Funding for Amazon Wholesalers
Amazon wholesalers use a unique model compared to other eCommerce sellers, allowing them to work directly with manufacturers and distributors to purchase products in bulk at a discounted price.
Rather than paying retail value like arbitrage sellers, Amazon wholesalers make bulk purchases meeting the minimum order quantity (MOQs) at a much cheaper rate, leaving you with larger product inventories than a typical seller, which have to be stored, sold, and shipped–quickly. However, these large inventories ensure that Amazon wholesalers have a consistent and reliable supply of high quality wholesale products to sell at competitive prices. And unlike your typical eCommerce seller, Amazon wholesalers have the advantage of using a different buying model that prioritizes larger volumes of sales at thinner margins than retailers. As a result, you’re often turning around inventory as fast as 60 days or less.
While private label sellers play a product strategy game, as an Amazon Wholesaler you play a pricing and operational efficiency game. Rather than spending time and money developing a reputation with customers that requires marketing and ad campaigns, you can leverage established reputations and customer loyalty for brands to drive sales. Instead, you focus on developing and maintaining relationships with manufacturers, which affords your Amazon business multitude of advantages. You can rely on smart pricing strategies to win the buy box, warehouse or prepping efficiency to maximize margins, and lastly buying power to beat the competition and capture market share, However, Amazon wholesale sellers can’t win at this game unless they have the money to go all in when it matters most. That’s where Viably comes in.
Why is external funding for Amazon wholesalers beneficial?
Can you grow your business with your own cash flow? Technically, yes if you are okay scaling up the business on thinner margins and smaller market share. This is called driving in the slow lane. But what if you want to grow? Because Amazon wholesale is such a capital intensive business, external funding becomes the clear path forward for rapid growth.
External funding is critical for cash flow management as an Amazon business owner because it provides the financial flexibility needed to address inventory needs, navigate cash flow timing discrepancies, scale operations, and respond to unforeseen challenges. It enables you to seize growth opportunities for your Amazon business and remain competitive in the dynamic world of eCommerce.
- Amazon wholesalers often need to purchase products in bulk from manufacturers or distributors to take advantage of lower unit costs. This can tie up a significant amount of capital in inventory. External funding can provide the necessary working capital to purchase this inventory, especially during peak seasons or when scaling up operations.
- The purchasing frequency of rapidly growing Amazon wholesalers is far greater than other sellers as they shoot for 8+ turns a year. Speed is key to minimize warehousing and storage costs. This means the proper product research regarding selling, buying just the right quantity, and having the cash flow to buy at the right time to take advantage of any distributor deals.
- As Amazon wholesalers aim to grow the business, they may need to invest in larger quantities of inventory, expand product lines, or explore new markets. Such expansion requires additional capital. External funding can provide the financial resources needed to scale operations and capture new opportunities.
Having access to external funding gives Amazon wholesalers more negotiating power with distributors. They may be able to secure better terms, discounts, or payment schedules by buying greater inventory quantities at once, further improving their cash flow position and increasing profit margins. The additional buying power may also allow wholesale sellers to negotiate exclusivity for their Amazon store with their wholesale suppliers, whether it’s to carry a product line or SKU, all of which makes a huge impact to the bottom line.
A Change in Mindset
Amazon sellers typically focus on cost of capital (money going out) and overlook a critical factor, the return on capital (money coming in). Once you understand the return on investment (ROI) of each borrowed dollar, it can revolutionize how you scale your business. ROI means that when you are sleeping your dollars are still hard at work for you. Every Amazon wholesaler needs helpers like that! So to make it simple, we developed this useful calculator to do the heavy lifting for you.
Just share your monthly Amazon sales volume, your monthly inventory costs, your net profit (the bottomline not the gross), and the percentage of growth you are looking for and let our handy little calculator do the hard work for you.
Each business is different. See how you can put your borrowed dollars to work for you.
What type of funding is out there for eCommerce sellers?
eCommerce business owners and Amazon sellers have access to more financing options today than ever before. New financial companies have emerged with innovative financing options designed specifically for eCommerce business owners, including subsidiaries of traditional lenders and online marketplaces.
Traditional lenders, especially banks, tend to offer more established funding options like business loans that were designed with small businesses in mind. While these financing options may seem the most stable and appealing, they also come with the most barriers to entry. Traditional lenders typically assess for business loans on outdated criteria that often aren’t available for Amazon sellers, including business credit scores, credit histories, and collateral. Additionally, since Amazon wholesalers typically rely on their own cash flow or funding to make inventory purchases they often have little to no collateral to offer.
On the other hand, new lenders, like online funding solutions, offer financing options designed specifically for Amazon sellers and eCommerce businesses, including Amazon lending, eCommerce funding loans, and revenue and profit-based lending. These funding options assess criteria more relevant to eCommerce businesses, especially focusing on sales history. These funding solutions for Amazon financing also prioritize fast approval and distribution so that Amazon sellers can get access to working capital when they need it.
While there are lots of financing options when it comes to funding for Amazon wholesalers, almost all funding plans and strategies can be broken down into three types of financing options:
- Term Loans: Large sums of upfront capital repaid over a long period of time.
