Cosmetics Wholesalers? HELP A wannabe SELLER, Please.

[mickeypowpow]

I want to start selling cosmetics and associated cosmetics tools etc, on ebay. I am tearing my hair out in frustration, because I don't know where to start, to find the good name brands.

I don't want some no name stuff from half a world away, I would prefer even low level name brands from this side of the world, if possible.

I'm looking for brands such as nyc, opi, wet n wild, sally hansen, essie, covergirl, maybelline, revlon, rimmel, etc.

ANY help at all would be soooo appreciated. 🙂

[surplusdealdude]

711,392 results for 

cosmetics

Do you LIKE doing things the hard way?

Think for a minute - this is a brutally competitive category.  Why beat yourself up trying to get noticed in it?

[fernsevern]

Also nobody will give you their sources...you are competition! And...many of these companies don't want their products discounted om eBay...bad for their brand image.-

[reallynicestamps]

Start with the Yellow Pages of your local phone book. Then expand to the Pages for nearby cities.

For example, there is a Revlon plant here in Ottawa which has annual clearance sales of returned and overrun product.

Your other sources would be liquidators, wholesalers of beauty products, commercial auction houses, and the like.

You shoudl be aware that many of these will want payment up front for the product and if you are buying commercial quanitites may also want to see your resale permit /sales tax license.

Actually, if an online company does not ask for your resale permit, there is a good chance the product is not as described. Watch out for past due date merchandise.

Sales tax permits are free from your province. If you are confused, ask the office of your MLA for help. You usually don't need one from the tax people until you are selling $30,000 annually in product, but your supplier may want to know that you are re-selling. He gets tax rebates when he sells for resale, So do you.

[anguscoinshop]

Looks like some people just want to see there user id at the top, the OP didn't ask help for sales permit or tax.

 You will have far more success by trying to find something less competitive.

Good luck to you.

[mickeypowpow]

Hello, and thank you to everyone for all the advice. Any advice on this is appreciated, whether I specifically asked or not.

While I realize that there are a lot of cosmetics for sale on ebay, there are several reasons I want to sell.

1.) It is what makes me happy. I know cosmetics. I would feel happy in selling them, and helping others get a good deal
.

2.) Because of where I live, and where I would ship and the charges etc, I feel that I would have an edge, at least in the nearby provinces.

I have scoured ebay for hours and hours, and my main interest is in nail care, and nail products. Looking at the "bigger" sellers, some of their shipping for even just ONE bottle is often $20+.

I know it wouldn't be feasible to send all over the world, but I do know that at least for the people in the atlantic provinces, my selling would be a great thing. I wouldn't stick to JUST ebay, I would also likely use other sites, and perhaps even open my own little shop, online and a brick and mortar store. I'm not looking to get rich. I'm just looking to do something I love, even if it only allows me enough money to buy a few extra things here and there.

My main goal is ebay selling, and targetting people from rural areas that don't have access to less expensive merchandise in stores like Sally Beauty Supply. I also want to be able to give those people cheaper shipping rates simply because I'm closer. I hope that makes sense. I tend to ramble.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Looking at the "bigger" sellers, some of their shipping for even just ONE bottle is often $20+.

Maybe, maybe not. What you are probably seeing is the American inflated international shipping to Canada. Most likely, their domestic shipping is free. Most of your shipping to the USA will cost you $7.80.

Unless you can get your hands on current products, just this side of free, you will find it difficult. I was used to paying (COGS) $7 on my retail $100. Yes, buy for $7 and sell for $100.

The successful sellers have an "in" somewhere. They know their market. You need to know what to buy, when, for how much, what it will bring, what your profit will be.

As Pierre says "Know what you sell and sell what you know".

[femmefan1946]

You could try asking at local nail shops for a price on unused, unpopular colours. This sounds odd, but I used to sell woodstoves (bear with me, this is relevant) and the group of retailers who imported our best selling brand together also had a "turkey list" of unsaleable stoves.

But some of those stoves, unsaleable in Ottawa, were just the rage in Peterborough or Napanee. So we traded.

It 's called arbitrage. Buy low in one location, sell high in another.

But what you really need is to learn where those shops are getting their supplies.

It probably isn't on eBay.

Have you looked at the labels on your own favourite brands for the manufacturers name and country. Some may even give the city. Start with the company and work down the chain to the importer and the Canadian distributor.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Ya know, Femme, until a couple months ago I had no idea what a "Peterborough or Napanee" was. Now I is edumacated, geographically.

Woodstoves are interesting. What is common in this part of the world is flat out illegal in Winnipeg.

Depending where the OP is, they may have a chance at "en bloc". That is not something I could do where I lived before. Here, as Belleville as my HQ, the chances are greatly ehanced.

Finding suppliers, I dunno. Retail markup is one thing. Salon markup you are paying for the service. Selling on eBay is whole 'nother game when it comes to colours.

[pierrelebel]

"Know what you sell and sell what you know"

That is basic. Without knowledge of the products, its industry and the distribution networds, it makes it extremely difficult to succeed in the mail order business (that is what eBay is all about).

The nost important lesson I learned in business goes back to 1969.  A few words from Hyman Gisser, my business mentor:

"He who buys right.... sells right."

As mentionned by other posters, it is important to have regular sources of supplies allowing you to compete adequately.  It is much easier said than done. In the old days (1970's, 1980's) one had to travel to foreign lands (UK, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, etc...) to find the right export agents and manufacturers. Today, with the internet you have access to the whole world in seconds.  However, there is much misrepresentation out there.  One must be careful. And yes, it is extremely time consuming as successful sellers will NOT reveal their sources of supplies.  You need to dig them out.

Good Luck.

[mickeypowpow]

Hi guys! Again, thanks for all the replies. It's good to know where I stand, and what I'm up against. 🙂 I live in Newfoundland, rural Newfoundland. We have no real speciality stores here...to be honest, I don't even know if there is a Sally Beauty Supply in Newfoundland at all, let alone in my area. lol. Looking to the stores here would be fruitless in that regard. The nearest big city is at 3.5 hours away.

I will look around and perhaps even ask some people that work for places such as Shopper's Drug Mart, Wal-Mart etc, you never know what they could know about suppliers. It's worth a shot, I suppose.

I hope that if anyone is willing to share even one supplier, they would private message me. At least then, I would know something/somewhere. I don't want to research myself, and get scammed from some "fake" or overpriced company, hence why I wanted advice. Plus I'm not even sure what else to search for, I have researched every term I can think of really.

Sigh lol

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Concepts.

Buysing to sell will not work as you are paying someone's retail. How can you make a profit buying at retail? Most sellers have an "in". They work somewhere, know someone, etc.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Ever thought of selling other items.

I would think a rural area would be a Goldmine for unique collectables though there could be a lot of eBayers on The Rock doing the same thing.

 Best of luck.