This post will discuss the best wholesale channels to find the best wholesale suppliers and vendors depending on whether you&#;
Based on my experience running my 7 figure ecommerce store, here&#;s my take on the best way to find top wholesale suppliers and vendors for your online or retail business.
If you are interested in starting an ecommerce business, I put together a comprehensive package of resources that will help you launch your own online store from complete scratch. Be sure to grab it before you leave!
What Is A Wholesale Vendor?
Wholesale vendors are merchants who buy goods in large quantities directly from the manufacturer or factory at a significant discount.
The wholesale vendor then resells these items directly to small business owners and local retailers at a wholesale rate. Wholesale margins are typically 50%.
The Best Wholesale Suppliers For Dropshipping
Here are the best wholesale vendors for dropshipping:
Editor&#;s Note: Go here for more detailed descriptions of my recommended dropshipping suppliers.
Worldwide Brands
Worldwide Brands is a directory of wholesale suppliers who dropship in the United States.
There are over 16 million products offered on the platform that range from apparel, consumer electronics, beauty products, office products and more.
There is a one time membership fee of $299 to access the directory and most of the wholesale suppliers are in the United States or Canada.
I&#;ve personally used Worldwide Brands in the past to quickly find small business wholesale suppliers to fill out our inventory for sparse categories.
SaleHoo
SaleHoo is a reputable wholesale supplier directory of dropshippers that cater to international clients. As a result, many of the leading wholesale suppliers found on SaleHoo are not from the United States.
Based in New Zealand, SaleHoo boasts over trusted dropshipping suppliers that sell over 2.5 million different products and brands across a variety of categories including consumer electronics, health and beauty, pet supplies and more.
SaleHoo&#;s main value add is that every wholesale supplier in their directory is pre-vetted with up to date information and you get instant access to a wide variety of products to dropship in your store.
Salehoo charges a one time access fee of $127. Alternatively, you can pay $67 per year for membership.
Doba
Doba is an all in one wholesale supplier for dropshipping that is both a directory and a marketplace.
On Doba, you&#;ll find thousands of dropshipping vendors to source products for your ecommerce business. This makes Doba a valuable resource for online sellers.
Other than helping you find wholesale suppliers, Doba also manages all of your ordering and fulfillment operations as well.
Here&#;s how it works.
Basically, Doba acts as a bridge to a large database of quality wholesale suppliers that will dropship on your behalf.
The main disadvantage is that you will never know who your suppliers truly are as Doba hides that information from you.
Doba charges a monthly fee from $24.99/month to $299/month depending on the plan that you choose.
Spocket
Spocket is a directory of wholesale vendors willing to dropship on your behalf. Most of the leading wholesale suppliers on their platform are from the US or the EU and the product quality is top notch.
Using their app, you can instantly add products you find on Spocket to your Shopify store.
When an order comes in, it is electronically sent to Spocket where they handle inventory management and order fulfillment.
The only disadvantage to using Spocket is that they have a smaller selection of products compared to other wholesale suppliers on this list.
Spocket charges a membership fee that starts at $24.99/month all the way up to $99/month depending on the number of products you sell.
Droply by Abound
Droply by Abound, launched , is a dropshipping platform that connects retailers with independent brands. It currently has 800,000 products available with over 6,400 brands. It&#;s currently in beta and is only available to select retailers.
They have no required minimums and don&#;t charge monthly fees, allowing clients to start selling immediately. Their brands ship wholesale orders quickly and professionally from the U.S. using the client&#;s branded packing slip.
All their products are priced at 50% of MSRP (manufacturer&#;s suggested retail price), similar to wholesale products, ensuring clients can earn a significant profit from each sale.
They have a team of retail experts that hand-pick quality brands. Clients can source confidently, knowing that if an issue arises or an item doesn&#;t match its description, the company provides support and protection.
New applications to Droply are on pause as of this update, but keep a lookout and try signing up when they&#;re open again.
How To Find The Best Wholesale Vendors In The US
The simplest way to find wholesale suppliers in the US is by Googling the company of the product you want to sell, going on their website, and finding out who their wholesale distributors are.
