Hi Andrew,

Thank you for creating this website, I have already learned so much from you by going through articles in archive!

I’m a single mum and want to set-up a small, home based business. My plan is to create customized clothing items using rhinestone transfers and then sell them to friends, on eBay and my own website. I have searched Google for days but all I get is retail shops with rather high prices. Do you know where I can get cheap, wholesale rhinestone transfers?

Thanks,
Samantha H. (UK)

Hi Samantha,

Thanks for your question.

Yes, with a business model like this you definitely want to go after true wholesale pricing and avoid retailers as every penny you save in material costs, is a penny earned when you sell an item. As these are un-branded items, manufactured in China, I recommend you checking out these 3 websites:

Alibaba.com

GlobalSources.com

AliExpress.com

You should start with Alibaba as there are plenty of suppliers there offering wholesale rhinestone transfers. You’ll find direct manufacturers as well as wholesalers and trading companies. Manufacturers will obviously require large orders (like thousand items per design) so most likely you want to concentrate on wholesalers and trading companies first.

Here are few good looking companies I found from a quick, five minute search on Alibaba:

http://cstownrhinestone.en.alibaba.com/

http://peakembs.en.alibaba.com/

http://gzjingliang.en.alibaba.com/

http://jinjiehk.en.alibaba.com/

http://seaart.en.alibaba.com/

There are many more! Make sure you verify each supplier and start with a small, trial order. It’s better to start with Alibaba Gold Members on 2nd or 3rd year. Try to avoid 1st year members as they carry too much risk.

Global Sources is similar to Alibaba but chances are you’ll find different companies there.

If your search on Alibaba and Global Sources fails, check out Ali Express – it’s like an online shop where you can directly order items, pay with PayPal or credit cards and receive items via courier. With Ali Express your order is protected as payment is held by Escrow and you release it ONLY when you receive and inspect goods.

Wholesale rhinestone transfers are not the most difficult product to source so I really hope you’ll find a good supplier from one of the three websites mentioned. Remember, as you’re UK based, ordering these rhinestone transfers from China will be classed as importing and you’ll have to pay import duty and VAT once goods arrive in UK. If you are new to all this, please go through these Importing articles.

Lastly – stay away from brand logos and other copyrighted designs as they’re technically illegal and can’t be sold in UK.

Good luck with your new business venture!

Best Regards,
Andrew

• Tweet