Where to Buy Things in Bulk to Resell Online in 2024?

Chapter 1. Overview of Buying Things in Bulk

Buying items in bulk is a great way for businesses to save money, simplify operations, and increase profit margins. No matter who you are, a small business owner, a retailer, or someone just interested in selling, buying in larger quantities enables you to secure lower prices per unit and meet customer demands.

1) What Does it Mean to Buying Wholesale or Buying Bulk?

Buying Wholesale means the procedure of purchasing goods in bulk from a manufacturer or supplier (called wholesaler) before selling them on online marketplaces. But where to buy things in bulk to resell? 

The best places you can look for bulk purchases are wholesale platforms or directories. These websites allow buyers to buy products at a cheaper price. Buyers can then sell these products at higher prices to earn a good amount of profit on each sale.

2) Is It Legal to Buy in Bulk and Resell?

Yes. Buying in bulk to resell is completely legal. However, some products can require licenses and can face limitations.

So, before buying any item to resell, it’s necessary to confirm if there are any intellectual property rights, brand agreements, or local laws that can restrict the product you want to sell. Remember to research the rules for the particular items and the area you’re in.

Legal Considerations in Reselling

• Avoid violating copyrights, trademarks, or patents to prevent legal actions and penalties.
• Obtain the necessary licenses and permissions to operate your business legally.
• Follow the laws to avoid misleading practices and protect your brand from legal problems.

3) Advantages of Buying in Bulk to Resell

Buying goods in bulk offers many advantages to resellers. In other words, it can be the best move for retailers looking to maximize profits and expand their business.

Below we have mentioned a few benefits you can achieve when buying products in bulk, let’s have a look: 

1. Purchasing goods in larger quantities from wholesalers provides discounted prices. These prices help improve resellers’ profit margins. In other words, buying wholesale items lowers per-unit costs, reduces the overall expense of products, and increases profitability.
2. When resellers buy from wholesalers, they get access to numerous goods from many different suppliers or manufacturers. This way sellers can offer their buyers a huge variety of products with different quality options, and can easily meet their customers’ preferences. Further, having products variety can help retailers attract more buyers and keep them satisfied.
3. Selling online through wholesale helps you with scalability. When you develop good relationships with wholesalers or start trusting them, you can gradually maximize order quantities to keep up with growing customer demand. This growth, or scalability, assists your business in expanding without needing to invest heavily in new infrastructure or production facilities.
4. Instead of dealing with multiple suppliers for each product, buy products in bulk from a single wholesaler. When resellers purchase goods in larger quantities from wholesalers, their inventory management is simplified. This means they can receive bigger shipments all at once, which saves their time and reduces the effort of keeping track of multiple small orders from different sources.
5. Buying items at wholesale prices allows you to offer reasonable prices to your buyers. You can attract more customers and shine in a crowded online market.
6. When sellers purchase bulk inventory from wholesalers, they already have the goods in stock. They don’t have to wait for the items to be made or delivered from the manufacturer. Because of this, sellers can quickly display the products and keep up with new market trends to meet customer requirements.
7. Buying products in bulk helps you minimize goods production time and the effort of sourcing individual products. You can use this extra time to advertise your brand, attract new customers, and grow your business.
8. Working with wholesalers gives you the flexibility to adjust/modify the products you offer based on customer feedback and market trends. So, you can easily update your inventory according to changing trends and customer preferences by getting different products from wholesalers.
9. Purchasing bulk quantities of goods reduces the risk of having excess unsold stock. Sellers can manage their inventory levels better, which minimizes the chances of dealing with the costs associated with unsold products.
10. Building strong relationships with a reliable wholesaler can lead to ongoing partnerships that benefit both sides. Sellers can get special deals, personalized support, and better pricing as trust grows and connection builds with the wholesaler.

4) Disadvantages of Buying in Bulk to Resell

Selling online wholesales offers multiple benefits, but it’s essential to be careful of some possible risks. In case, you face any problems, you should take immediate steps to reduce them.

