Looking for cheap wholesale shoes that you can resell for a nifty profit? You’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find awesome shoe vendor options, plus the answers to all of these important questions:
There is one great reason to sell shoes online: There’s money in it. Don’t believe me? Consider the case of Beth Marbach, who made $4 million when she switched from selling books to selling shoes.
Or how about Benjamin Kapelushnik, a 16-year-old who makes a killing selling sneakers. One woman even made a whole lot of money selling her old used shoes. There really is a market for everything if you know where to look and who wants to buy…
I’m not saying that everyone will make millions selling shoes online, but there is definitely a market here. The global footwear market is set to reach over 400 billion dollars by 2025 and consumers in the US alone are spending over $76 billion on shoes each year. That’s a big money-pie, so why not take a slice?
Most people think of women’s footwear when they think of shoes to sell online, but that’s only one option.
Beth Marbach started out selling 90% women’s shoes and 10% men’s shoes when "Sex and the City" was in full swing, and Carrie Bradshaw started a craze for women’s shoes. But after that, Beth noticed the men’s luxury market grew, and by the end she was selling 90% men’s shoes and only 10% women’s shoes.
Trends change, and it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse. Notice which shoes are selling well and stock up on those. Also, notice if the market is changing, and adjust what you’re selling to fit. It’s all about experimenting and finding what’s most profitable for you as you go.
Here’s a list of the main things to consider when deciding what shoes to sell:
Get shoes that’ll appeal to people ages 18-34 if possible, as they tend to be the biggest online buyers. Older buyers (65+) are less trusting of online shopping and don’t tend to do it as much.
Think to yourself: Who spends a lot of time online and may be looking to buy shoes? Stay-at-home moms, for example, may spend a lot of time browsing the internet, and want to buy shoes for themselves or for their children without the nightmare of going out to the store.
Seasonality is a problem if you’re selling flip-flops or knee high boots. Why? No one wants icicle feet in winter, and no one wears knee-highs to the beach. Check out the searches for these types of shoes in Google Trends:
In summer months, flip flop searches go up and searches for knee high boots go way down. You can compare those to the searches for loafers, which appear to be fairly steady year-round.
This doesn’t mean you can’t sell flip-flops; it just means you’ll need to be aware of your market and also stock winter shoes over winter, or pick types of shoes with steady sales all year round.
You don’t want to be the guy who ordered the same number of each size of shoe, only to find himself running out of common sizes and unable to move the smallest or largest sizes. You also don’t want a full stock of crazy colors that most people aren’t interested in when black is the most popular choice.
Unless you have a sure-thing niche market for crazy shoes, include some black shoes in your inventory, and stock more of popular sizes. In the US, the most common size is 8 for women and 10.5 for men. In the UK, it’s size 6 for women and size 10 for men.
There’s a large range of shoes you can choose to sell, including:
So which shoes are best for profits? Generally, the top 3 types of shoes are men’s athletic shoes, women’s casual shoes, and women’s dress shoes.
But these are broad categories with many styles to choose from. So how do you narrow it down? The best way is to do some simple market research is to use a tool such as the SaleHoo Labs.
SaleHoo’s Market Research Lab shows you which products are currently selling well. You can select 'clothing shoes and jewelry' as a category and browse through the results to find the best high-selling, low-competition options.
A little background research like this can help you to make a more informed decision about your market before you buy up a whole bunch of stock.
There are 3 main ways to source shoes for selling online. We’ll go through them, and then look at some supplier options for all kinds of shoes.
How it works: You buy cheap wholesale shoes in bulk from a wholesaler who sends them to you. You then resell the shoes online.
How it works: You list the shoe styles and sizes the dropshipper stocks, without having to buy any or handle them yourself. When you make a sale, you purchase the item through the dropshipper, put in your customer’s address and the dropshipper packages and sends the shoes to the customer for you.
How it works: Companies want to get rid of stock because they’re closing down, or moving, or it’s the end of the season and they’re making room for their next line of stock. These products are dirt cheap, and you can buy and resell for a decent profit margin if you know what you’re looking for.
One of the main issues with finding suppliers online is the number of scams out there. If you ever use Google searches to find suppliers, you may have wanted to bang your head against the wall!
To save you time and a bunch of effort you will want to check out our SaleHoo Directory.
The SaleHoo Directory has over 150 trusted wholesale shoe suppliers from around the world. The great thing is the suppliers are vetted and verified by SaleHoo staff so you know you are working with quality suppliers!
