Why this matters
Your first wholesaler contact often feels like a breakthrough. But purchase prices alone don't determine whether a product range works. Minimum order quantities, lead times, payment terms, returns, margins, and tied-up capital matter just as much.
Turn knowledge into a start plan
This guide explains one topic. Whether it is really a priority for you right now depends on your answers in the start plan.
Create start planWhat wholesale means for you in practice
Wholesale is the stage between manufacturers, brands, distributors, and commercial buyers. As a retailer, you are not buying for personal use — you are buying for resale or business use.
Many wholesalers therefore want to know whether you are genuinely operating as a business, which sales channels you use, which country you sell in, and whether your target audience fits their brand.
The most important questions to ask wholesalers
Don't just ask about the price. Ask about minimum order quantity (MOQ), minimum order value, shipping costs, payment terms, volume discounts, returns, damaged goods, lead times, pre-orders, product data, image rights, and whether selling via marketplaces is permitted.
For small side businesses in Germany in particular, the minimum order quantity is critical. A good purchase price doesn't help much if you have to buy six months' worth of stock upfront and tie up all your capital.
Calculating margin, stock, and liquidity
Don't just calculate your purchase price (Einkaufspreis, EK) and selling price (Verkaufspreis, VK). Deduct platform fees, payment processing fees, packaging, shipping, returns, discounts, damaged goods, taxes, storage costs, and your own time.
If you are pre-financing stock, you need a liquidity plan. An order can look profitable on paper and still block your cash flow if it sells too slowly.
Distribution rights and channel conflicts
Some brands do not permit every sales channel. Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop, your own Shopify store, or in-person retail can each have different rules.
Ask early on whether marketplace sales are allowed, whether there are pricing requirements or recommended retail price (UVP) guidelines, whether you may use their images and product content, and whether territorial exclusivity applies.
Quick checklist
- Have you prepared proof of your business registration, website, or shop?
- Do you know the minimum order value and minimum order quantity?
- Have you clarified payment terms and accepted payment methods?
- Have you calculated purchase price, selling price, fees, shipping, packaging, and returns?
- Are you allowed to sell the products on your intended channel?
- Have you clarified image rights, product data, and lead times?
Common mistakes
- Focusing only on the purchase price and forgetting the real margin.
- Buying too much stock because the volume discount looks attractive.
- Starting marketplace sales when the supplier does not permit that channel.
- Using product images without clarifying usage rights.
- Ignoring liquidity and then having no budget left for marketing, packaging, or reorders.
What this guide can and cannot do
This guide helps with
- create a question checklist for suppliers and wholesalers for you
- help you think through purchase price, selling price, and rough margin in a structured way
- make risks like minimum order quantities, payment terms, and tied-up capital visible
This guide does not replace
- review supplier contracts from a legal perspective
- guarantee that a wholesaler will accept you as a customer
- provide a binding calculation of whether a product range will be profitable