11 Trusted Sources of Wholesale Party Supplies: Buy Cheap, Sell for Profit

Everyone loves a good party! And where there's a party, there's usually a need for party supplies — plates, cups, napkins, as well as decorations galore. That's where you, dear reader, come in. 

If you're looking for an easy way to source wholesale party supplies to resell for a profit, this post will help you find exactly what you’re looking for. We’ll cover:

• Why sell party supplies online?
• What types of party supplies should I sell?
• Where can I get cheap wholesale party supplies?
  • General party supplies (including birthday party supplies)
  • Holiday or special occasion party supplies
  • Party supplies for young-adult parties
  • Wedding reception/party supplies
  • Bachelor or bachelorette party supplies
• Where can I sell party supplies?
• Marketing ideas for party supplies

Why sell party supplies online?

The main reason to sell party supplies is that people always need them, and so people are always buying them. There have been some truly inspiring success stories when it comes to selling party supplies. 

Consider Jennifer and Adam’s story. They started a business selling party supplies that are hard to find or no longer available in major stores. They buy bulk wholesale goods at a low cost, and sell them for much more. One product cost them around 10 cents per item, and they were able to sell them for 15 to 20 dollars. It’s no wonder it only took them 6 months build up sales exceeding $6,000 per month, and within two and a half years, they were up to $40,000 a month and counting. 

Then there’s Polly Liu with her 8-figure income from selling party favors. She started by selling wedding favors, quickly expanded to bridal shower favors, and now offers a whole range of party favors, supplies and gifts. Mich & Nadine started a business tackling the superhero party niche, and when they got their first sale, they said “...making $10 dollars from your own work beats making $100 from a regular job working for someone else.” Since then they’ve built a satisfied customer base. 

So, what are the pros and cons of selling party supplies?

Pros

• People have birthdays and parties all year round, every year, so there will always be customers wanting to buy these products. This means you don’t have to worry about a seasonal slump in sales or a loss of interest over time.
• They’re small and lightweight, making them easy to store and cheap to ship. Ultimately, this allows for better profit margins, because you’re not spending as much on shipping or storage costs. 
• There are various niches to choose from, so you can target a specific market, such as children’s parties, milestone birthdays, or engagement parties etc... This means you can focus your marketing on specific buyers, who will then see your products as tailored to their needs, making them more likely to buy.
• They tend to be fairly cheap, so it’s a low-cost low-risk option. Lower cost also means you’ll sell in higher volumes, which is a great way to get more customer feedback and improve your business.

Cons

• Seasonal holiday supplies, i.e. Christmas decorations, are only profitable in the time leading up to that holiday. Luckily, there are many holidays to choose from, so you can get around this issue by targeting a few different ones throughout the year. 
• Because they’re cheap, you have to sell large volumes before you make a decent profit. A great solution to this is to sell bundles of items that go together. These are win-win; the customer gets everything they need, and you sell multiple items in one sale.
• It can be hard to stand out from other sellers, especially if they have similar stock. Once again, bundles are a great solution, as you can offer unique sets of products to stand out from other sellers. Targeting a niche market also helps, as well as using a variety of marketing strategies.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can make your own income from the party supplies market…

What types of party supplies should I sell?

Before you can find a wholesale supplier, you need to decide what types of party supplies you want to sell. 

Why it’s important to find a niche market

Did you notice what all the success stories above had in common? The answer is: a specific niche market. For Jennifer and Adam, it was rare party supplies. For Polly Liu, it started as wedding favors, and Mich and Nadine took on superhero parties.

Having a specific niche allows you to target specific buyers much more closely. If your selection of products is too broad, it’s much harder to understand who your buyers are, what they really want, and how to get your products in front of them. 

What types of parties do you want to supply?

“Party supplies” is such a broad category. Different parties need different types of supplies. Here’s a list of some of parties you might consider when deciding on your niche:

Note: Consider the seasonality of your niche, especially in regards to the holiday-specific parties. For example, check out this comparison of different holidays and “Birthday” in Google Trends. 

Holidays have the more searches than birthday when it’s their time of year, but for the rest of the year it drops away. Birthday searches may never spike like that, but there’s a steady interest year-round. This “evergreen” nature of birthdays is often good for business. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t specialize in holiday-specific party supplies, but if you do, you may want to consider targeting different holidays at different times of year. Or you could have an alternative niche that you focus on during off-season time.

What types of party supplies do you want to sell?

It’s also good to think about the types of party supplies you want to stock. There really is a huge array of possibilities. Some of your main category options include:

There are many ways to build a niche. For example, rather than specializing in one type of party, you could specialize in party games for all different kinds of parties. 

Tip: Make party bundles

A really effective strategy for selling party supplies is to sell bundles of items that would commonly be bought at the same time, or would be needed for the same type of party.

The benefit for the buyer is that they can get everything they need at once without having to hunt down each individual item. The benefit for you is that you sell a bunch of items at once, plus you have a unique offer that stands out from competitor’s products. You can read a little more about bundling here. 

How can I figure out which products will sell well?

When you have an idea of the type of party-supply niche you’d like to get into, it pays to do a little market research to see what people like to buy. 

