Used to buy inventory from big distributors only until I got burned on a minimum order

For about three years I ordered everything through one of those national supply companies. Paid $450 for a pallet of weatherstripping I didn't fully need just to hit their minimum. Customer count was slow one month and that pallet sat in my garage for six months. My neighbor runs a hardware store here in Amarillo and told me about a local surplus guy who buys overstock from construction sites. I tried him on a small order of door hinges and got them for half the price with no minimum. Now I mix in local finds about 40 percent of the time and my cash flow is way less tied up. Anyone else found a local supplier that beat the big guys on small orders?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy82013d ago

Found a guy at a flea market who sells leftover lumber for pennies on the dollar, beats any distributor price.

ellis.rose13d ago

Did you negotiate with the big distributors at all before switching? I've had luck asking them to waive minimums on slow months if I commit to a yearly volume. They said no at first but I kept calling back and finally got a small order exception for weatherstripping. Saved my butt a few times when cash was tight.