Salehoo's Review

Salehoo is a wholesale or drop shipping directory.
They provide you a list of the list.
All of the list redirects you directly to the supplier, so you won't get to another site and ask for anything else.

Price: $67
http://www.salehoo.com

If you want to wholesale or drop shipping, Salehoo is specially established for you.

This will be a short review for Salehoo, I will be updating more articles later on.
So please do look around for other articles in blog archive.
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Protecting Yourself from Illegitimate Wholesale Suppliers

While many fantastic wholesale sources can be found online, there are also a huge number of sites developed specifically to scam sellers looking for a good deal.

So how do you tell whether you are dealing with a real wholesale supplier?

First of all:

• A supplier may be selling fakes of big name brands but this doesn't necessarily mean he is out to scam you. There are many suppliers in China and other countries selling fakes, but as long as you realize what you are buying, that is not a problem in itself.
• The supplier may say they can only accept Western union and wire transfers as payment. These are insecure payment methods, but for Chinese suppliers, these are often the only two options available as credit cards (and therefore PayPal) are almost impossible to get. You should always take the precaution of ordering only a small amount when dealing with a supplier who only takes Western Union and wire transfer for the first time, but many legitimate manufacturers and wholesalers use these methods out of necessity rather than because they are illegitimate.

The Warning Signs

Warning bells should start ringing if you come across any of the following:

• Fake address - either it doesn't exist or it exists in a poor or residential area.
• No contact details listed on the website.
• When you call, the telephone is answered by an individual who does not identify himself on picking up the phone.
• You are not asked for a business or tax number.
• The company suddenly stop replying to your emails.
• Parts of the text or images on their site are copies from other websites.
• When you place an order, the company claims they do not have any stock, but want to receive the money before ordering any in.
• Your contact becomes shifty when you ask for a product sample

Steps to Protecting Yourself

To find out whether you are dealing with a scammer, try these tips:

• Copy and paste some text into Google. If it is copied from another site, you'll soon discover it in the search results.
• Check that the website gives a full business name and a registration number.
  Ring them to verify the phone number given is good, but don't accept a mobile phone number as enough, all companies should have a land line number.
• As for a photograph of the stock with the company logo in the background. Go to www.coolwhois.com and search for the name of the website. A legitimate company will have been operating for over a year (at least!) and their expiration date will be for several years time. Most legitimate companies reserve their domain names for 3-5 years or more at a time.
• Use secure payment methods such as Escrow, Cod and Paypal Verified whenever possible.
• Ask other sellers what their experiences have been with the company on forums.

Sourcing Items to Sell

I've got my idea - now where do I go?

Not sure where to turn to find your stock? The best idea is to find a couple of supply sources for your items so that if one dries up during a busy period, you won't be left high and dry.

1. Garage Sales

Garage sales can be a great opportunity to pick up potentially valuable items selling for pennies. However, they do require a regular time commitment and a lot of patience! You'll quite likely travel around 5-8 sales before you find anything suitable. Going around garage sales requires planning and rising early. The best idea is to look through the morning papers as soon as they arrive. Plan your route to make most efficient use of your time so that you are not doubling back. Make a list of items you would like to find and the maximum amount you would pay to make a profit. And finally, don't forget to take cash! Take small bills and some change as most garage sale owners only have a small amount on hand. It's a waste of everyone's time if you have to race down to the ATM machine. Garage sales can be useful sources, but they rely on luck and have a high time cost per item. Thus, serious sellers don't rely on garage sales as their sole provider.

2. Liquidation sales

Liquidation sales are a fantastic way of finding brand-name items at enormous discounts. Check your newspapers and look for sales in your area. Before buying from a liquidator check to see why the goods are being sold. Most of the time liquidation sales take place for legitimate reasons such as company bankruptcy, store relocation and so on. However, it always pays to check as you don't want to end up with a pile of stock you can't shift. Another thing - don't bother with liquidation stock that is outside the scope of your business. There is no point buying liquidation bicycle equipment just because it's cheap when you only sell jewelry.