Smaller companies typically won&#;t have distributors and will sell to you directly. Wholesale discounts are usually on the order of 30-50% off MSRP. And depending on the item and the brand, the minimum order can be as low as a hundred dollars.
Outside of Googling, here are other ways to find the best wholesale suppliers in the US.
DataAxle (Aka. Reference USA)
ReferenceUSA, or Data Axle is a database of every registered business in the United States that can be accessed to find wholesale vendors and factories in the US.
The best part is that it&#;s 100% free.
The only catch is that ReferenceUSA can only be accessed at your local library but most libraries support the service.
In addition to helping you find a reputable wholesale supplier, ReferenceUSA can also be used to&#;
ThomasNet.com
ThomasNet is a searchable database of US suppliers that caters to industrial and commercial companies.
If you have a product that you want to manufacture in the United States, then ThomasNet is an excellent resource.
ThomasNet contains detailed information for every wholesale supplier including their size, annual sales, product information, certifications and more.
The site is 100% free and you can send an , request a quote or visit the supplier&#;s website.
Wholesale Central
Wholesale Central is a wholesale directory that contains a list of wholesale companies and wholesale trade shows in the US.
The best way to find and meet with multiple wholesale vendors in a short period of time is by attending a local trade show.
Wholesale Central sorts every show by product category and you can easily find a niche specific convention to attend.
The best wholesale suppliers can be found at trade shows because they go through a vetting process and have the funds to invest in a booth.
If you live near a major city, you should definitely go and check out a trade show if you have the time. You only need a sellers permit and admission is free for most shows.
How To Find The Best Wholesale Vendors From China
Today, most products are manufactured in China and other parts of Asia because the labor costs are much cheaper.
The general rule of thumb(for textiles at least) is that if you are buying from a vendor in the United States, you aren&#;t going to get the best pricing for your products.
Buying direct from the manufacturer or importing from China is the best way to obtain the lowest prices.
Here&#;s how to find a China wholesale supplier to source your products.
Alibaba
Alibaba is a wholesale supplier directory where you can search for factories to manufacture your own private label products.
Most vendors on Alibaba are willing to create products according to your exact specifications with your brand and label.
As a result, Alibaba is the best way to find private label manufacturers online.
Using Alibaba, you can:
In addition, Alibaba vets all of their factories and provides you with useful information so you can quickly find the best wholesale suppliers for your business.
With a click of a button, you can easily contact a Chinese supplier directly and ask for quotes, minimum order quantities and lead times.
The best part is you don&#;t have to travel to Asia to find a great supplier.
Go here for more information on how to buy from Alibaba.
Global Sources
Similar to Alibaba, Global Sources is also a wholesale supplier directory of Asian manufacturers.
However, Global Sources is significantly smaller than Alibaba and has different strengths.
If you are sourcing electronics, then Global Sources is by far the better service. In fact, the vendors you find on Global Sources tend to be higher quality because they vet their companies more closely.
But on the flip side, the vendors on Global Sources are more established and prefer to work with companies with greater purchasing power. As a result, the minimum order quantities tend to be higher on Global Sources vs Alibaba.
Overall, Alibaba has a much larger selection of vendors but it tends to be a mixed bag in terms of quality and legitimacy.
Some companies on Alibaba are trading companies. Some listings are individuals doing online arbitrage.
If you plan on sourcing products from China, be sure to browse both directories.
Canton Fair
The Canton Fair is one of the largest sourcing shows in the world, with thousands of wholesale buyers and suppliers in attendance. Held in GuangZhou, China twice per year, the Canton Fair hosts wholesale vendors from all over the world that produce nearly every type of product.
Because the show is so large, it&#;s split into 3 phases.
The Canton Fair is held in April and October every year and it&#;s free to attend . Due to the pandemic, there are also options to attend the Canton Fair virtually.
If you have the means, I highly recommended that you attend in person. Even though finding and contacting vendors via Alibaba and Global Sources is fairly straightforward, it is a very slow and cumbersome process.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website getell.
