For used device businesses, finding suppliers is a challenging and consistent activity. In this guide, we explain how to organize and manage bulk purchases, assess the reliability of mobile phone distributors, and avoid common risks in wholesale.
The Benefits of Wholesale Purchases
Used device businesses have two main sources of pre-owned devices: trade-in from individuals or bulk purchasing from companies. Most businesses rely on the second option because it offers the following benefits:
- Scaling your business is easier. Compared to in-store trade-ins, wholesale purchases are more streamlined and easy to manage. This makes them simpler to scale, presenting a perfect opportunity to grow your business.
- Your inventory is broader, and you can offer a wider range of products. When you buy from individuals, you have less control over the smartphone models, colors, conditions, etc., of traded-in devices. Sure, you can refuse to buy the devices that don't fit your needs, but you can't attract certain products. With bulk purchases, it's different: you choose the exact devices you want to have in stock, adjusting the inventory to your customers' needs.
The Risks and Challenges of Wholesale Purchases
However, buying in bulk has several challenges that you need to consider. Being aware of these issues will help you organize your workflow most efficiently for your company.
Supplier Dependence
Your business largely depends on other companies, which makes it vulnerable to price increases, quality of delivered products, delays, etc. It is especially challenging when you have a big supplier from which the majority of your stock comes.
High Inventory Costs
The overall spending on your inventory is high. Therefore, the risk of losing this money is greater and more concerning. The products can depreciate due to internal or external factors, such as trends, price fluctuations, the release of new phone models, etc.
Large-Volume Testing
Some might think that when you have found reliable phone wholesale distributors and checked the quality of their products once or twice, you don't need to test each smartphone they deliver. However, this is a wrong approach: In doing so, you can miss the devices that were wrongly evaluated by the supplier or damaged during transportation.
You need to carefully test each smartphone from the batch, evaluating both the functional and cosmetic condition of the device.
Inventory Management
Managing the stock is difficult and time-consuming when you deal with large volumes of smartphones. An inventory management system will help you streamline this process, ensuring efficient control over inventory.
A notable solution, designed specifically for used device businesses, is NSYS Inventory. This tracking system is based on IMEI numbers, ensuring quick and efficient workflows for businesses in our field. Moreover, NSYS Inventory integrates functional and cosmetic diagnostics results and pricing.
How to Find Reliable Suppliers
Finding trustworthy phone wholesalers is not easy. The main reason for that is the subjectivity of device grading: companies may set the grades differently, and testers on the supplier's side can miss defects or maliciously inflate the device condition estimation. Distributors can—intentionally or inadvertently—deliver goods of worse quality than expected, leading to increased repair costs and a higher rate of returns, which contribute to lower margins.
The following advice may help you find reliable suppliers for your phone business:
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Search for the wholesalers at reputable platforms. Although many, especially small suppliers, offer their goods via messengers or social media, consider using well-known platforms. We mentioned them in this article.
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Verify the supplier's legibility. You may find other buyers' reviews on rating websites, ask the business to provide registration documents, etc.
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Discuss all conditions with the supplier in advance. The main points to talk through are pricing terms and methods, return policy, warranties, delivery details, etc.
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Start with smaller orders. Even if you are eager to purchase a large batch of used smartphones, gradually increase the volume of orders. It will help you avoid losing big sums of money in case the supplier you have ordered from turns out to be a scammer.
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Test all devices you receive. Then, you will be able to quickly return defective smartphones to the supplier or arrange a refund.
How to Test Large Volumes of Used Smartphones
Automation is key to a quick and efficient process. It eliminates human errors, leading to objective and accurate results.
Implementing Reeva, the innovative robot for used device businesses, is the best way to automate your device processing. Reeva performs functional and cosmetic grading and wipes personal data from the smartphone. One tester with a robo-line can process up to 75 devices per hour!
Reeva is a perfect solution for large-volume testing as it ensures consistency across all your devices in stock. Try this robotic solution for your business!
