Ten Tips when Shopping For a Wholesale Directory

1. Directory must have an ample amount of suppliers

Before joining any paid supplier directory make sure that directory have many suppliers, I would say at least a minimum of 2000 suppliers, there are plenty suppliers directories being sold but they have very few suppliers.

2. Make sure the directory rates the supplier
The other thing you need to be concerned with is how is the companies rated or even if the company is rated, you want to ensure that you are not buying from suppliers who may be sending you inferior products this will kill your business right away.

3. Need to make sure there are name brand products suppliers in the list.
It is very important when looking for a supplier directory that the directory includes name brand products, you do not want to be stuck with a directory filled with suppliers or wholesales that do not have any brand name products.

4. Make sure that directory is constantly updated there is no need to subscribe a directory that has outdated information.
It is very important to have an updated list of suppliers. Don’t get stuck with a directory suppliers list that has not been updated in years. Remember in this changing time information becomes updated quickly you may find yourself getting information that does not exist anymore.

5. Does the supplier list include American and Chinese suppliers?
You would want to make sure that the list includes both Chinese and American suppliers. Why? Chinese suppliers normally offer rates much cheaper than the U.S suppliers. On the other hand American suppliers are very good when it comes to drop shipping for your international customer. Bottom line it is always great to have choices.

6. Look for directory with Lifetime membership or a onetime fee
Try to find a directory that does not have monthly cost to maintain some directory expect you to pay a minor fortune for their information before doing so look into the ones that you don’t have to pay a monthly fee.

7. End User community features
There are plenty of supplier directories competing for your money but what you want instead of just a simple directory; you want a community of buyers who also interact with each other when there is a community you can learn from seller’s mistake. In addition they can tell you of their experience with specific suppliers.


8. Check to see if they have suppliers that offer low minimum order or samples.
This is very important the minimum number of units that some suppliers may be way above what you need or can afford. In addition the need to be able to order samples is key, you want to know what the quality of the products is.

9. Education & Resources
If you are using a paid directory they should always offers some educational resources so that you don’t have to go out and pay a bunch of books to start your ecommerce business.

10. User Support or Helpdesk

The directory should offer some sort of support of end user support so that if users have problem with the directory they should easily be able to put in a support ticket.

In this article, we have looked at ten criteria you can apply when shopping for a wholesale supplier product directory. You may come up with some additional criteria. But at the very least these criteria should provide you with some guidelines to use when it comes to choosing the directory that's best for you.