Below we’ve mentioned some common drawbacks and techniques to address them: 

1. Buying a bulk amount of goods means you will need to invest more money initially than purchasing just a few products. You can handle this by conducting good market research and planning your finances to make sure you have enough money to invest.
2. Managing a large stock can be challenging and takes a lot of time. To make it easier, implement inventory management software and tools that can assist you in keeping track of stock, monitoring sales, and reordering goods automatically.
3. Selling wholesale involves purchasing items in massive quantities, which increases the chance of ending up with unsold inventory. To avoid this problem, conduct market research to see which items are in high demand and clearly understand your target customers.
4. Online markets are highly crowded with sellers offering the same products. If you buy bulk products that are common online and sell them in the same manner, you can face loss. Therefore, it’s necessary to differentiate your items through attractive packaging, unique branding, and added services.
5. Your business’s success depends on the reliability of your manufacturer or supplier. If your wholesaler is not professional, you can face many problems. So, make sure to thoroughly check a supplier before making a partnership with them. Look into their reputation, history, and reviews.
6. Handling shipments of bulk orders can be difficult, especially if you’re working with multiple suppliers. To make this easier, collaborate with trustworthy shipping companies or fulfillment centers.
7. Relying on wholesalers means limited control over item availability and stockouts. So, maintain close communication with your suppliers to stay updated about item availability and any possible supply chain problems.
8. Buying and selling goods from different wholesalers can affect your image and make it harder to develop a strong and unique brand. To avoid this, create a brand strategy that fits with your target audience. Moreover, carefully select products and check for product’s consistent quality.
9. Selling wholesale goods can start a competition with other resellers. This competition can minimize your profit. So, instead of just dropping prices, concentrate on the value you offer, such as unique features, advantages, and extra services that set you and your product apart.
10. Managing customer support, inquiries, and returns, for bulk products can be tough. To handle this, invest in a good customer service system and provide your customers with easy and accessible ways to reach you out for help.

Chapter 2. Where to Buy Things in Bulk to Resell Online in 2024?

Do you want to start an e-commerce store in 2024? But, where to buy things in bulk to resell? And how to know which product is profitable to resell online?

Don’t panic! In this chapter, we have explained everything about finding and buying goods to resell online. So let’s dive in!

1) How to Find Profitable Products to Resell Online?

You must learn what makes an item profitable before you begin sourcing new goods. The following six steps can help you identify the best wholesale products you can resell through your store.

a) Calculate Profit Margins

The gross profit margin is a way of measuring how much money you make from selling an item after subtracting the original cost of that item. Imagine you purchase a product for $5 and then sell it for $10.

When you buy goods in large amounts (wholesale), you normally pay less for each unit. For example, instead of giving $5 per item, you can only pay $3 if you purchase 100 of them. The cheap pricing of each product maximizes your profit margin. This concept (paying less amount per item when buying bulk quantities) is known as Economies of Scale.

Before you purchase wholesale items, it’s wise to calculate that after selling these items, can you make enough profit. You can use a profit margin calculator. This calculator will assist you in figuring out if the difference between the real product cost and the selling cost (your profit margin) is good enough to make your investment worthwhile.

A good profit margin for online sellers is approximately 42.78%, according to “The NYU Stern School of Business” report. This means that after covering the cost of an item, you should aim to keep at least 42.78% of the selling price as profit.

Remember that when selling wholesale goods, you also have to pay for your business deals such as marketing, advertising, and your e-commerce store.

Make sure that after paying the wholesaler, you still have enough profit left to cover these business expenses.

b) Find the Median Retail Price 

Even if a seller finds wholesale goods with a high-profit margin, making a healthy profit can still be difficult if the selling price is too low. For example, if you purchase pens for 10¢ each and resell them for 50¢ each, you’ll make 40¢ per pen, which is an 80% profit margin.

Conversely, if an item’s recommended retail price {known as MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price)} is too high, it may become difficult to attract customers.

For example, selling a $100 shirt can be more tough than selling a $30 product because people are very careful with expensive purchases. So, before purchasing wholesale goods, check the MSRP and go with items that retail between $20 to $200. This price range tends to be more manageable.

Furthermore, you can increase your sales by offering related items. For example, if a consumer purchases a $30 lotion, you can offer them a $15 sheet mask or a more expensive cream to increase their total purchase.

c) Estimate the Competition

A market becomes “saturated” when many online businesses/stores are selling the same item. In such a market (saturated market), it can be challenging to make a business shine due to the high competition. That is why, if you want to succeed in an e-commerce market, select to sell wholesale goods with less competition.

To find how competitive a market is, you can check online platforms like Amazon. Search how many stores are already selling the item you are interested in. If you see multiple listings (like hundreds of thousands of listings) for that item, it indicates that it’s a crowded market with a lot of competition.

