Someone has asked me if I'll sell wholesale... should I?

[seahorse55au]

Hi there,

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to selling online and I'm about to start selling jewellery on Ebay. Only a few days ago I listed my jewellery on another online site and someone has sent me a message asking me if I sell wholesale. I'm a bit excited ie someone thinks the jewellery will sell well, but also a bit worried - what if the buyer ends up selling in competition with me?!

The interested buyer said she would like to sell my jewellery in her gift shop, which, if it's the truth,  would be fine. But what if she ends up selling them online? Can you sell wholesale with certain conditions? 

Also, how do you work out a wholesale price? I buy each piece for $12 and sell them for $45. If, say for example, she wants to buy 10 different pieces, what would be a reasonable price to charge? And for 20 pieces or more?

I'd be reeeeeeally grateful for any advice 

Thanks,

Ri

[shoptilludroptara]

hi

its been a long time since i did this but a clothes shop asked me to source clothes for them

she would pay me between $5-8- a piece

i usually got them for $2-a piece and i got them in bulk lots with a range of sizes and colours

it you are getting them for $12-(remember the person buying them wont buy if you over charge

as they need to make money as well)i would give it alot of thought price wise

gotta say though if i knew you only paid $12-i wouldnt buy off you for $45-

best not to mention that to much(LOL)

tara

[seahorse55au]

Thanks for your reply 😉 I agree I need to think really carefully about the wholesale price. I certainly don't want to overcharge, but I don't want to undercharge either.

To give you an idea of the retail value of the jewellery pieces - they're being sold by other sellers, on various online sites, for between $40 and $55 per piece. I certainly wouldn't charge the interested wholesale buyer the retail price, but I really have no idea what would be a reasonable price.

All suggestions welcome 😉

[extra-keen]

To check out of the store is legitimate, ask for the business name, address and Australian business number (ABN), then go to the Governments (tax office) site I think that's where you'll find it and do a check on the business numbers to see if it is current and active. Manufacturers and re-sellers usually won't sell wholesale unless they have at least that information.

Good luck.

[seahorse55au]

Thanks so much for your great advice! You've given me a great starting point.

[digital*ghost]

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@seahorse55au wrote:
 but I really have no idea what would be a reasonable price.

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A reasonable wholesale price (in general) = the lowest you're prepared to accept for doing everything involved in sourcing and selling the product.

Bulk selling means you can allow for less profit per unit in favour of X amount total profit on a single order. For example, your mark-up on one item likely includes the cost of several things that wouldn't be multiplied x 50 if your buyer purchases 50 at once. 

To determine what the lowest you're prepared to accept is, some of the factors you would need to consider are things like minimum quantity or order value (for example at least 10 of any unit, and/or 50 units in total minimum, or if you have a variety of things to offer, just something like mimimum total order value of X amount after you've worked out your wholesale prices for each unit - those are parameters you need to decide rather than the buyer). 

Whether you'll have the stock at hand, or order in after the customer places their order.

Any admin costs etc 

How faulty items will be handled (be that on arrival or after a retail customer has purchased the item).

I'm not sure how GST is meant to be handled in these situations, TBH, but as far as I know any invoice needs to state the GST component, which will probably be important for the buyer.

[seahorse55au]

Thank you for your reply Digital Ghost. Everything you've written makes good sense and I can see there are lots of things I need to consider.