• Check out customer comments on party supplies on Amazon

One of the great things about Amazon is the customer reviews at the bottom of each product page. There are often a lot of clues there about what customers are looking for. 

Head to Amazon and try searching with your niche phrases or the types of products you’re considering selling. If I wanted to sell bachelorette party supplies, for example, I might try “bachelorette party” or “bachelorette party decorations” or “bachelorette party games.” 

Look at what people are saying they like about products, but also what they’re disappointed by or what they’re left wanting. If there are common themes to the complaints, can you find and supply a product that alleviates the issue? 

If you want to sell general party supplies or supplies for kids' parties, you can also check out the latest top-selling party supplies in Amazon Best Sellers. You’ll find “Party Supplies” under the “Toys & Games” category. We know these products are selling successfully, so look for any trends and use them for inspiration.

• Search for sold party supplies on eBay

One way to see what’s selling is as simple as using eBay Advanced Search to search for sold items. Again, enter your niche words, for example as “wedding party supplies” and see what products come up.

Are there any trends in the types of products that have been selling? Are there a lot of lights? Or maybe ribbon or table decorations? Are there popular colors or styles that seem to come up often? This can help you decide what to stock. 

How to buy wholesale party supplies online

Now that you know what you should be looking for in terms of variety, we’ll quickly cover a few quick wholesale buying tips that you really need to know, and then we’ll launch into supplier options. 

What do I need to know about buying wholesale party supplies?

One of the issues with buying wholesale are the scams that can catch you out if you’re not careful. Here are some tips that’ll hopefully help to protect you:

• Ask suppliers for samples of products before buying large quantities.
• Start with small orders whenever possible (you can always buy more when you know what’s going to sell).
  • If they have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) and it’s huge, ask them if they’d consider a smaller order. 
• Use a service like PayPal, credit card or AliPay to keep your money safer. Not accepting a safe payment method is very suspicious, so if that happens, go somewhere else.
• Set yourself up with an email for these interactions and keep this business email separate from your personal email. 

Should I dropship party supplies?

An alternative to wholesale buying is dropshipping. Instead of buying and storing all your own stock, as you do with wholesale buying, you list items a dropshipper stocks. Then when you make a sale, you buy the product and enter the customer’s address, and the dropshipper packs and sends the items. 

This may not be such a good idea for party supplies, because... 

• You’re often selling relatively cheap items, so there may not even be an option to dropship.
• If there is an option, it probably won’t be profitable for low-cost items.
• You can’t make unique party bundles, which is a great selling strategy in this niche.

The only times you might consider dropshipping in this case would be if you were selling items that were expensive enough to make it worthwhile: personalized goods, or large quantities of party supplies for businesses. 

Where can I buy wholesale party supplies online?

All of the party supply wholesalers listed below have been verified by SaleHoo. You can view them in the SaleHoo directory to see information about what products they sell, whether or not they ship internationally, how long they’ve been in business, and other important details.

General wholesale party supplies (including birthday party supplies):

This supplier has a large range of general wholesale party supplies. They've been around for over 30 years, selling quality low-cost dollar store merchandise. They have a fantastic range with new products coming in all the time, and they have no minimum order requirement. The party supplies they offer include everything from decorations to party favors, with a wide variety of colours, patterns and party themes.Some products include...

Here's another supplier of general party supplies with no minimum order requirement. They have a great range of products including decorations and party tableware, for both themed parties and general supplies, including...

This supplier has a gorgeous range of crafty party supplies for general parties, while stocking some items to target specific events such as baby showers and anniversaries. These are well suited to classy special occasion parties where people want to celebrate with beautiful decor, party tableware, gift bags and serving supplies. Products include...

Wholesale holiday or special occasion party supplies:

This is a fun and playful party supply wholesaler that stocks everything from Christmas decorations to Halloween costumes. Their range of costumes, accessories, and decorations is truly impressive. You can select by season, holiday, or party theme to find whatever you're looking for, and at great prices. They have... 

This supplier has a selection for all kinds of holiday themed parties, year round. They have an extensive range of quality products which they ship worldwide. There’s a "seasonal" menu, from which you can select the holiday or event you want to buy for, as well as a full menu for general party supplies. They have products for...

This supplier exclusively sells party supplies, both closeout and wholesale, including a massive range with 28 categories for different holiday party themes and product types. They update often with new merchandise, and don't have a minimum order requirement, so keep an eye on their latest products, including...

Wholesale party supplies for young-adult parties:

This supplier has a fantastic range of funky party supplies  for young adult parties, providing all the flashing lights, drink vessels, and costume items they could possibly need. They also have great pricing and no minimum order requirement, so if this is your market, this supplier could be a valuable resource for you. They stock...

