That would be my advice if you're looking to buy wholesale.
Distributor is a generic term, simply means you distribute something (sell something)
Let's say you wanted to sell PS3, Contact Sony, you may not get the right department to start with, but as you work your way through the departments, you'll get to the person who can tell you a minimum number of unites you have to buy to get them a X dollars.
From that point you can then step up your order to negotiate a better price. Some companies have more flexibilities in this area than others. Sony was a bad example to give, they are going to have a set price per quota, and they will not be moving from that price.
Now buying in those numbers would make you the wholesaler because you would be sourcing direct from the manufacturer, and too be honest, now that I am talking about PS3, that's about the only way you could do it for a product like that because it is wholesalers that you are competing against on sites such as ebay.
That's why 99% are looking for a supplier, but not finding one that can compete.
Hope I didn't get too far of point for you, tried to wrap up a couple of points in that post..lol
PM if you like, tell me what the product is, what quantity you want to buy, and I'll see what I can to get you started.