The demand for cheap wholesale goods is very high, with a growing number of people purchasing goods online and businesses, retailers and importers trying to keep up with this trend. The solution to the growth of ecommerce and the retail industry is to stock the products in large quantities and to be able to do this in fast and efficient ways. The answer to this challenge is to buy cost-effective items in wholesale quantities, saving time and effort while helping to store goods for any purpose. This article looks at the definition of wholesale, as well as listing the many different benefits of buying in this way, as well as giving top tips to make the process as enjoyable and profitable as possible. After this, the article looks at why wholesale is such a suitable business model, giving ideas of the places that you can purchase them. Keep reading to find out the top things you should look for in wholesale retail purchasing, as well as the most important things to have in place before you get started and great questions to ask suppliers to make sure you make the right decision.
What is wholesale?
The first question to answer is… ‘what is wholesale?’ To answer this question, wholesale is a bulk purchase that is made in a way that cuts out a third party that is not necessary. As an example, if you purchase from a shop, you are unable to buy in enormous quantities and the retailer is making a profit, having bought the products. By buying cheap wholesale products, you skip the retailer and purchase directly from the suppliers or manufacturers.
What are the benefits of buying cheap wholesale?
There are many benefits of purchasing and storing stock in wholesale, making it a great idea for businesses, stores and importers of all sizes. Here are some of the greatest benefits of buying wholesale for a great price:
1. Profit margins
By buying products in wholesale, they are typically cheaper as they are produced in bulk, sold in large quantities and therefore have a lower cost per unit. This means you are able to acquire stock for a lower price than you would traditionally. The main advantage of this is that you can buy items for a low cost, adding a significant profit margin before reselling them. What this means is that enormous profits can be made with wholesale stock.
2. Overall profit
As well as being able to make a large profit margin, the overall profit per bulk purchase is typically impressive. The reason for this is that most orders have large numbers of items and every one has the potential to bring profit. This means that per one order from a supplier or manufacturer, there is far more potential than there would be if you bought a smaller number of items.
3. Needing to restock less often
The large quantity of wholesale products means you are less likely to run out quickly. Not only does this mean you do not need to worry about running out, but you can manage your inventory a lot more easily. As well as simplifying operations, there is another reason that this is so great… and that is because you can grow your business to be a lot larger, very easily, due to having lots of stock to sell. Ecommerce is continuously rising and throughout peak sales periods in the year, retailers often run out of products or begin to run low, relying on suppliers to restock them before they run out. If a business is growing quickly in popularity, this is an enormous problem as running out of stock can damage reputation, lose interest, damage reputation and reduce conversion rates by large amounts. Having wholesale orders means however quickly a business grows, they typically have plenty of stock to deal with a surge in demand, without having to worry that they will run out of products.
4. Cheaper
The most commonly known benefit of buying cheap wholesale is that it is cheaper per unit, which means you can get more for your budget. This means you no longer need a gigantic budget to be able to start a business, or to be able to sell large quantities of items. Instead, you can buy at a great cost per item and afford a suitable amount, allowing you to have a great list of products, even on a smaller budget.
5. Dealing with less individuals
Once you organise the process of buying in wholesale, you are able to save time and effort as you do not have to deal with multiple suppliers, you do not have to place orders as often and you do not need to switch manufacturer often once you find someone that works well with you and knows how to meet your requirements. The great news is that this means you can focus on other aspects of business, reducing time wasted on stock and helping you to grow business and do the things you enjoy most.
6. Lots of choice
There are millions and millions of suppliers and manufacturers available around the world. Many of these are based in China, with websites that allow you to compare different options and choose those that are most suitable to what you need. The great thing about this is that it makes it easy and quick to browse different options and make a choice that will benefit you. It also means you can change without having to do in-depth initial research, as most platforms that showcase different suppliers have plenty of information on things such as order quantities, shipping times, products available and reviews. Having this information to hand is ideal, helping you to make quick and beneficial decisions. It is also great because being on a platform where there are so many choices makes suppliers competitive, making sure they are able to offer competitive pricing and great products for customers.
7. Production capacity
Last, but not least, production capacity for cheap wholesale products can be great. The ways that many wholesale products are created means they are made using state of the art technology and machinery which can work all year round to create large quantities of any product. This production capacity means enormous orders can be placed on a regular basis, without any challenges to keep up with demand. This is particularly useful for growing businesses that may suddenly need to increase the order size of the frequency of deliveries. By choosing a supplier that is able to produce products in large quantities, you can be confident that you are unlikely to run out of stock, as well as knowing that this can be done quickly.
Why is wholesale cheaper?
Wholesale is affordable because it is produced in bulk. This is done in ways that are as efficient as possible, meaning goods are produced quickly with minimal wasted time and materials. This helps to keep cost down, allowing the benefits to be passed on from suppliers to those that buy their cheap wholesale products.
Where can you buy cheap wholesale?
