buying guides
How to Calculate Landed Cost
The full cost of getting wholesale goods into your warehouse, itemised, including the components buyers most often leave out of the calculation.
Author profile
Jack Lau
Ecommerce operator and sourcing editor
Jack Lau has six years of hands-on ecommerce operating experience, working primarily in sales data analysis and product trend evaluation for wholesale buying decisions.
- Six years operating ecommerce businesses
- Focus on sales data analysis and demand forecasting
- Evaluates product trends for wholesale purchasing decisions
Published work
Articles by Jack
buying guides
What Is MOQ in Wholesale Buying?
What a minimum order quantity is, the cost structure that produces it, and how MOQ differs from minimum order value and minimum packaging quantity.
ecommerce sourcing
Domestic vs Overseas Suppliers
How local and overseas sourcing differ on cost, minimums, speed and risk, and which one suits a product that has not proven demand yet.
ecommerce sourcing
How to Request a Wholesale Quotation
What to put in a request for quotation so the replies are comparable, and how to read what comes back for more than just the price.
consumer electronics
Buying End-of-Line Electronics Stock
Why clearance electronics are discounted, how to separate a genuine end-of-line lot from stranded stock, and what a former-price claim on your listing must support.
consumer electronics
How to Source Consumer Electronics
A decision walkthrough for sellers entering electronics, from choosing an authorised or parallel route to sizing a first order against model lifecycle.
consumer electronics
Warranty and Returns on Wholesale Electronics
Who actually answers a customer's warranty claim on wholesale electronics, why the obligation follows the seller regardless of channel, and how to budget for it.
mobile accessories
Buying Chargers and Adapters Wholesale
How to specify wall chargers and adapters so output claims hold up, and which certification and quality checks matter before a first bulk order.
mobile accessories
Buying Phone Cases Wholesale
Cases fail on model fit and on intellectual property rather than on safety, which moves the sourcing effort to tooling, fit samples and evidence that a design can be sold.
mobile accessories
Buying Power Banks Wholesale
What to specify and verify when sourcing power banks, where stated capacity diverges from delivered capacity, and why transport rules shape the order.
mobile phones
Phone Grading Standards and How to Enforce Them
Grade A has no industry definition, so it has to be built in the contract — per-grade criteria, a sampling plan, a rejection threshold and a remedy that survives a dispute.
mobile phones
New vs Used Phones for Wholesale Buyers
How new, refurbished and used handset stock differ on margin, risk and returns, and which one suits a seller without established supplier relationships.
wholesale distributors
Wholesale Distributors for Small Business
How to open a distributor account with low volume, what makes a small buyer worth serving, and the alternatives when you sit below the minimum.
wholesale distributors
How to Evaluate a Wholesale Distributor
The questions that separate a distributor worth building on from one that will fail you during a shortage, once basic counterparty checks are done.
wholesale distributors
International Wholesale Distributors
How cross-border distribution works, why territory rights limit who may supply you, and what changes in cost and liability when stock crosses a border.
wholesale suppliers
How to Find Wholesale Suppliers
Where to look for wholesale suppliers beyond the first page of a B2B platform, and how to filter a long list down to candidates worth quoting.
wholesale suppliers
Manufacturer vs Wholesaler vs Distributor
What each link in the supply chain actually controls, who is accountable when goods are wrong, and which one an ecommerce seller should be buying from.
buying guides
EXW vs FOB vs CIF Explained
How the three most common trade terms divide cost and risk between buyer and seller, and which one gives a first-time importer the most control.
ecommerce sourcing
How to Negotiate Minimum Order Quantity
Why suppliers set minimum order quantities, which levers actually move them, and what a buyer gives up in exchange for a lower first order.
mobile phones
IMEI Checks for Wholesale Phone Buyers
What an IMEI check does and does not establish when buying handsets in volume, and where it belongs in the purchase sequence.
wholesale distributors
How to Find Wholesale Distributors
A practical method for locating wholesale distributors, starting from the manufacturer rather than from search results or paid directory listings.
wholesale suppliers
How to Verify a Wholesale Supplier
The documentary and physical checks that establish whether a wholesale supplier is the business it claims to be, in the order they should be run.