However, if there are only a few brands selling that item, it can be a great opportunity for you to enter the platform and attract buyers more easily.

d) Analyze Consumer Demand

If you discover a wholesale item that is cheap and not many stores or businesses are selling it, think it like you’ve found a jackpot. However, if hardly a few businesses are selling that item, then you need to be careful as it could be because of the reason that buyers aren’t showing interest in that product.

You can utilize the Facebook Ad Library to check out a product’s demand. It allows you to see Facebook’s live ad campaigns. In other words, this tool helps you check if other stores are running ads for the same product you choose. If you see several businesses promoting it, it’s likely that the item is making them money, which means customers want it.

If you are facing trouble finding goods that aren’t too common, but still have high demand, leave it and start looking for other unique or specialized products.

These unique niche items will stand out more and attract buyers easily because they’re different from what’s already available in the market.

e) Look for Seasonal Trends

Sales of seasonal goods go up and down throughout the year. For example, some products might sell better during summer, and some may be in high demand during holidays or around big events. Take advantage of this and sell items according to the seasonal demands.

It does not mean that you should avoid or ignore selling seasonal products only because they’re popular at particular times of the year. They can still be a profitable way of making money online, even though their demand changes. But you should keep in mind the following two important points:

1. Timing is everything. Therefore, you should start planning your seasonal e-commerce strategy early if you are looking to sell in-demand goods during particular seasons, such as holidays. Remember that planning this e-commerce strategy can take months or even a year.
2. Sales will not be constant. If your business focuses on selling items that are just demanded during a specific time, for example, Christmas decor items, your sales will drop off once the season ends.

If you’re new to purchasing wholesale goods to resell and want to expand your business year-round, avoid seasonal items, instead, go for evergreen products.

f) Calculate Shipping Costs

When purchasing wholesale goods, you have the flexibility to choose to source from local or international suppliers. If you run an e-commerce store, you should consider the expense involved in receiving goods from your supplier or manufacturer and then delivering them to your buyers.

Larger and heavier goods like furniture can be more profitable, but they often come with different shipping complications. On the other hand, small and lightweight items are normally cheaper and easier to deliver.

Also, check an item’s durability when making your shipping strategy. Bluetooth speakers or handmade glassware shipping is quite more complicated than shipping shirts or jeans.

The glass can break, or the speakers’ wires could get damaged. Whereas durable goods that contain fewer moving parts or other undamageable items like clothes can be transported easily. Also, they are less likely to cause customer issues, which reduces your returns rate.

2) Where to Buy Things in Bulk to Resell

There are so many online wholesale websites available on the internet. This can let you think: Where to buy things in bulk to resell? Or Which one is reliable? Don’t stress.

These platforms may have longer shipping times, but they offer unbeatable prices without compromising the quality of products. Let’s start:

a) Alibaba

If you ever have discussed online wholesale shopping, you must have heard of Alibaba. It’s a famous wholesale site with millions of sellers and billions of buyers and users that shop on this platform monthly to find goods for their businesses or stores. 

In short, Alibaba is known globally as one of the biggest online e-commerce companies, especially popular for its manufacturing and wholesale services.

Apart from this, Alibaba is one of the major challengers of Amazon. This platform allows various payment procedures, some of which are:

• Credit cards 
• Wire transfers
• PayPal, etc. 

You can find various other tools here, like a chat interface to talk with suppliers directly, a user-friendly request quote system, and an order or shipment tracker system.

b) Made-in-China

Made-in-China is another well-known wholesale site that unites e-commerce consumers with Chinese manufacturers/suppliers. It does not have too many suppliers like Alibaba, but still, you can use this site to find good-quality items in multiple categories. 

Further, you can see detailed seller profiles here. This can help you know who you are buying from and provide you with other important details about the supplier and products.

c) Global Sources

Global Sources is the best B2B marketplace for buyers looking for Asian low-cost suppliers. It has more than one million suppliers, some of them are high-rated Amazon sellers.

On this platform, you can directly chat with suppliers. Additionally, most of the suppliers here are verified and have a detailed profile.

d) 1688

1688 is also a good wholesale website. It’s identical to Alibaba and Made-in-China. This site may be smaller than other wholesale sites, but it contains many professional suppliers that you cannot find on other online markets.

