So you have reached out to tons of Amazon FBA Wholesale Suppliers and created a detailed list, however, you may be stuck wondering the type of questions you should be asking when communicating with them.

Well, no worries my friend, the good news is that you are in the right place to get the right answers.

I have gained valuable experience as it relates to selling professionally on Amazon and I am here to help you out!

So let’s proceed…

Types of Suppliers To Reach Out To

As an Amazon FBA seller selling specifically using the wholesale model, there are 4 types of suppliers you should be reaching out to.

These are as follows:

• Wholesale Suppliers
• Distributors
• Closeout Suppliers
• Brand Manufacturers

Let us now go over each type of suppliers and what you should be asking them…

Questions To Ask Wholesale Suppliers

The first type of supplier we are going to be looking at is wholesalers.

A wholesaler is someone who buys from distributors, closeout suppliers, and liquidators.

So they are buying the products from other companies to sell to retailers.

These are some questions you should be asking them prior to buying their products…

• When you bought these, did you buy all of them?
• And do you know if they were distributed to other companies?

Getting the answers to these questions will help you to determine if you should buy.

Questions To Ask Distributors

Distributors are the type of suppliers who are working directly with the manufacturer/brand such as Nike, Sony, Mattel, Hasbro, etc.

The distributor will buy from these companies in large volumes and resell to wholesalers and retailers.

These are the questions you should be asking a distributor prior to making your purchase order:

Ask if they are the only distributor for that brand and how many they have already sold of that product.

You should also ask them who they have already sold the products to (Brick and mortar, online sellers, etc).

You want to ask these questions because maybe there could be multiple distributors for those same products/brands.

Those other distributors will sell them to your competition on Amazon thus making it more competitive for you.

It is also a good habit to check the actual listing on Amazon to see how many sellers are currently selling the item.

I will usually buy when I see that there are 8 or below other FBA sellers rotating the buy box.

Questions To Ask Closeout Suppliers

A closeout company buys the last remaining products from a brand (manufacturer), distributors or other companies.

Usually, the products will soon be discontinued from the marketplace.

These are the type of products that you will usually get the best deals on for online sellers (highest profit margins).

The one negative about this is that in most cases, you will not be able to go again to re-order since they will most likely be the last of the products on the market.

Here are some questions you want to make sure that you are asking them before you make a purchase:

• Are these the last of the units on the market?
• Will there be more and did you buy all of the units when you made the purchase order?

Questions To Ask Brand Manufacturers

A manufacturer; also known as the brand are the creators of the products and pretty much where the supply chain process starts.

The diagram below gives you a visual representation:

When you contact a manufacturer, you want to make sure you ask them for a list of their distributors first.

Usually, big brand name manufacturers do not sell directly to retailers, so you want to make sure you ask them about their list of authorized distributors.

These authorized distributors have huge buying power, so they are able to get the products at the lowest prices overall and you (as a retailer) will, in turn, be able to get the lowest prices.

If the manufacturer is willing to sell to you, you will want to ask these questions:

• How many other retailers are there?
• Are the retailers brick and mortar only or are they also supplying online retailers businesses?

Conclusion

I have found that these are the most effective questions you can ever ask Amazon FBA Wholesale Suppliers and they will help you out in your business.

I hope this short article was useful in helping you to know the questions you should be asking your Amazon FBA Wholesale Suppliers.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.  I will be more than happy to help you out on this journey.

Cheers,

Jason Foster.

Founder: Smart Human Blogger