What You Need to Start with Wholesale
✅ Business Email + Phone Number
Don’t reach out to suppliers using your old Gmail from high school — it screams amateur!
Spend $9 and get yourself a real domain like mybrandco.com, then set up an email like [email protected].
You’ll instantly look more legit and suppliers will take you more seriously. Same goes for having a basic business phone number (you can use Google Voice or OpenPhone).
✅ Resale Certificate or Business License
Most legit distributors will ask for a resale certificate before they even send you a price list. It shows you’re a real business and legally allowed to buy products tax-free for resale.
Requirements vary depending on your state or country, but if you’re in the U.S., you can usually get this through your state’s Department of Revenue. A simple LLC + resale cert is enough to get started with 95% of suppliers.
✅ Basic Tools
At minimum, get familiar with Keepa and SellerAmp to check product history and competition. Bonus points if you’re using inventory tracking tools like InventoryLab, or have a simple accounting setup (even a spreadsheet is fine to start). The more prepared and organized you are, the easier it’ll be to grow.
How to Find Wholesale Distributors
1. Google Like a Pro
Most people Google “wholesale suppliers” and end up on scammy list sites or middlemen. Here’s how to dig deeper:
Try searches like:site:.com inurl:wholesale "brand name"
or"brand name" authorized distributor
This tells Google to only show results from .com sites that have the word “wholesale” in the URL and mention the brand you’re looking for. Combine that with things like “dealer application” or “open account” and you’ll find gold. It’s tedious — but it works.
2. Contact Brands Directly
If there’s a specific brand you want to sell, go to their official website and look for a “wholesale” or “dealer” section. If there’s nothing there, just email them and ask:
“Hi, I’m interested in becoming a reseller. Could you let me know how to open a wholesale account or where I can find an authorized distributor?”
Many brands will send you a list of their approved distributors, and you can start from there. Some might sell direct, which is even better.
3. Trade Shows
Events like ASD Market Week, Expo West, or NY Now are packed with suppliers looking for retail partners.
Pros:
✅ You can meet reps face-to-face (build real relationships)
✅ Ask questions in person — get pricing, terms, MOQ info right there
✅ Great for discovering new brands
Cons:
❌ You have to travel and book hotels
❌ Some suppliers won’t deal with small sellers
❌ You’ll leave exhausted and overloaded with brochures 😅
Still, if you’re serious about wholesale, going to one good trade show can give you a year’s worth of supplier leads.
4. Supplier Directories
Let’s be real — most of the popular “supplier list” sites are outdated or just a bunch of middlemen rebranding cheap products. Instead of pointing you to a public list that everyone and their cat uses, I’ve gone ahead and built my own personal distributor list.
I’ve already done the hard work:
✅ Vetted legit, brand-authorized suppliers
✅ Broken down by category (grocery, toys, beauty, etc.)
✅ I update it every month with new leads and drop inactive ones
If you’re interested, I’m sharing it with a limited number of people. If this is you, contact me directly.
How to Get Approved by Distributors
Here’s the key: you don’t need to pretend you’re running a giant operation. You just need to look professional and ask the right questions.
When you reach out, ask things like:
- “What’s your MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)?”
- “Do you work with Amazon sellers?”
- “Can you ship directly to an Amazon FBA warehouse?”
- “Do you have a dealer price sheet you can share?”
This tells them you know the basics and aren’t wasting their time. Some suppliers will say no to Amazon sellers — that’s fine. Move on. There are plenty who are happy to work with respectful, low-maintenance FBA sellers who pay on time and reorder consistently.
What About Ungating?
One of the biggest perks of buying from real distributors is that you can use their invoices to get ungated in restricted categories and brands on Amazon.
Once you place your first order (even a small one), you can submit the invoice to Amazon for approval.
Just make sure the invoice shows your business name, the supplier’s info, and at least 10 units of a product in the gated brand or category. It’s one of the fastest, legit ways to unlock more selling opportunities.