The cost is just $67 USD per year.
While you are searching for suppliers keep in mind the following:
What products and brands do they sell? Do they ship internationally? Do you need a resale license/sales tax ID to do business with them? Do they have minimum order requirements, and if so, how much? How long have they been in business?
Want good news? All of this information can be found on SaleHoo!
Because we want you to be one step ahead of the game we have outlined a few top wholesale shoe suppliers in China and the USA found in our SaleHoo Directory. Check them out below!
Shoe suppliers in China are known for their low prices, and they often have a massive range of products.
But where to find them? Check out a couple of great Chinese shoe supplier options from SaleHoo Directory below:
This China-based supplier has almost every type of shoe you can think of, and offer both wholesale and dropshipping services. They stock:
This supplier also offers wholesale shoes from China, and their range includes:
China isn’t the only country where you can buy cheap wholesale shoes in bulk. Why not check out the options in the US?
Below is a wide variety of shoe suppliers in the US:
These are only some of the options in the Directory, and there are also suppliers from a whole range of other countries too. So there’s a good chance you’ll find a local supplier if you want one.
There’s a large demand for brand-name shoes, which is probably why many of the success stories at the top of this page were based on selling them. Beth Marbach said she sold high-end shoes because even if the economy goes down, rich people always have money to spend on fashion.
The brand-name shoe market can cost more to get started in though, and you can face some tough competition, so be sure to look into your market before you buy large quantities of stock.
Below are a few brand-name shoe suppliers from our Directory:
This supplier has high-end men and women’s shoes (wholesale and liquidation). Some of the brands found here include:
This supplier has flip-flops, sneakers, shoes, boots and slippers (just dropship). Some of the brands found here include:
Some other brand-name shoe suppliers include:
One final option is to sell secondhand shoes.
You can either sell your own old shoes, or you can look through garage sales or secondhand stores to find extras if this market works for you.
Let’s take a quick look at some of your options below!
Many sellers use eBay (or other online marketplaces) to sell their goods. Here’s the ins and outs of using eBay to sell shoes:
It’s a lot easier than you might think to open your own online store these days. Let’s check out the pros and cons…
Try these marketing tips to direct people to your products.
People love YouTube videos, and often search for fashion tips and style advice. Why not showcase your shoes?
People spend forever browsing around sites like Pinterest. If you’ve got good pictures of shoes, post ‘em up and hashtag anything about your shoes that people might be looking for.
There are a couple of options to consider for advertising shoes:
It's important that you start small here: Don’t spend more than you’ve got to lose, especially if you’re new and you don’t know what works yet.
Buying and selling shoes online can be a very profitable business!
Generally, it’s a good idea to:
You can choose any of these options for sourcing shoes:
When it’s time to sell, you can choose online marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon, or you can open your own online store. Then you can market your shoes via YouTube, Pinterest, or paid advertising.
If you’re looking for a type of shoe supplier that we haven’t listed, try asking us to find one for you in the “Supplier Wanted” section of the SaleHoo forum. All the best and be sure to let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below!
Comments (38)
Kim on 1:28 30 Dec
Excellent information!Rosa Valenzuela on 18:39 27 Mar
Looking to start a new online shoe store.mdsazid on 18:54 15 May
Give me wholseller contact numberJustin Golschneider on 13:00 16 May
Hi there! To see the wholesalers' contact numbers, you'll first need to sign up for SaleHoo membership here: https://www.salehoo.com/join-nowOnce you have an account, just click on any of the supplier links above (such as "This supplier" or "Brand name shoes, everything from sneakers to heels") to get taken directly to the supplier's contact information. :-)
Yitzy b on 12:45 30 Jul
Great online storeMandy on 23:53 9 Aug
Really useful information thankyouAdjoa Yeboah on 10:31 11 Sep
Great information. Thanks so muchMonika on 14:02 15 Sep
I want to resaleJustin Golschneider on 20:23 15 Sep
Hi Monika! You can find our selling guides here: https://www.salehoo.com/educationThey should get you off to a good start. :-)
Favour on 16:54 16 Sep
I want to buy shoes in wholesale how do I contact the seller/producerJustin Golschneider on 20:32 19 Sep
Hi Favour! You can get contact info through our directory: https://www.salehoo.com/directoryCarlgaret L Davis on 13:14 17 May
Send information on how to purchase shoes from vendorRhea Bontol on 6:29 20 May
Hi Carl! You need to join the full membership first to view our supplier list. https://www.salehoo.com/join-nowVeronica Mukap on 23:24 16 Sep
I want to resellJustin Golschneider on 20:34 19 Sep
Hi Veronica! You can learn how to get started here: https://www.salehoo.com/educationTommy Erdmann on 2:51 3 Oct
What are the wholesale sellers from AmericaRichelle Monfort on 3:22 4 Oct
Hello Tommy,We have a comprehensive list of shoes suppliers here: https://www.salehoo.com/forum/wanted/suppliers-of-shoes-footwear-t17348.html
Hope this helps :)
Carlos nieves on 20:33 4 Oct
Looking to start a new storeRichelle Monfort on 6:41 5 Oct
Hi Carlos,SaleHoo Stores is an ecommerce application that allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods via your own domain. It lets you organize your products, customize your storefront, accept credit card payments, track and respond to orders — all with a few clicks of your mouse.
