I have a number of ways to find new vendors.
When I first started out I used to shop in the wholesale district in NYC. There are a TON of stores that you can purchase items at wholesale prices. Now I have to say that SOME of the items are not the best quality. Not only that, the sellers are mainly distributors so you may wind up paying a tad more than what you would normally pay if you purchased from a manufacture.
You can get on a ton of mailing/emailing lists which will usually 'sell' your info. This will FILL your mailbox! I cant tell you how many magazines and offers I get via email and mail. I personally like magazines and catalogs. I like to sit and take my time viewing products. Im not a fan of buying from websites.
Ive also found things at other stores that I thought were cool and wanted to carry them. Most of the time you can find the manufactures information on the package it self. I stood in a store and looked for a barcode. Once you know the manufacture you can locate them online. Find contact information and your in business.
Sometimes the problem with buying directly from a manufacture is the minimum requirements. There are some that require a purchase of 100 pieces or something like that and for small businesses, quantity can cause of problem. Even high minimum dollar amount requirements can be tough to meet.
My favorite and where I find I spend the most money is at an EXPO. There are TONS out there. Some specialize in certain categories, others are general, some high end. What ever your looking for you can find an expo for it. I used to go to as many as I can find but these days Im down to a handful of shows.
Who to buy from? You have sales people, manufactures and distributors. The Manufactures make and sell the products, you can find the best buying prices with them but they may have the highest minimum quantity required for purchase. Some even charge you a percentage to use your credit card! Distributors basically buy the product from the manufactures at a high volume and sell to retailers that dont want to buy more then a dozen widgets. Sales people represent the manufacture, they make a commission on the sale to the buyers. Usually they prices are the same as if you just purchased from the manufacture. The thing with sales people is that since they usually represent multiple companies you may find yourself stuck buying from other lines they represent! Another issue I have with them is that you have to buy the minimum from each line they represent. So if you liked only the widget from company A and the other widget from company B you can not put them together to make one purchase, you would have to purchase from both companies.
I have had sellers actually walk into my store asking if I can sell their product. If I liked it I would offer it on consignment. No money out of my pocket and only give them money if its sold, what better way to try a new item?
Either way there are many ways to locate products and many products trying to locate you!
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