We’re looking forward to meeting you in Cologne!

The possession of a VAT no. for your business is precondition to the possibility of buying something from a wholesaler or distributor operating from a foreign country within the EU. Without a valid VAT no. you have to pay sales taxes!

In addition, since 2010 the seller residing within the EU and selling to a foreign customer from the EU has to check the validity of a given VAT no. of the customer – but not only, if the number exists and complies to the structure of the country of origin, but also if the customers’ company name and city are connected to this number – a fact often forgotten by customers which wonder why they’re receiving an invoice with taxes. Please note: This check has to be performed at the time of invoice issuing! In your interest, make sure that all necessary VAT no. information and corresponding company data have been exchanged between seller and buyer to avoid any misunderstandings and unnecessary work.

For starters, you can check the validity of a given VAT no. online at http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/?locale=en, but please note, that this check doesn’t include the date needed for a qualified check required by EU tax laws. These checks can be performed at the websites of the appropriate tax offices of involved European countries, e. g. in Germany at http://evatr.bff-online.de/eVatR/index_html. The web services offered there also include an XML API to set up VAT no. confirmation processes for your German company.

Where can you get a VAT no.?

Simple question, simple answer: Ask your local tax office, because this depends on the country your company is located in. Germany as an example again: https://www.formulare-bfinv.de/ffw/form/display.do?%24context=0 offers an official online registration form to apply for a UStId (the german technical term for VAT no.).

1^st things 1^st: DVDs and Blu-rays are small, compact and lightweight. Altogether, they are easy to store and ship – or to be placed in sales promotion areas in retail. Even in dvd wholesale you can sell large numbers of DVDs without executing logistics master skills.

Huge target groups for DVD wholesale

Foundation for wholesale DVD and succeeding resale naturally is the equipment of customers with corresponding players. These preconditions can be put aside, though, in the case of DVDs. E. g. considering the European market, in Germany as a major target market for DVDs and Blu-rays, almost every German household is in possession of at least one DVD player! According to this number and 3^rd party statistics, 2009 more than 106 million DVDs have been sold in Germany. This demand for DVDs can only be called huge resulting in excellent opportunities for DVD wholesale and retail, respectively e-commerce.

Blu-rays don’t possess such a fantastic base, although demand rises steadily: In 2009 more than 6 million disks have been sold in Germany. Don’t forget, that Blu-rays have emerged on the market in 2007, so this development is remarkable.

DVD wholesale: Manifold choice

The choice of products in DVD wholesale is typically structured along the genre of content:

• Action films
• Thriller
• Horror movies
• Comedy
• Documentations
• Erotic movies
• Films for children
• Music DVDs
• Series
• Cartoons, anime & manga
• Science fiction
• Classics
• Drama
• Sets
• Etc.

Which DVDs you want to buy from DVD wholesale for succeeding resale depends on your view of the market. In any case you should structure your product range according to the demand and willingness to pay of your target group, which should be higher for current Hollywood productions than for the first season of an unknown TV series, but also older productions may be attractive to fans and collectors.

Mixed packages very interesting in DVD wholesale

Mixed packages containing a more or less diverse assortment are sold and bought very frequently. In the best case you can decide the mixture of such a package yourself or at least get a good picture of the content included in a package. This way you can judge resale chances in your preferred distribution channel and calculate competitive prices in a price comparison. Don’t hesitate to ask your DVD wholesaler this, if important data is missing in an offer – no one wants a blind bargain!

Usually, you are able to get a healthy mixed calculation at a reasonable price, which is benefitial for both sides. Always check if the content can be sold in mixed bundles to your target group to use this mixed calculations in your sales, too.

Age rating of DVDs

You should also decide, what you want to sell and to whom. Throughout Europe there are several age rating laws, e. g. the FSK (voluntary self control of movie business) offering the following age rating scale:

• Release from 0 years
• Release from 6 years
• Release from 12 years
• Release from 16 years
• Release from 18 years

Also consider the relevant passages of child and youth protection laws to be on the safe side!Be sure that you only sell and deliver products bought from DVD wholesale to such persons that are old enough! This can be made sure e. g. by ID control.

• Bags
• Handbags
• Shopping bags & shoppers
• Purses
• Messenger bags
• Shoulder bags
• Clutches and evening bags
• School bags
• Beach bags
• Backpacks
• Sport bags
• Specialty bags
• Etc.

As most fashion and accessories segments, wholesale bags include women as well as men and children as target groups with women possessing the most attention considering market volume and seasonal trends. Fashion and style magazines often deal with the latest trends and models worn by celebrities to give inspiration and buying stimulus to their readership.

Complementary products of wholesale bags

An interesting factor of bags wholesale is the connection to several complementary product groups, which are often offered and bought along with bags. e. g.:

• Jewelry and fashion jewelry
• Sunglasses
• Scarves
• Hair accessories
• Etc.

As you see, these complementary product groups also focus on women as target group. In addition, it’s common for women to buy bags for their husband, life partner, their children or as a present to family or friends. If you want to buy bags from wholesale, it’s not huge mistake to keep this in mind and to keep up to date with the latest trends mentioned on trade fairs, in lifestyle magazines and fashion blogs like http://www.fashionising.com/blogs. These media multipliers are able to inform you and create trends for themselves, so keep a close eye on a suitable selection of these sites.

