Archive for March, 2007
Quick Picks - Wholesale Espresso Machines
Sunday, March 25th, 2007If you’re interested in selling coffee products or adding a small coffee shop to your store, check out the following wholesalers that might be of interest:
Gensaco deals pretty much heavily with coffee-related stuff, but they also do a fair amount of restaurant/business-equipment related stuff.
Gensaco, Inc.
P.O. Box 1399
New York, NY 10163
Telephone: 1 800 506-1935
E-mail: ESPMACHINE (at) gensaco (dot) com
Typhoon US sells a variety of kitchen products and a lot of it has the nifty, contemporary but retro look that’s so popular these days.
Typhoon US
3749 Redwood Highway
San Rafael, CA 94903
Telephone: 1-877-TYPH USA
E-mail: TyphoonWebSales (at) aol (dot) com
Neighbors Coffee sells a lot of different coffees and accessories, including a Snickerdoodle flavor. Yum…
Neighbors Coffee
11 N.E. 11th Street
Oklahoma City OK 73104
Blog Re-Launch - Loan and Debt Information
Sunday, March 25th, 2007If you’re interested in reading more about payday loans, debt relief, and personal finance, you should check out the new blog at PayDayLoanLowDown.com (sponsors of this post). They’re hosting an upcoming blog carnival on the topic, so even if you’re more interested in blogging than reading, you can enjoy what they have to offer.
While the blog has been inactive for some time, it looks like it will be returning in full force over the next month or two. Unlike a lot of blogs on the topic, the articles are very well thought-out and coherently written. As a former finance/economics major, I find the articles on payday loans to be especially interesting. I didn’t know there was so much controversy surrounding the subject.
Your Interests?
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007Looking over my archives, I’ve noticed that many of the suppliers that I talk about are gift and houseware related. That’s mostly because those are the items that interest me personally. However, I’m not opposed to covering other topics. If there’s an item (or types of items) that you would like to see more of in the future, just let me know in the comments. The only way I’ll know what you want is if you let me know!
PayDay Loans - My Thoughts
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007As someone who essentially majored in money, you might think it would go against my beliefs to talk about payday loans as anything but bad. While I definitely agree that they’re not always used responsibly, I’m happy that the option is there, and I believe that there are times when getting one might be appropriate.
For instance: I know a woman - let’s call her Debbie - who runs a small shop. She’s very responsible about her finances, but she just can’t get ahead. There’s enough money to live and save 10%, she almost never eats out, etc. Still, she has kids, emergencies happen from time to time, and when they do, she’s right back to square one.
Anyway - sorry for the divergence - I talked to her once about a sale that her candle supplier was running, 30% off the normal rates. Even though she wouldn’t be able to pay for another week (and her credit card was too full after a recent roof repair), she wanted to buy then. To take advantage of the sale, she and her husband had got a payday loan that allowed her to buy the candles that day. Her profit from taking advantage of the loan more than paid for the loan’s interest and fees.
Bad decision? Not for her, and not for a lot of people. You just have to be sensible about it.
Croak City - Frog Gift Wholsalers
Tuesday, March 20th, 2007There are people who like frogs, and then there are people who really, really, REALLY like frogs. Croak City is for those people. While most wholesale companies and distributors offer a pretty wide variety of products, Croak City offers very little outside the realm of frogs (I did spy some cat earrings, though).
Looking over the Croak City website, I wonder just one thing - Why isn’t everyone in the world carrying their products? These people are funny. My personal favorite is the “Frog Parking Only - All Others Will Be Toad” sign.
I would post pictures, but their website has an extremely mean-sounding copyright message on the contact page. The way that whole page was written is actually enough to make me think twice about carrying their products, despite the fact that I think they have some extremely cool stuff.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I have no problem refusing to deal with a supplier on a matter of principle, and these people sound kind of rude. If they’re not, they should find the guy/girl who wrote that part of the web copy and turn him/her into a frog.
