Where to Find a Real Wholesaler
So, you’ve decided on a product or two to sell online and are in the process of finding yourself a good wholesaler for your product. You sit back in your favorite chair, power up your laptop, open up your favorite web browser and type in Wholesaler or Distributor into the search box. STOP!!!
Do not use search engines to find online wholesalers and distributors. The vast majority of REAL wholesalers do not advertise on the Internet. They simply don’t need or want to! As a wholesaler, they usually do not sell directly to the public, just to other businesses. This is why you need to make sure you’ve established your business identity before starting your wholesaler search (see my post on Establishing Your Business Financial Structures for some guidelines on starting your business). The real wholesalers do not advertise on the Internet because they simply don’t want to be bothered by thousands of smaller companies with marginal orders. They would prefer just dealing with the larger retailers.
Avoid the Middleman!
When you search for wholesalers and distributors though online search engines, you’re likely to encounter middlemen pretending to be real distributors. In fact, they’re just acting as intermediaries between the real wholesaler and you, and charging you more than what they pay the wholesaler. This cuts back on your profit and makes the middleman big bucks since they’re not competing to sell the product to the public. You are!
So where do you find the real wholesalers and distributors? Are they kept a secret?
No, wholesalers and distributors are not secret, but they are hidden treasures because many people simply do not know the proper way to find them. While finding them does take a little effort and patience, anyone can do it.
How to Manually Find a Wholesaler
The process is simple. Let’s say you want to sell a particular MP3 player. If you own that MP3, look on the back of the device or in the product manuals for the manufacturer of the product. If you don’t own the product you’re looking to sell, try going to a store that may sell it, like Best Buy. Take a notepad with you and write down some information from the product. Look for model and serial numbers and any references to manufacturer.
Once you know the manufacturer’s name, give them a call. Let them know your business name and ask them if they sell to inpidual companies. Chances are they will say no, but this is to be expected. If they won’t sell directly to you, ask for an authorized list of distributors for their products. The initial sales rep may not know the answer, but someone at their company should be able to get you a list.
Once you have obtained a list from the manufacturer of their authorized distributors, simply give the distributors a call and setup an account with them. If they have multiple distributors, see if they have a website listed and visit each. If no website is available, give each company a call. You’re looking to see which distributor offers the best services for your needs. Do you need them to drop ship for you? If so, this would be an important question to ask them.
Bottom line, if you want a real wholesaler, you’ll have to do some homework. The process is not difficult, but will involve a little research and effort. Remember, avoid searching the online search engines for this information. Wholesalers and distributors don’t advertise, so 99% of the time the ones you see listed online are fake wholesalers run by middlemen.
Security Release – Joomla! 1.0.14
With Joomla's release of their new version (1.5.1) patch today, they have also released a security patch for their 1.0.13 product. Anyone on Joomla 1.0.13 or earlier should upgrade to the latest version release to avoid any problems. Joomla security release 1.0.14 addresses some serious security vulnerabilities. As with most of their upgrades, they recommend that you test on a backup copy of your site and then upgrade your live site as soon as your testing is completed.
Security Fixes
- SECURITY [LOW] Fixed XSS issue in Search Component.
- SECURITY [LOW] Fixed XSS issue in Search results pages.
- SECURITY [LOW] Disallowed users from adding extra wildcard filters in search strings.
- SECURITY [LOW] Fixed multiple typos in back end Content Component making array integer check ineffective.
- SECURITY [LOW] Fixed case-sensitive flaw in Input Filter.
- SECURITY [HIGH] Fixed CSRF issue allowing portal compromise – Administrator components.
Other Significant Fixes
- Administrator logout problem.
- Fixed bug in Search Component where small word were not properly filtered out.
- Improved efficiency of regular expressions in Search Component (thus reducing CPU resources when called).
- Added "Preview" link to Administrator template (to match 1.5).
- Fixed bug in pagination links (extra space was being added to the link).
