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Looking to penetrate the lucrative clothing market? Wholesale jeans could be just the ticket! They're durable and practical yet always fashionable. They are versatile and essential to the modern wardrobe. Anyone and everyone wears jeans and there is plenty of room for new sellers to get into this competitive but rewarding market - just look at how many types of jeans there are out there:
- Baggy jeans
- Bell-bottoms/Flares/Boot-cut
- Boy cut
- Capri's
- Carpenter jeans
- High waist cut
- Jorts (Jean/denim shorts)
- Low-rise jeans/Hip-huggers
- Overalls
- Relaxed fit
- Shortalls (shorts + overalls – denim overall's with the leg length of shorts)
- Skinny
- Slim
- Straight-cut
Wholesale Jeans Sourcing Tips
When it comes to selling in such a competitive category, it's important to get a great wholesale price, which is why finding the right supplier is so important. Generally, drop shipping won't work for jeans – with extra drop shipping fees hiking the price of your products, you will struggle to keep up with your competitors. Therefore you are much better off buying a bulk shipment from either a wholesaler, a liquidator, or better yet, a manufacturer. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you search for suppliers:
- In order to qualify for their wholesale prices, most wholesale clothing vendors require you to order a specific number of items, so make sure you check the minimum order quantity before you go ahead, otherwise you may find yourself paying full price.
- Make sure the supplier can provide you with the popular brands. Jeans by Gap and TrueReligion are among the most popular on eBay
- Inspect the quality of the products in person if possible. Most suppliers are more than happy to send a product sample, so get a pair in your own size and style so you can test-drive them. Remember that most suppliers will charge you a higher price for a single sample pair, simply so that buyers are discouraged from continuing to do this over placing a larger order.
- Look for a supplier who has a variety of jeans in different price and style categories. This way you will appeal to a wider market. For example, maternity and plus-size jeans are both extremely popular.
- Cheapest isn't always best: find a wholesale clothing supplier that offers quality guarantees - and takes returns - even if their prices are a little higher. This will make things run much more smoothly for you in the long-term. Remember that the post-sale service you receive from your supplier is just as important as the how much you pay them.
Beware of Fakes
Unfortunately, where there are highly desirable, designer goods with hefty price tags, there will always be replicas. Considering the amount of money the industry puts into stopping the production of fakes, it is surprising just how many are out there.
It's often easy to spot a fake on a buyer – we’ve all seen the 17-year-old girls wearing last season's Old Navy track pants and flip flops, and sporting the latest patent-leather Louis Vuitton - all the while pointlessly attempting to prove to us that “ya, like, daddy bought it for me in Paris” when really, it was, like, $40 at an Asian street stall.
Don't go there!
Buying and selling fakes is not something you want to get involved in. The bottom line is, it's illegal - and your selling success will be short lived, as most auction websites police the illegal buying and selling of fake designer goods and have very little sympathy for anyone playing the ignorance card. Your account will be donezo before you can say “but they came with these authenticity cards!”.
How to Spot Fakes
You are probably dealing with fakes when:
- You bought them from a Chinese supplier. While that may sound a little harsh, 99% of the time it's true. Top designers are strict about how their products are distributed, so the chances of your Chinese supplier being an authorized distributor (or having distribution rights) are slim.
- The stitching is sub-standard. Most top jean companies are pretty fussy about this.
- Your jeans do not match the criteria in “how to spot fake sites” such as these for True Religion, Baby Phat, and Dolce and Gabbana.
- The brand name deviates slightly, such as Dolce and Gabana, Versaace, or variations of D&G (which cannot be protected under copyright).
- They are selling really cheap. If they are half what you might pay in a store, they are likely to be fake.
Product Sourcing: Where to Buy Wholesale Jeans
SaleHoo Recommended Suppliers:
Urban Denim Company is great for more high-end, designer brands like Baby Phat and Zoo York.
Children's Wholesale, as the name would suggest, this site is 100% about kid's clothing.
Trade Shows
Trade Shows are a great way to find new suppliers and build new relationships with them. They are also great for getting a sneak-peak at what is up and coming in your product area – crucial to anyone selling fashion items.
Cobb Tradeshow
When? Ongoing
Where? Two Galleria Parkway Atlanta, Georgia
What? Held at a permanent wholesale show rooms, the convention will showcase the cream of the crop in apparel products.
Hot tip: To find out about trade shows in your area, try Googling “trade shows + your local area”.
Liquidation Sales
These don't come by regularly but when they do, they are a great way to supplement your product range and increase your profits as you will be getting them at rock-bottom prices! Talk to your local departments stores about liquidation sales and keep up with local news about stores closing down. If you can, find out what will be in the sale and research it on eBay first, before you go and buy in bulk.
How to niche it up
Baby girl’s jeans have an over 65% success rate on eBay.com, so that makes a great starting point, but to really niche it up, look at deep niches like:
- 18-24 month old baby girl's jeans (18 is a commonly used search keyword for baby jeans)
- baby girl's flared jeans
- baby girl's pink jeans
Other niche ideas
- Plus size men's wholesale jeans – look for comfort features like elasticized waist bands.
- Women's colored jeans – very popular right now. Keep up-to-date with fashion blogs to find out what is up and coming. Pink jeans, for example, are huge together with other strong hues such as yellow, or violet and red, and sky blue.
I'm looking to buy a bulk of denim jeans and sell them to start up my business for people to feel comfortable in.