Wholesale Canada
Drop Ship Sources
Last Updated: 3 February 2008


	NOTES

Useful package for Canadian resellers.

Inexpensive - worth the price.

cf. Aid & Trade.

Wholesalers, Dropshippers, Trade Suppliers, Distributors, Excatalogue Stockists, Surplus & Clearance Stockists, Manufacturers & Importers.

A Canadian and U.S. Resource ...
Good at thrice the price!

Wholesale Canada, based in Montreal, Québec, provides wholesale and drop ship directories initially developed as business information resources. In many instances, sources listed in the database do not have any specific minimum order limits, so the wholesale directory can be used to source single-item bargains or low-volume stock. Some of the suppliers deal directly with the trade customer only, however, and certain restrictions apply. In these cases, minimum order levels for trade supplies are often very low, ranging from 3-4 items at $50 to $200.

This is the first opportunity I've had to review Wholesale Canada, and I am pleased to report that it's well worth the price of admission. Indeed, I'd buy in at thrice the price. Memberships are $15 USD for six (6) months' access, and $20 USD for one full year. The database is updated on a regular basis, weekly or monthly, and, though I haven't checked every listing in the 96 wholesale product categories, my random check revealed only one dead link. The following presents a snapshot of what you'll find (24 January 2006).

Albums (47)
Antiques (12)
Aromatherapy (80)
Art (76)
Baby Products (83)
Balloons (7)
Barware and Accessories (21)
Baskets (47)
Bed Bath and Linen (185)
Books (57)
Boxes - Decorative Jewellery Music (81)
Brassware and Copperware (35)
Bridal (88)
Calendars (44)
Canadian Handcrafted (277)
Canadian Made (168)
Candles (277)
Ceramics and Pottery (149)
Childrens Products (74)
Christmas (169)
Clocks and Watches (101)
Clothing (142)
Collectibles (176)
Computers and Electronics (40)
Country Decor (106)
Craft Products (56)
Crystal (38)
Desk Accessories (25)
Dolls (46)
Fashion Accessories (156)
Fiber and Textiles (8)
Figurines (48)
First Nation Art (51)
Floral (39)
Floral - Dried and Artificial (124)
Food (50)
Fragrance Pot-Pourri Scents (86)
Frames (143)
Furniture (101)
Games (28)
Garden Products (75)
Gardening (170)
General Gifts (297)
Gift Baskets (77)
Gift Wrapping and Ribbons (57)
Giftware (316)
Glassware (170)
Gourmet and Specialty Food (78)
Greeting Cards (77)
Handcrafted - Imported (207)
Handmade (101)
Health and Beauty (36)
Holiday Seasonal (101)
Home Accents and Decor (444)
Houseware and Cookware (73)
Imprinted Merchandise (50)
Inuit (12)
Jewellery (271)
Kitchenware (78)
Leathergoods and Luggage (38)
Lingerie and Accessories (20)
Metal (10)
Mixed Media (53)
Museum Products (74)
Music Tapes and CDs (23)
Novelty and Costume (52)
Office Products (47)
Packaging (25)
Paper and Party (41)
Partyware and Balloons (25)
Personal Care (39)
Pet Products (20)
Pewter (75)
Planters (51)
Plush (96)
Premium Incentive - Corporate (99)
Prints Pictures and Posters (68)
Rattan (38)
Religious Items (86)
Resort Wear (30)
Retail and Display Products (34)
Retail Services (14)
Sculpture (21)
Smokers Accessories (14)
Souvenir (312)
Stationery (158)
Store Fixtures (17)
Tabletop (119)
Tableware (86)
Toiletries Soap and Accessories (74)
Toys Hobbies and Games (95)
Vases and Urns (38)
Wedding Products (38)
Wicker (28)
Wood Products (76)
Wrought Iron (60)

Critical Review
Last Updated: 9 August 2006

Logging in from Ottawa...

The product categories are shown at left, and they include more than 7,500 sources (the actual number of sources is less, since many suppliers stock products in multiple verticals). As you look through the list, note that there are many possibilities for niche development. Indeed, perusing the product lines for each wholesaler is an education in itself. Every wholesaler's entry contains Company Name and website (if any), Description of product line(s), Contact Details, Website Address, Rating (by members), and date of submission. Many of the entries date back to 2003, suggesting that this list has been in development for some time. I called a number of the companies, randomly screening the list, noting that the contact information and related details were accurate in each case. The Canadian Wholesale Directory is a very useful compilation.

