Hello Friend,

Anyone who has been in the retail or resale industry for any amount of time will all agree on one thing... Not all wholesale suppliers are created equal. There are literally hundreds of wholesale companies to choose from and finding the one that's right for you is a matter of understanding the differences between the good, the bad and the ugly.

The first thing you need to look at when deciding whether or not you should do business with a wholesale supplier is the factor of money. If a wholesale company is asking you to pay a fee before they'll even let you look at their website or their price list, something is fishy. Wholesale suppliers are in business to make money and legitimate wholesale companies are not going to push away customers by requesting up-front fees.

While legitimate wholesale companies will not request up-front fees to look at their prices and products they may require you to sign a nondisclosure agreement or they may request your EIN or tax id. This is not unreasonable and if a company does request this information, you should provide it.

Oftentimes wholesale companies require a minimum order amount. The minimum order amounts vary from company to company and some will only require you to meet this minimum when you place your first order while others will require the minimum order amount each time you buy from them.

Some wholesale companies will offer drop-shipping services in addition to great wholesale products and pricing. When a wholesale company offers drop-shipping, it means that they will pack and ship your orders for you so you don't have to bother with keeping inventory or managing shipping and receiving duties. If you can find a wholesale company that offers drop-shipping, it can save you a substantial amount of time and a lot of hassle.

You should also make sure that a wholesale company accepts credit cards. Most wholesale companies do, but there are still a few out there that don't. Since you probably don't want to fund your entire wholesale inventory with cash, doing business with wholesale companies that accept credit cards is probably a sound business decision.

Remember, a relationship with a wholesale company must be mutually beneficial. Good wholesale companies know the value of their customers but good wholesale customers also understand the true value of a reputable wholesale company.