How to Buy Products for Your Business the Right Way

No matter what type of product you're dealing with, everyone knows you need to make more than you spend. It's easy in theory, but in practice in can often be a challenge to find places that will sell items to you cheaply enough that you can earn a profit by reselling them.

If your products are new, you'll be buying from suppliers, wholesale manufacturers importers and other distributors. Deciding who to purchase from can be a daunting task, so choose them according to your needs. Deciding whom you will buy from will be largely based on criteria relative to your specific needs, but you also need to keep the specifics of your product and your business in mind; if your warehouse lacks storage space and you aren't set up with a good delivery system, you may benefit from a drop-shipping supplier who will ensure your product arrives to the customer safely, even if at first glance they're a more expensive option than suppliers without a drop-shipping method.

Business concerned with used items or antiques will have a more difficult time finding sources since you can't go directly to a manufacturer or wholesaler. More likely, you'll be dealing directly with individual sellers, flea markets, antique shops and online auctions. Use caution when purchasing previously owned items just as you would any other used product.

When dealing with wholesalers, the transaction will be fairly routine and uniform: you select a wholesale supplier, try to convince them to sell their products to you, and start building a relationship. You may need to open an account with them or become a registered buyer, but the trade-off is merchandise at extremely low rates that you don't have to markup tremendously to turn a profit. You can look for a general merchandise wholesaler, or you can look to trade shows and industry organizations to find a more specific wholesaler that carries products related to your business. Make sure you have more than one wholesale supplier in the event one doesn't come through for you.

Another option is purchasing through manufacturers; these can be any individual or company that creates a product, even craftspeople and farmers. When deciding to purchase your products from a manufacturer, you need to decide if you're going to buy from a local/domestic manufacturing source or shop internationally? This can be a touchy issue when discussing whether to support the economy of your nation or a foreign country, and can only be answered by you. After all, only you know what you'd be most comfortable with, and you're the only one who can determine what the right solution is to quality vs. cost.

What used to be considered a cumbersome and inconvenient source has been made easily accessible to small business owners thanks to the invention of the Internet. Buying your products directly from the factory ("factory direct") cuts out the middleman for you, but there are still a few things to consider. You still are frequently required to purchase your products in large quantities - especially if you've opted for an international supplier who needs to ship via crate to make a profit. It's often a friendlier market than dealing with manufacturers and wholesalers, however, and you may find that buying factory direct will bring a higher quantity of products into your warehouse than by using other methods.

No matter who you decide to buy from, there are certain issues to keep in mind. First, make sure you're getting a fair price that still allows you to make an adequate profit for the effort. Some manufacturers will be willing to negotiate the price if you ask. You also need to make sure the quality of the products is high enough that they warrant the price you'll give them. Even if they aren't top quality, you need to maintain some type of quality control. If the manufacturer has an agent, you need to factor in the added cost of dealing with them. Also, is your supplier reliable? Do their products arrive at the approximate time you were given? Make sure they're on time with shipments, so you won't have to turn away customers.

Lastly, If you want to try your hand at getting a good deal online, Ebay now has resources for business owners in your position. Under their Wholesale category you can purchase wholesale lots of everything under the sun; chances are there's something there that you can put into your inventory. Do your research on the people and companies selling the lots, then have fun capturing unique products to sell to your customers.