Welcome sgtfrank,
Marc's right, you always have to remember that wholesalers don't often list their bulk prices on their website. You will need to login or contact the wholesalers to view prices. Wholesalers do this to protect retailers like you. It might be your money's worth to spend even 5 minutes of your time to sign up with wholesalers (or email then directly) and see how much the items are at different order volumes.
Also you have to remember that eBay has become an extremely competitive marketplace and it is not uncommon to find products selling at prices the same as or lower than wholesaler.
How can this be? Because lots of wholesalers sell on eBay directly to the public! Unfair yes, but its the reality.
What can you do about it?
* Order in bulk quantities to drive the wholesale price down
* Sell on another auction site other than eBay – there are heaps to choose from and profit margins are usually better. Craigslist is also a good place to sell if you live in the USA. (Let us know if you need more suggestions for places to sell online)
* Buy liquidation – this lets you get product for pennies on the dollar. (I’ll let you in on a secret, this is how lots of powersellers make money on eBay these days)
* Find a niche market with few competitors – collectibles and one-off items have amazing profit margins, even on eBay.
These days, you have to be pretty savvy to survive on eBay, so I hope we’ve given you some ideas.
Cheers!