How to find a supplier of goods for an online store is an important question for any online business. A brand’s reputation depends directly on its suppliers. If a partner fails to meet delivery deadlines, sends rejects or suddenly disappears from the radar, this can lead to serious reputational and financial losses for the store.
Whether you’re selling designer furniture, organic food or smartphone innovations, you need to establish stable relationships. This is the only way to ensure that you always have quality products at your disposal and offer your customers favorable prices.
Successful entrepreneurs know that finding the best conditions is not a simple matter. Over several years, a store may change dozens of suppliers, gradually optimizing costs. At the same time, it is better not to stop at a single partner, no matter how profitable the cooperation may seem. If he suddenly closes, it can paralyze the work of the online store.
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Therefore, even with established connections, a sensible business owner is always open to new offers from wholesalers, dropshippers, dealers and direct manufacturers. The main thing is to know where and how to look for promising suppliers in your niche.
The main types of suppliers for online stores
The ideal option is to go for a direct manufacturer of the product. In this way you can get the best price. But not all stores have this option available, sometimes you have to work with intermediaries. Let’s look at all the possible options below.
Direct manufacturer
Purchasing directly is the most cost-effective option. However, you will need to register a sole proprietorship or limited liability company, open a current account, rent a warehouse and be ready to buy in large quantities.
In addition, large manufacturing companies are not always willing to cooperate with new and little-known online stores. They prefer to work through their own network of distributors. Therefore, it makes sense for a startup owner to pay attention to small factories whose management is easier to negotiate with personally.
If the manufacturer is not promoted, the product may not have the necessary certificates.
The quality of the product may vary, depending on the particular batch.
A small manufacturer may suddenly close down for a variety of reasons. In this case, you will have to deal with warranty claims yourself.
Distributors and dealers
Distributors are the manufacturer’s official contracted representatives. They resell large quantities of products wholesale or retail, taking care of storage and transportation costs. As a rule, you can get goods from them with a minimal markup.
Exclusive distributors are of particular interest to online businesses. By cooperating with them, you get access to products that are not available to your competitors. In addition, they often provide advertising support and have their own service center.
Dealers usually deal with smaller volumes compared to distributors and sell products at prices close to retail. That said, they can ship in small bulk, which is sometimes more preferable for start-up online retailers.
Advantages:
Large assortment from different suppliers.
Low logistics costs.
Ability to purchase small quantities.
Disadvantages:
Higher prices compared to purchasing directly.
The middleman may damage the goods in case of improper transportation or storage.
Dropshippers
Many suppliers are willing to cooperate with online businesses on the dropshipping model. In this case, your store essentially becomes a representative of the supplier and promotes his products. You can cooperate with several suppliers at once, offering your customers the widest range of products.
The principle of dropshipping is simple – the supplier keeps the products at his premises, and after receiving an order from you, he sends them to the customer himself. Your task is to look for customers, process orders and pass them on to the middleman. He takes care of everything else, and you get a percentage of sales.
Advantages:
No need to invest in purchasing and renting warehouse space.
The partner is responsible for shipping and returns.
It is possible to realize a large list of product items due to simultaneous work with different suppliers.
The partner usually provides a ready base with descriptions and photos of products to add to the site.
Disadvantages:
Dropshipping usually has lower margins than selling directly.
The partner is responsible for the delivery, so you cannot control the speed and quality.
If the client requests a return or exchange of goods – this is not always possible, because the partner makes the decision, not you.
Goods from one supplier can be sold by many different dropshippers, so the competition for customers is quite high.
There is no way to check the quality of the product before sending it to the customer.
Importers
These are companies that act as intermediaries between foreign manufacturers and local sellers. They find suppliers abroad, negotiate all the terms and conditions, draw up the documentation and organize delivery to the necessary country.
By trading through an importer, the owner of an online business saves time and effort that would otherwise have to be spent on communicating with foreign firms and dealing with bureaucratic issues.
On the other hand, the importer’s services increase the purchase cost compared to buying directly. But this disadvantage is compensated by the opportunity to offer customers unique foreign products that competitors do not yet have.
Pros:
Access to unique foreign goods that are not available in Ukraine.
The importer solves all issues with documentation and logistics.
Cons:
Difficulties in setting up communication and controlling delivery dates.
Higher purchase price.
Where to look for a supplier for an online store?
You can get a recommendation from the manufacturer itself. However, this is not the only possible option. There are other ways to find a suitable supplier.
Search engines
Google, Bing and other search engines are the first things that come to mind. Type in search queries like “buy clothes wholesale”, “suppliers of home appliances”, “children’s toys from the manufacturer”, etc. depending on your niche.
Take into account not only the first pages of the output, but also the subsequent pages – small businesses may not spend a lot of money on site promotion, so they are at the end of the list. Try different query formulations – search results may vary.
Message boards
On OLX and other boards you can find contacts of small factories, small wholesalers, dealers of famous brands. Directly on a large manufacturer will not be able to get out, but for a small store it is what you need.
You can also place your own ad that you are looking for someone to buy this or that product in bulk, specify the desired conditions. You will probably receive offers from potential partners.