If you’d like to get in touch with Croak City, give them a call at:
Croak City Wholesale
1065 NW Charlemagne Place
Corvallis OR 97330
Phone: office (541) 752-7287; toll-free line (888) 882-1290. They say to leave a message if you don’t get a live frogperson!
Fax: (541) 752-5373
bullfrog (at) croakcity (dot) com
Would You Like to Live on a Golf Course?
Monday, March 19th, 2007 Business Broad Wholesale Product SourcesEveryone is motivated by something. For me, it’s the idea of a nice house, freedom, and the ability to spend the majority of my time doing things I enjoy. I don’t have a lot of specifics because I’m pretty easy to please. For others, it’s something like a waterfront property or the possibility of living in golf course communities.
When I saw the opportunity to write a sponsored post about living in a golf course community, I was intrigued. The idea had never really occurred to me, but curiosity lead me to check out what that kind of lifestyle would cost. I saw one in Las Vegas for just under $10 million. I can’t even imagine what a golf course home in California would go for.
So - is that the kind of thing you’re after? Or are your goals simpler? I’m interested, feel free to comment.
[tags]golf course, real estate, homes[/tags]
Tesselations - Wholesale Puzzles and Educational Toys
Sunday, March 18th, 2007I am completely enamored with the Puzzellations toys from Tessellations. While their page isn’t at all flashy or fancy, they offer solid, entertaining toys that work your mind. Check out one of their Puzzellations:
They also have plenty of purely educational charts and learning aids, but that stuff’s just not as much fun (to me). Check out their site to see more. They’ll be happy to hook you up with a catalog, too.
Tessellations, for those of you who don’t remember much about geometry, are collections of shapes on a single plane that fill the entire plane without any gaps. Like tiles.
If you want to get in on the educational fun, contact Tessellations at:
Tessellations
3913 E. Bronco Trail
Phoenix, AZ 85044
Phone within the U.S.: 1-800-655-5341
Phone outside the U.S.: 1-480-763-5440
Fax: 1-480-763-6948
E-mail: Sales (at) tessellations (dot) com
Dating Business
Sunday, March 18th, 2007I’ve always thought it would be interesting to own a matchmaking service. It’s one of those jobs where you get to chat all day, do your best to make people happy, and go home feeling pretty good about yourself. You’re providing a clear-cut service (much like retail), rather than pushing numbers around on papers in some bland sterile office.
I have to wonder, though, how those businesses are doing since the Internet has become popular. There are dating sites for every kind of person imaginable, and I’ll admit that I’d probably turn to a website instead of an agency, were I to find myself single again. A good friend of mine who is single has a hard time dating, so I did a quick search and found half a dozen sites for christian singles. She’s a good girl (quite unlike most people I know), so I wouldn’t dream of sending her to one of the big dating sites.
Of the sites I’ve seen, I’m tempted to sign up her for Christian Lifestyles.com (post sponsors). I like the friendly look of their site, and it doesn’ts seem like it would be too tough for her to figure out. I just hope they are able to attract more men, because right now it seems a little bit lopsided (guys, this is a GOOD thing for you!). What do you guys think? How did you meet THE ONE?
Dealing with Wholesalers - Quick Tip
Sunday, March 18th, 2007When you contact wholesalers, remember that even though you’re the customer, many of them are as concerned about you as you are about them. While many companies will sell to anyone, some will actively interview and grill you before giving you access to their pricing and terms. For that reason, I’d like to offer a few tips from my own experiences.
-Never bring up the fact that you’re an online retailer. Even if you have a retail store, just don’t even mention the online retail thing. Tell them if they ask, but if you offer it, you’re just giving them a reason not to take you seriously. There are too many old-fashioned people in the world.
-When you contact them, do so by phone if at all possible. At least 50% of your e-mails will go unanswered, and plenty more will be answered verrrrrry slooooowly. It’s irritating, to say the least. In a perfect world, businesses would only offer e-mail addresses if they actually intended to answer their e-mails.
