If you have decided to start your own online business either buying and selling products or dropshipping them, you will need to find a supplier. You might have decided that you want to sell something like sunglasses, for example. If you are considering holding the stock yourself, you will need to find a wholesaler selling them at a discounted price. The same applies if you want to dropship, except that with dropshipping you will need to find a wholesaler who is willing to fulfill each of your orders for you so that you don’t have to hold stock yourself.
According to the folk at Olympic Eyewear, finding a legitimate wholesaler is the key to a successful online business. Take dropshipping for example. If someone ordered a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses from your site, you would then contact your dropshipper and place an order using the customer’s delivery address. You would be relying on the wholesaler to promptly deliver the right pair of sunglasses to the customer on your behalf.
If, on the other hand, you decided to sell and ship sunglasses yourself, you would need to order a selection of sunglasses from a wholesaler and hold the stock at your home or a specific business premises. This time, when the customer orders the Wayfarer sunglasses from your website, you would pack them and ship them yourself. It is easy to see, therefore, the importance of the wholesaler in both instances. Nevertheless, how can you tell which wholesaler to buy from or to go into a dropshipping partnership with?
What to Consider When Looking for a Wholesaler
If you are going to be buying and selling goods and holding the stock yourself, you will quickly see whether you have chosen wisely. You will set up an account with a wholesaler, place an order, pay, and then wait for it to arrive. You can determine the legitimacy of the wholesaler by the quality of the goods when they arrive and the ease with which you can order from them. If the wholesaler does not communicate with you at every step of the process or does not send the order but takes the payment, this will obviously be a red flag.
With a drop shipper, things are slightly different in that when a customer orders from you, you would take the payment, then place an order with your drop shipper. After paying for the product, you would need to wait for the drop shipper to send it to your customer. You should still expect some communication from the wholesaler throughout the process. You should be informed when the order has been picked and packed, shipped, and then once it has been delivered. Without this information, you will struggle to keep a track of customer orders.
Before placing an order with a supplier for goods to be sent to you, you should check reviews to see what others have to say. A reputable wholesaler will display business phone numbers and tax ID numbers prominently on its website. You should be able to phone the business and get through to a person to find out any information you might need.
You should also be able to request samples before you order. You may have to pay for these samples, but it will give you an indication of the quality of the goods you will be ordering.
To conclude then, buying from a wholesaler is vital for any online buying and selling or dropshipping business. But it is imperative that you choose a legitimate wholesaler. The success of your business will depend on it.