I want to start up a small business and am after a good wholesaler....

**CharlieB** · 12-27-2007 05:42 PM

Hi

I want to start a small business (as im only 17 and still at school) on ebay and am looking for wholesalers with discount electronics eg iPod, phones, digi camera etc. Ive been looking on google for china wholesalers but would appreacheate some advice on other wholesalers.

Thanks

**ahwoogah** · 12-27-2007 06:26 PM

good to see another young person starting a business, im 19 and i started www.shopcorrect.com pm me if you want some tips or a little advice

**dfveteran** · 12-27-2007 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by CharlieB

Hi

I want to start a small business (as im only 17 and still at school) on ebay and am looking for wholesalers with discount electronics eg iPod, phones, digi camera etc. Ive been looking on google for china wholesalers but would appreacheate some advice on other wholesalers.

Thanks

Find out what brand names you want to sell and call that manufacturer. The best way to find real wholesalers, is to go to the manufacturer and ask them who their wholesale distributor are. Then call the wholesale distributors and find out who will work with you.. That cuts out all the middlemen. If you have any questions just pm me, I would be happy to help. I also have a daily business blog that will help you find a wholesaler or 2

Goodluck!

**CharlieB** · 12-28-2007 11:48 AM

Thanks. If possible could someone please post a link to good wholesalers which would be best for starting a first business?

**edwardhalim** · 12-28-2007 06:39 PM

Warren Buffett's advice has always been good to me..

His philosophy in investing is "invest in what you know."
So, in terms of getting your wholesaler. Look for products that you know.
If you are into video games, then look into it. If you're into sports, the look into that.

Hope that helps!

-Ed

**fwn122** · 12-28-2007 09:41 PM

Im 16 and a year ago I was in the same position as you. I searched everywhere for a wholesale company to provide electronics that I could markup and resell on ebay and ended up getting scammed when I tried to import PS3s from China. Since then I have learned that unfortunatly unless your a huge distributor it is nearly impossible to do what you are trying to do. If you are really set on doing this I have a few recomomendations.
1) Buy wholesale lots on ebay for example you could buy 100 xbox games and resell for a markup of hopfully 20 to 30 percent. Don't try this with popular products because no one will sell them to you at a low enough price for you to make profit. Why would they when they can easily sell them individually. Also don't try this with unpopular products because no one will buy them. You have to find the middle ground.
2) Buy pallets of electronics from closeout sales. If you arn't familiar with this system, basically you agree to buy an extremely lhuge number of completly random electronics (you usually don't know exactly how many of each item there are but you have a general idea) The problem with this is that first of all alot of the items are crappy and won't sell and secondly even though the prices are next to nothing for each item you are forced to buy a huge amount which will be a few thousand dollers.
3) Buy electronics individually off classifieds sites or tagsales. You have to make sure your getting a good enough deal to make profit and make sure its somthing you can sell.
Personally I gave up on that idea because I realized that its alot easier to buy a product change it and resell it verses just buy and resell. That is why now I own a buisness that sells computers online. My buisness Microspect PC (see the url in my signiture) has grown alot since I began a few months ago and now has a few employees and buys it's advertisng for the website that we sell them from. I'm not saying you have to go that big with it, ebays a great place to sell and I still use it, but you might want to try to think of a more creative idea where you actually change the product to increase its value before you sell it. For example I know somone who buys blank T-Shirts for a few dollers each and then prints popular images or text on them increasing the value buy at least 10 Times and then resells them on ebay or from a website for huge profit. That's just an idea but there are many oppurtunities out there you just have to be creative.
Good Luck!

**dfveteran** · 12-29-2007 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by fwn122

Im 16 and a year ago I was in the same position as you. I searched everywhere for a wholesale company to provide electronics that I could markup and resell on ebay and ended up getting scammed when I tried to import PS3s from China. Since then I have learned that unfortunatly unless your a huge distributor it is nearly impossible to do what you are trying to do. If you are really set on doing this I have a few recomomendations.
1) Buy wholesale lots on ebay for example you could buy 100 xbox games and resell for a markup of hopfully 20 to 30 percent. Don't try this with popular products because no one will sell them to you at a low enough price for you to make profit. Why would they when they can easily sell them individually. Also don't try this with unpopular products because no one will buy them. You have to find the middle ground.
2) Buy pallets of electronics from closeout sales. If you arn't familiar with this system, basically you agree to buy an extremely lhuge number of completly random electronics (you usually don't know exactly how many of each item there are but you have a general idea) The problem with this is that first of all alot of the items are crappy and won't sell and secondly even though the prices are next to nothing for each item you are forced to buy a huge amount which will be a few thousand dollers.
3) Buy electronics individually off classifieds sites or tagsales. You have to make sure your getting a good enough deal to make profit and make sure its somthing you can sell.
Personally I gave up on that idea because I realized that its alot easier to buy a product change it and resell it verses just buy and resell. That is why now I own a buisness that sells computers online. My buisness Microspect PC (see the url in my signiture) has grown alot since I began a few months ago and now has a few employees and buys it's advertisng for the website that we sell them from. I'm not saying you have to go that big with it, ebays a great place to sell and I still use it, but you might want to try to think of a more creative idea where you actually change the product to increase its value before you sell it. For example I know somone who buys blank T-Shirts for a few dollers each and then prints popular images or text on them increasing the value buy at least 10 Times and then resells them on ebay or from a website for huge profit. That's just an idea but there are many oppurtunities out there you just have to be creative.
Good Luck!

The whole problem is; you are looking for a wholesaler......Think of specifics. If you want to sell sneakers, what kind? Nike, Converse, or Reebok? If you are looking for a wholesaler that sells everything, you will never find one. Think of specific things you want to sell and search for wholesalers that sell that brand or product. If you find a wholesaler that sells everything, they are probably just a middleman.

If you need help pm me. But dont ask for wholesaler contacts, tell me what you want to sell. Then I can show you how to buy those products/brands from a wholesaler.

**rogercbryan** · 12-29-2007 10:53 AM

There is another post floating around that is similar to this. Good suppliers are hard to come by. Please let me know what you are looking for and how much you are looking to spend. I may be able to help you. You can PM me if you like with your list. Are you looking to buy or to drop ship?

**CharlieB** · 12-30-2007 11:07 AM

I want to start selling PS3s or iPods. Probably they are going to have to come from Hong Kong as they have the same electricity thing as in the UK (dosen't apply for iPods).

Does anyone know how i can find a wholesaler for these?

**jandmsolution** · 12-30-2007 11:13 AM

What you are looking for is a distributor. You wont find them in China. Large well known companies like Apple, Dell, and many others go through distributors that are well known and have a good reputuation. Distributors that are well known are Tech Data, Electrograph, or Ingram Micro. If you get them in China they are fakes. A work in inside sales for a large company that operates the same as Apple. You will need a resale certificate and have to work out an agreement for credit and blind shipping. Forget about Ebay because the market on EBay is taken already. I would suggest looking for something local to attract better business.

**jandmsolution** · 12-30-2007 11:23 AM

I also forget to tell you have to become an authorized reseller. You have to contact the company directly to do so. Also you will never be able to sell PS3. They give rights to only certain people because of the reputation they want to keep. Same goes for all systems.