How To Find Legitimate Wholesale Sources

Gregory Davidson

February 29, 2008


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Finding a legitimate wholesale source is almost as important to your business as is marketing. If you are new to this subject, it probably seems like a very difficult task. Believe it or not it's actually a lot simpler than you think. There are thousands or legitimate sources on the internet that will help you find the right supplier for your wholesale needs. Many of these wholesale suppliers are willing to accept small orders because they want your business. Below is a list of the most common types of websites that people use to find the right wholesale source.

Many legitimate wholesale sources do not deal with the general public. The first thing you should do is make your business LEGAL by rigistering your ficticious name and business with your local and state government. If you don't know where to do this, call up your city information office and they should direct you the right building to do this. After you register your business and fictitous name you should go to the federal government's website at http://www.irs.gov to apply for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) or Tax Id. This is like a social security number for your business. Many wholesalers require this ID to verify that you are a legally registered business.

Wholesale Marketplaces

A wholesale marketplace is basically a website where vendors or buyers post their products or what they are looking for. This type of website is probably the first place you should look since most of the wholesale suppliers advertise their products here. The top wholesale marketplaces on the internet are Alibaba, TradeKey.com, and GlobalSources.com. If you're using one of these marketplace, make sure to only deal with PAID members. A lot of the FREE members are not verified and may not be a legitimate source. In fact, they could be one of the many scammers on the internet who will steal your money.

Wholesale Directories

Wholesale directories often have a comprehensive list of legitimate wholesalers. A directory is similar to a search engine other than the fact that it doesn't crawl your website. Searches are based on the keywords in your description and the category that you listed in. Some of the best wholesale directories do not allow just anyone to list their website and normally charge to have your website added. My favorite wholesale directories are GoWholesale.com, WholesaleCentral.com, Wholesaledistributorsnet.com, and WholesaleDir.com.

Wholesale Lists

Buying a wholesale list can be an easy way to find wholesale suppliers. Make sure that the list is up-to-date and is from a quality source. The most you should pay for a wholesale list is $20. If you pay anymore, chances are it is a scam. Many scammers will bring their price up just to make you think that their list is better than their competitors. One of the most famous wholesale lists out there is the Dave Espino wholesale list. This list can be downloaded for FREE from http://productsourcingforum.com.

Wholesale Forums

Discussing the topic of wholesale sources with other people can often educate you on the subject and help you find new sources. The best wholesale forums out there are BW.net and GoWholesale.com/Forums. You might also want to visit our product sourcing forum at http://www.productsourcingforum.com. If you have a website, you can include your web address in your signature. This way you are contributing to the forum and at the same time advertising your business.