-Once you’re talking to them, sound like you’re on the ball. Tell them that you’re in the midst of ongoing shopping for new items to add to your product lineup, and that you’d like to know where to fax your reseller license and catalog request. Most of the time, they won’t even want your license. They’ll just take down your name, number, and address, and send the catalog. Because you’ve presented yourself as a true professional, you’re less likely to be subjected to the usual hassles.
If anyone else has any tips, I’d be glad to hear them. Understand that I’m not saying you should actively attempt to deceive companies. I’m just saying that you want to reveal information on a need-to-know basis. Employees are imperfect creatures with all kinds of issues, and life is a lot easier when people perceive you favorably.
Vegas, Baby
Sunday, March 18th, 2007We’ve often talked about where we hope to end up after our midwestern house. We’re buying one soon, but we hope to keep it for no more than a year. After that, we’d like to move somewhere warmer. We’d do it now if it weren’t for the insane costs of real estate out in Nevada, California, and Arizona (the three places we’re interested in). I’ve got a great job, but I don’t know how people out west do it. I’ve always heard that your home should be 2-3 times your annual salary, and believe me, those figures aren’t going to put me in a home out west.
For that reason, Las Vegas comes up a lot in our chats. I keep hearing that it’s growing, and that there are a ton of great job opportunities. Of course, I work in a field that’s fairly flexible, so I should be okay almost anywhere that’s halfway urban. I guess I just need to spend a little more time looking into Las Vegas homes and prices. I doubt they’re anywhere close to the price of homes in Los Angeles. Anyone have any experience in this area? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has left the super-cheap midwest for a part of the country where things aren’t stuck in 1970 prices 
Alice’s Home & Cottage: Gift & Decor Wholesaler
Sunday, March 18th, 2007If you like to sell the kinds of things that little old ladies and country housewives enjoy, Alice’s Cottage is a company that you should get to know. While they don’t allow unregistered users to make wholesale purchases, you can at least browse their products before you go to all the trouble of registering.
If you’d like to get in touch with Alice’s Cottage, contact them at:
Alice’s Cottage
1010 McCauley Court
Hagerstown, Maryland 21740
Ph: 800-288-7977
Fax: 301-766-7342
info (at) alicescottage (dot) com
Dreaming…
Sunday, March 18th, 2007Since house shopping has been taking up so much of my time, it’s the main thing on my mind these days. When I’m not thinking about the houses I’ve looked at, I’m daydreaming about Canary Islands property for sale. Instead of looking for nearby houses in a sensible price range, I want to buy a warm, breezy property south of Spain. Now wouldn’t that be nice?
Alas, I think I’ll be working at least a FEW more years before that’s a reality I had the chance to spend a summer in Alicante once, but alas, I passed it up in favor of more “practical” concerns. What was I thinking?
This post was sponsored by SpanishVenture.Co.Uk.
MCT Wholesale - Candy, Snacks, & Novelties Wholesale
Saturday, March 17th, 2007If you need to buy wholesale snacks and candy but you don’t want to commit to large minimum order requirements, you can order online from MCT Wholesale. They work with a lot of convenience stores in the south, but they’re also one of the first companies to offer their products online at actual wholesale prices.
Just check out their public shopping area. It’s not what I’d call a pretty site, but it’s functional. It gives you prices and product information without requiring you to run through the whole process of getting set up as an “official vendor”.
If you want to get in touch with MCT Wholesale, you can call them at:
MCT Wholesale
Phone: (478) 743-2236
Island Planet - Wholesale Island & Cruise Products
Saturday, March 17th, 2007Okay, so with a name like “Island Planet“, I probably didn’t need to offer further explanation about what they sell. Like you might have guessed, they sell tons of cool island-themed products like comforters, furniture, bags, clothing, and accessories. Take a look (that second picture is a parrot pillowcase, in case you couldn’t tell):
If you happen to have a home decor store or gift shop, their products could be great additions. Even up here in the cold-weather states, most of us can appreciate fun tropical accents.
