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How to Find the Best Amazon Wholesale Suppliers for Your FBA Business

The decision to start an online business to make quick and convenient profits often leads many to Amazon. With its simple account registration and product upload processes, selling on Amazon is easy. However, beginners frequently face challenges when it comes to sourcing their goods effectively.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to find a trustworthy supplier and highlight seven resources that offer a wide selection of options for sellers.

Why Choosing a Reliable Supplier is Crucial for Your Amazon Wholesale Business

In order to thrive on Amazon, sellers must prioritize customer satisfaction by ensuring the quality of the products they offer. This success is directly influenced by the wholesale suppliers you choose for your store. Here are several benefits you can expect by partnering with a trustworthy supplier:
  • Cost efficiency: Establishing a relationship with a reliable supplier enables you to negotiate better prices or terms, optimizing your profit margins.
  • Customer trust: Superior product quality fosters long-term relationships with customers.
  • Increased sales: Positive reviews and a strong reputation are key to encouraging repeat purchases and growing your customer base.
  • Uninterrupted business processes: Timely delivery of goods ensures that you maintain a steady flow of inventory to satisfy customer demand.
  • Legal compliance: Partnering with reputable distributors helps you avoid legal issues by ensuring that all products have the necessary documentation and permission from brands when required.
  • Competitiveness: Offering unique items crafted by your suppliers sets you apart from your competitors.
Now, let's explore the requirements for B2B suppliers and discuss how you can establish fruitful business relationships with them.

How to Find a Wholesale Supplier for Amazon

Finding wholesale suppliers for Amazon involves a series of strategic steps. If you hope to ensure the success of your store, each stage requires careful consideration and thorough research. Let's delve into this process in detail.

Step 1: Choosing Profitable Product Categories

Selecting profitable items is crucial for ensuring that your store generates profits. Here are some criteria to consider:
  • High demand: Look for products with consistently high sales volume, preferably averaging at least 200 sales/month.
  • High margin: Seek products with a substantial profit margin (ideally around 30% or higher/item) to cover your expenses and generate a profit.
  • Shipping and storage costs: Consider smaller products that weigh under 5 lbs to incur lower shipping costs and minimize your storage fees.
  • Competition: Research less saturated product niches to avoid fierce competition (especially with Amazon), to increase your chances of success.
  • Restrictions: Check item restrictions to see if extra permission is required for selling. If so, you'll need to provide additional documentation to be approved. This can delay the timeframe for when you can start selling.
Checking these parameters can be time-consuming, especially for beginners. However, for sellers based in the USA, there's a solution to streamline this process further.
Individual Product Research оn Sellerhook
To help you discover profitable products with ease, you can delegate this task to Sellerhook. Their experts conduct personalized research to identify the best products tailored to your specific business needs.

To order a research report, just follow these steps:
1. Place an order.
  • Visit the Sellerhook website.
  • Click "Order Product Research".
  • Choose to order a report for one or five booming products.
2. Submit payment.
3. Answer a few questions. Specify your requirements and preferences, such as your desired category, business model, price range, and more. Based on this information, Sellerhook's specialists will conduct in-depth research to help you identify the best product opportunities.
4. Receive your report. Within 10 business days, a curated list of top products for your store will be emailed to you.
By taking advantage of this service, sellers can rely on Sellerhook experts' proficiency, save time on research, and receive a complete product list tailored to their needs. Leveraging professional research will help you avoid mistakes and unnecessary expenses that can occur with manual research. Now, let's explore how to find reliable vendors.
See what your research report would look like.

