Invoice Best Practices: Tips for Clear and Professional Invoices
Master invoice best practices to streamline your billing process. Learn tips for clear, professional, and efficient invoicing to get paid faster.
Wholesale is big business: the US market size rose to $10.4 trillion in 2022 from $9.9 trillion in 2021.¹
Yet, finding cheap wholesale products for sales in the USA is challenging. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of wholesalers. Choosing the right option isn’t always straightforward.
There are ways to make sure you get the best deal, though. In this post, you’ll learn how and where to find the best cheap wholesale products for resale.
In this article |
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It’s legal to resell wholesale products as a business, provided you have the correct permits to do so.
Depending on where you are, the license to buy wholesale products to resell may go by a different name. Here are some of the more common terms for the permit:
To get your wholesale reselling business up and running, here’s what you’ll need to do:
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To select the right wholesale items to resell at the right price, consider the following factors:
Search for areas where there’s the potential for a high profit margin. If you’re an online retailer, that should be in the region of 41.54%. For in-store retail, it would be closer to 24.32%.²
If you find a product that could yield a high profit margin, you can buy it in bulk for a low cost, and in doing so increase your potential sales revenue.
If competition is stiff for a particular product, you might struggle to make a profit.
As such, the best approach is often to seek out those products that aren’t saturated in the market. You can use online retailers to assess the competition for different products.
If you do manage to find a low competition product, you need to make sure there’s a high level of demand for it.
Many products with low competition don’t meet the market’s needs adequately which means there’s less demand for them. As such, conduct market research to find out whether customers want the product you’re planning to sell online.
While it doesn’t pertain to the quality of the product, the dimensions can be a significant factor to consider.
The heavier or larger the product, the more expensive it will be to ship it to your customers. It can sometimes be a gamble to buy many large products in bulk. You’ll face higher shipping fees which can eat into your profit margins.
🔍 Planning to buy wholesale for resale from China? You can find out about shipping from US to China to see if it's worth it for you. |
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So now you know what to look for, you might be wondering; ‘How do I find cheap wholesale?’
There are many ways to buy cheap wholesale items for resale from around the world.
🔍 Did you know? |
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Asia Pacific is the largest region for buying wholesale goods, accounting for the lion’s share of 51% of the market in 2020.³ |
Buying cheap is essential as purchases account for 78.4% of business costs in the wholesale industry. As such, you need to manage your funds well and spend on the products that’ll lead to the best ROI.⁴
Using online wholesale marketplaces is an increasingly common strategy for finding cheap goods.
Here are some of the most popular online marketplaces for cheap wholesale products for resale:
Wholesale site | Great for: |
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Alibaba is a global eCommerce platform that connects buyers with wholesalers. The marketplace is to wholesale what Amazon is to retail - it presents thousands of products at affordable prices. | Finding cheap and reliable deals using vendor reviews and vetting services. |
AliExpress is a dropshipping website that allows you to buy products that the supplier will then ship to the customer for you. | Trialing different products. There’s no upfront charge for selling products purchased on the site. |
Wholesale site | Great for: |
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Tundra provides buyers with access to a plethora of US and Canadian branded wholesale merchandise for resale. | The local US wholesale platform is useful for small businesses since the free shipping and affordable products make it accessible. |
Faire is a boutique wholesale platform that brings artisan creators to a local US audience at affordable prices. | Boutique businesses that require unique products at low cost. |
🔍 You can also find more options in the guide to best wholesale websites. |
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To give you a concrete idea of what products to look for, here are some of the best wholesale goods to sell:
Apparel, which includes everything from sporting accessories to business attire, is one of the most popular wholesale products to sell. It’s always available, so it can be an easy source of repeat revenue.
Apparel will often give you a favorable profit margin since the cost of buying is low. Yet, you’ll have to buy a lot to generate high revenue.
Health and beauty products are popular as it’s a huge industry. Essentials such as shower gel and soap will always be in high demand.
Buying cheap cosmetic products though might be at odds with what the modern eco-conscious customer wants.
Jewelry can be a lucrative product for resale, and can lead to high markups. You can buy jewelry at a low price and sell it with a high price tag. However, this relies on your ability to negotiate a good deal as fixed prices aren’t common.
Pet supplies always have high demand, and many consumers appreciate low prices for goods they have to constantly restock. They’re often available at low wholesale prices too.
The profit margins will likely be low, which is an important factor to consider.
Electronics are highly popular and valuable. That means if you do the research, you can find products that are low in competition but have the potential for a high profit margin.
Bear in mind, though, that electronics will cost you more to purchase so there is a risk involved.
Much like pet supplies, kids and baby products will always be popular and can help you generate recurring revenue. For toys, though, demand can be highly seasonal, so timing is key.
For the process of buying wholesale to resell, there are various steps you’ll need to take to ensure ongoing success.
One of the first major decisions you’ll have to make is where you source your products: overseas or from your local area.
There are pros and cons to both approaches, so it boils down to what’s best for your business.
When you buy from a local US wholesaler, you may pay a premium due to higher manufacturing costs, but this higher price is often reflected in the product’s high quality.
It’s also a quick way to buy and sell products for a short-term profit spike. You might be limited in what you can find when you shop locally, though.
When you buy from a global wholesaler, you’ll often pay lower prices and have a wide range of products to choose from. Buying from a global supplier can be slower, due to shipping times.
It’s a good idea to deal with several wholesale suppliers. You’re unlikely to find all the products you need with a single vendor.
Plus, if you experience a shortage of products with one supplier, that won’t cut off your revenue stream.
To ensure you get what you pay for with wholesale products it’s wise to request samples. Getting your hands on the product will tell you much more about its quality and viability for resale than an online image and description will.
You’ll also be able to assess the ease of communication and customer service, which can be a deciding factor.
Some wholesale platforms will let you order a free sample of the product upfront, which can help you reach a decision.
Once you’ve chosen a product, you enter the negotiation phase. During this process, you’ll discuss payment terms and volume, among other things.
Make sure you buy enough to satisfy likely consumer demand. Don’t foget to arrange payment terms that suit both parties to avoid issues later down the line.
The last step is to pay for the goods.
Some suppliers will be happy to negotiate on price. If you feel there’s a better deal to strike, it can be worth seeing if they’ll shift on their original asking price.
Wise Business can help you save big time on international payments.
Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks. The Wise Business account is designed with international business in mind, and makes it easy to send, hold, and manage business funds in currencies.
Signing up to Wise Business allows access to BatchTransfer which you can use to pay up to 1000 invoices in one go. This is perfect for small businesses that are managing a global team, saving a ton of time and hassle when making payments.
Some key features of Wise Business include:
Mid-market rate: Get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees on international transfers
Global Account: Send money to countries and hold balances in multiple currencies, all in one place. You can also get major currency account details for a one-off fee to receive overseas payments like a local
Access to BatchTransfer: Pay up to 1000 invoices in one click. Save time, money, and stress when you make 1000 payments in one click with with BatchTransfer payments. Access to BatchTransfer is free with a Wise Business account
Auto-conversions: Don't like the current currency exchange rate? Set your desired rate, and Wise sends the transfer the moment the rate is met
Free invoicing tool: Generate and send professional invoices
No minimum balance requirements or monthly fees: US-based businesses can open an account for free. Learn more about fees here
All sources checked May 23, 2022.
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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