Originally Posted by charmpacksplus
Here's the secret to those good deals on Ebay.... those sellers are losing money. And the competition is fierce. Ask me how I know!
Anyone can buy wholesale from a manufacturer if they have a sales tax certificate. You can get that from your state and local government. Annual fees are involved.
But it is hard to find a sales rep that will even talk to you if you tell them you're selling on ebay. Once you do get an account, your first order usually has to be about $1000 depending on the company you're dealing with, then there's a minimum per order after that.
Having once owned a store, I can tell you that there are all kinds of levels of pricing. For instance an Interior designer without a store might get 30 to 40 percent off retail, depending on the mfg. If they have a store, they will get more like 50, or 50 plus another 10 or 20. It also depends on wheter you are buying from a mfgr or a jobber who typically add 10 to 20 percent on the stated wholesale price, (only they dont pay wholesae, but a lot less because they buy in quantity) Then there are the reps out there who will sell full bolts for 2.00 to 5.00 per yd, these bolts usually have 30 to 50 yards on them, so you had better have a real purpose in mind to use that much of one pattern.
No mystery really, its out there just most of us don't want to make the investment. I still maintain some wholesale accounts, but they are for the very upper end home decor fabrics, many of which go for over $100 per yard at wholesale.