Whether you're starting a scrapbooking business or just want to get a great deal on items for your favorite hobby, wholesale scrapbooking supplies can be the perfect solution. Most people buy scrapbook supplies from their local craft store, scrapbook specialty shop, or a home-based business consultant. However, before they sell to you, these businesses get their supplies from a wholesale source. Wholesale suppliers provide a product in bulk at a discounted price. However, you typically need to own a business or be a professional crafter with a resale license to take advantage of these great deals.
Where to Buy Wholesale Scrapbook Supplies
You may be able to find a local shop specializing in wholesale supplies, but you'll most likely have the best luck online. You can shop around to find the best deal, and it's easier to find a wholesale supplier who won't require you to have a business license. These scrapbooking supply stores offer wholesale deals.
Holly's Wholesale Scrapbooking Supplies
Holly's Wholesale Scrapbooking Supplies has a great selection of items, and you need to register for a business account in order to take advantage of the wholesale pricing. There are minimum order quantities on most items in order to qualify for the wholesale price.
Crafter's Toy Box
Crafter's Toy Box is another great resource for wholesale supplies. This company offers wholesale discounts to businesses and scrapbooking consultants. In order to qualify for wholesale pricing, you'll need to buy a minimum of $100 in supplies.
Dollar Days
Dollar Days carries discount scrapbooking supplies perfect for the small business owner. This is a good source for affordable supplies. If you don't own your own shop, you can look into becoming a distributor for them as well. You get a personalized website with your logo where people can shop. There is a setup fee and annual renewal fee, but it's an option to resell the Dollar Days products if you use these a lot.
Petersen-Arne
Petersen-Arne is a distributor who sells only to licensed retailers. This is a good one-stop shopping resource for the busy business owner who prefers a streamlined approach to purchasing merchandise. Unlike some distributors, Petersen-Arne doesn't require a physical brick and mortar store, so this may be a good option for those home-based businesses with resale numbers and business tax info.
Darice
Darice supplies wholesale distributors, small business owners, and manufacturers with scrapbooking supplies at reduced pricing. There are minimum numbers to buy when purchasing individual items, and retailers have a minimum per-year amount to spend to keep their accounts open. Darice is also pretty strict on opening orders and eligibility.
Notions Marketing
Notions is another distributor that stocks a wide variety of brands and paper crafting supplies. There are minimums for opening and recurring orders that need to be met, but they will sell to verified brick and mortar retailers, as well as online stores. Notions defines a retail business as a business in a space, which is owned or leased for retail business. It must be open regular hours and have a business phone number and business checking account. Opening orders are $250.00.
How to Be Eligible to Buy Wholesale
Each retailer has different requirements, but in many cases you'll need to be a business owner to qualify for wholesale prices. If you don't currently own a scrapbook business, try one of these ideas to become eligible:
If you are a professional crafter who buys scrapbook supplies and resells them in kits, finished products, or classroom packs, and you have a resale license already, you may be eligible with some companies.
Consider getting together with a group of friends to make your purchase. That way, you can all chip in for the bulk supplies and then split them up into more manageable chunks, and you may be eligible for discount pricing, which may be close to wholesale cost.
If you teach classes and have a resale license, some vendors may sell to you at wholesale pricing.
Tips for Buying Wholesale
Depending on your needs you may be able to save a lot of money by buying wholesale scrapbooking supplies. As you shop, keep the following tips in mind:
Make sure you have room to store your bulk supplies. Give some thought to the organization of your craft room or scrapbooking space.
While the per-piece price of wholesale supplies may be cheaper, remember the total cost may be quite high as you are often required to buy large quantities of the same item.
Choose products carefully. You may be able to use a lot of some supplies, such as photo corners or cardstock. Others, like specialty patterned paper, are only useful in small quantities.
Keep your eye on shipping costs when ordering online. Shipping can sometimes be costly and offset the actual savings you get from purchasing from wholesalers.
Consider attending industry shows like CHA if you qualify. Vendors often have show specials, discounted opening orders, and free shipping in many cases. Sometimes qualifying criteria are lower here versus having to apply and qualify normally.
Some sites that sell discounted scrapbook supplies may have close-out specials and deals that are just as good as wholesale pricing. Double check that you can't find a cheap deal from another retailer if you are looking for small quantities of something.
Remember that wholesale purchases are supposed to be linked to reselling, which means you are not supposed to be buying wholesale and using the products for personal use. Creating product displays for your store, and reselling of product kits and supplies for classes are typically considered within the scope of allowed use for wholesale purposes.
A Great Way to Save
Often, wholesale scrapbooking supplies can be a great way to save on your products, especially if you are reselling supplies or finished products. Just weigh your options to decide whether buying in bulk ultimately saves you money, otherwise you might find online scrapbook retailers offer good deals for the small quantities of product.
