Opening a wholesale business offline is difficult. First, you will have some of the top fortune 500 companies as direct rivals. There is very little chance that a new business can open competing against such huge giants. How do you expect to profit competing with high capital companies and unlimited budgets? The most profitable and sound possibility of opening a new wholesale business or discount store is through online marketing. Here are some reasons why.
First, owning a wholesale business on the internet is one of the easiest businesses to set up. If you’re already internet suavy, you could have your online business open in less than a day, while it takes months and sometimes years to open a wholesale business offline. There are also plenty of out source web designers that can help you build an online store for as little as $100. What could be better then having a low start up fee and having a business ready to make profits in a day?

With such a low start up fee, you’ll have more of a budget to engage towards marketing. With an offline business, you’ll need thousands of dollars to market towards successful leads and buyers. It is very inexpensive to market your company online and there are numerous ways to do so. The key is to get targeted traffic to your site and keep them coming back. You can market your online business through ebay, search engines, free link exchange programs and much more. Once you get the traffic and keep the buyers coming back, you’ll be more then excited when you wake up in the morning with an email that says “Notification of payment received.”
In conclusion, start your online wholesale business. Start off slow on ebay and other search engines. In the long term, you’ll see the rewards that come to you provided you have the right niche and services for online consumers.

-Jonathan Prescott

There is so much to do in San Diego, CA! My family has been up for the last week, and trust me, we are in no way short on things to do. Here is a run down of the Top Ten attractions and events we’ve done so far:
1) The San Diego Harbor.
What a beautiful place to explore! We went aboard the USS Midway and toured this magical maritime masterpiece. The Midway served our country for 47 years and was our first carrier ever home ported in a foreign country. It’s easy to spend all day in the harbor and look at all the incredible sail ships, yachts and cruise ships.

2) Gas Lamp District
The Gas Lamp is the energy of San Diego. Known for its fine dining, shopping, and hotels. We decided to eat at the San Diego Hard Rock Cafe and just tour the mall.

3) The Beaches!
Obvious, I know. From PB to Solana Beach to the upscale boutiques in Del Mar; The beaches in San Diego are among the best in the country. We hit up the beaches in Carlsbad and enjoyed a wonderful evening of aloe-vera courtesy of our sun burns. PS– Wear sun block!

4) The San Diego Padres
We saw the Padres play the Giants in a double header. The Padres fans sure don’t like Barry! Great game. Beautiful fireworks display.
5) The Beach House at Cardiff by the Sea
Great place for Sunday brunch. Sit on top of a balcony and enjoy the sounds of waves breaking 100 ft away from you and watch surfers get some early morning rips.

6) Mexican Food
The best! All I can say is find yourself a dirty old kitchen and enjoy some of the best Mexican cuisine this side of the border.
7) Sea World
Speaks for itself.

La Jolla Cliffs
Kayaking through caves, incredible sun sets, very fine dining. Take a date..Not your family.
9) Tommy V’s in La Costa
The best Steak house in the USA. Try their ragging rib-eye.
10) Coastal Highway / 101
This is a must do drive. You can see the entire SD coast and choose from dozens of beaches or restaurants to stop bye for quickie.

A major concern and cost of your business will be shipping your merchandise to the customer and the expense added to the cost of your merchandise. Make sure you always understand the shipping costs when purchasing wholesale goods. Nearly every wholesaler you deal with will have shipping costs and information clearly available. New retailers often forget to think about shipping cost when calculating their margins.

If you are likely to send only individual items or small quantities UPS or a similar shipper is most likely your best bet. However you need not run straight into the arms of the mega shipper. The much-maligned U.S. Postal Service offers a very similar service and costs a little less. It is also a good idea to look at Federal Express and other private shipping companies. In recent years they have brought their pricing inline with UPS and the Poastal Service.

Sending larger quantities can be much more complicated for the small business, particularly if the shipments still amount to less than a truckload. Many trucking companies offer pallet rates that would be far cheaper than a shipper like UPS. There are trucking companies out there that offer good rates on partial loads of varying sizes. Look for trucking companies that advertise “less than truckload” rates. A good example of this is Small Business Transportation, commonly called SBT, but there are many others.

It is also possible to find freight auction sites online. A freight auctionis where a trucking company will advertise an truck headed to a locale that has not yet been filled. They offer customers the chance to bid on filling up that load. You can get absolutely unbelievable rates if you are patient and have nerves of steel. As the date draws nearer the freight company will take just about anything just to fill the truck. However, if you wait to long you can easily miss your chance.

Useful Links…

United Parcel Service (UPS)

United States Postal Service

Small Business Transportation