We often get asked about whether or not SupaDupa can be used to set up a wholesale business.
The answer more often than not is yes, you can!
In essence, selling wholesale isn't all that different to retail with two key differences:
Minimum quantity
Minimum order value
Product exclusivity
It is common for wholesalers to want to hide their shop from the general buying public so not to reveal their wholesale prices. This is why we tend to find that most wholesalers feel the need to request a long list of credentials and form filling from their prospective buyers before they are allowed into their shop which is, to most, off putting enough to lose the sale.
If your product is not subject to exclusivity rights i.e. you are not concerned over limiting your sales by vetting your buyers first, you may consider the following practice to be a great solution to your wholesale woes:
How to create a wholesale shop?
The most common way to create a wholesale shop is actually not "hide" it from the general public but actually to set a minimum order value or qty required for purchase.
We have seen a number of merchants successfully impose both these restrictions by:
Setting the unit qty for their products in multiples e.g. 3 or 12 (this is up to you). This effectively means your customers can only buy in multiples of the same product.
Set the minimum shipping order value at say $100 (again, the exact minimum order value is up to you).
Both methods are highly effective in the sense that they filter out the general public from wholesale buying unless they are willing to buy in larger (wholesale) quantities and hence enjoy the corresponding bulk discounts.
We would encourage you not to try to "over complicate" what is essentially a relatively simple requirement that can easily be achieved using either or both methods above.
The advantage to following this simple principle is that:
Your product benefits from the exposure which it would otherwise not achieve were it to lie behind a password protected webstore.
Your prospective buyers do not need to inconvenience themselves by having to email you to request access details.
Your buyers can place an order with you when they are willing and ready (which is often a fleeting impulse that can be lost were they to have to wait a few hours to receive a response back from you)
Is it possible to install a link from your retail site to your wholesale site?
Yes.
You have three options:
You can use the 'Website' link provided to link to your wholesale store.
You can create a page which gives more information about your wholesale services and link to it from there.
You can use one of your 5 banners to link to your wholesale store.