Not only do you have to get individual samples sent back and forth from Asia, but there&#;s also a major communication slowdown because exchanging emails is highly inefficient.
Add in the time difference and you only have a small window of time everyday to communicate.
By attending a China wholesale trade show, you can see sample products for thousands of Chinese vendors all at once in a single location.
You can see and touch all of the merchandise without having to wait several weeks.
Because so many different vendors congregate at the Canton Fair and bring their merchandise with them, you can easily cover hundreds of vendors in the span of just a few days.
There&#;s no back and forth or delay in communication. You don&#;t have to get samples made and sent overseas. Everything is right there at your fingertips.
Go here for my guide to the Canton Fair.
Jungle Scout Supplier Database
Even though the vendor reviews on Alibaba and Global Sources are helpful for evaluating potential vendors, an even faster way to vet reliable suppliers is to spy on who your competitors are using.
In fact, you can easily steal wholesale suppliers from your competition by leveraging the Jungle Scout supplier database.
What is a supplier database?
Every sea shipping container that enters the United States must clear customs before it is allowed to cross the border. And during this process, every shipment is carefully documented in the US customs database.
All of this information is freely available to the public and a supplier database tool allows you to quickly browse the shipments for every company that imports into the United States by sea.
For example, here is a sample shipping document(bill of lading) for The North Face.
From this document, you can easily find North Face&#;s supplier and the size and weight of their shipment. This information is extremely powerful!
My favorite supplier database tool is called the Jungle Scout Supplier Database
For a small fee, you can quickly find the best wholesale suppliers your competition is using!
Below is a video demo I created on how to use the Jungle Scout supplier database tool to find your suppliers.
Note: I have negotiated a significant discount on the tool for MyWifeQuitHerJob.com readers. Click Here To Save $20/month on The Jungle Scout Supplier Database
Best Wholesale Vendors By Product Type
Depending on what you sell, it&#;s always better to find a wholesale vendor that specializes in your product niche.
Below is a list of wholesale vendors categorized by product type.
Best Wholesale Jewelry Vendors
Here&#;s a list of some of the best wholesale jewelry vendors.
Best Womens Wholesale Clothing Vendors
For those opening a clothing store online, consider these wholesale clothing vendors for women&#;s apparel.
Best Mens Wholesale Clothing Vendors
Here some of the best wholesale vendors for men&#;s fashion:
Best Kids Wholesale Clothing Vendors
Here are the top choices for wholesale vendors focused on kids apparel:
Editor&#;s Note: If you live in California, read my post on how to find clothing vendors in the LA Fashion District. You can also read this post for a complete list of wholesale clothing vendors.
Best Wholesale Print On Demand Vendors
Here are the top 5 wholesale print on demand vendors.
Other Reliable Wholesale Vendors
Here are a few other wholesale vendors that haven&#;t yet been mentioned but are still worth considering:
They also offer tools and resources like TradeMate for secure transactions and TradeKey Wallet for easy and safe payments.
Handshake is a great option for businesses of all sizes. It is especially well-suited for small businesses that are looking for a convenient way to source products from local suppliers. They ensure that retailers are genuine and authentic, create personalized product recommendations for retailers, and take no commission fees on orders.
When To Source Product From Asia Vs the United States Or Your Home Country
Sourcing wholesale products from Asia to sell online is usually cheaper, while sourcing products from the United States is easier since you don&#;t need to deal with shipping and customs. It&#;s also much easier to visit a US vendor for quality assurance checks.
So while the wholesale price for your goods will tend to be cheaper if purchased from China, importing from Asia will not always be the right answer for everyone.
There are many factors that you need to take into account. First off, the main advantage of importing from China is that the labor costs are significantly cheaper.
Therefore if you want to sell products that are labor intensive to create, going with China will almost always be cheaper. So textiles, clothing and anything that needs to be handmade are ideal candidates for importing.
But let&#;s say you manufacture plastic toys and you already own the molds. The cost of plastic between the US and Asia will probably not differ enough to warrant manufacturing in China.