There are many sites around the world that specialise in cheap wholesale products. Marketplaces are known for being great for those that want to browse high numbers of products, get inspiration, sort through their requirements and find the perfect wholesaler that can help them to achieve their goals. It is worth looking around for different cheap wholesalers, as they can all offer different things, whether it is varying products or different costs that could be beneficial.
What should you look for when buying cheap wholesale?
The first thing to remember is that whoever you choose to buy products from must be reliable and suitable. This means you can trust them to deliver what you need. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when you buy wholesale products, which we will now look at in more depth.
1. Price
With wholesale, the main reason is often to keep price per unit as low as possible. It’s important to make sure that whatever you consider buying is affordable and fits within your budget. Some products will immediately be rejected as they will fall outside of the price that you are comfortable paying. Remember, sometimes it is worth paying enough for the products to be suitable and you may have to change the quantity of products to meet the total price that you are willing to pay.
2. Quality
Quality is key in retail. Whatever your goal, to keep a good reputation and have long, successful business relationships while growing customer loyalty, you must deliver quality products. Without this, you will sell products that do not meet descriptions and disappoint customers. This is particularly important to remember, as cutting cost by reducing quality can be a very bad idea, particularly if you want return customers. Reviews can be left by customers in many cases which will determine future success of your business, so you must make sure quality is impressive and consistent, meeting the promises you give those that buy your items. Social media is another reason that this is important. When shoppers buy high quality products, they like to use their social media channels as a platform to recommend brands. On the other hand, when people receive faulty, damaged, or poor quality products, they are quick to use social media as a method of sharing their negative experience. This can quickly prevent people from wanting to shop with you in the future, making it very important to consider quality before investing in large quantities of products. After all, once you have bought it, you will be stuck with it and this can result in lost money.
3. Imagery
Imagery is one of the best ways to see what a product will look like to customers, particularly if you are looking to invest in wholesale online. Take time to look through any available imagery to check items look how you imagined them, as well as making sure they look appealing and as though they will merchandise or sell well.
4. Order quantities
This is a very important point to take note of. Every supplier will have minimum order quantities and maximum order capacities. Minimum order quantities are the lowest number of units that they are willing to sell in one order. You must make sure that you can afford to order this number at the lowest, as well as having arrangements and facilities in place for storage. The maximum order capacity is the highest number of products that the manufacturer is able to create, meaning you cannot go over this limit without finding a different supplier. It is often worth discussing these numbers with manufacturers, as some may be able to increase or decrease the quantities to suit your needs. The best recommendation would be to make sure a supplier has the ability to go lower and higher than you need, meaning you can continue using them if you need to have a smaller order arrive, or larger orders if your business and demand grows. Without this, it can be difficult if the business grows or reduces in size, meaning you may also be tasked with the job of finding a new supplier at a busy time.
5. Shipping times
Shipping times must be calculated to make sure this works logistically. This means you must be able to comfortably have plenty of stock in storage while you wait for the next delivery. The shipping time can often be counteracted with the amount of stock you have before you decide that you need to place another order, making sure you never run too low in case the shipment takes a while to arrive.
6. Shipment information
There are other factors about delivery that you need to be aware of, including packaging and container sizes. Packaging is important as it must be padded enough to protect any products, but not too heavy or bulky so that it doesn’t increase the cost of postage too much. Many consumers are also wanting the supply chain to be more eco friendly, so you should also consider using manufacturers of suppliers that can offer more environmentally friendly alternatives to single use plastics, for example. Container sizes must be understood so you know how much storage space you require for products. Some packages may come in pallets that are square, while others could come in individual smaller packages, or even larger, rectangular storage containers. Without knowing this, you may find yourself being unpleasantly surprised when the delivery arrives and does not fit in your available storage space.
Before you get started
The first step is to make a note of what you need. This means you need to put yourself in the place of your target customer and think about what they want to purchase. After this, you should make every decision with this in mind, making sure the products you choose and the suppliers that you decide to work with can help you to achieve these goals. You must also make sure the fulfilment and logistics are in place for storage, having free space or warehousing set up, ready for the delivery to be stored. Remember, you need additional space for access to different containers of products. Without this, you will end up with a pile of goods that you have to move every time to want to access them.
Questions to ask when buying in wholesale
- - Can I change the quantity in each order?
- - How big is each storage container?
- - Is there a reduction in cost for larger orders?
- - Do you stock any other products?
- - How long does it take for a shipment to arrive?
- - Who is my point of contact for communication?
- - What is the price per unit?
- - What quality guarantee do you give?
- - Do you have any reviews I can see?
- - Can you send me some pictures of the product?
- - Is there any ability to negotiate on price per unit?
- - What are the minimum and maximum order quantities?
- - Can I receive a sample or place a smaller initial order to test products?
Buy cheap wholesale products now
This article has given an overview of how cheap wholesale products can be ordered, as well as the reasons that you should choose this method of purchasing. By following the advice in this article, you will be able to find out in-depth information that will help you to make a great and informed decision. All that is left to do now is to begin searching for your perfect wholesale product provider.
