Wholesale prices seeming too expensive

[girlwithagruffalotattoo]

I am currently looking for a wholesaler to supply good for my eBay business, however the wholesale prices seem the same or even more expensive than similar products are selling for. I don't get how it's supposed to work!

That's the way the market works. You usually get discounts for bigger/multiple purchases. Using wholesalers for relatively small orders is a mug's game, as yes, other retailers are selling for less than you're paying because they're buying in bulk so are getting discounts. If you're selling on ebay, you're competing with other ebayers who are probably much larger so can order much greater quantities, and often directly from the manufacturers/importers. Local/smaller wholesalers only really work for local shops/markets etc where you've not got the same competition. You have to remember that the wholesalers are probably paying the manufacturers/importers a similar price that is available to your competitors and of course, the wholesaler has to make a profit, hence they charge the likes of you more. It's been a common issue for several years now that smaller online sellers just can't buy the stuff cheap enough, which is why you either have to go direct and source your own manufacturer/importer, or you have to find niche products that aren't currently being sold by the bigger internet retailers.

Thanks. Sounds like it's impossible to build yourself up then, you either have to go in big at the beginning or it won't work. Bah!

No, you can start small, but you've got to do something different to the masses. Even if you could buy a product and make a bit on it, everyone else can do the same as it's so easy, so it's just a price race to the bottom - do you really want to do it when there's no future in it?

How about "adding value" to something, i.e. buy in bulk but sell in small packs (i.e. buy 100 screws but sell in packs of 10 or buy a reel of 100 metres of wire but sell in 5 metre lengths), or buy something and do something to it, such as buy plain wooden fish and paint them, or buy job lots and sell separately or in small groups, or buy material in rolls but sell by the metre.

But, as I said in the other post, far better to turn away from the mass markets and find a niche. There are loads of "hobby" related e-commerce retailers. I know a few people who've turned their hobby into a business via the internet, simply from them knowing that there are certain products out there which are hard to buy, and then contacting importers/manufacturers and buying a load to sell.