliers and found that it has over 100 of them (that’s a lot of sweets to stomach).

Another 6 Free Wholesale Directories

These 6 wholesale directories contains decent amount of links but are not big enough to be in the top 11. You should still check these sites out, what they lack in numbers, they make up in quality.

1. The Wholesale Directory

This wholesale directory only has about 200 websites listed but quite a number of them are in the clothing category.

2. Craft Site Directory

If you are looking for craft items, Craft Site Directory has a special wholesale section dedicated to that. It has more than 20 wholesale craft websites listed there.

3. Wholesale In One

There are some good wholesalers listed in this directory, although from a casual look, many of them are commonly known, and are in the top 5 pages in google for the relevant keywords.

4. Wholesalers Network

This wholesale merchandise directory has a few dozens clothing suppliers.

5. Click Wholesaler / Wholesale 5

The links are well categorized for both websites. However, both contains about the same links but is worth the look nonetheless.

Conclusion

All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it. -Harry S Truman

If you would like to buy wholesale, searching for a product is just the first step, the second is finding a wholesaler to supply that product. You can find a wholesaler via wholesale directories like the ones listed above. So, have you tried to do so yet? What did your experience? Please share in the comments below.

Selling a product can be so much fun. Exciting as it is many sellers fall short when describing about their products or services. Just browsing the ads section of my daily newspaper I see a lot of advertisers use the word quality to persuade readers about their products or company. Is this the right way of doing it? Let me get started by asking you a question: what is quality? Does it mean that your products are supreme? Or that your service is excellent? Well here are a few definitions of quality which I have taken from dictionary.com:

• character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence
• high grade; superiority; excellence

When a buyer describes his product or service as being high in quality what he means is that his product is of high superiority. His service is excellent and incredibly good. However, how do your buyers know that your product is great or your service is over the top? Those are general and vague descriptions! This article will cover why you should avoid using the word quality at all cost when writing about your products or services.

1. Too many companies are already using the word quality

Just think about it for a second. How many companies tout that their products are of great quality? Many for sure. Just browse any websites selling merchandise or services. It won’t take long for you to find a company that describes its range of products as first class quality and that they offer supreme quality service. Oh really? These companies are probably out of ideas or use the short cut by just listing quality as their product benefit. How can a furniture supplier selling bulky items uses the word quality to describe its items just like another supplier selling clothes? Does the word quality mean the same for the furniture buyer as the clothes purchaser? Of course not! Which brings me to my second point…

2. Quality is not specific enough

Avoid the word quality to describe the benefit of your products. Instead of using the word quality, try to describe how your customers perceive your quality merchandise. For example, if you are selling baby clothes the quality of your products may be as follows:

• comfortable fit
• soft fabric
• safe to use (no harmful chemicals)
• resist most stains and odors
• durable
• waterproof

Customers who buy baby clothes for their child won’t think: this bib is made of good quality. Instead they will think: wow such soft fabric and comfortable. Does this really resist most stains? And after a messy ketchup spill the mother realized: yes it is!

So what if you are selling bulky furniture? How will your product benefits differ? Again, look at the benefits such as:

• handcrafted (which makes it unique)
• use first grade teakwood
• withstand the elements and age with grace
• resistant to many chemical reagents including acids
• durable
• resistant to water and rot

3. You confuse your customers

How does your customer know exactly what you mean when you say your service is of first quality? What does your company really mean by that? Its quite confusing isn’t it for your customers? Especially when many suppliers are saying the very same thing!

You can set yourself apart from the other suppliers by writing how exactly do you match up by offering quality service. Take some time analyzing your company’s strength to determine what is it you want to say in relation to your phenomenal service. Some ideas to get you by:

• Will ship your items within 48 hours (guaranteed!)
• Your email is replied within 12 hours (or we will give you a $10 gift certificate)
• No hassle returns service
• Friendly staff who are always ready to help you!

Final say on this

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere. -Lea Iacocca, Former Chairman and CEO, Chrysler Corporation

I hope you will challenge yourself to describe your products or services without using the word quality (ever!). Its too easy, common and is not specific enough for your customers to differentiate from one supplier to the next. So what are the alternatives to the word quality that you have used for your products or services?

