9 Best Wholesale Suppliers for Sourcing Products

Faire’s interface is like a normal business-to-consumer (B2C) website. You can both search for specific products and brands as well as shop by category. While Faire offers free shipping and returns for your first order, there are supplier-based shipping fees and return allowances for all recurring orders. It currently is only available to a limited number of countries.

Faire has much to offer to sellers. It offers net 60 payment terms for all of its brands and purchases, and its free shipping and return policy for opening orders means that you can test out new brands risk-free. Not only that, but as you shop and purchase through Faire, the site will generate customer product and brand recommendations that match your previous search activities.

The majority of Alibaba’s suppliers are located internationally, specifically in China, so there are lots of opportunities to find wholesale goods at lower prices than you might find from North American suppliers. The nature of working internationally, however, does tend to introduce longer shipping times for products ordered through the Alibaba marketplace. Working with international suppliers also means that it can be more difficult to vet their reliability. To help with this, Alibaba allows their suppliers to become “Verified” if they pass a factory/warehouse assessment and inspection to prove the legitimacy and reliability of their business.

Alibaba also offers trade assurance for all orders placed through its site, ensuring that the products you ordered are “produced to the quality you expect, paid for securely, and shipped on time.” Its customer service representatives can help if that’s not the case.

Alibaba also offers a buyer membership program where you can become a Pro Buyer if you have purchased more than $300,000 on Alibaba or have a business that makes more than $1 million annually. All you have to do is fill out the Pro Buyer application to prove your credentials and then you get access to:

• Net 30 and net 60 payment terms for all orders
• Shipping consolidation services so you can save on shipping and freight costs
• Pro Buyer badge that suppliers can see when they work with you
• Six $500 coupons for orders of $20,000 or more
• Dedicated Pro Buyer 24-hour customer service

Alibaba has the widest selection of products and wholesalers on the market and provides security for all your purchases through trade assurance. Additionally, while there are certainly scammers on Alibaba’s marketplace, this platform has taken steps to make buying more secure with its Verified Supplier certification. You can even filter your searches and product pages to only include verified wholesalers. Alibaba offers secure messaging services and a well-equipped customer service department to protect its buyers and facilitate easy and safe transactions.

Unlike many of the other marketplaces we will look at in this article, Etsy is the only one that is primarily a B2C site. This does not mean, however, that it is not a great resource for retailers. There are several ways that you can utilize Etsy to find wholesale suppliers:

• Visit Etsy’s Wholesale Market Page: Here you can browse by product categories, customized based on your needs and preferences.
• Search: You can search for wholesale goods by typing in “wholesale + the item you are searching for,” such as “wholesale dog toys.”
• Message sellers: You can also message sellers individually through Etsy’s in-site messaging platform. You should include in your message that you are a business interested in purchasing their wares wholesale to sell at your store. Most sellers are eager to work with businesses that want to place large orders of their goods—it is a great opportunity for them, too.

Etsy is a great place to find unique, handmade items from small brands and businesses. Etsy also offers purchase protection through its Cases Policy and a rich review section for many of its products. Etsy is also a unique opportunity to support small businesses directly and many suppliers offer free shipping on their goods.

Unlike the other platforms on this list, Wholesale Central does not facilitate buying or any retailer-supplier communication. The site is only a directory that connects you with suppliers. Contacting the suppliers, placing orders, and arranging payment terms all take place off-site.

Wholesale Central makes it easy to find niche products and connect with wholesalers directly. You can send your product requests and discover thousands of suppliers. Wholesale Central’s suppliers are screened and are liable for removal from the directory if they prove to be unreliable or fraudulent.

Wholesale Central also has a partner site, Closeout Central, that offers a wide range of closeout goods, where you can find prices well below wholesale.

You need to be a paying member to shop in SaleHoo ($67 monthly or $127 for lifetime access) but worry not—you have 60 days to decide if it’s a good fit; otherwise, you can get your money back.

SaleHoo works similarly to other marketplaces such as Alibaba. You can connect your Shopify store to enable dropshipping, create your private label brand, or buy wholesale products. Shipping and MOQs depend on the vendor, and what’s great about SaleHoo’s product listings is that the majority are genuine, high-quality brands from the US like Sony and Disney.

What is impressive about SaleHoo’s supplier directory is how well-vetted its vendors are. SaleHoo also has a market research feature that helps buyers see trends and notice seasonal products. Its customer service is also highly rated among its users.

Like Faire, Abound is an online marketplace but one thing that sets it apart is that Abound doesn’t just curate its sellers—its retail experts review each one for reputation, quality, and reliability. Not only that, but it is adding new products every week, so there is no end to the discovery you can do on Abound.

Abound carries mid-priced products from both established and emerging brands. Additionally, Abound handles everything in-house, including setting shipping and return fees, messaging, transactions, and providing order protection.

Abound has a strong focus on supporting small businesses and providing them with an accessible and reliable place to shop. It offers 60-day returns on all opening orders so you can try out new brands risk-free and net 60 payment terms. Abound is also growing quickly with new brands added each week.

You need to sign up for an account with DHgate to browse its available listings. Upon signing up, you will see a variety of coupons that you can apply to your order. Since DHgate is known for counterfeit items, we recommend exercising due diligence when placing an order. It has a built-in feedback system where DHgate displays reviews for each supplier, as well as how long they have been selling, product quality, customer service standards, annual sales volumes, and percentages of disputes and positive reviews.

Once you place an order, processing time varies by seller but is usually fulfilled within three to 15 business days. DHgate has a very flexible shipping lead time, so consider this when placing an order. Its shipping lead times can be anywhere between three days to three weeks.

Once you receive your item, you are given the chance to file a dispute and claim a refund if the order doesn’t meet your requirements, is broken, or is not as advertised. DHgate holds your payment in escrow until you click on Order Received in your dashboard.

DHgate doesn’t have any membership fees and provides membership levels depending on the number of orders and purchase amounts you have placed. Once you reach VIP status, you are entitled to phone support. Most of its sellers do not have minimum order quantities, so you can place an order to check its quality before deciding to buy in bulk.

We weren’t able to verify if its buyer protection works, especially with claiming a refund. However, we advise you not to mark an order as received until you have thoroughly checked your parcel.

Worldwide Brands requires you to be a member to be able to use it. Once you are a member, you can search for suppliers by their brand name, the products you are looking for, and location.

The results you get are from a strictly monitored database of credible suppliers. Suppliers listed in Worldwide Brands go through a rigid application process and earn a Worldwide Brands certification seal.

Most Worldwide Brands suppliers are located in the US so price-wise, they may not be as competitive globally especially compared with China wholesalers.

You get wholesaler details such as the company name, full address, website, contact details, and any details about doing business with the vendor, such as payment terms or ordering methods.

It is hard to find credible and reputable vendors especially when you are starting out, so going with Worldwide Brands cuts to the chase and gives you a scam-free supplier list. The lifetime fee may be pricier compared to the rest of the vendors but is worth the stress-free supplier shopping.

Like Alibaba, DollarDays has almost every product you can think of, with more focus on serving nonprofits with affordable pricing. For-profit businesses are still welcome to buy in bulk, though. DollarDays is based in the US, so pricing may not be as competitive compared to Alibaba, but they don’t have order minimums and support businesses globally.

If your business caters to nonprofits, schools, and philanthropic causes, you could buy wholesale items—like baby products, personal care products, and pet supplies—through its wholesale site.

DollarDays offers quality products in bulk for charitable outreach efforts, fundraisers, and more. We like that as a buyer, you can also support an NGO through their charity program. A 5% donation is given to schools, charities, temples, churches, or other institutions from your sale.