Suppliers needed for online pet accessory store

[AYJohnson]

I'm in the initial stages of starting an online pet store. I'd like to focus on mid-high end accessories. My problem is finding products from wholesalers and drop shippers. Any advice about particular sources?


Thanks

[billbenson]

Find products with competitors, and Google for distributors, wholesalers, and resellers. Your margins will probably be small at first and you will probably need to buy in quantity.

I'm a direct distributor for a manufacturer. I got the distributorship by contacting the manufacturer with a $20k order and offering to pay cash in advance. I got lucky. Usually you will have to start through resellers and that really dilutes your profit margin.

[HooktoWin]

I'm in the initial stages of starting an online pet store. I'd like to focus on mid-high end accessories. My problem is finding products from wholesalers and drop shippers. Any advice about particular sources?


Thanks

Hi AYJohnson,

Congrats on starting your new store. Finding wholesalers and dropshippers can be tough. The industry is filled with middlemen who claim to be dropshippers and wholesalers so you're on the right track.

When we want to find real, high quality wholesalers we use Worldwide Brands (https://www.worldwidebrands.com/). We use them to:


Verify wholesaler/dropshipper credentials.
Get a point of contact in our target company and contact info.
Scope out their terms and conditions. This is great when you're trying to feel a supplier out to see if they're willing to offer custom/flexible terms
Do some initial market research.

We're always on the lookout for great suppliers, we don't want to become too dependent on any one provider. Some suppliers are selective about who they work with. A few (in rare cases) try to squeeze you if they figure out that they're your main/only supplier.

What about expanding your store?

We use PopShops (http://popshops.com/) (among others) to test out new products as an affiliate. This enables us to make money from someone else's product without having to purchase bulk items or setup dropshipping arrangements. If our customer like the new products, we find a supplier via Worldwide Brands and either setup a dropshipping arrangement or place a light bulk order.

Hope this helps

Andrew