If it is your intention to buy casters in bulk for your commercial warehouse, then the smart thing to do is make your purchase from a wholesaler rather than a retailer. A wholesaler is typically only interested in bulk purchases, whereas a retailer is only interested in unit-by-unit sales. Your initial investment may be larger when you purchase from a wholesaler, but the amount of savings you receive on a unit-by-unit basis will be substantial.
It therefore makes much more sense to buy wholesale casters. Buying, say, 100 casters in one order will save you money as opposed to buying the same number of casters on an ‘as needed’ basis over a lengthy period. Plus, you will always have a spare caster or two on hand when you need to replace a damaged or worn-out item.
Why Do Retailers Charge More?
Retailers have more overhead – it really is as simple as that. They have to recoup this overhead from somewhere, so they typically increase the retail price that they charge their customers.
A retail outlet is usually much more public facing than a wholesaler, and they deal more with members of the public as opposed to commercial organizations. They also have to employ more staff to deal with customer inquiries and sales. All this adds to their ongoing costs.
Wholesalers have a different approach to selling, which includes employing less staff. Their overhead is typically lower, which also means their ‘per unit’ prices are much lower, especially if you buy in bulk.
Why Should You Purchase Casters in Bulk for Your Commercial Warehouse?
When you make a purchase from a wholesaler, you will benefit in that you will gain access to a wider selection of specific items than you would at a retailer. This is because wholesalers typically concentrate on one particular product, or a tighter range of products. Retailers tend to spread themselves wider with the range of products they supply, but only have a limited stock of each specific product. Retailers make profits by their wide range of products, whereas wholesalers make profits based more on the quantity of the particular products they sell.
Wholesalers tend to supply to retailers themselves. Obviously, the more retailers a wholesaler can supply to, the better for the wholesaler. Retailers do not tend to purchase direct from the manufacturers, whereas wholesalers often do. This is because manufacturers are only interested in supplying in bulk, and retailers do not usually purchase in great numbers.
Why Buying in Bulk from a Wholesaler Will Benefit You
You could think of the whole manufacturer-to-individual unit sale process as being like a funnel. At the larger end of the funnel is the manufacturer, and at the smallest end is the individual sale. As you can imagine, the amount of units sold dwindles as the path along the funnel progresses. A wholesaler sits a third of the way from the larger end of the funnel, and the retailer sits 1/3 of the way further along. As a result, this means that manufacturers are only interested in selling to wholesalers – not retailers, and definitely not on a unit-by-unit basis.
All this means that it’s easy for wholesalers to buy in bulk from a manufacturer and still make decent profits by keeping unit costs low. The further along the tunnel – the higher the individual unit price. It therefore pays you to obtain your products from as close to the larger end of the funnel as possible, as the per-unit cost will be lower.
Unfortunately, unless you are making a significant purchase in bulk, you will not be able to buy direct from the manufacturer. Your best option is then of course to make your bulk purchase from a wholesaler, as it will save you significant costs in the long run.
An Explanation of the Different Types of Wholesalers
There are generally three types of wholesalers, as explained below:
- No service wholesalers – these types of wholesalers are only ‘interested’ in one thing – selling items to you in bulk. You go to them, you make a purchase on a cash, no-credit basis, and you take your items away. No service wholesalers also generally have a tight range of products.
- Limited service wholesalers – A limited service wholesaler is a slight step upwards from a no service wholesaler. Limited wholesalers may offer credit facilities (but generally not for new customers) and delivery options. Their product range is still likely to be limited though.
- Full service wholesalers – full service wholesalers are those companies who have been well established for a significant period of time – just like the team at Douglas Equipment. Full service wholesalers make profits by establishing proven long-term relationships with the people they supply to. They are much more likely to offer delivery/logistical options and credit facilities than limited or no service wholesalers. They tend to have much larger inventories than other types of wholesalers, which means they can offer an excellent variety of items, and can also fulfill significant bulk orders with ease.
Some full service wholesalers will also offer much more than a ‘supply and buy’ service. This may include product and business advice. In short, they want you to return to them time and time again when you’re making a bulk purchase, so they will make sure you are well treated and that you are happy with the services they provide for you.
Speak to our Team at Douglas Equipment!
Over the years we have been in business, we have built an enviable reputation for ourselves as one of the biggest and best suppliers of casters in bulk in the Florida area. Our sales team are second-to-none when it comes to helpful advice, and would be willing to handle any potential questions that you may have.
To speak to a member of the Douglas Equipment customer support team, please call us at 1-800-451-0030. If you’d prefer, you can instead use our online contact form where we’ll follow up as soon as possible.
