How to source non-print-on-demand inventory for an online store
Expanding an established store beyond print-on-demand requires finding reliable bulk suppliers, wholesalers, or manufacturers for physical goods like glassware. Store owners struggle with knowing whether to buy straight from wholesalers or distributors, how to vet inventory sources beyond thrift stores and liquidation, and how much stock to test with before risking money on unsellable items.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1looking around platforms such as temu, alibaba and amazon for bulk products
- 2using thrift stores or liquidation for one-off items
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a shopify store thats fairly established. I want to add some items that are not native to printful store specifically coffee and milk glasses that fit my stores vibe. Has anyone done this before? What are my options / best practices?”source ↗
“where are you getting your inventory from? obviously theres thrift stores/liquidation and stuff for one off items but im talking more about sellers who have like 20 30 50 of the same product sitting there.”source ↗
“do you normally buy straight from wholesalers/manufacturers or use some kind of distributor?”source ↗
“also how much stock do you normally test with before buying a bigger amount? dont wanna end up with 200 pieces of something nobody wants lol.”source ↗
Where this came up
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