If you want to get in touch with Island Planet, contact them at:
Island Planet
1550 Alton Road
Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA
1.800.889.3140
Shop (at) IslandPlanet (dot) com
Getting Your Ducks in a Row
Saturday, March 17th, 2007From time to time I get questions about personal finances, and how you can best prepare for the initial financial burden of your own small business. The e-mails I get range from people who think that their personal finances are completely unrelated to their small business finances (umm, tell me you’re kidding), to those who intend to co-mingle…well, pretty much everything.
So, while we’ve talked about it a bit in the past, I just want to take this opportunity to say this: The better your personal finances, the easier it’s going to be to get your business going (and keep it going).
If you’re the entrepreneurial sort, I’m guessing that you may have had some issues in the past. A lot of things drive people to strike out on their own, and failure to “feel right” in the normal workforce is one of the most common. You may not have been rising through the ranks at the same rates as your peers, or you may have been getting passed over for raises. That’s okay, I get it. I’m sure there are a lot of people here who get it. Or, you might just be sick of working in ways that leave you underpaid for your efforts. That’s pretty normal, too.
That’s all the more reason to get things sorted out before you start into a new endeavor. If you’re in need of debt relief, there’s no better time to do some research than BEFORE you get heavily invested in a business.
Browse around online. There are plenty of resources on managing debt and budgeting - and using the web as a learning tool can leave you feeling a little less intimidated if you decide to seek out help in getting things under control.
I don’t mean to sound preachy, but when I saw this post opportunity (sponsored by CareOneCredit.com), I knew it was something I should bring up. If it’s something you’re dealing with now, feel free to share in the comments. I promise, no one here bites!
The Mazel Company - Closeout Distributor
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007I realize that I haven’t posted much lately - my apologies - but if you’re an eBayer or small store owner, I’m hoping that this post alone will make up for my absence. The Mazel Company is one of those truly awesome closeout sites that you can never seem to find by just searching in Google. Go ahead and try it. You’ll get a few good results, but you’ll spend quite a bit of time just sifting out the garbage. Folks, if they’re charging you $7 for a cheap t-shirt, they’re not a closeout distributor. Unless the $7 t-shirt says “Michael Stars” or “Juicy Couture” on the tag…and even then, you have to worry that it’s fake.
Alright, rant over. The Mazel Company has tons of stuff in pretty much every category that a general merchandise store might have. Since they’re a closeout store, their merchandise changes constantly - but here’s a bit of what they have now:
Wizard of Oz Napkins at The Mazel Company - Just .15/pack
Scrapbook Case at The Mazel Company - Just $7.50 each
So - enjoy browsing The Mazel Company’s site, but remember to act fast if you see something you think you could make money on. Good closeouts rarely last.
Get in touch with The Mazel Company at:
The Mazel Company Corporate Offices
31000 Aurora Road
Solon, OH 44139
Ph: 440-248-5200
Ph: 800-443-4789
Fax: 440-349-1931
Adesso - Wholesale Contemporary Lamps & Furniture
Friday, March 2nd, 2007If you’re in the market for some contemporary furniture and decor items, Adesso Home may be exactly what you’re looking for. While I’ve seen their pieces in a number of places, I never really made the product/supplier connection. I’m guessing that’s the case for a lot of people.
In perusing their website, I’ve gotta say - I’m surprised by the variety they have. They have lamps and furniture as you might expect, but they also have fun extras like clocks and magazine racks. Check out a few:
Good stuff, right? I guess that’s assuming that you’re not into French Provincial, or Victorian, or Lodge-Style decor. Anyway, if you want to get in touch with the nice people at Adesso, just contact them at:
Adesso Inc.
21 Penn Plaza
Suite 909
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 736-4440
Fax: (212) 736-4806
Email: pberk (at) adessorta (dot) com