One problem that you can face on this site is it’s only available in Chinese language. So, if you choose to buy from this site, you’ll need a website translator. Moreover, you can face communication difficulties.

e) DHGate

DHgate was launched in 2004. It’s another well-established Chinese wholesale platform. This site includes more than 2 million Chinese suppliers with billions of items.

Chapter 3. Some Examples of Profitable Things to Resell in 2024

With numerous wholesale goods available online, finding which item is more profitable can be quite complex. That’s why, it’s very important to do proper research before choosing any item to start your online business.

But if you don’t want to invest your time in research you can go with our recommendations. We have mentioned some reliable and profitable product options below to provide you with a low risk starting point: 

1) Electronics Accessories

• High Demand in Market: Electronic accessories are constantly in high demand because of the popularity of mobile phones, tablets, and other electronic devices.
• Profit Margin: These products can be sourced at extremely low wholesale costs and then resellers can sell them at a higher retail price. As a result, resellers can make a good profit margin.
• Easy Shipment: Electronic devices are normally small and lightweight, which makes shipping easier and cost-effective. 

2) Pet Supplies 

• Growing Demand for Pets: More people are getting into pets day by day. These pet owners invest greatly in pet supplies to keep them happy and healthy. So, with the increasing demand for pets, the requirement for pet supplies is also rising.
• Niche Targeting: Instead of selling pet supplies for all animals, target one niche. You can focus on any one type of pet, like dogs or other pets such as cats or reptiles. With this plan, you can source products, particularly for dogs, which help you advertise your store directly to dog owners.
• Repeat Sales: Pet supplies (like pet food and grooming items) require regular purchasing, which leads to repeat sales and client retention. 

3) Fitness Equipment

• Growing Preferences for Fitness: In recent years, the fitness industry has seen noteworthy growth because multiple individuals, especially youngsters, are now prioritizing their fitness and health.
• Targeting Niche: Select a specific fitness equipment niche. This means you can pick any one category of equipment from numerous available in the market. This will allow targeted marketing and consumer segmentation.
• Repeat Purchases: Fitness lovers often replace or upgrade their equipment, which leads to repeat purchases and customer loyalty. 

4) Personal Care Products

• Trending in the Market: Nowadays, people prefer organic, natural, and eco-friendly personal care products because they are becoming more aware of their advantages.
• Brand Loyalty and Regular Purchases: People buy personal care products after a few weeks or months because they are used frequently. Once individuals find personal care products that suit them, they stick with the same brand. This enhances the brand’s loyalty and regular purchases.
• Social Media Engagement: Personal care items are famous on social media. Influencers on social media love to share their haircare and skincare routines, which gives these products more customer attention.

Chapter 4. Tips to Work with Wholesalers

There are some important tips that every seller should know before working with wholesalers. Let’s have a look:

1. Research Thoroughly 

Most of the wholesale platforms we have mentioned above are verified, but it’s essential to do some research yourself.

Confirm that the supplier you want to work with is professional, trustworthy, and reputable.

To confirm that they are reliable, look at the on-site reviews, view their overall rating, and check past buyers’ feedback about the supplier. Also find out about their communication behavior, product quality, and shipping timings.

2. Discuss and Agree on Partnership Terms

Before buying goods from a wholesaler, you both should discuss and agree on the partnership terms to have clear expectations. These terms include the following points: 

• Pricing: When you make your first purchase, you shouldn’t just agree upon the current cost but also discuss and set prices for future orders. This strategy will help you predict and manage your budget better.
• Shipping details: You should also discuss shipping details so that you get an idea of how long exactly your product will take to be prepared and shipped. Also, talk about the shipping method because it can affect product tracking. 
• MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity): MOQ greatly impacts the way you operate your e-commerce business. Almost every supplier mentions their MOQ requirement on their product display page. However, a buyer can often request the supplier for a lower amount. If you succeed in convincing the supplier that you are going to be their long-term client, they will agree on decreasing MOQ.

Chapter 5. FAQs about “Where to Buy Things in Bulk to Resell”

Conclusion

Buying goods in bulk can be a great strategy for increasing profitability. You can see many clear benefits of buying in bulk such as cost savings, inventory management, etc. But remember, there are also complications that you can face, including careful selection of wholesalers, proper handling, etc.

Above all, knowing where to buy things in bulk to resell is necessary for your business growth and success. So, read our guide carefully to understand everything about buying products in bulk to resell.