Finding wholesale items to sell from home can seem like a time-consuming and challenging task. Many people imagine their houses filled with inventory with no space to relax. For these reasons, some entrepreneurs give up on their dreams of running a wholesale business.
Fortunately, several products take up very little space in your home and can drive high-profit margins. These items are affordable to acquire and can be easily sold for a high return on investment.
In this post, we’ll provide some ideas for wholesale items to sell from home. We’ll also explain how to deal with some of the challenges of selling from home. Let’s get started!
Benefits Of Selling Wholesale Products From Home
Wholesale products are sold in bulk directly to a retailer at a discounted price. The retailer will then sell the product to the consumer. This setup differs from retail stores, which sell items at full price and usually in smaller quantities.
While you’ll be selling each item for a slightly lower price, wholesaling has many benefits. This commerce approach is a simple and effective way to offload several products to one customer. Since more items are moved per sale, you can drastically reduce handling time and marketing costs.
Furthermore, when you sell from home, you won’t need to spend money on a warehouse or physical store. You can keep stock in your house and offload it through an online store.
With Wholesale Suite, you can easily sell products from home through a WooCommerce B2B store:
WooCommerce allows you to build a well-designed, modern WordPress store packed with essential e-commerce features. Wholesale Suite can then manage the wholesaling side, including bulk discounts, order minimums, and approval systems.
10 Wholesale Items To Sell From Home
Now that you know more about wholesaling and why it can be a great business model, let’s look at five wholesale items to sell from home today.
Many people worry about spatial limitations when starting with this business model. Therefore, we’ve focused on small, easy-to-store items that won’t take over your home!
1. Candles and fragrances
Whether you are making them yourself or purchasing from a manufacturer, candles, and fragrances are great wholesale products. You can easily sell multiple different sizes, colors, scents, and other variants so that buyers will have a lot of options:
Candles and fragrances are excellent wholesale items to sell from home. Their small sizes and compact shapes make them a great option to sell online. They can easily be stored side by side, and hundreds of items can fit in just a single closet.
Furthermore, candles and fragrances are relatively easy products to make yourself, so you could manufacture your own products. Otherwise, you will need to find a reliable manufacturer in your local area to buy your candles and fragrances. Once you’ve found one, you can begin marketing and selling to retailers.
2. Health and wellness products
Health and wellness is an extensive category with many different product categories. If you’re passionate about exercise and nutrition or just looking to tap into a lucrative market, this business model could be ideal.
We recommend staying away from bulkier exercise equipment such as treadmills, dumbbells, and barbells. Instead, you could opt for nutrition-based products like supplements or protein powder. Alternatively, yoga or pilates equipment is relatively compact.
For instance, Muscle Foods USA is a sports nutrition wholesaler that offers creatine powders, performance drinks, and more. One of the keys to this company’s success is its strong and professional brand:
Health and wellness products are great if you want to sell from home. You can easily categorize them for organizational purposes. You might choose to dedicate a small space in one room for a particular category and use different rooms for other types. Plus, smaller items like powders are easy to stack.
3. Pet supplies
Pet supplies are also great wholesale items to sell from home. While they tend to take up a bit more space than other options, they’re still easy to store and stack in an organized and efficient manner. Therefore, if you have a spare garage or shed, these may be the perfect items for your online store.
Some pet supplies include food, collars, leashes, bowls, treats, toys, etc. However, selling pet food usually requires more time and research because it’s crucial to understand the nutritional makeup of your products.
You can reach a wide range of customers by stocking many pet supply items spanning different categories. You might also consider using pet-related imagery in your branding to appeal to animal lovers (your target customers):
Furthermore, running a pet supply wholesale business can be highly profitable in the long term. The pet care market is projected to be worth more than $350 billion by 2027. This industry is still growing and can present an excellent opportunity for new wholesale businesses.
4. Party decorations
Are you looking for fun and colorful products to sell from home? Then party decorations could be a perfect fit for you. There is a near-endless number of items you could sell in this category, from candles and cake decorations to streamers and balloons:
One of the main benefits of selling party decorations instead of other wholesale items is that they’re fun and vibrant. If you’re feeling bored or burnt out by the idea of running a more traditional wholesale business, party products could re-ignite your passion.
If you’re a creative person, you could even consider making your own decorations. You might also add custom designs to your products or offer personalized supplies to your customers.
5. Toys, games, and puzzles
Have you got a passion for toys, games, and puzzles? Then such items are natural choices for wholesale items to sell from home. Whether your focus is board games, video games, model cars, or something else, these items are easily boxed and stored in your home:
You could even design and distribute your own game if you’re particularly creative. However, keep in mind that this approach has a degree of risk. There’s always a chance that customers will dislike your product, resulting in few sales.
