More and more people are starting their own home-based business. And many of these businesses involve selling merchandise either online or in a retail environment. In order to sell merchandise, you must first purchase your items from someone. This is the job of the wholesale supplier. A wholesale supplier buys items in large quantities from a manufacturer, then usually distributes them to various warehouses across the United States (or world, if they are a world-wide distributor). As a reseller, you will need to select a wholesale supplier to purchase your inventory from.

Location is Important
It is important to select a wholesale supplier that is as close as possible to your location. It is ideal to have one within driving distance if possible. This way, if inventory runs low, you can always drive to the warehouse to pickup more merchandise. However, if that is not possible, pick one that is only one-day away with ground shipping. This will save you time and money on shipping costs.

Let's look at an example. Suppose you want to start selling DVDs and video games on eBay and you have found two distributors. You live in Nashville. One supplier has a warehouse in Chicago, the other has a warehouse in Memphis. Obviously, your first choice would be to pick the distributor in Memphis. Even though you may not want to drive to Memphis to pick up inventory, the cost to ship an item from Memphis to Nashville will be a lot less than shipping from Chicago to Nashville.

FedEx and UPS Hubs
Most wholesalers ship items using UPS or FedEx. Some wholesalers even have their warehouses located near to this shipping company's hub. For example, FedEx has their main hub in Memphis, TN, but they also have smaller hubs in Anchorage, Alaska; Chicago; Fort Worth, Texas; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Newark, N.J.; and Oakland, Calif. If you choose a wholesale supplier with a warehouse in one of these cities, FedEx will have an easier time getting the package to you quickly. UPS has similar hubs located throughout the United States. Selecting a wholesaler with a warehouse in one of these cities will help guarantee a speedy delivery for a low shipping cost.

World Economy
With today's world economy, geography isn't as important as it had been. An item manufactured in China, can be sent via air to the United States in a matter of hours. However, the cost for this shipping can be expensive. So to minimize the cost, suppliers have many warehouses scattered around the world to help with distribution. By selecting a wholesaler for your business that has a warehouse either nearby or close to a nearby shipping hub, you can ensure that you will have fewer inventory problems and have the potential to save money on shipping costs.