How to buy wholesale clothing

Kaelyn Max

Kaelyn Max

When acquiring merchandise for your clothing store or boutique, understanding the process of buying women’s clothing wholesale will go a long way to ensuring customer satisfaction in the most cost-efficient way. Here are some smart guidelines when developing a process to create an exciting inventory that will keep your clients coming back for more.

First, you must have a sales tax ID number. This number should have been issued early on in the process. If you are planning to open a clothing store, you will need to bring a letter of intent to do so in lieu of the tax ID number.

Fashions, by their nature, will change frequently. It’s important to develop healthy relationships with your wholesalers. They are the ones on the front lines of these changing fashions. Once you pick the wholesalers you wish to work with, spend some time getting to know them, informing them of your mission and basic style choices so they can be on the lookout for what you need and like.

Finding good wholesalers can be done over the Internet, or, by making regular shopping trips each year to fashion headquarters in various cities around the world. New York City has an entire district that caters to wholesale fashion buyers. On the other hand, local flea markets are places to find other vendors selling the styles you want to carry. Strike up a conversation and see if they will be willing to share their wholesalers with you.

If you are only selling on the Internet, find a wholesaler who will update you often about new styles, sales, and hot sellers.

Be very careful if you choose to do business with foreign wholesalers. They can generally offer a much better deal around quantity and price, but educate yourself on not only tariffs and taxes, but also on customs procedures. Be sure to request that the packing list be attached to the outside of the box for easy access. Otherwise, customs officials may end up opening the packages and searching them before delivering inventory to you.

A-List Women's Multicolor Tiered Maxi Dress

A-List Women's Multicolor Tiered Maxi Dress

When first establishing relationships with your wholesalers, be sure to place an initial order of some basic wardrobe staples, like wholesale maxi dresses. Once you receive the first order, you can check the actual quality (if you are buying for the first time from a seller you have not met in person). You also need to see how responsive and accurate in their orders they are. Pictures on a website should be excellent depictions of the items that arrive. Plus, remember you are developing a relationship. Do they ship in a timely fashion? Can you reach them over the phone? Get to know them before you invest further.

As fashions are always changing, be sure to buy what works for your store. Choose a variety of sizes and colors that will appeal to your clientele and have fun doing it!