Difference between retailers, wholesalers and distributors

Retailers

Retailers consist of small and large for-profit businesses that sell products directly to
consumers. To realize a profit, retailers search for products that coincide with their
business objectives and find suppliers with the most competitive pricing. Generally, a
retailer can buy small quantities of an item from a distributor or a wholesaler. For
instance, a retail merchant who wanted to purchase a dozen lamps could contact
lighting distributors to inquire about pricing.

Wholesalers

Wholesalers generally buy a large quantity of products directly from distributors. High-
volume purchase orders typically improve a wholesaler’s buying power. Many
distributors provide discounts for a certain number of items purchased or the total
amount spent on merchandise. Wholesalers acquire merchandise, such as telephones,
computers, bicycles, clothing, televisions and furniture. The goods are frequently
destined for retailers.

Distributors

Distributors frequently have a business relationship with manufactures that they

represent. Many distributors maintain exclusive buying agreements that limit the number
of participants or enables distributors to cover a certain territory. The distributor
becomes the manufacture’s direct point of contact for prospective buyers of certain
products. However, distributors rarely sell a manufacture’s goods directly to consumers.
Wholesale representatives and retailers generally find distributors to buy products for
resale.

Warehouse

The most common function of a warehouse is to act as a storage space for inventory,
equipment or other items. Some warehouses function as a shipping hub, receiving
shipments and holding the items until they are loaded onto other trucks and shipped
elsewhere.

Bargain versus Sale (THIS ARE EASILTY CONFUSED AND DEPEND ON CONTEXT
so no worries if you sometimes get them wrong. But:

a large discount' generally means a bargain; it does not 'generally' mean a 'sale'. A 'sale' is
a specific event when bargains are specifically available to customers.
'sale' has two meanings. If I walk into a shop and buy something (whether at normal or
reduced price) then the shop assistant has 'made a sale' because she sold an item.

A 'sale' , as in a store is 'having a sale', refers to a short period of time when the store
reduces the prices of goods (often goods that haven't been selling well at full price) for their
rapid disposal, especially at the end of a season.
Hence, 'a clearance sale'. The January Sales, in England, is a big event.

So - at a sale, most items you purchase are a bargain because the price is reduced.

However, these days when shopping, one is not limited to the local shops, but can buy
online, through Amazon and ebay, so that one is able to find an outlet where the item is
being sold for substantially less than you might have paid if you shopped locally - you've
picked up a bargain. These prices, as in Amazon, are 'set prices', 'fixed', not just lasting
for a few days/weeks as in a 'sale'.