Bulking Up

If your business consumes large quantities of a particular good, knowing how and where to buy at wholesale prices can save you money.

In most cases, all you have to do to purchase at wholesale is demonstrate that you're a legitimate company and buy at the suppliers' required quantities. Some sources ask for your state reseller's license or tax ID number, which allows you to avoid paying sales tax on the items you buy at wholesale. Of course, you must charge and collect sales tax on the retail end of the sale, or, for items purchased at wholesale and consumed rather than resold, you have to pay the appropriate tax.

To get started buying wholesale, use the following sources:

Wholesale Source Magazine, 423 B Lenni Rd., Lenni, PA 19052; (800) 297-4036 or (610) 361-8555; www.wholesalesourcemag.com

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, Thomas Publishing Co., 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001; (212) 290-7277; www.thomasregister.com

Industrial Resource Network, 4300 Bright Rd., Dublin, OH 43016-8231; (800) 955-6335; www.powersourcing.com

Global BIZ Directory.Com Inc., 2511 Vasco St., Suite 118, Punta Gorda, FL 33950; (941) 639-6161; www.globalbizdir.com

National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM), 2055 E. Centennial Cir., P.O. Box 22160, Tempe, AZ 85285-2160; (800) 888-6276; www.napm.org.

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This article was originally published in the August 2000 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Bulking Up.