Wholesale marketing (ecommerce) Buy cheap selling big!

I'm in this sort of industry. Firstly, no, that site is not to be trusted.

But for future sites, follow these steps and keep a 'tally' of 'demerit points'. Go through each step and add +1 to each problem with the website. This is loosely based off an e-commerce/dropshipping ebook I wrote a while ago.

(please note, the following information is copyright and I do not give permission to reproduce it)

1) Check the site out.
Look for payment options (PayPal is good. If they only offer Western Union or bank transfers, then add +1 demerit point, it's a bad thing).
Look at the prices. Are they WAY too low to be believable? Do a test order - do they charge delivery? Does everything seem 100% legitimate? If not, even if it feels 90% legitimate, add +1 demerit point to your tally/counter.

2) Google the following WITH "Quotation mark"
"websitename.com"
websitename.com scam
websitename.com review
Now - the MOST important thing to look out for, is if the results give a POSITIVE review - this COULD mean it is from the website owner. But, it may not. Again, add +1 demerit for each BAD review. However, if a customer says they RECEIVED their goods, but it was late, or the product was broken, this means that the company DOES send products and it could actually be a good thing, believe it or not!

3) Go to Whois Lookup - Domain Names Search, Registration, & Availability | Whois.net
Under 'whois lookup', enter their domain name, and select the correct ending (ie .com , .org). MAKE SURE it is correct!
Now, if there is information there, good. If it's private, add +1 demerit as you can't be certain where they're from.
Now you should have a name, or a company name, an address. See if it matches their website. If not, add +1 demerit.

4) If the number of demerit points is less than 2... Then do a test order.
If you receive the goods, and they're on-time, this is good. But, some "companies" (I should say "criminals") are sneaky. If they notice you're a first-time buyer, they might think you're doing a test-order and will send you the goods quickly. Then, when you place a big order, they will scam you.


5) Call them.
If they don't have any contact number, and/or the phone rings out (ensure you're not calling out of business hours - they may even be based in another country), then ADD +2 DEMERIT POINTS. This is a big one. If you can't contact them urgently over the phone when you have a complaining customer, then you're in trouble.


6) Make sure they have a working email address. Test it, make sure it's a human being replying to your email. If not, well, you know what to add.



If the total tally of demerit points exceeds 1, you probably shouldn't do businesses with them.
If it exceeds 3, STAY CLEAR.

If it's 0, there's still no guarantee they're legitimate, but I'd say you'd be pretty safe to continue.

Best of luck.

P.S. That website isn't offering wholesale prices. $40 for a pair of shoes is not wholesale. $5 is.

lol, ebay has forced me to master finding wholesale deals and understanding the wholesale business. :p

Sorry, my sentence structure could have been better, but it's late, so that's my excuse