There's also a U.S. Wholesale Directory. This contains some 56 product categories, many of which are different from the Canadian.

Of greater interest, from my perspective, is the Dropshippers Directory. This is broken down into Canadian Dropshippers (54) and U.S. Dropshippers (28), but the former includes one Hong Kong plus seven (7) U.S. companies who drop ship to Canada and internationally.

Now, if you're drop shipping product into Canada, whether from Hong Kong or the U.S. or elsewhere, your customer will likely have to contend with brokerage fees or duties. That means your customer will need to be advised of this fact at the point of retail sale - on your website or in your eBay auction. The Canadian companies offer a very interesting range of products from which to choose, but, if you're working with a Canadian-based wholesale drop shipper, and your customer resides in Canada, you may also have to charge GST/HST/RST.

As indicated, I made several phone calls to wholesalers during the course of my review. Though the wholesalers with whom I spoke were not listed in the Dropshippers Directory, they were open to drop ship arrangements. This is an important point: As you make your selections, be aware that personal arrangements can often be made with these companies. Though drop ship arrangements may not be advertised, they may be possible to negotiate. You simply have to know what you want and present your case.

When you become a member, you also receive free access to Wholesale Canada's download area, where you'll find a comprehensive eBay eBooks package provided to improve your selling experience on eBay. Included are (1) the eBay Extreme Package 4.0, (2) the eBay Entrepreneur Kit, (3) Auction Ad Designer Pro, and (4) eBay Templates and Resources.

These guides will not only enhance your selling techniques but will also help you with eBay auction designing, presenting and product selecting issues. Some of these guides have been prepared by eBay Power Sellers, hence you can learn directly from the experienced traders about how they managed to master the art of selling with profit on eBay.

Whereas the site does list a phone/fax number, there is no telephone support at this writing; everything is handled by email. That's a significant drawback, in my opinion, but the site and database are eminently usable, and I didn't have any problems.

From the FAQ...

What kind of business opportunity is Wholesale Canada promoting?

Although anybody could use Wholesale Canada to find bargains, our service was especially developed for those who want to develop a totally legitimate, viable and profitable trading business. This business simply involves purchasing Top Quality Branded Products at rock bottom prices - and reselling them for clear profits. In fact, thousands of people all over Canada are amassing solid & steady incomes by trading products such as those offered by suppliers listed in our wholesale directory.

A trading business - i.e. selling quality consumer goods for profit - is a particularly attractive business opportunity for a number of good reasons:

You run it at your own pace ...
The business can be run on a part-time or full-time basis - simply build & grow it at your own pace. It can easily be run from home to bring in extra cash - or you could establish it as a full-time business venture that brings in your main income. The choice is yours.

No prior business experience or qualifications required ...
Wholesale Canada provides you with all the sources and contact details of wholesalers you require to get going.

Very Low Startup Costs ...
You don't need huge amounts of capital to get started. Your starting budget can be as little as $40 to $50 - and by reinvesting your profits you can quite rapidly develop your weekly revenue to reach many hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars quite easily.

High Profit Potential ...
The products you will be dealing with are the same as those you'll find in High Street Stores. The key difference is that you'll only be buying them at a fraction of the retail price! This means you can easily resell them by undercutting high street stores

Top Brand Products ...
Many of the products sold by suppliers listed within our directory are top quality, well known brands that everyone has heard of - e.g. Sony, Panasonic, Hugo Boss, Raleigh, IBM, Hotpoint, Hoover, Phillips, Nike .. to name just a few. Once again, being familiar 'household names' , this makes your selling them so much easier.

High Customer Demand ...
Many of the best deals involve buying ex-rental, ex-catalogue or liquidation stock, or products that are close to being discontinued. However, all goods are still in good working order as new and, being top quality brand-name merchandise, the fact is that they still attract very high customer demand.

You've got nothing to lose!...
Even if you find this business is not for you - you can always use the directory to buy the products for your own personal use. The savings you make will easily pay for the purchase of our membership many times over! - (Note: Not all wholesalers deal with individual customers.)