So you have found a fabulous wholesale supplier or dropshipper. You have bought from them and now have a bunch of products to sell. You are excited and decided to do your selling on auction sites such as ebay. Don’t be in such a hurry to do so though! You have to carefully plan your listing before executing it. Millions of listings on ebay goes unsold every day. You don’t want your listing to be part of that statistic right? When you carefully plan your listing you increase your chances of selling your item. Besides, a poorly planned listing will be overlooked and won’t attract that many buyers.

Checklist: The 10 Things You Should (and MUST) Do Before Listing Your Item on Ebay

1. Check your selling price

How much profit would you like to make by selling your item on ebay? Have you checked the prices that other sellers are selling to make sure that your selling price is not too low or too high? Spend a few minutes searching on ebay for completed listings. You can do this by clicking on the Advanced Search link on ebay’s main page.

Check the box where it says completed listings and change the results page default number to 200. You can even narrow down your search by specifying the price range of the item that you are looking for. Once you have done that you can easily browse through hundreds and thousands of listings. You will be able to see the prices that others are selling. Remember you don’t want to undercut other sellers with your low price (and suffer marginal profits). And you don’t want to overprice as well (unless you are offering an added value service).

2. Write an accurate and detailed description of your products

How many times have you came across a listing that only has a picture in it? A picture may be worth a thousand words but without a description your customer will be left to wonder about what it is that you are really offering. So how do you write a good description for your ebay listings? Depending on the item that you are selling, the following are some ideas on what you can include in your description:

• Style (eg: long gown, short dress, etc)
• Features (eg: durable, fashionable, sexy, etc)
• Fabrics or material (eg: lace, silk, chiffon, etc)
• Size or dimension (eg: one size, small, large, etc)
• Quantity (are you selling 1pc, 2pc, 50pcs, etc)
• Condition (eg: brand new, used, vintage, etc)
• Brand (if applicable)
• Retail price (only if its retailing at a much higher price than what you are selling)

A good description should have all of the important details pertaining to your product. Your potential customers should not have to message you just to get the most basic information of your product. In fact, most wouldn’t. Chances are what you are selling is being sold by another seller. The product may not be the same but it can be similar enough for your customer to choose one from the other. Who do you think your customer will choose from: the seller who provides detailed description of their products or the one who has almost none?

I have listed some good and bad descriptions which I have taken from ebay for you to analyze below. Notice the good descriptions have listed more features and added values for buyers to consider. Examples of this include: waterproof, resist most stains and odors, durable, comfortable, vibrant colors, made of 100% cotton, soft, etc.

Good descriptions

• Up for a special BIN are 3 NEW Bumkins Waterproof super bibs for  boys.  These are the bibs of all bibs.  They are waterproof, resist most stains and odors, are durable yet comfortable.  They have an adjustable fit with catch-all pocket, are MACHINE-WASHABLE, hang dry and the colors stay bright.  They have an easy velcro neck closure.  The prints are great. There is one Dr. Suess blue cat in the hat, 1 red fat farm, & 1 blue fizz. These are also Vinyl free-Phthalate & PVC FREE and MADE IN THE USA. They cover the shoulder a little bit.

• This auction is for 18 months onesie, bib and bootie set made by REEBOK. This Pink onesie has snaps down the front and in the diaper area and screened logos on the bib and onesie. It is made of 60% Cotton and 40% Polyester. The design really makes this a great looking item and a must have for any Football fan!!!

• This adorable baby bib was created thinking about the modern moms. On one side has a contemporary designer’s fabric with vibrant colors and made of 100% cotton ideal for the delicate skin of your little one. It’s backed with a soft flannel perfect to cuddle your baby and topstitched for durability. Be assured that this will a lovely gift for that new mom! Comes from a smoke-free, pet-free environment.

Not so good descriptions

• Awesome onesie, bib, and booties. New with tags.
• IS IS A 2 PC OUTFIT  IT LOOKS AS IF IT IS A SEPERATE TOP AND BOTTOMS BUT THEY ARE CONNECTED IN THE MIDDLE FOR A TWO PEICE LOOK   AND HAS A MATCHING BIB
• Cool LIFE IS GOOD baby bib. Perfect for Baby’s First Christmas!

