Selling consumer goods at online auctions can be a very profitable business, but locating reliable bulk suppliers can seem like a daunting task.

There are several different types of supplier such as wholesalers, manufacturers, liquidators, and dropshippers, and each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Dropshippers may seem like an easy route to take because the goods are delivered by the supplier direct to your customer so there is no stock for you to buy upfront and no deliveries for you to worry about. It also eliminates the risk of being left with a lot of expensive stock if the product you have chosen turns out to be a poor seller.

However, the profit margins are likely to be much lower than those you could achieve by buying upfront from a traditional wholesaler. And there is a good chance you would be in direct competition with other sellers all selling the same products from the same supplier and all trying to compete on price.

Suppliers of liquidated stock, ex-catalogue goods and end-of-line products can offer very competitive prices but are unlikely to be able to give regular supplies of repeat products. This would limit your opportunity to save time by using the same listing template over and over again, or to save listing fees by using bulk listings and taking advantage of second chance offers.

There are a large number of wholesale lists for sale on eBay and elsewhere online, but generally speaking, I would advise against purchasing this type of list. In many cases, these lists have been compiled from trade magazines, telephone books, or from the Internet and much of the information is often out of date.

There are a number of websites online that provide lists of suppliers and their contact details. These sites usually charge a membership fee and vary greatly in the quality of information they provide. I personally have not used of any of these sites and therefore I am not in a position to give a recommendation. However, if you need help with product sourcing it may be worth your while to take a look at Worldwide Brands. They are an eBay Certified Solution Provider and speak on product sourcing at eBay University events.

As selling new goods is not my area of expertise, I asked Keith Purkiss, a Powerseller with more than 28,300 feedback, if he has any advice for finding reliable suppliers. Unfortunately, he has no magic formula to pass on. He told me that he found his first suppliers by searching for wholesalers in Yellow Pages, trade magazines such as The Trader and on the internet. Once he got his website he found that the tables turned and suppliers began to contact him. Keith is now so successful that he has started his own wholesale company. If you are based in the UK and are interested in selling iPod, digital camera or mobile phone accessories you may find it useful to visit his website .

Posted in Getting Started, Selling Ideas