Buying Wholesale for Your Retail Business: All You Need To Know

Building a successful retail business greatly depends on placing the right product to customers, at a good price, at the right time.

Therefore, it’s crucial to locate the best sources for those products.

Many entrepreneurs turn to wholesale, which essentially means a type of business that is buying large quantities of goods directly from manufacturers or distributors at low prices and reselling them to other businesses. When you’re new to the business world, it might feel tricky to understand the process of buying wholesale items for resale as many retailers keep their wholesale ways and suppliers a mystery.

In this article, we’ll break down the ways on how to buy wholesale for your retail business, which will ultimately help you track your progress, help you stay organized, and make your business lucrative.

Do Your Research

Before you proceed to buy wholesale items for your store, you should visit a competitor or a store that sells similar products. For instance, if you’re planning to sell specific products like electronic items, look at the store’s website and product selection and determine which products sell well and which are in the clearance bin. Afterward, find a reliable wholesale electronics distributor that carries the brands you’re looking for.

This can be somewhat of a challenge and the best way to find the right supplier is to search for reviews from its customers. Professional companies maintain their good reputation by providing top-quality products and accurate deliveries. By reading through the comments left by customers, you’ll find out whether the supplier is a trusted source and worth doing business with.

Determine Your Price Point and Budget

The goods you will sell from your wholesale suppliers are all about whether they will generate income for your business. It means that the amount of money you’re spending will assist in determining whether you profit as you sell. Make sure you get the affordable pricing that will allow you to reach your desired profit margins.

In addition, knowing your profit margins will prevent any overstock problems, leftover products, and spending over your set budget. Having a solid budget strategy will help you figure out how many products you need to buy to receive the highest margins.

Choose Your Target Customer

One of the biggest mistakes that any business owner can make is trying to be everything to everyone. No matter how far-reaching the benefits of your products or services may be, each solution has an ideal customer. This is your target market.

A target market is a group of consumers who probably need everything you sell. These people are perfectly suited to your business. They face a problem that your service or product addresses and therefore want to buy it.

If you want to be successful with your retail business, you need to know your customer on a deeper level, so you know who to target and also why. You cannot afford to waste time on irrelevant dialogues and leads, then you’re likely to lose ground to competitors.

Your target customer not only drives sales but also helps your marketing department and indeed the entire company. It also makes your sales much more efficient. Before you purchase the products you want to sell, try to gain a better understanding of your customer base and think about their age, average income, where they live, and gender. 

Visit Trade Shows

Trade shows are deemed one of the best places to find a reputable wholesaler. Retailers can find many suppliers at large trade shows but golden opportunities are found at local ones as well. You can conduct an online search for the most visited trade shows in your industry and find an event near you.

Trade shows in most states are not open to the general public so you might be required to show a resale certificate, business card, tax ID, or some form of license, which will prove that you’re an established business. 

Buy at Auctions

Besides the internet and trade shows, retailers can find excellent bargains on popular auction sites like eBay. By browsing the category Wholesale Lots according to the store you own, you’ll be able to find plenty of goods.

All of the eBay product prices are not strictly wholesale but if you watch the auctions closely and learn how to buy effectively, you’ll be guaranteed to find a good deal. Remember to participate in live auctions for bargains on goods for resale.

Final Thoughts

Even though it may take time, research, and a lot of patience to find the best merchandise for your retail store, you shouldn’t get discouraged. A strong business doesn’t happen overnight but if you’re a business-oriented person and follow the above mentioned advice, you’ll be on the path to success in no time.