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If you have a proof of trading, which can be as little as a letterhead or your business card, you as an individual or group are entitled to deal with a wholesaler. Even if you don't have that, most wholesalers realise the fact that everybody has to start somewhere. Remember that wholesalers need the business just as much as you need the products, so it is doubtful that you will be turned away if you have a real interest in their products.
First Contact;
So when contacting them, be confident and purposeful when approaching them, and focus on finding exactly what the wholesaler has to offer.
If possible I would always suggest going and visiting the wholesaler in person unless of course they are a serious, and well known wholesaler that has been in business for a good length of time. Telephone calls and emails are generally thought of as a substitute to visiting them in person but they give you a good idea of what the wholesaler is like, and if the wholesaler is not located near you might be the only way of communicating witht them.
Speaking of doing business over the phone there are limitations to what you can actually do over the phone, your supplier should happily send you a list of stock and relevant prices, but to gain good understanding of the product in question, visiting your supplier is an invaluable experience. Remember that a good wholesaler won't object to you visiting them as they should have nothing to hide, so be careful if a supplier is very against you meeting them.
The issue of stock;
You have to remember that stock changes usually everyday for most wholesalers, so if you enquire about one product one day, it may not be available the next, so it is important to keep an open mind and not get frustrated when things don't go your way.
The important first impression;
The first impression to a supplier is very important, and if you intend to build a good business relationship with the supplier, it is important not to request too much or push the supplier too far, too early. An example of this would be asking for further discount off the prices that the wholesaler has suggested. It would be better for your case if you waited until you have been using the supplier for a while and then request such discounts.
So where do you start finding your wholesalers?
Reading through your local paper or even the yellow pages might bring back some results, but for the modern small business the lack of presence of good wholesale opportunities on the net does cause a good deal of frustration.
Most wholesalers that I have come across stick to traditional tried and tested methods; word of mouth, local advertisement or just your average advertisement in trader magazines. You are very unlikely to find a wholesaler advertising in such high quantities as large retailers do, so finding a good, reliable wholesaler isn't easy.
I came across an interesting quote from a site I was looking at the other day;
“It can be very hard for people new to trading to find wholesaler contact information and thus it makes it hard to shop around”
“One of the reasons for this is that very few UK wholesalers have decent websites and even fewer have taken any time to ensure their sites are ranked well in internet search engines.” Richard Grady – The UK Trader.
The gap in the market for these “Online Wholesalers” has now, however been slightly catered for with the introduction of many wholesaling sites that provide you with details of wholesalers, whether online or not online. However most of these lists aren't freely available and you do have to pay, usually a yearly membership fee.
Well things are about to change....