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How can i convince this wholesaler to sell to me?

by Byron2k12
17 replies
I found a wholesaler on a directory, they are in Ireland also so they are ideal for me. The problem is they are very apprehensive about giving out log in details for the wholesale end of their website (so that i can view the prices etc). Most wholesalers give it out straight away, but this crowd are being very different.

I was talking to the manager today, "we can't just give out details to anyone to be honest" so requested an email from me to explain who i am and WHAT my plans are.

The problem is that he was talking about already having loads of retailers (including his own websites) in Ireland, Europe and even USA so i don't know if he was trying to say we don't need any competition so be careful how enthusiastic you are OR he was trying to say we don't need small guys so unless you're serious we're not interested, can someone please advise me on how to proceed in the approach.
I'm a sole trader and in the process of getting my e-commerce website going so i appeal to the more experienced for a little help. Thanks.
#convince #sell #wholesaler
  • Profile picture of the author Gina Irvine
    If he is not interested, move on.

    Convince him otherwise is a waste of time.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Hi

    It sounds like they are not very keen.

    Do you have a business license? In Canada, and I think the US, most wholesale distributors need your business license before they can sell to you.

    It is assurance you are a 'real' retailer and it allows them to charge you without taxes as you will be collecting sales taxes on the retail transactions. You would need to have a business license to show you can charge and remit taxes.

    How did you approach this business? It seems from their questions that you didn't sound like a 'real business' to them. They are asking for an email with more information. Did you not explain your company and include your credentials when you first contacted them?

    Mahlon
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    • Profile picture of the author Byron2k12
      Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

      Hi

      It sounds like they are not very keen.

      Do you have a business license? In Canada, and I think the US, most wholesale distributors need your business license before they can sell to you.

      It is assurance you are a 'real' retailer and it allows them to charge you without taxes as you will be collecting sales taxes on the retail transactions. You would need to have a business license to show you can charge and remit taxes.

      How did you approach this business? It seems from their questions that you didn't sound like a 'real business' to them. They are asking for an email with more information. Did you not explain your company and include your credentials when you first contacted them?

      Mahlon
      Well i am a registered sole trader, that's all i thought would be necessary over here?

      How did i approach them? Well the directory only takes you to the retail site, and i understand a lot of the time your emails are ignored, so i phoned them and talked about it to the lady who answered first, she then advised me to ring back next week but it so happened the manager or main man over it was available today to phone me back to find out about the inquiry (as explained in my original post) so now i have to email him and convince him that i am "worthy" of being sold their wholesale items.

      The problem is at times is was like he was saying - we don't want any more competition (because he was telling me of his own retail sites and of others around the country and abroad) then maybe it is the opposite that they only want big retailers, it's hard to know what they want.
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      • Profile picture of the author Myles Sinclair
        Originally Posted by Byron2k12 View Post

        "....it's hard to know what they want..."
        It looks like they've already told you what they want -

        Originally Posted by Byron2k12 View Post


        "...I was talking to the manager today, "we can't just give out details to anyone to be honest" so requested an email from me to explain who i am and WHAT my plans are..."
        Just send them an email. Most wholesalers want some evidence that they are dealing with genuine retailers, instead of some end user looking to get stuff on the cheap. Make sure you use your domain name email address, and not anything anonymous like hotmail or gmail.

        If you're just starting out, you can explain you are still in the process of finding suppliers, and would like to feature their products on your site.

        What they are asking for is not unreasonable. When I used to wholesale my products I made sure that the people making enquiries were legit.
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        • Profile picture of the author Byron2k12
          Originally Posted by Myles Sinclair View Post

          It looks like they've already told you what they want -



          Just send them an email. Most wholesalers want some evidence that they are dealing with genuine retailers, instead of some end user looking to get stuff on the cheap. Make sure you use your domain name email address, and not anything anonymous like hotmail or gmail.

          If you're just starting out, you can explain you are still in the process of finding suppliers, and would like to feature their products on your site.

          What they are asking for is not unreasonable. When I used to wholesale my products I made sure that the people making enquiries were legit.

          That's a very good point on using the domain email, but the only problem being my domain is not yet set up, so when they enter it into the browser it will just say "coming soon"
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          • Profile picture of the author Kay King
            Get your business set up and then you might have something to convince them with.

            The seller is saying "show us what you have" and the only answer is "I got nothing". For this seller, future plans are not enough. Let it go for now and later when you have the site up and have started on the business end you might approach them again.
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          • Profile picture of the author Myles Sinclair
            Originally Posted by Byron2k12 View Post

            That's a very good point on using the domain email, but the only problem being my domain is not yet set up, so when they enter it into the browser it will just say "coming soon"
            All you can do is be honest with them. If you didn't make a note of the managers name, give them a call and find out his name.

            Once you've got his name, email him -

            "Dear Dave,

            Further to our conversation the other day, I'm currently starting up a new business trading as (your business name) I will be selling (whatever it is you're selling).

