example: Why don't you call Sony directly and ask them if they wholesale the product to an unauthorized sony dealer ?
and what was there answer.. post stories,
Would some companies let me buy 10 items wholesale?
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Anyone delt with an actual company and asked for wholesale?
6 posts
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Hello, I can assure you any large (like Fortune 500) companies will not let you purchase just 10 items. So, the answer would be Yes and No depending on which companies you were talking about. I deal with some companies that deal in minimum orders, minimum values ($), and minimums per item. I do deal with companies that have no minimum order whatsoever, they just want to see your TAX ID as well as your Business License. But none of these companies are Sony's, Toshiba's, Microsoft's, or other worldwide companies.
Hope this helps. -
I sell to Fortune 500 companies as well as been a part of their structure. There are different divisions for different purchases. Some have a production division. In charge of making the "widgets". Then you have the marketing and sales division, who sell the "widgets". And then you have all the divisions to do all the other work. There some companies usually smaller on the food chain, that just manufacturer products and instead of having a sales division, it is just funneled to distributors who have bought it all and they handle who gets what. In other words, not done "in house". They may have their own reps or sales force.
Talking about Sony. I know the young guy, (okay, he is 40) that is a divisional manager for Sony. He has 5 states that he runs the sales force. All work for Sony. They have a plan. You could sit down in front of a map and see who they sell. One important fact, everyone (retailers) have a contract and all their service people have gone through a technical training for repairs and customer service according to the warranty. By January all the big companies who buy from Sony have already made their plans for the year and have agreed to numbers to be purchased. That is how they have all their sales planned for the year. They pay for 50% of the advertising and agree to advertise locally.
Not a lot of profit in brown goods. Sony is a well run machine. They produce what they can sell in a given area. They have their market research people, who have determined what can be sold. They plan how they will advertise and it is planned in advance. Brick and mortar is the plan. They want someone who will pay, who is established in a community. Someone who will be a long time partner. It is easier to ship to central warehouses. When Sony sells to Best Buy, all is shipped and they distribute throughout their system.
When you talk to manufacturers, they want to sell what is made, in large numbers and move on to the next product. Because next year they have to produce the new model. Something bigger and better. Especially since the market is changing so fast.
January is the biggest trade show and that is planning for the year. If someone is having a Labor Day Sale, it has already been planned. Most have received their inventory by summer for in preparation for holidays. Besides, most have to clear out inventory by end of year. Low inventory so the retailers don't have high tax to pay and be ready for new inventory. They have to have the bank financing to afford the inventory.
If these big companies wanted to sell on the internet, they can just create a division to do it and still control the after market. It is all about command of the market and sales. It is about pleasing stock holders. They really don't want people who are going to get discouraged and throw in the towel and sell below their cost just to get rid of the product. They have name recognition and they don't want that tarnished.
After my last console TV said "No More" to me, I called my friend and told him May Co. was having a sale for $600. He told me that was the price he would pay from the company but he would have to pay another $50 for delivery. I was getting free delivery and the stand.
You have to know how these companies work just to make a phone call. They all have gate keepers, now it is voice mail, but just the same, you have to know who are the decision makers.
When I sell to these large companies, I don’t talk to a buyer, I want to go over their heads and talk to their boss.
It all comes down to knowing how the game is played. The politics. The lower structure of these companies do not know what the top brass is doing. The difference between a cubicle, tile floor and metal desk to the corner office with carpet and wooden desk and P & L responsibility.
This is why I can’t stress people attending trade shows to make connections. People also deal with people they like. Face to face. Make appointments, research your company and know who the decision makers are. If the product you want has established name recognition, you have to be able to tell these people why they should sell to you. What you can do for them. That you have the same perceived value that they have. They already have contracts with companies that agree to move product. If those companies have an internet presence, why do they want to irritate them with selling to the little guy. The food chain of business was established a long time ago. You have to understand it to break into it. Probably not what you want to hear, but that it what happens in the real world. -
thnx artbroker, your a great person takign the time to write all this, may i know what you do
im jealous you know all this stuff -
Not that my 2 cents amount for much after ArtBroker, but I agree. I tried this a year ago with Sony and Microsoft. You have to by in the thousands(yikes!). Also, some companies will only deal with Brick & Mortars. And when you can deal with them, the profit margin per piece is not that great sometimes. Brick and Mortars still rule the business world(maybe). That is why liquidators are so great. They liquidate for brick and mortars and get stuff for real cheap, sometimes cheaper than the store got it for. Liquidators serve the purpose of minimizing risk for a brick and mortar or any other trading biz. The trick is to find a (or several) TRUE liquidators. But even with them you have to by quite a few. There is almost no way around it. It takes money to make money
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yeh i sold movies and software on ebay and i can tell you its hard to find company to bu wholesale and realy discount price. most large company want you to order 100s of units for wholesale price and the price arnt realy that discounted.you would have to buy like big stores do 1000s of units at a time for real wholesale prices. but you can find smaller companys that you can buy from at wholesale or discounted prices thats profitable that sells wholesale and drop ships but thay dont advertise that too much and http://www.barnsandnoble.com that sells at discount for volume units.
wholesale prices are around you just have to do alot of surfing to find them.i also have come to find out that most of the small company web sites are in some way owned or operated by the larger distributors anyway.
hope this info helps a little
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