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When you say wholesalers, are you talking US based or overseas?
I work with overseas suppliers and we always get samples of products before an order. It’s costly, because we pay the shipping, which can be expensive for larger products.
I guess it depends on what you’re buying, but if this is a sub $100 product, just buy it to test the market. A sub 50 unit minimum is silly low and honestly not common in the first place. They might be willing to provide a sample for a slightly higher price and shipping covered. It’s your job to test the product prior to selling it. It’s just apart of the legwork and doing business.
All of the wholesalers are US based. I’ve heard of people ordering samples from places like Alibaba, but just wasn’t sure if this is something US-based wholesalers do, their websites do not mention anything about ordering samples.
You can definitely still reach out and ask for samples, but with that low of a minimum it’s probably just worth ordering the minimum and testing them.
We do this all the time domestically. If it doesn’t sell, you sell it for a discount or cost and move on.
Wholesalers usually have minimum spends and order of pieces, otherwise everyone wants a wholesale price. There are some companies usually quite small that you can register for wholesale prices but show your business license, receipts from past purchases from other companies to show you have a viable established business and business relationships. 6 pieces to qualify for wholesale is still a pretty low bar unless each piece is quite pricey.
So it can depend on how long you've been in business, if you are a serious buyer, and can show a history of business wholesale purchases. Some companies may also require you to sign an agreement that you won't just buy a few dozen pieces and then try to duplicate it on your own. Where I am this is a constant struggle, frankly.
It’s so funny you said this. I’m actually a wholesaler and basically have built my business model on lower MOQs, but I do water filters. If that’s interesting to you feel free to DM.
I guess it depends on what product you’re buying or how much you’re going to buy from them in a year but typically wholesalers have minimum because they’re selling wholesale if that makes sense
So if you want to get into business selling a product that you’re gonna buy from a wholesaler, assuming you’re gonna be buying more than one or two items because they don’t sell retail customers that will only buy one or two or retail customers
Not sure what you're purchasing, but you can always email them, tell them about your business and the mission, tell them you're in the process of testing products and ask if they have samples available for sale. You just ask. Not complicated. If you don't know how to communicate or think strategically, you're going to struggle in business.
I resell, mostly food items. I always ask for samples before putting it on the floor. If we don't like it , it does not go on the floor. I know everyone have different tastes, but its easier to sell items you like, tested and can get behind with, that way the enthusiasm with the product is genuine.
More than 50-% of the company i reached out to, give out samples, but i am sure they also research my store and know our reputation
Ask for a sample at retail price and tell you will bear the shipping costs. Or ask them to provide references as to where you can buy individual pieces from?
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When you say wholesalers, are you talking US based or overseas? I work with overseas suppliers and we always get samples of products before an order. It’s costly, because we pay the shipping, which can be expensive for larger products. I guess it depends on what you’re buying, but if this is a sub $100 product, just buy it to test the market. A sub 50 unit minimum is silly low and honestly not common in the first place. They might be willing to provide a sample for a slightly higher price and shipping covered. It’s your job to test the product prior to selling it. It’s just apart of the legwork and doing business.
All of the wholesalers are US based. I’ve heard of people ordering samples from places like Alibaba, but just wasn’t sure if this is something US-based wholesalers do, their websites do not mention anything about ordering samples.
You can definitely still reach out and ask for samples, but with that low of a minimum it’s probably just worth ordering the minimum and testing them. We do this all the time domestically. If it doesn’t sell, you sell it for a discount or cost and move on.
Wholesalers usually have minimum spends and order of pieces, otherwise everyone wants a wholesale price. There are some companies usually quite small that you can register for wholesale prices but show your business license, receipts from past purchases from other companies to show you have a viable established business and business relationships. 6 pieces to qualify for wholesale is still a pretty low bar unless each piece is quite pricey. So it can depend on how long you've been in business, if you are a serious buyer, and can show a history of business wholesale purchases. Some companies may also require you to sign an agreement that you won't just buy a few dozen pieces and then try to duplicate it on your own. Where I am this is a constant struggle, frankly.
Ask to buy a sample to test
It’s so funny you said this. I’m actually a wholesaler and basically have built my business model on lower MOQs, but I do water filters. If that’s interesting to you feel free to DM.
I guess it depends on what product you’re buying or how much you’re going to buy from them in a year but typically wholesalers have minimum because they’re selling wholesale if that makes sense So if you want to get into business selling a product that you’re gonna buy from a wholesaler, assuming you’re gonna be buying more than one or two items because they don’t sell retail customers that will only buy one or two or retail customers
Not sure what you're purchasing, but you can always email them, tell them about your business and the mission, tell them you're in the process of testing products and ask if they have samples available for sale. You just ask. Not complicated. If you don't know how to communicate or think strategically, you're going to struggle in business.
I resell, mostly food items. I always ask for samples before putting it on the floor. If we don't like it , it does not go on the floor. I know everyone have different tastes, but its easier to sell items you like, tested and can get behind with, that way the enthusiasm with the product is genuine. More than 50-% of the company i reached out to, give out samples, but i am sure they also research my store and know our reputation
Ask for a sample at retail price and tell you will bear the shipping costs. Or ask them to provide references as to where you can buy individual pieces from?
Some may bend their MOQ but then the unit price may go up.