How to find suppliers for an online store? Small Business Basics

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Successful operation of any online store is impossible without preliminary planning of purchases of goods. Businessmen should pay special attention to this moment. Otherwise, there is a high risk of stopping the operation of the trading facility. And this is lost time, money and accumulated debt.

Businessmen, especially beginners, should remember that the conclusion of contracts with reliable suppliers is an important step in the development of their own business. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs make the same mistake. With a burning desire to open their own online store as soon as possible, they choose the wrong companies that sell goods. Inexperienced businessmen often enter into agreements with unfamiliar partners, without even delving into the agreed terms of cooperation. The result of such actions is sad. The delivery process is poorly organized, and this leads to disruptions in work, loss of income, debts tocustomers and eventually to the closure of the outlet.

Internet directories

What is the first concern of start-up entrepreneurs who set themselves the task of opening a store that sells goods through the World Wide Web? Most often they are trying to find the answer to the question, how to find reliable suppliers? And here entrepreneurs are waiting for the first disappointment. The fact is that a search in RuNet will not give the desired results. It will not allow you to get an answer to the question of how to find a supplier of goods for an online store. Why? The fact is that reliable companies have no time to place their ads. They are busy buying or producing goods. In addition, serious firms do not need special advertising at all. And novice owners of online stores need just such suppliers, because they have already proven themselves in practice. You can find such companies. The main thing is to know where.

How to find suppliers for an online store? To search for reliable partners, you should refer to the relevant directory. It is hosted by various search engines, in particular Google. To obtain the necessary data, you need to search for a list of suppliers. The result will immediately appear on the monitor screen. However, it should be borne in mind that among the listed companies there will be those that do not suit you at all.

Making contacts

How to find suppliers for an online store, having a list of existing companies? To do this, you need to arm yourself with a pen and paper, or simply open a Word window. Further, from a whole list of companies specializing in the supply of the goods you need, you should choose the most suitable ones. After that, they need to be contacted in one of several ways. It could be:

• phone call;
• writing a letter to the company's e-mail.

The first method is preferable, as it will allow you to establish direct contact with one of the company's managers. Many aspiring entrepreneurs try to contact potential partners via email. However, they should remember that this option is not able to determine clear patterns for further cooperation. After all, most often e-mail is read by ordinary employees of the office.

Using company websites

Today, almost all companies have their own page on the Internet. On it you can get acquainted with the assortment list of the offered goods. However, you should not refuse a supplier that has an unremarkable and unpretentious website. Serious companies often do not want to spend time on its design, which is not an indicator of responsibility. The fact is that the services of reputable suppliers are in demand and do not need advertising. Even without a special design of their website, such companies have a decent income from wholesale sales of goods, paying special attention to their quality.

Exploring offline directories

How to find suppliers for an online store? One of the offline directories can become a place to search for potential business partners. ittraditional publications, on the pages of which this or that sphere of social activity is covered.

What action should be taken in this case? First of all, you will need to choose the necessary theme that corresponds to the range of goods that you intend to sell in the online store. For example, it can be the heading "Children's He alth". And here the entrepreneur will be able to answer the question of how to find wholesale suppliers. Indeed, often those companies that are presented in such catalogs are oriented towards the shipment of only large consignments of goods. They simply will not enter into contracts for small amounts.

Suppliers of competitors

How to ensure an uninterrupted supply of goods for your online store? To do this, you can enter into agreements with those suppliers who provide services to your competitors. Yes, this option is not bad and very promising. However, its implementation is associated with some difficulties. First of all, it is unlikely that such suppliers at first will supply the goods at the same cost as they come to your competitors. After all, unlike you, there are already well-established connections and certain discounts work. The desired price for an item can only be set after a certain period of time.

Another difficulty with this approach to choosing suppliers is that it is very, very difficult to achieve superiority over your competitors. This requires the development of various marketing moves that attract the client specifically toyour online store. These can be promotions and discounts, loy alty programs, a high level of service, etc.

