The most important thing is to do a background check on them to make sure they aren’t scammers.
Get more information about them, see if they have an ‘about us’ page, check the source of their website address, see if they have a legit contact address, find their phone number and call them.
Once you’re with them on the phone, you’ll get a feel to what sort of business they are.
Ask for references, speak with other sellers that work with them, see what they say. A legit business that’s looking to expand will be happy to provide you references.
Once you establish that they are legit, ask them operational questions, such as:
- Which products do they stock at all times
- How long does it take to get a product which is not in stock
- Which couriers do they use for shipping
- Is there an online tracking number for every package
- Which types of payment options do they receive (paypal, T/T…)
- What’s their handling time
- How many orders can they process daily
- Do they have bulk discounts (in case you want to stock a few items and save the shipping cost)
- How do they pack their products (secure packing is important!)
- Do they offer several shipping methods and what’s the shipping time in each one
- Do they have different shipping prices for different destinations (which is usually the case)
A great way to learn more is this step-by-step guide to finding reliable suppliers