3. Write enticing and attention grabbing headlines

There are many listings on ebay. A lot of the sellers are selling the same products, using the same description and have similar titles. Even if you have a lot of products to sell, it can get pretty boring for buyers to see this. So how do you stand out from the rest? Grab the attention of your customers by writing enticing headlines! The headline should be in bigger fonts and is the first thing that your customer sees when he reaches your listing. Attract your buyers by using words like New, Awesome, Fashionable and Stunning. You can also use phrases that will catch your customers attention such as:

• This Stunning Lingerie Will Make Your Partners Jaw Drop
• New Baby Bib that is oh sooo Soft and yet Durable PLUS it Resists Most Stains and Odors. Just perfect!
• You will look stylish and elegant in this brand new jacket!

4. Check your keywords in title

Ebay has a character limit of 55. If you want to sell on ebay use up all of the 55 characters! Brainstorm keywords that your customers may look out for when searching for your product. If you are out of ideas you can check out what keywords other sellers selling products similar to yours are using. Don’t copy their titles. Create your own by using similar keywords.

5. Show attractive and clear pics

Blurry pics and unclear view of your product are sure to turn away your customers. Have you checked how good your pictures are? Online buyers don’t have the same opportunity as buyers purchasing from outside shops. They can’t touch the material or see every aspect of the merchandise being sold. Auction sellers should understand this and offer high resolution pics that shows in clear detail the item being sold.

If possible, offer pictures of your products taken in different angles (eg: back, front, side, top, etc). The seller sale-gorgeous for example displays pictures of all her bibs and baby products including the boxes!

6. Offer a returns policy

How can you assure your customer about your product? Many customers are in doubt when first time buying from a seller. They want to be reassured that if anything goes wrong with the transaction they can get their money back. Hence, you should use ebay’s return policy to remove any doubts that a buyer may have when buying from you. Display your returns policy prominently on your listing so your buyers are guaranteed to see it.

7. Include a guarantee in your listing

The word guaranteed is one of the top 10 marketing words that you should use in your listing. Some common ones that you may have came across:

• 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Your Satisfaction is Our Guarantee
• 100% Guaranteed
• Your Guarantee is Assured

These guarantee words are old and overused. Why not make your listing stand out by offering a new and one of a kind marketing word that will guarantee your success:

• Guaranteed to Love
• Guaranteed to Please You
• You Will Like It Guaranteed!

8. Spice up your listing with good design

Make it fun for your customers to shop with you. You don’t need to buy fancy templates for your listings. If you can get your hands on some nice free templates then that’s good! However, I recommend you to create your own basic template as its easy and you don’t have to worry about having the same design as another seller.

Furthermore, many of the basic templates available use pictures as background images and this may slow down your page from loading. It is better for you to create a simple and yet elegant design using only borders. Without getting into lengthy detail here I will simply give you a few tips on how you can spice up your design by creating your own template:

• Create a border for your template using a color of your choice (eg: <table style=”border: 1px solid rgb(238, 58, 140); margin-left: 2px;” valign=”top” width=”712″>)

• Use a different color and font size for headings (eg: <h1 style=”border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(238, 58, 140); font-family: Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”>

• Surround your pics with a black border to make it look more professional (eg: <img src=”http://www.whateveryourlinkis/pics/ebay/babybib1.jpg” style=”border: 1px solid black;” border=”0″></a>

9. Check your fonts

In what font type are you writing? Make sure it is readable. I prefer to use Arial or Verdana for my listings. However, the type of fonts you will be using may depend on the product that you are selling. For example if you are selling toys you may want to cheer up your listing by using Comic Sans font type.

Make sure you are writing in small caps. Don’t be like this poor guy who wrote in ALL CAPS WHICH IS VERY HARD TO READ AND MAKES YOUR CUSTOMER THINKS THAT YOU ARE SHOUTING.

10. Write an FAQ about your store

You don’t have to wait for your customer to message you and ask a question before you write an FAQ page. You can create a simple one by writing about your terms and policies such as shipping, how you package your items, how fast items will arrive and in what condition will you accept returns.

Conclusion

Planning makes things possible. It can drive you through ignorance barriers and force you to come to terms with what you don’t know. -Richmond J. Hoch, CEO, Sigma Research

Selling on auction sites can be exciting but without careful planning you may be facing with a big problem: lots of products to sell but no buyers. If you want to sell on ebay, please follow the checklist written in this article so you can drammatically improve the chances of your product being sold. If you have tried any of the steps above why not share with us your comment below?