Buying Wholesale.
by Dave Bromley
There has been a steady rise in recent years
of selling new items through Ebay. Manufactures such as Dell
Computers and many retailers use the auctions to clear out
over stocked items. 16% of all sales now
come through the Buy it Now facility which
has encouraged many to offer new products in online auctions.
If you are not already a manufacturer, wholesaler
or retailer you will need to find a source of supply. But
this is only one half of the equation; before you buy any
stock discover if there is a demand. In other words is anyone
else selling the same type of product online and if they are
what are they selling it for?
There are some people born to trail blaze
and others to follow. In the world of Ebay be a follower.
Trail blazing is fine if you have the nerve and deep enough
pockets. O.K so no one else on Ebay is selling that particular
product and it could mean a great opportunity but equally
so it might just be because no one wants it. I must admit
that when I research a possible product I do not limit myself
to Ebay.co.uk I also go and look at the Ebay.com site. Many
items that prove a success in the States go on to be a hit
in the UK as well, just look at the Beanie Babies
as an example.
So where can you find these wholesalers?
The first place to start is on Ebay itself, which has a section
for wholesale lots in its Industrial and Business category.
Another good source is “The Trader” magazine,
which you can purchase from any of the major newsagents, including
WH Smith, and this contains advertisements for wholesalers
from all over the UK. The Sunday Times Business to
Business section also contains details of wholesale
lots for sale.
“The Trader“ also produces
an annual publication called “The Source”
which is described as the number one directory for stock buyers.
You can obtain details of the current directory by visiting
www.thetrader.co.uk. Another website that you might find useful
is www.wholesale-uk.com. Those of you who have purchased
our “Path to power selling on Ebay” will find this includes
a directory of trade sources.
A good source for obtaining stock are local
liquidation and close down sales and I know one person at
least who does very well from buying at Government Surplus
sales.
Another option is drop shipping in which
you advertise the goods but only buy them when you have a
customer. Often the drop shipper will also package and dispatch
the goods for you. I am wary of drop shipping myself because
there is too much outside of your control and if the drop
shipper lets you down you are the one who is going to get
the brick bats and negative feedbacks. We will be investigating
UK drop shipping in a future issue but at the moment we do
not have enough information to recommend any particular companies.
There are a lot of advantages in selling
repeat items, once you have created your listing you can just
submit it time and time again in a matter of seconds. You
know exactly your packaging and postage costs often as the
orders come in it is just a case of pasting on an address
label and taking it down to the post office.
Finally remember that if you intend to buy
items in bulk you will need somewhere to store them. Partners
do tend to get a bit annoyed if you fill up the living room
with boxes of stock and I speak with the voice of experience.
And talking of experience I would like to hear from any subscriber
who has had experience of buying and selling wholesale.