Appeal to domestic manufacturers

How to find suppliers for an online store? A good option would be to establish contact with the manufacturer. Directly purchasing goods from such a supplier is the most profitable and reliable business that brings maximum profit. The fact is that the price for products at the factory will be the lowest on the market, that is, the purchase price, without any trade margins.

However, in this case, there are some disadvantages. The most important of them is the lack of high demand for domestically produced goods. Only a small part of them is suitable for online sales. Under such conditions, the assortment of the store will need to be supplemented with imported goods by concluding agreements with foreign manufacturers.

This also has some difficulties. The fact is that when crossing the goods across the border, there are issues related to customs clearance and inspection. In addition, high tax rates apply to some foreign-made goods in our country. If you are ready to go for such cooperation, do not try to find easy ways. It is worth abandoning fake documents and illegal import routes, as well as deliberately underestimating the cost of goods for customs authorities. All these frauds can have serious consequences. In addition, foreign firms are unlikely to agree to cooperate with such buyers.

Federal exhibitions and fairs

How to find a supplier of products for a novice businessman? The most optimal and promising search option is to visit federal exhibitions and fairs. These events offer the opportunity to:

• getting acquainted with large companies that produce the range of products you need and are ready to establish contact;
• assessment of the offered goods and discussion on the spot of all terms of cooperation.

A novice businessman should remember that any exhibition or fair is a place where new acquaintances are made, ideas and business proposals are realized. In addition, new items are often exhibited at such events, which are the best fit for sales in the online store being created.

Foreign suppliers

Searching for partners outside your own state is the most difficult and costly option. How to find a supplier from China, Europe or America? For this, one publication of one's announcement on one of the foreign resources is not enough. It is unlikely that your desire to order products will find a response from the management of large companies. Various scammers who sell low-quality Chinese goods can give feedback on a cooperation announcement. That is why, when receiving a response from abroad, you should be careful and not fall for deception.

How to find a supplier of clothes, shoes, household appliances and other goods you are interested in? The basic rule regarding the search for a foreign partner is to get to know him personally, with hisproduction and product quality. This will require significant financial resources for an interpreter, for travel, for the preparation of necessary documents, etc. A small entrepreneur cannot afford such expenses. This moment becomes especially relevant for those who solve the following question: how to find a supplier from China? To overcome the language barrier, you will need the services of a professional translator, which are paid at a high rate. But this is not all the difficulties that the owner of an online store will have to face. There is a certain specificity of international trade relations, concluded in the need to purchase a large volume of goods. This is how foreign manufacturers seek to secure their business from unreliable entrepreneurs.

Difficulties in the supply of goods from abroad are also connected with the imperfection of our logistics and customs system. The impossibility of drawing up an effective scheme for crossing the border leads our businessmen to significant losses.

However, despite the existing pitfalls, working with foreign manufacturers is a good and promising option. Such cooperation eliminates contacts with intermediary firms, which allows you to pay for goods at purchase prices.

What is dropshipping?

Today, goods in the consumer market can be supplied with a completely new model. It's called dropshipping. This is a scheme that allows a businessman to purchase individual items from a wholesaler, delivering them to his buyer.

What are the benefits of dropshipping? With this scheme, the entrepreneur does not need to purchase large quantities of goods. It is enough just to organize cooperation with one or another supplier who agrees to direct deliveries. At the same time, it is enough for your online store to act as a kind of showcase. When an order is received from the buyer, it is immediately redirected to the supplier. The latter, at the same time, sends the goods directly to the address of the final consumer, billing the businessman only for the shipped products.

Search for a partner

How to find a dropshipping supplier? Before contacting a potential partner, you will need to certify the legality of the business you have started. Before concluding contracts, suppliers are asked to provide data on the registration of an individual entrepreneur or company, as well as a copy of the taxpayer's certificate. Only with a package of relevant documents in hand, you can begin to build relationships with those distributors who offer dropshipping. And here you need to be especially vigilant. The market is full of scammers and false information.