- Various core API fixes.
For detailed release information, patch files, and upgrade instructions, please visit Joomla's website.
Cheap Web Hosting – Review of BlueHost.com
Even though the Internet is packed with thousands of cheap web hosting providers, only the best web hosting companies survive and continually improve on customer satisfaction year-over-year. One of those top cheap web hosting companies is BlueHost.com.
Cheap Web Hosting – Exceptional Features!
BlueHost has been providing web hosting services since 1996 and has been giving users the highest level of support through their well-trained staff. Whether you are new to web hosting or a seasoned veteran, you’ll find their staff qualified to handle the needs of your business.?
BlueHost offers one standard package with everything you could possibly need for a single website or blog to a fully functioning affiliate network of websites. Since many of my readers are affiliate marketers, and those aspiring to become one, I recommend looking for a cheap web hosting company that offers a package that supports hosting unlimited domains. Why? Simple. One cheap web hosting package can allow you to create multiple affiliate websites for one low monthly price!
Affiliate marketing is all about finding a niche, creating quality content, and earning money. Suppose you have ideas for multiple niches? Are you going to purchase a separate web hosting package for each website? Now way! That would cost you a fortune and new affiliates just starting out don’t have the inflow of cash yet to support that method.
This is why finding a cheap web hosting company that provides unlimited domains to be hosted from your account is so important. With BlueHost.com, you have one administrative login to work from and you can create, deploy and manage as many additional top level domains (TLD’s) as you want. You also get the option to enable Secure Shell (SSH) capability which I highly recommend. This secure shell will allow you to use free applications like Putty to open up a console screen to your virtual web server for administrative tasks not easily done via the c-Panel GUI.
Instant Websites and Blogs!
If cheap web hosting wasn’t enough, BlueHost also offers the Fantastico set of plug-ins free as part of the web hosting package. There are about 50 plug-ins that are available, but two of the more popular ones for those wishing to create websites and blogs are Joomla Content Management System (CMS) and WordPress (blogging). In about 2 minutes, you can have yourself a fully functioning CMS system or blog and instantly start creating the content for your website. Now that’s a time saver and you don’t have to be a web guru to have a gorgeous website.
So, if you’re looking for cheap web hosting with exceptional features, support and reliability, look no further than BlueHost.com.
What is a Reseller Certificate? And Why You Need It!
What is a Reseller Certificate?
A Reseller Certificate allows you, through your business, to buy goods without paying tax. It is your responsibility to collect the applicable taxes from your customers when they order the product from you. Currently, most states require you to collect taxes from customers who reside in the state your business is registered in. If you need to clarify your State's position on collecting taxes, you should refer to your State's tax webpage for current information.
Who Needs a Reseller Certificate?
Basically, if you purchase products with the intent to resell it to someone else, you should have a reseller certificate. More importantly, the reseller certificate allows you to do business with wholesalers and distributors who normally require a valid Tax ID to open an account. The wholesaler will ask you to provide a Resale Certificate as proof that the property is being purchased for resale. This allows them to sell their products to you without having to collect taxes from you. Essentially, they're placing the burden of collecting taxes in your hands. Whatever there reasons, if you don't have a reseller certificate, they're not going to give you business. If you're in the business of selling products online, check your State's taxation website for information on how to obtain a Reseller Certificate.
Do you have a product to sell?
If you're looking for products to sell, check out WorldWide Brands. They can give you access to millions of products that you can sell. These are REAL distributors with REAL products. If you're serious about selling, these guys can get you started!
WordPress 2.3.3 Urgent Security Release
This security release will correct a flaw for those sites that have registration enabled. A flaw was found in the XML-RPC implementation such that a specially crafted request could allow the hacker to modify users posts.
Also, if you are using the WP-Forum plug-in, an exploit was found in that module as well.
Please visit WordPress to learn more about these exploits and download the XML-RPC patch or new WordPress 2.3.3 release level.