- Line of Credit: Difficult to get, costly, and capped yet it offers flexibility.
- Working Capital: Short-term capital typically 3-6 months at modest rates
What’s important to Amazon wholesalers in their cash flow cycles?
Amazon Wholesalers don’t need large amounts of capital upfront because they buy Amazon inventory for 6-8 week cycles. Instead they need frequency of capital to smooth out their cash flow and allow for aggressive inventory buying month-over-month. Greater access to capital gives Amazon wholesalers more negotiating power when it comes to wholesale suppliers, making inventory financing key to success. To determine the best inventory financing option for your Amazon seller wholesale business, consider:
Speed of Funding. Take advantage of funding quickly (as fast as 24 hours) so that you can truly take advantage of opportunities.
Frequency of capital. Recurring / pre-planned schedule of working capital “tranches” for when you need it the most.
Upfront flat fee and settlement schedule. Always know what’s coming next.
Forecasting tool. Easily see how additional outside working capital will impact the growth of your business, compared to trying to grow without funding.
By partnering with Viably, you can unlock your business’s full potential and take advantage of the numerous opportunities for eCommerce funding. Our growth specialists are dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of these financial decisions and identify the best funding solutions to fuel your success.
You can also simply call us at 1.855.650.5255 or send an email to [email protected] to get started. A Viably growth specialist will be in touch soon to help you explore your options and guide you through the process of unlocking your business’s full potential. Let Viably be your trusted banking partner in growing your eCommerce store!
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about Viably Wholesaler Accelerator:
Viably has built a funding solution specifically for Amazon wholesalers called Viably Wholesaler Accelerator. This solution is designed to increase buying power with your wholesale supplier and improve cash flow through recurring fundings. This unique model allows you to continue buying inventory for your business while in between payout cycles, thus generating more sales and greater profits.
In order to apply for Viably Wholesalers Accelerator or Viably Growth Capital, you must own a U.S. based business that has been selling on Amazon for a minimum of 6 months. Your business also must have an average of at least $10,000 in revenue and 6 months of recent sales history.
Keep in mind that these are the minimum qualifications necessary to receive funding for Amazon wholesalers through Viably. We cannot guarantee that by meeting these qualifications your business will be approved, however they are good general indicators.
Viably Wholesaler Accelerator (VWA): Viably Wholesaler Accelerator is a working capital product that aligns with a wholesaler’s cash cycle to increase buying power with suppliers and improve their margins, offering a fixed fee and higher, adjustable credit limit. In this product, funding is distributed on a recurring basis to align with your sales cycles.
Viably Growth Capital (VGC): Viably Growth Capital is a working capital product that provides a one-time infusion of funding designed to provide a cash flow boost at a fixed fee for a short term event, such as a product launch or shopping event. While sellers can apply for Viably Growth Capital over and over again, it was not designed to be recurring on a scheduled cycle.
Although there is no limit to how much funding for Amazon wholesalers your business can receive from Viably, we will make an initial offer based on sales history that can be adjusted over time. With Viably, Amazon wholesalers may qualify for a higher adjustable credit limit that will grow with the business, in comparison to other funding solutions.
Unlike traditional business lenders, Viably does not require a personal guarantee or collateral from the business owner in order to receive funding as an Amazon wholesaler. We recognize that Amazon wholesalers are in a unique position and often don’t keep inventory on hand and they need capital to purchase inventory that then sells quickly and is distributed through fulfillment centers.
Instead, our underwriters review your business’ sales history to ensure that we’re making an offer that’s healthy for your business. Although you may start with a smaller offer, over time and with a strong partnership that helps your business grow, we’ll be able to offer greater funding without personal guarantees or collateral.
After applying to receive funding and indicating you are an Amazon wholesaler, you will need to wait for a final offer and approval from our underwriting team. This typically takes less than two business days.
After you’ve been approved for Amazon wholesaler funding, you can expect that money to hit your Viably business checking account within 24 hours.
At Viably, we believe that you as the business owner know the challenges your business is facing and goals for the future better than anyone else. While we’re here to help with cash flow and funding, you’re the one truly running the business and finding unique solutions everyday. That’s why funding from Viably isn’t limited by purpose. You can use funding from Viably for any expense related to your Amazon wholesale business. Whether you’re interested in purchasing more inventory between payouts, adding a new product to your catalog, or using working capital to build out a cash flow cushion, feel free to use your funding at your own discretion. After all, you know your business better than we do.
Viably’s Wholesaler Accelerator is unlike any other eCommerce funding product on the market right now. As the first of its kind, our funding for Amazon wholesalers sets itself apart from typical funding products including term loans or limited lines of credit thanks to recurring funding rounds.
Amazon wholesalers don’t need large sums of capital once or twice a year but rather on a recurring basis to align with the common weekly or biweekly buying cycle. Aligning funding with how and when inventory is purchased ensures you have capital when you need it– without piling large sums of debt on the business.
Get started with your application for funding by clicking here. Simply fill out some information about your business and sales history, connect your bank accounts, and then view your preliminary offers.
How Amazon Sellers can get funded
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