Supplier catalogs
Today, it is possible to purchase a ready-made catalog with a database of suppliers on a particular subject. However, this method has its disadvantages:
The information in the database may not be up to date, especially if it was collected several years ago. Websites may have changed, businesses may have closed.
While you were looking for a suitable base, suppliers from it have already promoted themselves and raised their prices.
Catalog compilers do not bother to check the reliability and integrity of each position in the lists.
The purchased database is unlikely to be exclusive – most likely, it has already been downloaded by dozens of your competitors.
At the same time, there are also publicly available industry online catalogs. For example, for the Ukrainian market they are available on the websites Bigopt, Postavschiki.ua, Ukrpartner. There suppliers can add their information directly.
Social networks
On Facebook you can find many groups and communities where suppliers post their contacts, and entrepreneurs share their experience of interaction, advise and recommend the partners they like the most. But be sure to pay attention to the number of participants and activity in the group – if posts appear rarely, then such a community will be of little use.
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The situation is similar in Telegram, Viber and other popular messengers. Suppliers usually have their own group where they add information about their assortment and prices. Often the activity in such chats is even higher than in social networks. But there is a disadvantage – in messenger it is more difficult to track real reviews, often comments under posts are disabled altogether.
Offline exhibitions and fairs
Such events bring together representatives of many businesses, from whom you can directly obtain all the information you are interested in, see product samples, catalogs, and discuss joint work.
They are also visited by representatives of local manufacturers, who can offer much better terms of cooperation than intermediaries. It is not uncommon for new brands to debut at exhibitions, which are still little known and are willing to offer very attractive terms.
For example, the annual TableWare international tableware exhibition is held in Kiev at the Exhibition Center. It presents a huge range of products for home and kitchen from Ukrainian and foreign companies. Visiting it, you can get a lot of contacts from potential partners in 1-2 days.
Large markets
In Ukraine popular markets are “Seventh kilometer” in Odessa, “Barabashovo” in Kharkov, “Khmelnitsky” in the city of the same name. Here you can buy not only individual goods in retail, but also small and large wholesale.
You don’t have to go to the market yourself – they have their own websites with contacts of some producers and suppliers. And “7 km” even has its own bulletin board where sellers post their offers.
Competitors
They probably already have trusted suppliers that you may not know about. Try different ways to find out who they cooperate with. It is unlikely that they will answer your direct question “Can you tell me how I can find a supplier for my online store?”.
You will have to be more diplomatic and careful. But if you manage to get this information, you should consider yourself very lucky. After all, this supplier has already been checked, so it is really reliable and offers good conditions.
For example, call a competitor’s store as a potential client and casually ask where such a good product is produced. Or order something from them, and when you receive it, scrutinize the packaging. Labels may have the manufacturer and supplier’s name on them.
You can also ask for quality certificates. The certificates should have all the necessary data. There may also be information in the section on warranty service on their website. By the way, take a closer look at the photos of products on a competitor’s website. Sometimes there are watermarks on them. Elementary, but it works!
How to choose reliable suppliers for your online store?
You have made yourself a list of the most interesting options and it remains to sort it out. No, you should not focus solely on the price, because it does not always indicate quality.
Now let’s look at what other things you should pay attention to when choosing suppliers for your online store:
Evaluate pricing and working conditions. Low price is good, but not at the expense of quality and reliability of supply. Find out whether the supplier offers discounts to regular customers, whether there are requirements for a minimum volume of purchases. For example, some suppliers give a 5% discount for regular orders of 100 thousand hryvnias per month. Also clarify the possibility of pre-ordering – this will allow you to plan your assortment and avoid shortages.
Check that the stock is up to date. Make a small test order to make sure the product is actually in stock. Imagine that you have signed a contract and on your first purchase half of the items are out of stock. It is better to check the reliability of the supplier in advance.
Ask about delivery times. If you sell products that are seasonal, such as swimwear or ski suits, a month’s wait can cost you a large portion of your revenue. Choose suppliers who ship products just in time. Even if the warehouse is located in another region, the most important thing is stability and predictability of delivery.
Look carefully at the terms and conditions of delivery and shipment. It happens that a supplier offers a good price, but in the end it turns out that you have to pay for the delivery yourself or even pick up the goods from the warehouse yourself. This can seriously affect the profitability of the business. Therefore, calculate all logistics costs in advance.
Clarify the minimum purchase amount. Large suppliers often set a minimum threshold, for example, from 50 or 100 thousand hryvnias per wholesale order. If you are not yet ready for such volumes, look for distributors or dealers who sell smaller quantities. This way you can order exactly as much product as you can sell quickly and gradually build up your turnover.
Pay attention to the cost of samples. In order to be sure of the quality of the products, especially when it comes to clothing, footwear and accessories, it is worth requesting samples of the goods. A bona fide supplier will provide them free of charge or for a nominal fee. If they ask for the full price for each sample, this is a reason to doubt the partner’s interest in working with you. Also be vigilant if the supplier refuses to send samples at all. Most likely, in such a case, the actual products will be very different from the photos on the website. It is better to look for a more reliable partner.
