Does anyone here operate a clothing store???

How is it going??

Because I'm am looking into opening up a small clothing store in my college town. Im planning on selling athletic shoes also. I had a question, How do i get ahold of the clothing brands that I would like to sell????? Do i just call them or somthing??? Can i get the things on wholesale??? I already have a place picked out, i just need to know how i can get the clothes. Also, I already sell things over ebay, and would like to sell some of the clothes through there. What do yall think

I have an on-line clothing store that I just started.
To find suppliers/manufacturers you can try many different ways - and yes, you may just call them or e-mail them. If you have a certain brand in mind - find the contact info about them on-line (most likely you will find re-sellers, but even they can offer you a good deal)
Also try wholesalers, again I search on-line for them.
Finally you can try not so well knows manufacturers overseas - India, Easter Europe, etc.
Internet is your best friend here, though a LOT of searching may be required.
Good luck!

Thanks ALOT!!!!!!

One more question, how exactly do i find the wholesalers???? Through the internet still????

You can do google searches for such things.

ie) Wholesale Clothes supplier, nike suppliers, suppliers of athletic clothes for resale, etc..

Best advise - take a look at the first 10 or so search results - but also look back a few pages and see if you can find any diamonds in the rough..

best of luck with your search

I totally agree with S-T. To be honest - I do not even know any other way to do research then on the Internet - the results form there are most recent.

I think it is the same down there as in Canada. Most manufacturers will have agents that have a designated territory. Find your manufacturer on the internet or by snooping on tags at other shops and give them a call. Tell them you are looking for an agent that represents thier line in your area and they will likely give you a name and number. The agent you meet may have other lines you can use or contacts you can use.

Many of the larger cities have a building or a district containing a high concentration of clothing manufacturers agents. Ask the agents you call where there is a place like that near you, then head out with a stack of business cards. There are also trade shows you should attend for exposure to maximum selection. There is one called the Magic Show in Vegas that I hear is excellent. I also know of some retailers that have attended the Western Show in Denver. I'm sure there are others.

You should soon have more agents trying to sell to you than you ever wanted. Practice saying NO like you mean it in the mirror before you view any clothing lines.

The internet wholesale clothing industry SUCKS!...At least from my point of view. It is full of fakes and scams!

I have spent the last year researching and setting up an internet store. I have spent hours weeding through sellers that sell black market counterfeit fake clothes. I would estimate that for every 25 online vendors I looked at only one was selling authentic stuff.

I have written about my experiences and have helped hundreds of people avoid buying fake stuff.

I have set up a forum which I honestly believe houses some of the best authentic clothing on the entire internet. Please come by and check it out.

Best of luck and feel free to contact me anytime by email or even better by IM if you want any more information!

Rock on and best of luck!

Are you the one that giving hints about seven jeans on Wholesale411?

Wholesale411 is a "wholesale search engine" with a very active forum attached to it. Feel free to check it out at www.wholesale411.com/bbs

I WAS one of the members who has really put the heat on w411. However, they have banned me for my whistleblowing activities and my desire to help newbies avoid many of the traps that the site makes it easy to fall into.

Wholesale411 has no policy regarding black market counterfeit goods. In fact many are openly sold on the forum.

I would estimate that 80% or more of the clothing that is sold on w411 is black market fakes.

Good news about w411:
There are some sellers of authentic clothing on the w411 site. I personally believe that myfashionguru, just-jeans(ms_gkygrl), westcoastdesignerwholesale, and juanroyal are striving to sell only authentic clothing.

Best of luck. And PLEASE contact me if you have anybody that you know sells authentic clothing!