You can’t own a vape shop or any other retail business without a source of products – and to get those products, you need a wholesaler. If you’re an experienced retailer, you already know the purpose of a wholesaler. Wholesalers obtain products from the manufacturers and offer them to retailers in bulk at below-retail prices. You’re going to need to find a good wholesaler if you want to own a successful vape shop, and you’ll find that there’s no shortage of choices around the world.
So, when you’re looking for a good vape wholesaler to work with, should you just buy from whatever website shows up first on Google? Not necessarily. There’s actually a lot more to consider before you make your decision because the wholesaler that you ultimately work with will determine what your vape shop sells and how much you can expect to earn from those products. Those are two extremely important details for any vape shop.
Do you think that you’re ready to start a successful vape shop and fill it with products? Not so fast – before you get started, you need to find the right wholesaler. Here’s what you need to know.
Instead of Buying from a Wholesaler, Consider Buying Direct
The first thing you need to know before buying wholesale vapes for your vape shop is that sometimes, the best wholesaler isn’t a wholesaler at all. Many vape manufacturers are completely happy to sell their products directly to vape shops at extremely competitive prices. AMGRIN is an example of a vape manufacturer that offers wholesale vapes directly to vape shops, allowing you to skip the wholesaler and pay the same prices that a wholesaler would have paid.
Buying manufacturer-direct vapes does have one drawback in that you’ll need to establish relationships with multiple manufacturers if you want to carry more than one brand. The benefit, though, is that you’ll eliminate a step in the supply chain and will pay significantly lower prices as a result.
Minimize the Number of Steps Between the Manufacturer and You
When you search online for places to buy wholesale vapes, one of the first things you’ll learn if you dig a little deeper is that many “vape wholesalers” aren’t actually wholesale businesses at all. They’re actually retail vape shops that are willing to reduce their profits slightly if it means selling in bulk. When you buy vapes from a retail vape shop that doubles as a wholesaler, it’s important to understand that the vape shop is getting its products from a wholesaler and selling them to you at a higher price. Everyone in the supply chain wants to earn a profit, so every time a link is added to the chain, the price goes up. The fewer steps there are between the manufacturer and your vape shop, the less you’ll pay for wholesale vapes.
Know Where Your Products Are Shipping From
When you buy wholesale vapes, it’s very valuable to know where the products will ship from. There are many vape wholesalers around the world, so you should have no trouble finding plenty in your home country. If you buy vapes direct from the manufacturer, on the other hand, it’s likely that you’ll be ordering from abroad. That’s often the best decision from a price standpoint. When you buy from abroad, though, it’s important to anticipate your needs and order products well in advance of when you expect to need them. Customs delays can occasionally happen when ordering vapes from abroad. In addition, some products may ship by sea, which can take a while.
Note, though, that ordering wholesale vapes from abroad doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to wait through a slow international shipping process. Some vape manufacturers actually have domestic fulfillment warehouses stationed around the world to provide faster deliveries.
Find a Wholesaler That Provides Top-Notch Service
One of the reasons why some entrepreneurs choose to start wholesale businesses is because they’d rather deal with a relatively small number of B2B clients rather than a large number of consumers. Business customers tend to complain less, and it isn’t necessary to have an enormous customer service department because you’re dealing with dozens of customers rather than thousands.
The reason why we mention the difference in the customer service structure between wholesale and retail businesses is because there’s no reason why you should ever get anything less than flawless service from a vape wholesaler. A good wholesale outfit should always have ample resources to provide personalized assistance to every customer. You should know the name and number of your sales representative, and you should always be able to expect a timely response from that person during business hours.
Remember that great service doesn’t only mean knowing that you’ll get a quick answer when you have a question. It also means that you’ll have no trouble getting advice when you need it. For example, suppose you’re looking for tips about what products to sell in your vape shop. Your sales representative should be able to tell you what’s hot right now and what’s likely to be hot in the near future. You should never have trouble getting real information, and a good wholesaler should never try to push slow-selling products on you.
Final Thoughts
In this guide, we hope we’ve impressed upon you that choosing the right wholesaler is actually crucial to the success of any vape shop. Every wholesaler has a different product selection, so your choice here is going to determine what products you’ll sell in your shop. Even more importantly, though, choosing the right wholesaler will mean that you’ll pay the lowest possible prices for your products. The less you pay for your inventory, the less you’ll be able to charge while still earning a profit. If you’re doing business in an area with high competition – and really, that’s true in just about every city these days – being able to price your products competitively can make the difference between success and failure.
