Product sourcing is one of the most important topics for eBay entrepreneurs, along with customer service. The basic idea, of course is to buy low, sell high. Most people start on eBay by selling whatever they have in their attic or basement.

This is a great way to begin, because they will get used to selling on eBay and they will become familiarizes them with the shipping and customer service.

After a while though, they’ve sold off everything they have in the attic, and need to find more items to sell. So they begin going to every garage sale and flea market they can to find more products to sell. They quickly find that they are spending a lot of time (and money) doing this and begin looking at new ways to find new items to sell. This means finding products from wholesale suppliers.

One of the most common mistakes people make is to go to a search engine and search for wholesale suppliers online. Unfortunately, search engines are NOT a good way to find legitimate wholesaler suppliers.

Real wholesalers will most likely not be going to be found via a search engine. What they will find is that 99% of the time the if you found a wholesaler supplier though a search engine, it will be a scam artist.

They set themselves up with a real wholesale supplier and then promote themselves as a supplier. They raise the prices of the goods and simply pass on any orders they get to the real wholesaler.

The prices are so high that is will be impossible to make any money with them. Some, if not most, will charge a monthly fee to use their service and they will tell you that you do not need a reseller’s license to set up an account with them.

A real wholesaler will require that you provide proof that you are a legitimate business. This generally includes a business license and a sales tax permit. The actual name of the needed documents vary by state.

These documents are absolutely vital in order to deal with real wholesalers. Don’t let this detail scare you! These are really not that hard to get and unless you incorporate, will not require a lawyer. These can be obtained at your county courthouse and they will guide you in any other documents you need.

To summarize, a real wholesaler will:

1. Not be found on the internet with a search engine.
2. Require some form of proof that you are a real business.
3. Will not charge a set-up fee or a monthly access fee.

If you find a wholesaler that does not fit these criteria, then you may have found a scam artist posing as a wholesaler.