How to find a supplier for an online store (dropshipping)? In these searches, the most effective assistant for a businessman will be a search engine on the Internet. However, even here there are pitfalls. For example, how to find clothing suppliers for an online store? To do this, you need to carry out their thorough search. It is unlikely that the list of wholesale suppliers will be on the first pages of a search engine. These companies do not strive for their promotion and do notstrong in SEO. You can only find them by flipping through dozens of pages.

Also, someone who decides how to find a dropshipping supplier should not pay attention to the web development of such a company's website cover. A poorly thought-out and ugly web page does not mean that this partner will be dishonest.

How to find clothing suppliers for an online store? This should not be limited to just one question. It is also worth searching for various derivative phrases. It could be "Big Lot of Clothes", "Distributors", etc. These phrases will help you achieve the desired result.

Online clothing store

Very often, businessmen start their business by selling wardrobe items. How to find clothing suppliers in this case? To do this, you need to perform standard actions:

• view lists of suppliers in thematic Internet directories;
• contact local manufacturers;
• flip through ordinary directories and catalogs;
• conclude agreements with foreign manufacturers;
• visit specialized fairs and exhibitions.

In addition, those who decide how to find suppliers of clothing for sale in an online store are advised to contact representatives of trade brands located in Russia or in other countries. And you can go in a slightly different way. For those who do not know how to find a clothing supplier, you can create your own advertisement. It will need to indicate market niches that can interest a potentialpartner.

Experienced businessmen recommend signing contracts not with one, but with several suppliers at once. This will ensure smooth trading.

When choosing a supplier, it is important to pay attention to criteria such as:

• quality;
• price;
• frequency of assortment renewal;
• minimum purchase lots;
• availability of necessary documentation and certificates;
• payment methods and terms;
• possibility of deferred payment;
• shipping method;
• availability of packaging and its cost;
• warehouse location;
• availability of discounts;
• guarantees for the exchange and return of defective items;
• availability of information about new products and price changes;
• the presence of a responsible employee.

How to find suppliers of children's clothing and adult products in China? This question is of interest to those who wish to purchase high-quality models at a low cost.

To do this, you need to know the basic ways to find a supplier for an online store. Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the former CIS have long used these schemes to buy goods. The very first of them is the search directly for a Chinese manufacturer. Such transactions are carried out in cases where the buyer knows the language of the Celestial Empire and knows how to bargain.

You can also buy goods for your online store using the services of intermediaries. At the same time, there will be no strict framework for the minimum volume of purchases, and the assortmentclothes to your customers you will offer a large enough. However, in this case, the goods will have higher prices, there will be no production control and quality assurance.

It is possible to ensure the operation of an online store even if contracts are concluded with companies engaged in wholesale deliveries. These intermediaries have a sufficient amount of information about the manufacturer. In addition, such firms take over negotiations with sellers, as well as control the quality and quantity of shipped goods. But it should be borne in mind that contracts should be concluded only with well-known and reliable wholesalers who have proven themselves in the market.

Of course, all conditions for further cooperation must be agreed in advance and fixed in the contract being drawn up. This document will be a formal agreement that suits both parties. Do not rush to sign papers. When more and more new questions appear, they should be clarified to the end. A good and reliable supplier who is interested in further cooperation will definitely devote the necessary amount of time to you. If you get the impression that the other party is not interested in clarifying your questions and is not making any effort to gain the trust of a future partner, then this is worth thinking about. Do you need such a supplier? No. Use the compiled list from the catalog and start a dialogue with another company.

The election of a future business partner is a very important step. This important step will require the entrepreneur to calculate accurately, analyze coldly andcritical assessment of the situation. But even with an objective view of the state of affairs, one should never exclude the human factor. The success of the opening online store will be influenced by both subjective reasons and the personal relationship that has developed with the supplier.