How do Owners Buy Inventory for Clothes Stores
Clothing is something that we need and even in a down economy people still buy clothing. Thus, there are many clothing stores that do well, and you might be wondering where the owners buy inventory for their clothes store. Store owners have many options when it comes to buying inventory regardless of the inventory.
Materials
- Internet access
- Determine the type of clothing you want to sell in your store and develop your niche. This will help you specialize in a specific clothing style rather than selling different merchandise. You may want to focus on plus size clothing, junior clothing or perhaps used clothing.
- Contact your state secretary of state office and register for your sales tax or resale permit. Most wholesalers will not sell to you without this documentation. If you reside in states that have no sales tax, visit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website and apply for the Employer Identification Number instead.
- Apply for wholesale accounts from manufacturers and distributors who sell the clothes you need via the Internet or by phone.
- Buy your clothing at garage sales as well as at estate auctions. This is an inexpensive way to obtain clothing if you are planning on selling vintage or gently used clothing. Consider attending the auction on the last day and attend garage sales a couple hours before the sale ends to obtain the best deal.
- Visit Internet auction sites. Look for wholesale clothing lot at sites such as eBay and Ecrater. Look for clothing deals at online sites such as Craigslist and your local paper classified section.
- Shop business-to-business liquidation sales. You can find these types of sales online as well as in your community. When you shop liquidation sales online, look at the shipping cost and factor this amount in the cost of your clothing when you set your pricing.
- Know how much of each clothing pieces you need to purchase. As a general rule, three or four pieces of an item should be sufficient.