Alternatively, you can find liquidation sites on the Internet - one such site is http://www.liquidation.com. These sites make it extremely easy to buy liquidation, particularly if you live in an outlying area. One thing - just make sure that the possibility of damaged stock and used or returned items included in the lots is small or non-existent.

Liquidation sales are a great way to supplement your stock, but they can't be relied upon to restock the shelves.

3. Estate sales

Estate sales can be a goldmine for anyone selling jewelry, vintage clothing, books, furniture and so on. Once again, you need to have an idea of how much you can afford to spend before you go. Don't forget to buy items your customers would like, rather simply getting caught up in your own enthusiasm for what is for sale. Note that estate sales run by an agent are unlikely to garner the same bargains as one run by the family.

4. Clearance stores

At certain times of the year, most major stores will have a stock clear-out sale. Some of these sales give you the opportunity to buy goods 50% or more below the regular retail value. This can be a fantastic opportunity to find items to sell - or replenish your stocks. Good clearance sales can be equal to or even below a good wholesale price. Don't forget to overlook small hobby shops in your area with clearance sales either. If you know the store is going to have clearance sales regularly, then this can be one method of getting stock.

5. Wholesalers

Wholesalers are the most reliable method of sourcing goods. While the initial process can be time consuming at first, it is effort that pays off. When you have found a wholesale, you now have certainty of when you are going to receive stock and how much you will have to pay for it. The best way to find wholesalers is to use a directory. Directories remove the risk of dealing with illegitimate wholesalers and give you some peace of mind when dealing with wholesalers and manufacturers from China. Wholesalers should be the mainstay behind your product sourcing.

Hot Wholesale Tips You MUST Follow!

1. Thorough market research is the foundation for success

Meticulous market research doubles your chances of making a tidy profit from the wholesale goods you buy. Start off with a list of 5-10 different ideas. Then check completed listings searches on eBay to see what the item generally sells for and the sell-through rate for each one. Use Yahoo's free keyword tool http://inventory.overture.com to find out how many people are searching Yahoo for your product per month. You can double this figure for Google. Add the numbers together. If there are ten thousand or more searches per month for an item, this indicates a healthy market.

2. Calculate the REAL cost of your item

One big reason why people fail at the wholesale game is that they don't do the numbers. In other words, they don't treat wholesale like a real business. To accurately discover your true profit potential on an item, you need to add the shipping cost and insurance, eBay fees (or equivalent for other advertising), Paypal and/or credit card fees (these can be a real profit killer), packaging costs and labor involved packaging, and any storage costs to the cost of your item.

3. Verify ALL suppliers found on the Internet

Getting caught out by scammers is a common stumbling block for people new to wholesale. If you are searching for suppliers off your own bat (rather than using a wholesale directory like SaleHoo), it is CRITICAL to check authenticity before making a purchase.

Always take the time to:

• Check that the website gives a full business name and a registration number.
• Check for a legitimate contact telephone number - this will involve ringing the number. Do not accept a mobile phone number alone. All real companies should have a land line number.
• Go to http://www.whois.sc/ and search for the name of the website. A legitimate company will have a domain expiration date in several years time. Most legitimate companies reserve their domain names for 3-5 years or more at a time.
• AVOID suppliers who won't agree to use secure payment methods such as Escrow.com, Credit Card and Paypal Verified.
• Still uncertain? Ask other sellers what their experiences have been with the company you are interested in on eBay forums.

4. Chinese suppliers give the competitive edge

Chinese suppliers are an essential source for anyone wishing to make money selling online. Manufacturing costs are currently extremely low in China, thus it is the secret to gaining a competitive edge. Dealing with China does have risks, but these can be alleviated if you place a small order first, use secure payment methods, get shipping insurance for 110% of the cost of the items, and use suppliers with a good reputation.

5. A common stumbling block for liquidation and closeout

Always obtain the reasons for liquidation and closeout sales before you buy. Liquidation and Closeout sales can be a fantastic source for cheap products, but you usually have to buy by the pallet load and these can sometimes include broken or returned goods that aren't in saleable condition. To be safe, ask specifically whether broken items and returns are included before you buy.

