The wholesale industry has been through many changes with the advancement in supply chain management. Wholesale import provides imported merchandise through either merchant importers who take title to the goods and then resell them or sales outlets maintained by the manufacturing companies or through agents engaged in buying and selling for others.

New business ventures rely mostly on wholesale dealers to source their products.



These large wholesale importers are normally one-step away from the manufacturers and deal with new products. Thus with wholesale importers, customer can be assured of purchasing new product. In addition, wholesale exports and imports of goods have advantage of buying in large quantities and thus pass on the savings to those looking for “products for resale.” Most wholesale importers or exporters would require the buyer to have a “Certificate Of Resale” to buy products from them. This certificate is not difficult to obtain though the procedure and cost may vary depending on the region.

Furniture Wholesalers

Wholesalers are the most common distribution channel for furniture exports and imports. The common product category includes, wood household and office furniture, upholstered furniture parts, wood and non-wood furniture parts, and metal furniture. The International Wholesale Furniture Association, a non-profit association of wholesale importers and distributors is a good source of information for furniture importers and exporters. The recent trend for furniture manufacturers has been to internalize their distribution channel to sell directly to the customer. This has diminished the role of furniture wholesalers. B2B Directory, Masterseek’s MasterListings provides comprehensive details on furniture exporters, suppliers, and dealers.

Auto Parts Wholesalers

Some wholesalers are Export wholesalers, who do not necessarily manufacture a product, but will export from manufacturers to sell abroad. A good example would be auto part wholesalers. These wholesalers avoid intermediaries by buying directly from the manufacturer. Auto parts wholesalers can reduce the risk of dealing with fake parts. Importers and Export wholesalers often use internet to import and export automobile replacement parts and accessories. Wholesale Online stores are a good option to buy and sell automobile parts, as they mostly deal with genuine parts and have low overhead cost, which results in good saving for the end customer.

Online sources

With internet, the wholesale industry faces competition from online retailers and manufacturers who directly sell over the internet. Traditionally, wholesale import and export operators, focused on distributing products from manufacturers and suppliers to retailers. However, in recent times, the wholesaler is required to handle the entire supply chain than just ship products. They are required to operate on national level and this has led to industry consolidation. Masterseek has a large database of wholesalers making it one of the best sources of information on wholesale business and dealers.