Benefits of buying clothes in bulk
1. You get discounted prices
You will save hundreds if not thousands of dollars buying your clothes directly from wholesalers instead of retailers.
Prices of clothes increase as the number of middlemen increases. A piece of clothing that passes through three or more people sells at a higher price since every handler wants to profit off their service. By approaching the wholesalers, you'll cut off retailers and other intermediaries, and this reduces your expenses significantly.
Bulk buying also drops shipping costs. Think about it, how much will you pay in shipping if you decided to buy your dresses, shirts, trousers, socks, and sweaters in bulk or under one roof instead of separate retailers? Also, most merchandisers provide discounted shipping fees if you spend beyond a certain amount. Hitting this threshold is so much easier when you're placing bulk orders.
Since you are buying the goods at great prices, you'll be able to sell the clothes at a greatly discounted price without hurting your bottom line. This also gives you an extra edge to compete against the more established businesses in your market.
2. Quality is guaranteed
Wholesalers get their clothes directly from the manufacturers. This basically means that all the expensive clothes you are getting are the real thing and not some knockoffs. Secondly, since the number of people handling the goods is fewer, you will receive clothes that are in a better condition and higher quality.
In case you didn't know, shipping and handling usually degrade the quality of clothes over time. This is especially true when the items spend too much time in a retail store and warehouses. This won't be an issue if you work with a reputable wholesaler directly.
3. Lots of goods to choose from
Merchandisers provide lots of products to choose from. You will get the same clothes in different sizes and colors to ensure that all your customers are taken care of.
This saves you the hassle of trying to collect the clothes from different retailers.
4. You'll form valuable relationships with wholesalers
Once you find a good wholesaler and start working with them regularly, you will establish a great relationship with them, which will add great value to your business. They'll always keep you in the loop of the latest offers and trends.
How to find a wholesale clothing supplier
Generally speaking, you'll have to choose between a domestic or overseas supplier. Both are good in their own ways, but they also pose different challenges. For instance, domestic wholesalers have better shipping times since they are located within your area. Communication is also much easier when working with a domestic wholesaler as compared to a foreigner.
On the flip side, a domestic supplier will charge higher prices to make up for their services. Your choice of clothes will also be limited to the goods the wholesaler has in store.
Meanwhile, overseas wholesalers will give you incredibly good quotations. There's also a wide variety of goods to choose from since they are in direct contact with manufacturers. The tradeoff is that shipping times are longer, and communication may also be poor due to the language barrier.
That being said, here is how you can find a wholesaler for your business:
● Word of mouth
Speak to the people in the industry to give you contacts of good wholesalers. The challenge here is some people might be reluctant to share this information if they feel like you'll compete with their business. For this reason, you should consider connecting with business owners operating in a different market from yours.
● Trade events
Trade shows are a great avenue of meeting and interacting with business people from different places. These networks can help you find multiple domestic and overseas wholesalers.
● Online directories
Online directories are a free tool for finding local and foreign suppliers of goods. Some of these tools provide lots of insights about the wholesalers. You'll get contact information, office address/location, annual revenue, year founded, number of employees, etc. These details can help you gauge the reliability of a supplier before you even reach out to them.
Make sure the person or company you decide to work with is reliable. The last thing you want is to disappoint your customers because of someone else's inability to keep their word.
To conclude, if you have a clothing business, ordering clothes in bulk can be a huge financial advantage and it can also help you streamline your process, which can lead to a real increase in sales in the long run.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
P.S. We want to hear from you! Where do you buy clothes for a clothing business? What are your tips? Do you have some odd stories? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