The other thing you need to consider are the minimum order quantities and the cost of shipping and customs.
Note: I created a true landed cost of goods shipping calculator that you should check out if you plan on importing from overseas. Click here to check it out
You should also be aware that the term &#;wholesale&#; gets thrown around a lot in the United States and the definition can be misleading.
Buying wholesale implies that the price is the lowest that you can find. But that&#;s rarely the case.
For example, when I was looking for a wholesale suppliers in the US, I noticed that most small business wholesale suppliers quoted extremely high wholesale prices that were comparable to Walmart.
While they were cheaper than MSRP (MSRP is just a made up number anyway), the wholesale prices were so high that the profit margins would have been in the single digits for the products we wanted to sell.
In general, US wholesale suppliers (or wholesale suppliers from your home country) are going to be more expensive. But using a local wholesale supplier has its advantages.
Because many products are not made in the United States anymore, wholesale suppliers take care of all the hassle of importing and warehousing the goods from the manufacturer.
You don&#;t have to travel to a foreign country. You don&#;t have to deal with shipping or customs. You just place your order and the merchandise appears at your doorstep.
Finding domestic wholesale suppliers also saves you time from having to perform extensive quality control checks on your merchandise because presumably the wholesale supplier has gone through it all already.
Overall, it&#;s a trade off between time vs money.
Here&#;s a comparison of the benefits of working with local vs. international wholesale suppliers.
CriteriaLocal Wholesale VendorsInternational Wholesale VendorsShipping CostsLower due to shorter distances.Typically higher due to longer travel distances.Delivery TimesQuicker, given the proximity.Generally slower because of international transit, or even customsSelection of ProductsMay offer a limited selection because of space constraints.Often boasts a wider variety due to larger storage facilities.PricesTend to be higher due to the cost of US labor and smaller economies of scale.Often more competitive, therefore lesser, because of bulk operations and sourcing advantages.Personal RelationshipsEasier to establish and maintain; face-to-face meetings are more feasible.Language and cultural barriers; limited to digital communication and occasional visits.CompetitionFewer competitors might make them more open to negotiations.High competition can make negotiations tougher.Customs and DutiesNot applicable for intra-country shipments.Import duties, customs clearance, and associated paperwork can add complexity and cost.Quality AssuranceEasier to verify product quality through frequent visits.Might require third-party inspection services or infrequent visits, adding to the time and cost.CommunicationUsually no language barriers, facilitating smoother communication.Potential language and time-zone differences can pose challenges.Environmental ImpactReduced carbon footprint due to shorter shipping distances.Longer shipping distances might contribute more to carbon emissions.How Do I Negotiate Prices With Wholesale Vendors?
Here&#;s some quick tips to help you negotiate with wholesale vendors:
Remember that negotiation is a two-way street. Be prepared to listen to the vendor&#;s needs and to work with them to find a solution that is beneficial for both of you.
What Are the Key Factors To Consider When Choosing A Wholesale Vendor?
There are a few key factors to consider when looking for a wholesale vendor:
You&#;ll know you&#;re dealing with reputable suppliers if you can find the following after your research:
How Can I Verify The Legitimacy Of A Wholesale Vendor?
There&#;s a few different ways you can verify the legitimacy of a wholesale vendor.
If the vendor&#;s address is in a place you are able to travel to, visit the vendor&#;s warehouse or office in person. This will give you a chance to see their operations firsthand and allows you to discuss product specifics in person.
What Is The Standard Payment Process For Wholesale Vendors?
The common payment process for wholesale vendors usually goes as follows:
However, the standard payment process for wholesale vendors can vary depending on the vendor and the size of the order. Some wholesale vendors may offer additional payment options, such as net 30 or net 60 terms. Net 30 or net 60 terms allow the buyer to pay for the order within 30 or 60 days of receiving it.
Can I Get Samples From Wholesale Vendors Before Making A Large Order?
Yes, most vendors are open to sending samples prior to purchase. Product samples can help you see if a vendor&#;s products are good quality before committing to a larger order.
