A post on wholesale

Wholesale is an excellent way to add income to a handmade business. Most handmade sellers price too low to offer the usual 50% off their listed price and it is okay to explain to potential wholesale accounts (stockists) that you can only offer 30 to 40% off for wholesale orders.

I am not an expert. As usual, I have a nice little set up that came from me messing things up a bunch of times before I learned how to not be taken advantage of (payments up front), how to make the wholesale order worth my time (minimum of $200) and how to recognize what is not legit.

This would be one of the non-legit inquiries;

Hello,
My name is Mrs
Faith,I got your sales from ETSY and I would like to purchase this
Items with you on a dealership,not with the company cause i am new on
computer and i don't operates credit card.....All I want is
---6( Fleur Noire - Vintage Enamel Necklace )
---6 (SLICE OF LIME SUMMER EARRINGS)
---6 (STAR LIGHT ROMANTIC VINTAGE RHINESTONE BROOCH PEARL NECKLACE)
---6 (Swarovski Crystal and Sterling Silver Bracelet)
---3 (Turquoise and Yellow Shell Earrings.)
---3 (Tree of Life -- Sandcarved Hemimorphite Pendant)
---3 (PARISIAN LOVE AFFAIR CLEAR BLUE SKIES REPURPOSED VINTAGE BROOCH NECKLACE )
.Please kindly let me know if there is a discount to it, and also you
dont need to worry about the shipping because I have account with
Fedex which I can pick it up from you...Meanwhile,I will send Money
Order Or Cashier's Check for the products kindly get back now with
your full name and mailing address for payment ,,, looking forward to
here from you hope fully soon. Thanks and best Regard
Faith Smith

The clues;
Bad grammar, a business without a credit card is just plain sketchy, they have named items not even in my stock, and THEY WANT TO COME TO MY HOME. (You also have to have a credit card to have an account with federal express.)

I also do not reply to "do you wholesale?" No names, no business contact information or even a shred of interest in establishing basic human courtesy, ie, "Hello! I am a boutique owner and I would love to offer your work" , etc, etc....

Of the approx. 5 to 10 inquiries I receive each week for wholesale inquiries, I have to date 10 accounts, all over the world, that purchase regularly and offer a supplement to my business income. They know I will price fairly (they have to make a profit off these items or there is no point to stocking them), work quickly to ship the items (there is a normal 2 week wait with large orders) and they will receive quality goods their customers will enjoy owning that is backed by a 100% guarantee (either a photo or the damaged goods must be returned for me to refund or replace).

Why wholesale if I can just sell at full price?
For me it is a chance to sit and create for a few hours over a period of a few days and have a large lump of money given to me at one time. If you are in a position to receive $400 to $800 all at one time for your product, this saves a ton of time photographing, editing, measuring, writing accurate descriptions, listing, answering customer inquiries, packaging and shipping and deserves a discounted price. But that is for me and my type of product.

If you are interested in learning more about wholesaling, this is a good forum thread to bookmark and reference;
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6201294

If you are a boutique or brick-n-mortar store that would be interested in stocking my product please contact me, I would love to create exclusive designs for your customers!