What information to look for when researching for suppliers?

Hi,

New member here. As I am going through the forums, the word research comes up very often. What information should I look at when looking for a supplier and where to find these information? Obviously looking at the reviews and discussions is the first step. Where do I go from there?

Another question, I have a couple of bundling ideas so I want to look for wholesalers for these items. Is there a way to search wholesalers by product? Using product name in wholesale directory search didn't return anything.

Appreciate any help.

Thanks!

Hi Atiful and welcome to the forum,

In regards to your first question, research is king in this game. Even when you find yourself in a position of having some level of sales success, you have to try and keep ahead of the curb by researching the market because if you aren't doing that, you've got thousands right behind you doing it and trying their hardest to take your market out from right underneath you the moment you take your eye of the ball.

Trust me, there is no business on the planet that is more competitive than e-commerce!

What and how to research, well there are multiple avenues to research. Product research, Supplier research, General market research, trending research (new products coming onto the market, new market trends and so on) So there is always some key area that requires a high level of research to even give yourself the best chance of success.

This is an area where most fail before they even start. Of course the Internet is full of garbage telling people how easy it is to make money selling online so many come believing that it's easy money. Well it can be money, but it's rarely ever easy money especially not now being how competitive the market is and that's only going to get worse.

In regards to bundling, I'm personally a big fan of that myself. I think that is a key marketing technique that can be used to get into the market, it can even be effective used against suppliers selling direct to customers through large platform like an eBay. So I like where your head is at with that idea straight up.

With the product search, just type the name of the product into the search bar and it will give you the results. You can then use the filters to narrow those results down. Now you'll find the top results will be the most accurate, they'll get less accurate and far more general as you move down the list of results.

If you find that you're not getting any results at all for your product search, then it could well be that we currently have no suppliers listed for that particular product. In that situation, just shoot an quick email to Link hidden: Login to view with your product inquiry and they'll see if they can find you some supplier leads to follow up with.

Just one tip in regards to bundling, it's much better if you can source from the one supplier. That way the customer gets their package at the one time, it doesn't come in dribs and drabs. That sort of thing can end up hurting you with customers as they get frustrated having to wait and your feedback and the chances of getting repate business can take a serious hit.

Cheers

Thanks Mark. I will try searching by items.

My question about research was more about finding good wholesalers. Once I choose a product from a wholesaler/dropshipper, what should I look for to make sure I have a reliable seller, with good quality products. What questions should I ask them. What are some other site I can go to and find information about this particular seller.

Thanks!

Hi Atiful,

For me personally, there are the obvious things I would look at first, such as price, shipping times to measure against the competition in my marketplace and make sure they measure up. Once the basic boxes are ticked, I would be looking for customer service response time to my inquiry, especially if I were looking at dropshipping.

This is important because in the event that you have a problem with a customer, it's your neck in the noose and you need to be confident that you have a supplier that is going to rescue you with a quick response to the issue. If you don't, then it's you that takes the hit with the buyer, not your supplier!

Payment method, also very important. You want to make sure your supplier offers safe payment options like credit card and PayPal. Of course using a verified SaleHoo supplier solves that problem as that is part of our verification process.

One other question I would always ask is if they are selling direct themselves on the platform I am going to be marketing on and if so, do they offer a supplier discount to me and I would ask for their trading name so I could then compare their selling prices against what they are offering me.

In regards to researching them further, check the forum for any feedback on them and checking to see if they have a file with the Better Business Bureau is also a good idea. You can look at sites like Ripoff Report and so on, but I tend to take those types of reports with a grain of salt because they are full of rubbish reports made by very spiteful. I'm not saying you should ever ignore any feedback completely, but don't take it as gospel unless through a well respected platform like BBB.

Cheers

Hi Atiful,

If I may add, supplier research is a numbers game. The more suppliers you can contact, the higher the chances you would be able to find a reliable one since you are able to compare among your list. It is a very tedious job since they are the key factors that can make or break your business. You can go by gut or you can go by choice based on reviews, etc. - either way would work.

What I would suggest is to list down as much suppliers you are interested at and then, start screening them off. Once you have your list, you can check on their company profile (website, location, product listings, payment method) for starters. Then, you may also try to ask specific information regarding the product/s you are interested to sell and their terms. Below are some of the valuable information you might want to know.

1. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) - You can ask them directly for the MOQ of the product/s you are interested to sell so you can determine if it is within your budget.

2. Quotation on bulk orders - You can also ask for a rough quotation on certain bulk orders i.e. for 100 units, 500 units just so, you can check on their pricing.

3. Specifications of the product - This is your chance to ask more about the product for you to gain product knowledge as well. Important part here is the size and weight of the product since you will be dealing with shipping

4. Contact details - You can check if they have a working direct contact number. I would suggest to ask for a landline number than a mobile number just to establish reliability as other countries are able to buy a sim card easily. Most trusted suppliers do have a working contact number.

5. Lead time - You can ask directly if you order today, when will the goods arrive; this way you can get them to tell you if the goods are really in stock and to estimate as well your shipping terms.

6. Negotiate - Since you mentioned you are interested at bundling, you can check with the supplier if they are able to give you any good deals out of the product bundles you are willing to buy from them. It may not be a firm and final deal but it won't hurt to gauge if supplier is willing to give you any.

For me, these are the mostly asked queries to be able to find a trusted and reliable supplier. If you have further narrowed down your list, you can even go about doing sample orders and begin building a relationship with the prospect supplier.

Happy Researching and Selling! :)