Those in the know would just about kill for the right wholesale drop ship eBay products suppliers. Discover reliable product sourcing for home business so that you can get the small business profits you deserve only possible with legitimate drop shippers and legitimate wholesalers. You owe it to yourself to be at the cutting edge of product sourcing information for home-based business. Read on, baby, read on . . .

If you are just starting out, prepare yourself for a trip that will hand you the key to self-sufficiency finding your own reliable product suppliers. This article is not a plug for an online directory or another so-called definitive list of drop ship wholesalers. Although many of these products are very good, in the end you are left with your own capacity for solving problems, and I hope this article will help free you up from the problem of product sourcing.

Tip #1: Understand Your Selling Environment So, what exactly does that mean? Consider eBay. Even though you might think that this is a retail environment, in reality, it is wholesale venue. For a professional seller, that is one of the first things you must understand about eBay. If you are currently buying goods from a true wholesaler or from a drop shipper and trying to retail them on eBay, I understand your howls of frustration. The fact is, almost all mass market consumer goods found on eBay are already at or below wholesale prices. How can you hope to compete selling at retail prices? EBay Power Sellers understand the importance of identifying the right products and then buying in bulk lots where the prices will be lowest. They also understand that eBay is not retail as are many ecommerce sites. Products that sell very well on retail ecommerce sites may die on eBay.

Tip #2: Understanding True Wholesale versus Discount Retail Legitimate wholesale means that a business is licensed as a wholesaler. This allows the wholesaler to purchase goods from manufacturers for resale to licensed retailers. The wholesaler does not pay sales tax as that is collected by retailers, who are allowed to purchase without paying sales tax because they charge it to their customers. Retailers are required to have a sales tax permit, which they get from their state department of revenue. This is generally very easy to get and often free.

Does that mean that all of those other business offering discounted goods are bogus? No, not at all. It just means that they are not licensed wholesalers. There is no scam involved unless they claim to be a legitimate wholesale company but do not require you sales tax permit. Now, selling goods to people who want to drop ship items from an ecommerce site is big business, and many of those sites will use language to suggest that they are wholesalers without ever coming right out saying it. In the end, if the site does not ask for a tax permit, it is not a real wholesaler. Keep in mind that it is up to you to read the site’s promo and terms of service carefully so that you understand exactly what it is. In many cases, you’ll find very good deals from these discount retailers.

Tip #3: Where We Cut to the Chase Let’s talk about finding your own wholesale distributors. Many people want to know if they really need to join an online wholesale directory membership in order to find suppliers. While some of these memberships are very good (I’m a member of two), it isn’t necessary. Yes, some of these directories can lead you to product sourcing “paradise,” but in order to be self sufficient, you need to know how to do this for yourself. We will help you get started, and in a moment you’ll be finding your own supplier for eBay, ecommerce, flea markets, and for just about any other kind of selling situation.

This is just a sampling, but I believe you will find more product suppliers than you will know what to do with: (1) The Google Directory. Google “wholesale trade” and that will open the doors to many wholesaler. (2) The DMOZ directory. Search “wholesale” + the name of the product you want to sell. (3) The Thomas Register. This is available at your library, but you can also search at thomasnet.com. (4) Thomas Publishing at thomasglobla.com. (5) Legitimate Wholesale at legitimatewholesale.com. Last, try Proproductsourcing.com. Not a directory but a product supply resource for much helpful information.

With the leads above, you will find contact information for well over 1000 legitimate wholesalers and manufacturers to help solve product sourcing for eBay and home business. You will find even more information by following the bread crumbs in our resource box.

Tip #4: Trade Shows Some of your best wholesale drop ship leads will come from the contacts you develop by attending trade shows for those product lines of interest to you. How do you find trade shows? Locally, you will get this information from your Chamber of Commerce, local newspapers and possible even a local branch of the Small Business Administration. You can also do a search online by searching for, “trade show” or “trade shows” as your search terms. Also, be sure to add the name of your state of regional area to the search term. Here is resource to get you started: BAO Link at baolink.com.

Depending on your needs, you may also want to look into a membership with an online wholesale directory that has an active forum. Many people find such a resource an invaluable aspect of their research.

There is really no reason you can’t position yourself on the leading edge of drop ship and wholesale product supply. You deserve it, your business deserves it.