6. Phone cases
If we’re talking about compact and lightweight products you can easily sell from home, then we can’t miss mentioning phone cases! With the growing number of smartphone users, the demand for these products remains high.
Phone cases are one of the best wholesale items to sell from home as they don’t require much storage space. You can easily organize them in small boxes, which is ideal for home storage. These products also come with a variety of materials and designs, allowing you to appeal to a wide demographic.
7. Jewelry
Jewelry is another fantastic option when it comes to wholesale items to sell from home. Like the other items on this list, they’re small, lightweight, and can easily be stored. There are also plenty of opportunities to appeal to consumers and cater to different tastes and preferences. For instance, you can sell necklaces, bracelets, earrings, anklets, and so much more.
Another advantage of selling jewelry is the potential for high-profit margins. Depending on the quality, material, and craftsmanship of your offerings, you can sell these items at a premium. Unique, well-crafted pieces with precious metals or gemstones can be sold at higher prices, which can significantly enhance your business’s profitability.
8. Stationery
If you’re planning to start a wholesale business from home, consider selling stationery products. There’s a wide variety of products to choose from, including notebooks, planners, pens, sticky notes, and art supplies. What’s more, these items don’t require much storage space, making them ideal for home-based wholesale operations.
Stationery items also enjoy steady demand. Students, professionals, and hobbyists need stationery for their daily tasks and creative projects. Partner with local schools or businesses to supply them with essential stationery items, allowing you to establish a loyal customer base.
9. Beauty, bath and body products
The beauty and personal care industry continues to thrive and is estimated to reach a worldwide revenue of $646.20 billion in 2024. Even from home, you can tap into this opportunity by wholesaling beauty, bath, and body products.
What makes these products amazing wholesale items to sell from home? Firstly, this niche offers you countless product choices to cater to a wide audience. From skincare products to body care products, and bath essentials like soaps, shampoos, and scrubs, there’s a lot of avenues to explore.
Most of these products are relatively easy to store. You can simply set up a dedicated shelf or store them in small bins, making inventory management simple and convenient.
10. Apparel
Selling apparel is one of the most profitable ventures in wholesaling. These items are timeless, versatile, and you can acquire them at a relatively low cost.
Foldable apparel items like t-shirts, socks, leggings, and shorts can also be stored easily, making efficient use of your storage space at home. You can make use of garment racks, bins, or shelves to store your inventory. Consider specializing in a unique niche to make your business stand out. For example, you may want to focus on selling trendy activewear, loungewear, or lingerie.
It’s essential to note that this niche can be driven by trends and evolving fashion trends. Staying updated with the latest trends can help you choose the best, in-demand items to stock your inventory and appeal to customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best thing to wholesale?
The best items to wholesale are typically products that cater to consumer needs and enjoy a steady demand, such as health and wellness products, apparel, and beauty care items. When choosing which product to sell, consider your personal interests, potential profitability, market demand, and inventory space. If you’re planning to manage your operations from home, then you may want to choose products that are easier to store, such as accessories and clothing items.
Can you buy wholesale items and sell them?
Yes–this is a common business model, where you purchase products in bulk from distributors, then resell them at a higher price to retailers or consumers. Many business owners start small, choosing products that have good profit margins and high demand. Leveraging e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce can help you bring your business online and expand your market reach. With plugins like Wholesale Suite, you can easily transform your e-commerce website into a wholesale store and accept bulk orders.
Where can I find items to resell?
After deciding on what products to sell, you can begin searching for local suppliers and manufacturers that offer these products. These suppliers often offer their products at discounted bulk rates, giving you an opportunity to maximize profit margins. You can also consider exploring online marketplaces or attending industry trade shows. These in-person events allow you to explore products, meet and network with potential suppliers, and negotiate deals in person.
What is the minimum order for wholesale?
The minimum order for wholesale depends on the supplier and the type of product you’re buying. It can range anywhere from as few as 20 items to hundreds or even thousands of items. Wholesale suppliers typically set a minimum order quantity (MOQ) to ensure that they sell their products in bulk, which helps them reduce handling costs and offer lower prices per unit.
Conclusion
Many people believe that selling wholesale products from home requires considerable time and space. In reality, there are plenty of simple and effective items that almost anyone can start selling right away.
In this post, we covered just a few of these items:
- Candles and fragrances
- Health and wellness products
- Pet supplies
- Party decorations
- Toys, games, and puzzles
- Phone cases
- Jewelry
- Stationery
- Beauty, bath, and body products
- Apparel
Do you have any questions about choosing wholesale items to sell from home? Let us know in the comments section below!