Wholesale wedding reception supplies:

This supplier has a beautiful range of wedding party supplies, both for wholesale buying and drop-shipping, with no minimum order requirement. This is a good option if you want to sell to a party supply market with higher-ticket items than your average dollar-store party. They stock over 3000 products, including…

This wholesale wedding store also has over 3,000 products in their range, including everything from decorations to accessories for the bridal party. They're based in Australia, and ship worldwide. Setting up an account is easy, they pride themselves on customer service, and they ship items quickly. They also sell wedding craft supplies for those who are looking to make their own wedding supplies. Here you'll find…

Wholesale bachelor and bachelorette party supplies:

This supplier sells wholesale bachelor and bachelorette party supplies. Their range includes custom, novelty and adult chocolates, bulk candy, party games, and gifts. This supplier also offers dropshipping. Their products include...

Note: This supplier also has perfectly innocent supplies for other events, such as wedding showers and baby showers. 

This supplier offers a fantastic variety of bachelorette party costume accessories and decorations, as well as a variety of other adult products. They have great customer service, as orders are shipped quickly and email and phone inquiries are handled in a professional and timely manner. Here, you'll find...

The lists above include only some of what these suppliers stock, and there are many more suppliers of all kinds of party supplies in the SaleHoo directory.

Where can I sell party supplies?

You’re spoiled for choice when deciding where to sell online. Let’s cover your options…

Sell party supplies on eBay

eBay is a huge online marketplace with millions of sellers and buyers. Naturally, eBay and other online marketplaces are worth considering when deciding where to sell. 

Pros of selling on marketplaces like eBay:

• You don’t have to find buyers and bring them to the site; they’re already there in droves.
• Getting started is quick and easy.

Cons of selling on marketplaces like eBay:

• There are sellers fees.
• You can’t develop your own brand.
• Other seller’s goods are displayed right next to yours, and it can be hard to stand out.

Tips:

• Do your research and make sure you know what customers want or are having trouble finding. If you can supply high-demand items, you’ve got a much better chance.
• Include all the different phrasing for your products that someone might use to search. 
• E.g., if one person is searching with “bachelorette party games” (the American term for such an event) and someone else is searching with “hen party games” (the British term) you want both these phrases in your listing description so you can target both markets. 
• Learn how to compete without dropping your price (Hint: It’s not about being the cheapest).

Open your own party supplies store online

You can have your very own party supplies store online, and it doesn’t have to be hard to set up either. A bit more on that soon, but first: the pros and cons!

Pros:

• You’re the only seller, so no competing with other listings right next to yours.
• You can build your own brand.
  • All your efforts support you and not eBay or Amazon.
• You control how everything works; it’s up to you how your items are listed.

Cons:

• You’ll have to build your own customer base, which can take time and effort.
• You have to set up the store yourself. You can’t just make an account and start listing products.

Tips:

• You can set up a store easily using a product such as SaleHoo Stores, which is especially useful if technology isn’t your strong suit.
• Use the marketing tips in the next section to direct traffic to your store.

Marketing ideas for party supplies

As a seller, you want to get the attention of as many buyers as possible. Try these marketing tips for selling party supplies. 

YouTube ideas

To market party supplies on YouTube, create “how to” videos with tips on throwing parties. Talk about themes or essential items, and link to your products from your description.

Post images on Pinterest and Instagram 

These social networks are highly visual in nature, and people often use them for inspiration when planning the look of an event or party. This is especially effective for parties centered around weddings or babies, or parties for young adults, as they fit the demographic of these social networks. 

Get some great pictures of your products, preferably set up in the way they might be used. Then post them with a description that hashtags important words relating to the product. 

Search using your niche term (“baby shower decorations,” for example) and see what others have posted to get ideas.

Facebook groups and the Facebook Marketplace

You can use Facebook marketing to raise brand awareness and drive online sales. Once again, wedding and baby Facebook groups or pages tend to fare well, so if that’s your niche go for it.

Set up a Facebook page, and you can begin to promote your products and brand. If you have the mobile Facebook app, you can use the Facebook marketplace to sell your items. 

Advertising

Advertising is one fast-track way to help buyers find you, especially if you’re looking to promote your own online store. A couple of good options include...

• Google Adwords: Use the keyword research tools to plan your keywords and build your campaign. Useful for all types of party supplies.
• Facebook advertising: Especially useful for wedding or baby-centric parties.
• Local advertising: Selling locally is another option. You can try ads in the paper or on the radio, or you could put a sign out front and spread some fliers in the community. 

Tip: Start small and figure out what works before spending the big bucks on advertising. 

To sum it up...

There are a huge range of party supplies you can sell online, so it's a good idea to focus on a specific niche right from the start. Figure out exactly what types of party supplies you want to sell, and who your target market will be.

It's a good idea to sell party supplies for events that happen year-round, but if you want to specialize in party supplies for specific holidays, have a plan for the off-season time.

One of the best selling strategies for party supplies is to create bundles or packages that people can buy. Think about how you can implement this in your niche. 

Need wholesale sources of party supplies that you can sell for a profit? The SaleHoo directory has a whole range of trustworthy options for you to look through. 

You can sell your party supplies on eBay or Amazon, or you can open an online store to build your brand. Market your party supplies on YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram, Facebook, or via paid advertising.

If you’re looking for any kind of wholesale party supplies that you haven’t seen in this post, ask us to find suppliers for you in the “Supplier Wanted” section of the SaleHoo forum.