Zubin G. | 
03 10th, 2010| 
So yesterday I discussed how to spot fake wholesale shoes. Today the thought of wholesale electronics was on my mind so lets put it out here. I spoke about the golden rule yesterday, just in case you haven’t read the post here it is again:
If it seems too cheap to be true, it probably is.
In my opinion, the golden rule really applies well to wholesale electronics. I was once taken by a scammer because of not adhering to this rule and acting without thinking. I had found a guy selling Sony Ericsson T68’s (yes I know this was a years ago) at an amazing price. The phone had just came out and was going for $500+ for the unlocked version. It was the newest and hottest phone around at the time, they were selling like hot cakes. So this ’supplier’ I found was offering them at $150 a pop. Without thinking too much I jumped at the opportunity. The only thing that was ringing through my head was the profit margin of $350 x 10 units I was going to buy = $3500. I didn’t even stop for a minute to think about why or how this ’supplier’ was able to offer them at this price. He requested that I mail him a postal money order for $1500 for 10 units plus some odd extra amount for shipping. I agreed, again without thinking, and did just that. Days passed – No phones, but the supplier continued to assure me they were on their way. Weeks passed – No phones and no email replies. Months passed – Of course without any phones and I accepted the fact that I had been taken for a fool.
With the digital age and the ability for con artists to run wholesale scams hiding behind a computer you must be much more careful and vigilant. You cannot just get up and go knock on the door at the guys warehouse, it isn’t that simple.
Tip # 1
The golden rule – If it seems too cheap to be true, it probably is.
If you find an iphone wholesaler selling wholesale iphone 3gs 32gb for $150/pop its probably a scam. If you find the wholesale alpine indash car dvd players for $79/pop when they are going for $999 retail in Best Buy than I am sorry to say it is probably a scam. Do not try to convince yourself with the fact that manufacturers have huge mark ups and than retailers mark up the product even more. When the products are selling in the retail market why would the manufacturer be dishing them out in wholesale for next to nothing? It doesn’t make sense so don’t try to make yourself believe it does.
Tip #2
Believe it or not, these guys today even make fake wholesale electronics. That includes fake tv’s, mp3 players, cellphones. These days anything that has a brand name on it, you better make sure you are absolutely sure you are buying original merchandise if you are buying from some one who gets overruns/refurbished etc products or you better be buying from an authorized distributor of the manufacturer. It is really hard to tell the difference between fake electronics and real ones. Somethings to watch out for:
a. Where is it made? Many manufacturers only make their goods in certain countries or certain products are only made in certain countries. Pull up your products specifications online and see where it is made. Confirm the wholesale pieces you are purchasing are made in the same country
b. Always always always order a sample. Electronics compared to other things are one of the most expensive categories especially when you are purchasing big wholesale quantities. Order a sample of a few pieces and verify yourself that it is legitimate before you buy 100 of them. Losing $300 is much better than losing $30,000.
c. Functionality – Many of these fake electronics do not function the same way as the real ones. If possible, I know this is only good for small items like wholesale cellphones or wholesale ipods, but compare it to a piece from a retail store when you order your samples. See that the menus, colors etc are exactly the same.
Tip #3
Pre-releases. Need I say more?
Manufacturers don’t send out wholesale electronics at dirt cheap prices prior to releasing them to the public.
Think about it, why would they? The whole market is ready to buy them at retail prices, why would they uproot themselves? Seems pretty logical that they wouldn’t, yet so many people get cheated because of this. If a supplier is promising you wholesale apple ipads at a fraction of the retail cost, they are probably going to send you bags of sand. Yet still people think that miraculously this supplier has them because they sent you some phony picture of the thing. Think smart, it does not make sense for Apple to release them like this. The ONLY way you might get offered actual products before they are released is if they have been stolen from the manufacturer. Again, a situation you do not want to be in so please avoid wholesalers who say they have the item in wholesale before it is even in the market.
Hope this helps those getting into the wholesale electronics business and those who are already in it. Stay vigilant, be smart. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me. Also, if you are thinking about dealing with a supplier and don’t know if he is legitimate or not, I would love to take a look for you for absolutely FREE and give you my opnion!
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