It’s A Bulky Business: The Basics of Buying Clothes In Bulk
Buying clothes in bulk will always be one of the best ways to secure low prices. Whether you plan on building your closet or your clothing brand, purchasing items at a low price and selling them with a reasonable markup will give you a competitive profit.
If you are planning on buying trendy wholesale clothing for yourself or your business, you may want to scroll down below for more information on how you can get started.
The Basic Legal Requirements
Here are the primary legal requirements needed if you plan on purchasing bulk items online.
Obtain a Tax ID (EIN) number
There’s a difference when buying clothes in bulk for personal use or doing it for business. If you plan on sourcing wholesale clothes, you need to legally register your business and obtain a Tax ID (EIN) number.
This number is essential when you plan to buy items from wholesalers. So before you contact them for bulk purchases, make sure to have this on hand.
On the other hand, you don’t need this number if you intend to purchase clothes independently.
Acquire required city and state licences
If you plan to have your clothing store, you need to ensure that it’s legal to start a clothing business in your area. Thus, you are responsible for acquiring all the necessary licences and permits to operate as a proper entity.
For example, you might be required to apply for a city and state business licence to be considered official. If you want more information, you can look at the information on the Small Business Administration‘s website for more details.
How to Find Wholesalers
Looking for a wholesaler whom you can work with can be a tedious task. Therefore, if you want to buy clothes in bulk, you must check the steps below.
Domestic Or Overseas
You can find wholesalers to be domestic or overseas. Each category will have its advantages and disadvantages. But, when making the final decision, it will always boil down to your goals, budget and personal preference.
Doing research takes a lot of time, but knowing your available options and deciding who you will be working with will be the best option for your business.
Domestic
Working with domestic suppliers will have a lot of advantages. First, the shipping time is significantly shorter since they are located domestically.
Second, communication will be more accessible because there is no language and time zone barrier between you and the supplier. In addition, errors and mistakes due to miscommunication will be low or even close to none.
However, there are also disadvantages when choosing domestic suppliers. First, you will only have a limited number of items.
Second, the costs may be higher due to the limited number of suppliers available in the area.
Overseas
Working with overseas suppliers will also have its advantages and disadvantages. Outsourcing your supplier may give you more options and savings since manufacturers outside the US have lower labour and materials costs.
However, the shipping time will be longer, and you can have issues with customs. In addition, since you won’t be able to visit the suppliers in person, you will not be able to check the quality ahead of time.
The difference in language and time zone may also be a challenge. These factors could cause more errors and mistakes that are sometimes irreversible.
Where To Buy?
There are several places where you can buy wholesale clothing.
First, you can check out wholesale marketplaces. These platforms showcase hundreds of suppliers that offer various items most of the time.
Second, you may search through online directories. These online directories are a good place since you will see both domestic and overseas suppliers.
Third, you can maximise the use of search engines such as Google or Bing to help you research available suppliers.
Fourth, if you have family or friends already in the business, you may ask for referrals or recommendations.
Fifth, you can use social media to find out more information. Nowadays, more businesses are advertising their products and services online. In addition, you may take advantage of the information shared by people in social media groups and forums about wholesale suppliers.
Lastly, you can join trade shows or expos to showcase wholesalers in person.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are building your closet or starting an online clothing store, buying wholesale clothing is one of the best ways to decrease your expenses and increase savings.
Doing your research and due diligence is critical to making your business a success. These tasks may be tedious at first, but finding the perfect supplier is worth it, especially once you establish your credibility for having good products and services. You get to have loyal customers who will always come back, and they may even refer you.
