'Wholesale' is a word that gets bantered about on the net and much of its original meaning has been diluted. Aggressive E-tailers often use this word to describe their low prices and even worse are those who pretend to be wholesale suppliers but really just sell their products at retail prices. How do you tell if you're dealing with a real wholesale supplier when you go looking for product sources?

By far the easiest way is just by looking at their prices. Prices almost always set the retailers apart from the true wholesale suppliers. If you don't know a product line well enough to judge price levels, try looking at their sign-up and purchase procedure. If you can purchase something without supplying a state resale number and/or tax ID, chances are you're not dealing with a true wholesale supplier. Most legitimate wholesalers require these documents before you'll even be able to view pricing.

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