Wholesaler forums are online communities for discussing various topics relative to the wholesale trade. Participants communicate by posting to a community trade board which is visible to all. Wholesale forums are monitored by a forum administrator who sets the guidelines for what is permissible.
Wholesale forums in the late 1990's were non-profit venues where people with common interests would meet and discuss a variety of topics. Members received free advice from experienced wholesalers providing they "contributed back to the group" by participating in the discussion. The early forums were called Bulletin Boards and members were expected to abide by the "Netiquette Golden Rule" code of ethics.
Wholesale forums today have changed. Wholesale forums have become large profitable communities for forum owners to earn revenue from affiliate marketing schemes and advertising. The majority of wholesale forums are operated by site administrators who do not have a background in the wholesale trade. Because the objective is to make money through PPC, wholesale forum administrators do not have a motive for protecting buyers from fraud. Scammers find wholesale forums are an easy avenue for ripping off buyers. Forum administrators do not normally require members to produce a real identity, tax id or criminal background check so scammers target Newbie Ebayers who want wholesale products to resale on Ebay. Scammers make it appear there is a huge following of happy supporters when in actuality, it is one person using multiple log in names to build false confidence. Eager newbies fall for the scam only to later discover the fake person has disappeared with their money leaving no trace. If reported to the forum administrator, chances are he will only provide a floating IP address and fake identity. Imagine telling the Police: "well, I bought some lacoste shirts from a guy named "greedyboy" on the Internet. His IP address shows he was from Nigeria.
Wholesale forums are not all bad. To find wholesale forums, enter the keywords "wholesale forums, wholesale online forums" into google's search box. There are many to choose from. Before you join, read the site owner's rules. Look up the site owner's information and google the owner's name. There are many good wholesale forums online to learn about the wholesale trade. Jim Wilson's Auctionhints is a great place to start. Jim's background is SEO instead of wholesale-retail-ebay but he carries a good reputation for his integrity. Before trusting anyone, remember to use good common sense and never ever send money to a fake business hiding behind a pseudonym. If the seller is honest, request the order be processed through a reputable escrow service that has been in business for years like Janesdeals.com. If the seller refuses, this should raise concern on your end.
Jane's Wholesaler Marketplace, is an Online Service Provider (like eBay) for manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to buy and sell bulk lots of excess inventories. The exception is that suppliers at Janesdeals, allow buyers a 24 hour inspection and buyer's funds are held in safekeeping until delivery and inspection.
