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!

I should have done this post like 4 posts ago as my first ‘returning’ post but anyways.

After finally completing some of my biggest projects, I am back here to do what I love – blog and share the knowledge.

You will see daily posts, numerous daily posts actually. We will discuss the industry, we will review wholesalers, we will be taking your emails and comments to help you further or start your business. We will expose scammers (list coming soon) we will do product tests, check out wholesalers customer service and be broadcasting live from the best wholesale trade shows. And a whole lot of other great stuff!

Please introduce yourself, please leave a comment, please leave an email, I would love to hear from you!

This show is geared towards retail liquidation and close-outs and will feature 30,000 square feet and over 105 booths. If this is your line of business, make sure you get your booth/tickets now.

Oh and by the way, if your not from the West Coast, you better book a few extra days as California is beautiful that time of the year!

More details on the ASD website here

Pricing is a big factor that can help you weed out scammers from real wholesalers. As the old saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. A person that recently emailed me told me about an experience they had last month. They had been dealing in wholesale apparel for many years and had worked with a variety of wholesale distributors. So they saw a good deal for shoes made by an Italian brand and jumped on it. Instead of ordering a sample, they ordered 800 pairs since they had dealt with the supplier many times before and never had an issue. The wholesale supplier ONLY accepted bank wire (no way of getting your money back) and the buyer thought it was not an issue.

Well low and behold the shoes arrived and were utter junk. Supposedly made by a brand in the league of Armani and at a price of $35USD/pop landed. Well now the buyer has 800 pieces of junk which are literally worth nothing because they are 100% FAKE.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Please be very careful when dealing with wholesalers and when you buy wholesale products. Order a sample of 10 pieces before you order 800 of them because you can live with a loss of $350. Oh and of course the wholesaler continues to insist they are real.

A great amount of payments you receive are likely to be made by credit card, and there isn’t really an easy way of verifying someone’s legitimacy. If you are payed with a stolen credit card, the victim will eventually find out about it, and you may end up losing the goods sold AND the money you were originally paid.

The first step would be to verify the billing address and mailing address before processing an order. This ensures the goods are being shipped to the right person. If they don’t match, you should look into the order and the size will help to point out if its fraud. Some online merchants won’t even ship if the billing and mailing addresses are the exact same.

If you receive large transactions which are costly you should contact the customer prior to finalizing the order. This will ensure that the transaction is legitimate and that neither you nor the customer will be affected by credit card fraud. Also, usually people don’t ship overnight unless it is urgent, so if you receive a big order, and it is being shipped overnight, that should be a big red flag.

Some countries are generally known for fraud, such as Nigeria, and should be avoided at all costs. By taking these precautions you will save yourself from being scammed by credit card fraud as well as the actual victim.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us. Don’t forget to share us with your family and friends! If you have any questions, comments, or would like to suggest a topic for a future post, please fill out the form on our Get In Touch With Us page.

There are a few ways to obtain a list of email addresses which you can email your promotions and offers to. The first, which isn’t really that great, would be to purchase a list of email addresses from another company. This is not the recommended method though because the recipients are likely to receive the emails in their junk or spam folders. You would not want potential customers to think your company is associated with spam or spamming. This could lead to the recipients blocking your email address and not receiving any more offers from you. These days this method is not likely to be used as most companies do not sell their clients’ information.

The best way to get a group of email addresses to email would simply be to create your own list. On your website when people purchase an item or become a member include a section in the form which allows them to provide their email address and a box to mark if they would like to subscribe to the mailing list. You can also create a spot somewhere on the homepage allowing them to enter their email address to be put onto the mailing list. You can let your customers know that if they sign up they will receive exclusive offers and know about sales before anyone else. Every time you are going to send an email blast, prior to sending it update your mailing list with any new email addresses from people who joined after your last blast. This way your list will continue to grow with minimal work.

Using the last method mentioned, it is the best way to create a solid mailing list. You can rest assured that your emails will not end up in the recipients’ junk or spam folder. Them joining means they would enjoy hearing from you, so you should stay consistent with email blasts. If you would like to take it a step further, you can do newsletters, perhaps every month or every two weeks, which ever suits you and your business better. Don’t forget to share us with your family and friends! If you have any questions, concerns, or you would like to suggest a topic for a future post, please fill out the form on our Get In Touch With Us page.

Often in most directories, they all contain various types of listings. First you may find a free listing. This will be an extremely basic, and almost useless, listing as the only information it is likely to provide would be something along the lines of your company name and possibly an address. In free listings you don’t even get your phone number or website in there, and that can sometimes make it hard to find your company so a possible customer may not want to put in the extra effort to search for your company.

Next you may find a simple, general listing. This might contain something like your company name, a phone number, an address, a website link, an e-mail link, and maybe a few more things. This is more useful than the free listing, especially if you have a tight budget.

Next up is likely a mid-level premium listing. A listing like this should be pretty sufficient if you are on a tight budget. It would probably include something like the things stated previously, as well as a possible map of your location, detailed traffic stats, a photo gallery, maybe some coupons or promo codes, detailed descriptions, an image of your logo, and it likely shows up above all searches. This would be a good way of advertising your business because your possible consumers get a detailed description of your company, they can see a map of your location, and they see your logo which allows them to recognize you easily at another time.

Lastly, you are likely to find a top notch featured directory listing. This listing should include everything already stated as well as it being featured in a certain high-traffic location, perhaps the home page. It may also allow you to have your company’s banner displayed around the directory in various locations. This type of listing will obviously be the most expensive, but it will most likely be the most effective as well. You are more likely to draw in more traffic using this method of advertising in wholesale directories. You need not use this type of listing in all the directories you list your company in, but by doing this in a few it’s an easy, quick boost to your traffic.

As you can see wholesale directories are useful for both buyers and sellers. They allow you to easily boost sales and increase profits. Let us know about your experiences with wholesale directories and what kinds of listings you prefer and why. Don’t forget to share us with your friends! If you have any questions, concerns, or you would like to suggest a topic for a future post, please fill out the form on our Get In Touch With Us page.

If money is tight, people will definitely think twice before making purchases. You need to make sure you grab their attention and make sure they buy your goods, money being tight or not. Bill Me Later allows businesses to keep making sales simply by deferring billing. Whether it be a simple discount or a full payment plan, it will be more likely to have that person go for the purchase. For example, a statement like “No Payments For 6 Months!”, or “10% Off Orders $500 Or Greater!” will greatly increase the likeliness of someone purchasing your wholesale goods. It ensures  you will keep making sales and this keeps your customers happy because they will understand that even if money is tight at the moment they still have the opportunity to go ahead and purchase goods and they will be provided with some additional time to make the payment.

This is a very appealing method to many customers and it will make them realize that although the economy may be in turmoil, there are still options open. People like to know they’re getting a deal and simply spotting a good deal in times like these motivate them to make a purchase. Another option could be to provide a discount, and label it as a “Temporary Sale” or something of that sort to make your buyers take advantage of the deal before they lose the chance.

If you have any questions or if you would simply like to recommend a topic for a post, please visit the Get In Touch With Us page and just send us an email! Don’t forget to share us with your friends and family!