I once heard of an Amazon seller that sold over $1,000,000 of merchandise on Amazon. After computing his cost of goods, and factoring in all his expenses, he was left with a net profit of $60,000.

Although I wish I could say that the Amazon seller’s situation was unique, in reality, there are many retailers and wholesalers, including myself, that find themselves working on very small profit margins, especially if they don’t optimize their wholesale buying process.

Because at the end of the day, whether you are an Amazon FBA seller, a New York flea market vendor, a boutique owner in Lagos, or a department store in Dubai, your profits are going to be greatly influenced by the cost of your goods.

As a clothing reseller, you might encounter a great deal on a Calvin Klein dress with an original market price of $150.

Your objective is to provide your consumers with a 50% price cut on the dresses.

A 50% discount on the apparel is a sizable enough savings for your customer. Most department stores run sales of in between 25% to 75% off on their garments,

so if you can constantly supply your consumers a 50% discount, you will certainly pull them in to your store.

The same motivation, and principle, works whether you sell on Amazon, Walmart.com, or on eBay.

Given that we understand that you will certainly be offering the Calvin Klein dress at $75, your goal is to purchase the dress at a wholesale price that allows you to retail the dress at $75, while still giving you enough of a profit that will cover your expenses, as well as provide you with money to live on.

Below you will certainly discover some of my ideal tips for acquiring goods at the lowest feasible wholesale and closeout prices.

These three wholesale buying factors, when used properly, can enable you to buy merchandise for a fraction of its original retail price.

Wholesale Buying Factor # 1.

Offseason merchandise. By purchasing wholesale goods from a previous season, or at the end of the season, you will certainly be able to buy at economical costs. Despite the fact that the merchandise is from last season, it will certainly still be relatively current. If your customers are in a rural area, or in an developing economy, they will appreciate the savings, and usually not be as concerned with wearing the latest styles, as compared to a consumer living in a highly fashion competitive city such as NYC or Milan. 

Wholesale Buying Factor # 2.

Ask for quantity based price cuts. Dealers make their money on quantity, particularly. Sometimes you just have to buy 5% more goods to receive a 10% discount on your entire order. This type of a wholesale discount might seem counterintuitive to a retailer, but we need to remember that wholesalers need to move their merchandise to make room for the pallets and truckloads that they can receive on a weekly basis.

Considering that wholesalers and distributors work on tiny revenue margins, their business models are based on moving volume, even if it’s at the expense of sacrificing some of their per unit profits. Dealers maintain their costs low because they know that their company is based on the success of the resale capacity of their goods. Always let your suppliers know that you can purchase in huge amounts, this way dealers will certainly be greater than pleased to provide you reduced prices.

Wholesale Buying Factor # 3.

Rejected orders. Usually a supplier makes small mistakes in production that lead in the direction of the denial of merchandise. Buyers who work for department stores such as Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are adamant in demanding that their merchandise be impeccable. Yes, there are times department store buyers see major issues that require the buyers to reject their supplier’s shipments, but sometimes buyers reject orders simply because of minute issues.  Errors can include pattern variations, color design, as well as size inconsistencies.

As long as the mistake isn't anything significant, the clothing will still be highly salable.

I once purchased a pallet of children’s outfits that was rejected by a buyer at Walmart. Why was the pallet rejected by the Walmart buyer? Because it arrived one week too late. While I was surprised to hear this reason, I can understand that a large scale retailer such as Walmart is working on a very tight schedule, and needs its suppliers to be on par with its schedule. Bottom line, I was able to purchase these children’s outfits at 10% of their original retail price. 

Ideally, you will want to explore all of the above three strategies, and adapt them to your market and see which one of these wholesale buying factors helps you purchase merchandise at the lowest possible cost.