Evaluate the breadth of the product range. A supplier that offers the most diverse selection of products in your niche opens up more opportunities for growth. Even if you only buy 5-10 items now, you’ll probably want to expand your product line in the future. And the easiest way to do this is to have a supplier with a wide range of products.
Find out how the supplier handles rejects. Sometimes a buyer may receive a defective product and demand a replacement or a refund. Find out how the supplier deals with such problems. Ideally, it should have a clear regulation: defective products are replaced at its own expense, and returns are also taken care of. If all the problems have to be solved by you, this is a reason to think whether it is worth getting involved with such a partner. After all, the reputational and financial risks will fall on your shoulders.
Ask about the availability of photos and descriptions. It is very important for an online store to provide customers with maximum information – detailed descriptions, photos, technical specifications. They are especially important for stores working under the dropshipping scheme, when it is not possible to take photos and measurements yourself.
List of major suppliers for the Ukrainian market
When choosing a supplier to start cooperation with, you can focus on major players who are able to ensure stable deliveries of a wide range of goods. We have gathered 3 of the most popular partners that Ukrainian online stores usually work with.
MTI
A group of companies with 30 years of experience in the Ukrainian market. MTI started its way at the dawn of the Internet trade development and during this time managed to build up an impressive partner network – about 800 companies all over Ukraine. Today MTI is one of the largest suppliers of electronics and digital goods.
In MTI’s assortment you will find almost everything you need for the modern office and home:
computers and components;
office equipment;
software;
professional video and audio equipment;
security systems;
portable electronics;
furniture;
interactive toys.
The company provides a full range of services – from pre-sales consultations to after-sales service in its own service centers. MTI customers can count on support in tender procurement and self-delivery of goods.
Yug-Contract
Present on our market since 1994. During this time, the company has managed to build up an impressive portfolio of 250 brands with which it works directly. In assortment terms, this amounts to more than 25 thousand product items. Yug-Contract supplies products to large retail chains and has an established warehouse logistics throughout the country.
The Yug-Contract catalog offers products in a variety of categories:
Smartphones and other gadgets;
IT peripherals;
household appliances;
toys;
smart home products;
housewares;
medical equipment.
The company puts special emphasis on supplying HoReCa segment enterprises, offering them a separate product selection. A separate advantage of cooperation with Yug-Contract is the possibility of same-day delivery, information and analytical support, assistance in marketing promotion of goods, separate training programs.
ERC
Another notable player in the Ukrainian supplier market is ERC, which has been operating since 1995. For more than 25 years of activity ERC has gained a reputation of a reliable partner and, like its market colleagues, is a member of a number of business associations. The company actively participates in exhibition activities, organizing large-scale industry events.
The ERC product range is impressively diverse and includes:
climate technology;
household appliances;
built-in kitchen equipment;
health and beauty products;
home and garden products;
sanitary ware;
power tools.
How to look for suppliers from the USA and EU?
If you are planning to open an online store of branded or exclusive goods which are difficult to find from Ukrainian suppliers, it makes sense to consider buying directly from the USA and the European Union. The products of well-known global brands are in high demand, and the ability to offer customers something unique that competitors do not have is a significant advantage.
One of the most effective ways to find reliable suppliers abroad is a targeted search through Google or other search engines. However, be prepared for the fact that most sites will be in English. If you are not fluent in English, it makes sense to enlist the support of a translator, at least at the initial negotiation stage.
There are specialized b2b sites for finding suppliers in individual countries. For example, for the United Kingdom it is esources.co.uk, France – goolzi.com, Italy – italy.go4worldbusiness.com, the United States – 4wholesaleusa.com, Germany – b2b-zentrum.de.
Register on these sites, study product catalogs, contact suppliers directly. Don’t discount large-scale marketplaces like eBay. Many manufacturers and distributors list their goods here, which can be ordered in bulk quantities at a lower cost.
How to get in touch with a Chinese supplier?
China has long been a major supplier of a wide variety of goods around the world. Clothing, footwear, electronics, household items – all this can be purchased from Chinese manufacturers at very attractive prices.
Moreover, the quality of many goods today is not inferior to their branded counterparts. It is not surprising that more and more entrepreneurs are seeking to establish supplies from China for their online stores.
The most famous sites for finding Chinese suppliers are:
AliExpress;
1688.com;
Alibaba;
Taobao.
They offer a huge selection of goods from thousands of sellers. However, you should not rush headlong into ordering from the first vendor you come across. Not all sellers on these sites are equally honest and trustworthy.
Before entrusting your money to an unfamiliar company, carefully analyze the information about it. Pay attention to the date of the store’s creation, the number of successful transactions, customer reviews. Be especially vigilant if the prices are suspiciously low – it is possible that an attractive price tag hides goods of terrible quality or even a common scam.
By the way, large sites like Alibaba have a “Safe Transaction” option. It protects your interests – the money is transferred to the seller only after you have confirmed receipt of the goods and are satisfied with their quality. This is a good insurance against unscrupulous suppliers.
Also bear in mind that shipping and customs clearance costs will inevitably be added to the price of the goods. It can be difficult to understand all the nuances of international logistics and trade on your own. Do not hesitate to seek the services of trusted intermediaries who will take care of all formalities.