Step 2: Researching and Identifying Potential Suppliers

There are many helpful sources of information for finding potential suppliers. Here are a few of them:
  • Brand or distributor websites: Check official manufacturer or distributor websites. In the contact section or under B2B partnerships, you can often find information to help you set up your business agreement.
  • Networking: Attend industry events such as exhibitions, trade shows, and conferences to meet suppliers in person and establish direct connections.
  • Social networks: Connect with B2B suppliers on LinkedIn. Also, check Facebook groups where supplier announcements and recommendations are often published.
  • Online marketplaces: Explore platforms like Temu or Alibaba, where you can buy a wide variety of products at competitive prices and connect with numerous suppliers.
  • Directories: Utilize directories such as SaleHoo or Global Sources, which list supplier announcements and verified contacts.
  • Local sources: Contact your local Chamber of Commerce, which can provide valuable contacts and information on reputable suppliers in your area.
Once you’ve compiled a list of potential suppliers, you can start reaching out to them. Typically, you’ll need to provide your business information, such as online store details and business ID. It's important to note that not all suppliers are willing to work with newcomers. Therefore, negotiating favorable terms can be challenging, but this is essential for establishing successful partnerships.

Once you establish contact, suppliers will share their terms and conditions. In the next section, we’ll review how to evaluate and sort through supplier offers.

Step 3: Evaluating Supplier Credibility and Reliability

First, it's essential to verify the reliability of any supplier, especially if you're not purchasing directly from a well-known brand. Here are some steps to help you assess their credibility:
  • Check reviews and ratings: Look for reviews and ratings on platforms like Alibaba. Keep an eye out for frequent customer complaints and assess overall satisfaction levels.
  • Research online: Google a supplier’s name with terms like “fraud”, “scam”, or “complaints” to identify potential red flags.
  • Verify business licenses and certificates: Request copies of the supplier’s business licenses and relevant certificates to ensure that they are legitimate and compliant with industry regulations.
  • Examine court records: Check public court databases for any legal issues or disputes involving the supplier.
  • Review their preferred payment methods: If suppliers do not accept traceable payment methods such as PayPal or bank transfers, this can raise suspicion.
If the supplier passes your verification process successfully, you can proceed to the next stage of evaluating their offer. Let's explore this in more detail below.

Step 4: Negotiating Terms and Conditions

There are two key questions you need to address when communicating with your supplier:
Shipping details

  • Inquire whether DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping is available. This option can help you save on customs fees and alleviate paperwork hassles when ordering from suppliers abroad.
  • Clarify the estimated shipping timeframes. Verify if the supplier ships orders by air or sea, as weather conditions and transportation methods can affect delivery times.
  • Ask about the shipping couriers used by the supplier. This information is crucial as it can influence shipping costs and the reliability of delivery services. Check if shipping insurance is included or available as an option to safeguard against any unforeseen incidents during transport.

Order details

  • Determine the Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) required by the supplier. Inquire if this number varies based on order volume, and whether discounts are offered for larger orders.
  • Ensure your supplier complies with Amazon's packaging rules to avoid potential issues and maintain smooth operations.
  • Verify the production lead time in case a particular item goes out of stock or requires replenishment. It's crucial to understand the supplier's capacity and turnaround time for producing additional units to meet demand.
It's important to tailor your inquiries to the type of supplier you're with whom you’re working, whether it's a wholesaler or a dropshipping supplier. By adapting your questions to your specific business needs and contacting multiple suppliers for comparison, you can make informed decisions and secure favorable terms for your business.

Step 5: Placing a Trial Order

To evaluate your product’s quality, packaging, and other critical details, placing a trial order is a smart strategy, before committing to a bulk purchase. Consider ordering the smallest possible batch for your trial, for a price you can afford to lose in case the product isn’t satisfactory, or gets damaged or lost during transportation. This approach allows you to test the market and gather valuable insights about scaling your operations effectively.

Be sure to obtain written confirmation of product specifications, pricing, shipping costs, and delivery timeframes. This will allow you to check whether everything matches the agreed-upon specifications.

Pay attention to the entire ordering process, including the quality of communication with the supplier. Good communication is crucial for building a long-term relationship.

By placing a trial order, you can mitigate risks and ensure that the supplier is able to meet your standards before placing a bigger order. Now, let's look at how to identify the top-seven Amazon wholesale suppliers.