6. Negotiate on shipping and save

Shipping economically is critical to importing success. Profits can easily get swamped in shipping costs, so take time to get a good deal on shipping. If possible, negotiate CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight) or DDP (Delivery, duty paid) shipping terms with your supplier as this takes much of the risk - not to mention organization - off your shoulders. FOB (Freight on Board) is the most common shipping term, but don't be afraid to negotiate for better.

7. Drop shipping - can you really afford it?

Drop shipping sounds great in theory - someone taking care of packaging, wrapping and postage - but it can be difficult to profit from this method. Think about it, drop shipping can add another $2-10 to your costs - sometimes even 10% of the cost of the item. By the time you add in eBay fees and any other costs, you may find it is not worth it.

8. Warehouse storage checklist

Asset management is the most important consideration when locating warehousing to store your items. Believe it or not, items can go missing while in storage, causing massive disruption for you. When comparing warehouses, ask questions specifically on how you will authorize the release of stock (by phone or fax?), what will happen if you need to cancel an order, frequency of damage claims, dust management, and whether there is an area you can use to photograph items.

9. Powerseller wealth

It's a fact - eBay powersellers are able to command higher prices for their items than ordinary eBay sellers. To get the best profits on your wholesale items, you need to aim to get and maintain powerseller status.

10. Growth with a website and eBay store

The way to increase profits from wholesale is to build your own website and/or open an eBay store. This allows you to cross sell items plus it also makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for. For example, if you sell shoes, then customers can easily navigate to browse all black shoes in size 9 and so on. Always include a sentence at the bottom of your descriptions encouraging visitors to check out your other listings - most people will.

If you are looking for genuine and trusted wholesale suppliers then look no further than SaleHoo! SaleHoo's directory contains over 4000 drop ship, wholesale and closeout suppliers that are independently reviewed and rated by eBay Powersellers and Industry experts. SaleHoo also purchases off them and reviews each supplier in depth afterwards.

What Not to Sell on eBay

1. Items under $10

It sounds like a great idea - after all, everyone likes a bargain don't they? But items that sell for under $10 have one big problem: Shipping. It's quite likely that the shipping for the item will cost more than the item itself and this can be very off-putting to buyers. For example, if the item costs $4.50 and shipping costs $6, the total cost for the item is $10.50. If the buyer can purchase the item at their local store for $8, then this suddenly becomes a much better deal. For small items and accessories, the way to get around this problem is by grouping the items together, such as sets of 6 golf-balls or 5 tea towels.

2. Products everyone else are selling

Many sellers think that the best way to get started on eBay is to sell items that everyone else is selling. Surely those super hot items such as ipods, cell phones, psps and so on will be a quick route to riches? Well, no. The sellers who are already selling these items are not only more established on eBay - and thus familiar to and trusted by buyers - but they will be able to buy wholesale stock in larger bulks lots than you will, so their prices will always be better. Thus it will almost certainly be very difficult for you to make a profit in a market that is already well supplied.

3. Things you love...but no-one else does

Hobbies can be a great way of making money, but only if plenty of other people are interested in them too.

Another scenario is when you find a product that you think is absolutely wonderful and could be the next best thing...but no-one seems interested in buying it. Oh well you think, it's only short term, eventually they'll learn about my item and start flocking to buy it. Ah, no they won't. It's lonely work trying to educate people on the benefits of a product all on your own. As fabulous as the product might be, it's nigh-on impossible to start a trend on your own. To make money from a trend, you need magazines and newspapers, word of mouth and television to do some of the work for you.

4. Difficult items to ship - e.g. fragile china and plants

Now I'm not saying that these are bad items to sell altogether. Many sellers do very well from these items. But I don't suggest you sell such difficult items when you are first starting out. Both these items have an above-average shipping risk, particularly if not packed properly. As a new seller, any negative feedback you receive at this early stage could be especially damaging to your career.

5. Very large items

Thinking of starting with furniture or pianos? Unless you already have experience selling and shipping these items, then it might be wise to start with something smaller. Shipping such large items is a major operation. Not only that, these items will sell less often than mid-priced items as they won't attract the same number of impulse buyers.