European bags wholesale

You don’t have to go overseas if you want to find suppliers in bags wholesale: Several European countries like Italy or France as examples are renowned for their tradition in fashion in general, which naturally includes a wide range of bags designers, manufacturers and wholesalers.  But other European countries offer interesting locational advantages like low labor costs, short delivery ways and times, the unified EU currency Euro and so on. Online wholesale marketplaces like Wholesale.eu give you the opportunity to choose from a range of immediately available bags from wholesale focusing on European suppliers.

• Sleeve dresses
• Strapless dresses
• Cocktail and evening dresses
• Beaded dresses
• Short / long dresses
• Full length dresses
• Wedding dresses
• Children’s dresses
• Plain-colored dresses
• Ornamental dresses
• Etc.

Decisions in dresses retail

If you want to buy from dresses wholesale for the purpose of resale, you have to decide which product range your target is and for what purposes the dresses you deal with are suited. It’s a almost impossible to offer “everything”, so stay focused! A well-planned market research for your target market and target groups is essential for your business:

• What kinds of dresses are sold by competitors in your target market?
• Which kinds of consumers exist in your target market and what is their demand considering dresses? Which problems are solved by the buying of a dress?
• What is the typical price range of dresses bought from your target group?
• Which materials are preferred?
• Which sizes are typical?
• How much does you target group spend on dresses per annum / season?
• What are the upcoming trends in the fashion business?
• Which brands are “hot”?

These questions only represent an extract of the work you have to do before you start buying from wholesale for your business, but it’s worth the effort.

In the next step – after identifying suitable dresses wholesalers – you have to match your demand with the products and conditions of the wholesalers / distributors:

• What are the minimum order quantities per product / per order?
• What are the delivery times?
• Can remaining stocks be returned to the wholesaler / distributor?
• Can suitable accessories be ordered along with dresses?
• Does the wholesaler offer competent advice for retail product range compilation?
• What are the payment conditions?
• Etc.

Please notice that not only the products you want to buy from dresses wholesale have to match your demand but also the “surroundings” have to match your business requirements. It doesn’t help you if you want to buy 20 pieces of the perfect dress for four target group in 4 sizes if the wholesaler only offers this dress starting from a minimum order size of 50 pieces per size.

Dress sizes in the international context

Mentioning sizes: Be aware that size indications vary in the international context, depending on the suppliers market / main target market. As a starting point, the following online tool for international size conversion may be helpful to you: http://www.onlineconversion.com/clothing_womens.htm

This short article wants to raise your awareness for certain important aspects of dresses wholesale – nonetheless we wish you lots of success in this interesting business!

• Retailer
• Reseller
• Industrial user
• Commercial / professional user
• Institutional user

Several regional markets include other actors on the buying side, e. g. the registered club/society in Germany, which is in possession of a legal entity of its own. In some cases, wholesale also may exist in a transaction between two wholesalers, e. g. in the case of an export/import transaction.

Wholesale closes the gap between a manufacturer and the target groups mentioned above and is a part of the distribution chain. As such, it has been subject of various studies and scientific approaches that deal with the matter of distribution and its management.

What is traded?

Almost every tangible product may be sold and bought in wholesale:

• Consumer goods
• Commodities
• Machines
• Consumable material
• Food & beverages
• Etc.

Please note that not only new or freshly produced items are subject to wholesale processes, but also used or broken products. If you want to buy from wholesale, always check the product condition to be on the safe side. Buying from wholesale is often restricted to the target groups mentioned above (b2b – business-to-business) and prohibited for private persons, because of economies of scale and legal specifics that strictly divide b2b transactions from b2c (business-to-consumers) business.

This short post tries to answer the most common questions around “What is wholesale” – if there are still some questions marks left, please feel free to comment this article or to contact us directly!

The first article of this series deals with energy drinks. One of the most famous energy drinks is Red Bull, which has established its brand not only with tasty drinks – though this statement depends on individual taste – but with a brand world that includes ownership of soccer teams, sponsoring sportsmen and whole teams up to the installation of event series and an lifestyle magazine and TV programme of its own.

By this, Red Bull has established an enormous industry sector within the beverages segment including several competitors benefiting from this development. Typically, these competitors locate themselves in cheaper price segments to address target groups for which the pioneer product are too expensive. As a diversification, several spin-off products like a “Light” product range or mixed drinks like Cola or Alcopops have emerged from different producers.

Resellers and retailers are able to benefit from this trend by offering energy drinks as regular assortment or sales campaign – there are a lot of offers in the market, even stock lots of the expensive product ranges. If you want to check basic facts of the brands and products we speak of, we suggest the interesting blog Dong.de where nutrition facts and comparisons between drinks are provided.

Several legal obligations have to be considered, though: Starting from can deposits, alcoholic mixed drinks up to customs. The special consequences strongly depend on where your company resides and on where you’re buying from. If you have the opportunity to buy a stock of energy drinks from wholesale or directly from the manufacturer, you should check the websites of relevant foreign trade chambers, chamber of commerce or other responsible administrative offices to be on the safe side.