Potential customers can contact the vendor directly and request samples. Some vendors may even have a sample request form on their website.
Keep in mind that product samples might not precisely match your specifications or may vary from their bulk-produced wholesale items. While some vendors might offer samples for free, others may charge a fee to cover their costs.
What Are The Typical Shipping Terms With Wholesale Vendors?
Here are some common shipping terms, called Incoterms, that are often used within the industry.
You can see a list of other industry terms in our eCommerce glossary.
Shipping with wholesale vendors typically takes place in the following steps.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wholesale Vendors
Is Amazon A Wholesale Supplier?
No, Amazon is primarily an online retail platform and marketplace, not a wholesale vendor. However, Amazon does offer a wholesale program called Amazon Business for business customers to purchase products in bulk.
Is CostCo A Wholesale Vendor?
Technically yes, Costco is a wholesale club retailer that offers bulk purchases to its members at discounted prices. By becoming a member, customers can access the store&#;'s wide selection of products and take advantage of the lower prices.
Can You Buy Wholesale Without A Wholesale Business License?
You can definitely buy wholesale without a business. However, you may be charged sales tax which can negatively affect your margins.
Do You Need A Tax ID To Buy Wholesale?
Many vendors may not be willing to sell to you unless you have a business license and tax ID. A business tax wholesale number allows you to buy goods wholesale without paying sales tax. While it is not explicitly required, some vendors may not be willing to sell to you unless you have a business license and tax ID
Is It Legal To Buy Products And Resell Them?
It is completely legal to buy products and resell them. Once you&#;ve purchased the product, it becomes your property, and it&#;s up to you to decide what to do with it. However, if you are planning on selling products for a profit, you must register for a sellers permit in order to pay sales tax to your governing entity.
If you are really considering starting your own online business, then you have to check out my free mini course on How To Create A Niche Online Store In 5 Easy Steps.
In this 6 day mini course, I reveal the steps that my wife and I took to earn 100 thousand dollars in the span of just a year. Best of all, it's free and you'll receive weekly ecommerce tips and strategies!
Note: This post above may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase when clicking a link. Please consult our privacy policy for more information.About Steve Chou
Steve Chou is a highly recognized influencer in the ecommerce space and has taught thousands of students how to effectively sell physical products online over at ProfitableOnlineStore.com.
His blog, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com, has been featured in Forbes, Inc, The New York Times, Entrepreneur and MSNBC.
He's also a contributing author for BigCommerce, Klaviyo, ManyChat, Printful, Privy, CXL, Ecommerce Fuel, GlockApps, Privy, Social Media Examiner, Web Designer Depot, Sumo and other leading business publications.
In addition, he runs a popular ecommerce podcast, My Wife Quit Her Job, which is a top 25 marketing show on all of Apple Podcasts.
To stay up to date with all of the latest ecommerce trends, Steve runs a 7 figure ecommerce store, BumblebeeLinens.com, with his wife and puts on an annual ecommerce conference called The Sellers Summit.
Steve carries both a bachelors and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Despite majoring in electrical engineering, he spent a good portion of his graduate education studying entrepreneurship and the mechanics of running small businesses.
Wholesale Accessory Market started as a two-person operation and has become one of the largest wholesale markets of its kind in America. Our company operates according to Christian principles, and we credit our success to staying true to our values.
We hope that through our hard work and dedication to your success, we can be the wholesale market to help you give your customers fun and unique shopping experiences with our extensive inventory of wholesale apparel and accessories.
Wholesale Accessory Market is your source for crowd-pleasing products, from Western-inspired wholesale jewelry to holiday tabletop décor to gameday wholesale apparel &#; we've got it all!
We've established ourselves as one of the best wholesale markets for small businesses. For every holiday, every season, every shopper favorite &#; Wholesale Accessory Market aims to have products for you to keep your store or boutique stocked with the merchandise your customers want to purchase. Shop wholesale jewelry and other fashion accessories, clothing, décor and gifts to discover the WAM difference!
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