            I have researched various suppliers and would love to feature your products on the website I am currently building.....etc.,"

            His name is probably not Dave, but you get the idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author salegurus
    How is your eCommerce site different from the thousands of other Joe Schmo's out there?
    Unless you can show him that you are getting thousands of uniques per day (potential buyers) he's probably not interested....
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    In the real world lots of companies work like this.

    Small retailers who will not follow their rules just turn into a hassel. Small retailers who take the same amount of time to process as a large retailer but only do 1% of the sales are a waste of resources. And it goes on and on. In the long run the bigger the account the easier it is to manage relatively.

    If you have read the 4 hour work week you will listen to Tim's real world examples of this. He cut out the little guys and made more money with only his best customers(retailers). As a potential retailer of a product I love that a company won't just sell to anyone. It means my retail offerings will be unique. You can see the opposite on eBay when you see hundreds selling the same products for nearly the same prices. It just makes the product seem cheap and worthless.

    If you really want to sell their products you have to make a case for yourself. Even if that case is the fact you are a new business but here are the reasons that you and their products will be a great fit.

    If you truly see their products as valuable you should love the hoops they put you through.
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    • Profile picture of the author Byron2k12
      Excellent replies there, especially the last two, great solutions and ideas along with decent information. I'll give this a short, hope this thread proves helpful to a few others on here as well.
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      • Profile picture of the author fluffythewondercat
        Some companies are very protective of their brand, and sometimes they do it for the wrong reasons.

        I can't tell you how much hassle I went through to get approved by one particular jewelry manufacturer. They were refusing to sell to me based on a lot of erroneous assumptions. Wholesalers don't necessarily know about marketing. Some of them get spooked.

        It sounds like this one wants to know what you're going to do differently from other retailers. Do you have a mailing list of people who buy this product, for example, or do you have access to a market that's hard to get into (like Amazon, in some categories).

        You need to bring something unique to the table.

        fLufF
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  • Profile picture of the author PsycFa
    Hey man, I encountered a similar situation recently and I can tell you that one of the main reasons they are so reluctant is because of previous experience.

    After talking with the owner of the company; she explained that some of her competitors came in as retailer and logged all her prices; thus in the end stole quite a handful of retailers from her.

    If you do not want to have all these issues; build your website first. Put some dummy contents. And when they request for more information. Tell them you've built a website and now you are on the look out for wholesalers.

    Show them the website and everything to appease their apprehension.

    Hopefully this will work out for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author GlobalTrader
    I know it is old fashioned but then again I am kinda OLD but set up a letter head, type of a letter, sign it and fax it to them (if they have a fax). Everyone and his brother or sister is emailing these days and the old fax number sits there most of the time being ignored until low and behold your fax comes in - it might be the only one they get this month but how many emails do you think they get?

    If you do not get a reply to your fax, send it to them snail mail. Show them that you are serious about doing business with them - it is too cheap to email and call these days so everybody does it - it costs little time and effort and money to fax or snail mail - try it and you might get better results?
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Tell him what you want to do. Say, if I can get the right pricing I'm prepared to buy_______ and then list the stuff you want. You've got to show him you're serious.
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    • Profile picture of the author Headfirst
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      Tell him what you want to do. Say, if I can get the right pricing I'm prepared to buy_______ and then list the stuff you want. You've got to show him you're serious.
      It's not about whether you have the money or how much you "think" you will buy.

      Most wholesalers try to protect their customers (and their business) by preventing end users from purchasing from them.

      What you need to do is show that you are not an end user and you are going to be reselling their product.

      In the US you should be prepared to provide them with a Employer ID and a Resellers License / Sales Tax License, along with trade references. Wholesalers will often want this materials FAXED to them. Don't ask if you can scan and email. Find someone with a fax machine and fax the requested information to them.

      If you don't have an Employer ID and a Resellers License, don't even try opening an account with them. Instead ask to be put in touch with one of their distributors.
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by Headfirst View Post

        It's not about whether you have the money or how much you "think" you will buy.

        Most wholesalers try to protect their customers (and their business) by preventing end users from purchasing from them.

        What you need to do is show that you are not an end user and you are going to be reselling their product.

        In the US you should be prepared to provide them with a Employer ID and a Resellers License / Sales Tax License, along with trade references. Wholesalers will often want this materials FAXED to them. Don't ask if you can scan and email. Find someone with a fax machine and fax the requested information to them.

        If you don't have an Employer ID and a Resellers License, don't even try opening an account with them. Instead ask to be put in touch with one of their distributors.
        Yeah, you make some good points. And sometime it's really simple. Some wholesalers don't want to waste their time with tire kickers and showing them you're prepared to actually do business is enough to get them to yield. That's been my experience several times.
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  • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
    Sounds like he is being nice at hinting towards you not being applicable for being a reseller of their goods. They probably already have an online sales channel, they don't need you for that aspect to compete with them. He may also have strict MOQ's and he feels like you can't meet their MOQ and still be able to come back and purchase more. Wholesalers have to worry about this stuff because he knows you probably have no overhead, and if someone who purchases a bulk amount of goods from them that have no overhead, then you will be able to sell the items for a much cheaper price than the retail competitors.
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