where to get the product at real wholesale price?

[newestdeal]

I just start to sell all those well known brand products, let's say in pc hardware field.

but as a beginner, I'm really appreciate your help, if you can point me right direction:

1.where to get the product at real wholesale price?
2. how about apply a account with some the big distributors? are their price really good? for example: if a item retail price $100, ebay price $50-70, then what's the price I will get from them?
3. how can I become an authorized retailer of the manufactory directly and will the price be lower?

Thanks so much.

[sun818]

Work around the edges and with smaller vendors. If you apply for an account for the big distribution houses like Ingram Micro or TechData, you will be competing with hundreds of other online vendors that sell the exact same thing. And your pricing will be higher than what these vendors sell the product for. You just don't have the purchasing power to compete with the big companies. Find a niche, build expertise in that area, and build relationships with smaller companies.

I'm in the eBay issue of Entrepreneur magazine (Aug 30) and there's a big article in there on how to source products.

[julesn]

PC Hardware - especially "well know brand" products, has very very little margin available - you'd often be able to buy cheaper in a big store that you could from the manufacturer's wholesalers.

It's just the way that market works, with some retailers working on under 5% profit margins, and with the wholesalers being able to offer the big stores product at lower prices than they can offer smaller retailers.

If you definately want to do PC hardware, you're best looking for a small niche product that the big names haven't caught on to yet.

If you definately want to make money though, I'd personally look for a totally different product area :)

It's important that it's something you are interested in and have some knowledge of though - sourcing good products with good margins can take a long time to research and build relationships with key suppliers.

jules.

[newestdeal]

this is true.
But "well known brand" products are much easier to sell (of course- as long as you can offer a low price). search of a "well known brand" product sold on ebay will give you many many results than "not" "well known brand" product.
guess I have to do more research.
thanks

[walmslei]

Agree totally. Find a niche, approach a small supplier who will bend over backwards to help (even better a smaller manufacturer without any decent web exposure), and go from there.

In Europe at least everyone is going crazy over these ridiculous plastic bands, that same manufacturer a year or two ago was probably knocking out at under 5p (10 cents) each! At £2 to £5 (circa $3 to £$7) thats very good margins indeed! If you can find something like that i.e. precious little outlay, good margins in a good niche or something with massive kitsch appeal you'll do alright.

Consumer electronics is probably not the answer though - the market is pretty well saturated!

[Essex_boy]

Entrepreneur magazine - great magazine but hard to get over in the UK.

Visit trade shows for cheap wholesale priced products.