Top-7 Platforms for Searching Reliable Wholesale Suppliers

Based on recommendations from top Amazon sellers, we've compiled a list of seven platforms to help you search for suppliers. Each platform has its own unique characteristics and strengths. Below is a quick overview of each:

1. Alibaba

One of the largest platforms for finding products and suppliers, Alibaba is suitable for both private label businesses and resellers. It’s also known for its competitive pricing, convenience, and wide array of products. Alibaba offers the advantage of ordering products remotely without the need to visit factories in person. However, it's worth noting that most of its suppliers are located in China, which can lead to extended delivery times and higher shipping costs.

On Alibaba, there are a vast number of suppliers, and it can be challenging to find the right one. Also, not all suppliers speak English fluently, which can complicate communication. You can leverage Sellerhook’s services to help you simplify this process and avoid misunderstandings or scams. By ordering a Supplier Check Report, you gain valuable insights into various aspects of potential suppliers such as product quality, supplier reliability, terms, and conditions. With this information at your disposal, you can make informed decisions, ensuring that your partnership terms align with your business goals and standards.

2. SaleHoo

This platform features company profiles across various industries and has separate sections for dropshipping and wholesale. To access SaleHoo's services, you need to purchase a plan, with costs starting at $67/year . SaleHoo is renowned for its exceptional customer support team and diverse learning resources. SaleHoo also features a forum that serves as a vibrant community where e-commerce enthusiasts support and assist one another.

3. Worldwide Brands

The main advantage of Worldwide Brands is their rigorous verification process for products sold by suppliers. With over 16 million products across various categories, you have a wide range of choices. This platform also allows for direct contact with suppliers, facilitating negotiations. However, membership costs $299 for lifetime access, which can be a barrier for small businesses or new entrepreneurs.

4. Faire

Faire offers access to millions of products from reliable suppliers and is user-friendly. It also features a "Brands not on Amazon" section where you can negotiate exclusive distribution agreements, allowing you to be the sole seller of a particular brand on Amazon. This convenience is especially beneficial for small businesses. Faire provides a wide range of filters, such as brand value, seasonality, and shipping windows to help you narrow down your search efficiently.

5. ThomasNet

ThomasNet provides access to 500,000 suppliers, with filters for company type, brands, and more. Known for its security and reliability, this platform offers multiple quotes for your projects, payment terms for buying with Xometry, and transaction assurance. One potential drawback is that Thomasnet is primarily focused on industrial products, so it might have a smaller selection of commercial options compared to other platforms.

6. Wholesale Central

Wholesale Central is a user-friendly website that features various supplier types and is easy to navigate. It features a section dedicated to Amazon FBA wholesale suppliers. You can browse company profiles of trusted suppliers, making it easier to find partners who understand the specifics of Amazon FBA requirements. Unfortunately, you can only reach out via request forms or phone numbers if you need assistance with the website itself.

7. Global Sources

This B2B platform connects buyers with suppliers who are based primarily in Asia. While Global Sources offers a vast array of products, the online catalog is not always updated promptly, and there are many words in Chinese even when using the English version of the website. This platform is also renowned for organizing trade shows, such as those held in Hong Kong. Buyers have the opportunity to meet suppliers face-to-face and negotiate terms.

After reviewing these seven platforms for sourcing suppliers, it's evident that each offers its own unique advantages tailored to different business needs. Consider having multiple suppliers across different locations to ensure a consistent supply chain and avoid stockouts. By diversifying your supplier base, you can mitigate risks and maintain operational efficiency, ultimately contributing to your business success.

Conclusion

Finding Amazon wholesale suppliers is crucial, but what’s equally important is selecting profitable products for your online store. Utilize Sellerhook’s services for both: their reports identify promising items to sell and help you check potential suppliers. This saves you time and provides precise data that enables you to build an effective business.
See what your research report would look like.
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