We have a full working demo you can try out to see exactly how it looks and works: https://demo.salehoostores.com/demo
You also get a full 60 days to try out everything and if for any reason you are not satisfied, you can request a refund and we'll process it, no questions asked. If you would like to learn more or purchase SaleHoo Stores, please go to https://www.salehoo.com/stores
Saradienne Vallon on 4:29 6 Oct
WOW thanks too the SaleHOO staff those tips really help me I'm a small reseller I take my time to read everything you guys are awesome hope I could find some good dealSaradienne Vallon on 4:30 6 Oct
Wow I'm speechless thank you guys saleHOO are amazing I love itMelba H. Sudiacal on 12:57 15 Oct
Hi!i want to buy shoes in wholesale. How to contact the supplier?Richelle Monfort on 11:37 24 Oct
Hi there,You can contact the suppliers once you join SaleHoo. To join please go to http://www.salehoo.com/join-now Hope this helps!
Tynisa on 0:39 2 Jan
Great information!prabhakar on 16:43 29 Nov
i want open own resale businessRhea Bontol on 6:30 30 Nov
You can definitely do that :) Checkout our Seller Training Center to guide you with the process: https://www.salehoo.com/educationMirian Sydney on 1:44 10 Dec
I really want to get list of shoe suppliers..Rhea Bontol on 6:22 10 Dec
You can checkout our Directory once you become a full member. You can join here when ready: https://www.salehoo.com/join-nownozipho on 8:49 21 Jan
hi i want to buy shoes and resale ,which step should i take?Rhea Bontol on 4:11 22 Jan
You need to contact a supplier for approval to sell their items. Using SaleHoo Directory, you'll find trusted shoe suppliers you can deal with directly. In the meantime, our Seller Training Center can guide you on how to get started with selling online: https://www.salehoo.com/educationSolomon Elizabeth on 9:43 5 Feb
If this is genuine, I'll be so gladRhea Bontol on 4:17 7 Feb
This guide can help ease your concern.Tameka Curry on 14:51 26 Mar
Im looking for a wholesale supplier for women who wear larger size shoes (11-14). I've been researching for about a week now and cant find anything. All help is appreciated!!Rhea Bontol on 5:47 1 Apr
Hi Tameka! Join the SaleHoo community and access our directory of verified and trusted suppliers. If you still can't find what you're looking for, we have our own research team that can help find suitable suppliers for you: https://www.salehoo.com/join-nowMIRACLE on 19:50 26 Mar
I want to buy and resell itRhea Bontol on 5:53 1 Apr
Hi there! The simplest method is to do so by dropshipping. You can learn more about it here: https://www.salehoo.com/dropship/understanding-dropshippingYolanda Wills on 4:57 15 May
Would like to become wholesalerOlusegun Makinde on 15:10 9 Jun
I'm interested in buying liquidated shoe stock, how can I find suppliers. Can you recommend one ?Rhea Bontol on 5:43 17 Jun
Hi Olusegun! We do have liquidators carrying shoes. Once you join the full membership, contact us via email so we can suggest suppliers for you: https://www.salehoo.com/contactFrederick Kennedy on 14:18 10 Jun
I would like to be able to sell products from your company I'm a shoeshine man in the Galleria in Houston Texas and would love to expand your business by personal care I'm in the midst of business men's all dayRhea Bontol on 6:05 17 Jun
Hi Frederick! You'll find different kinds of shoe suppliers in our Directory once you join the full membership.Chester Gbeintor on 3:27 8 Jul
Very Useful information,Thanks
Roseline Dameus on 20:08 31 Aug
I would like to to buy some shoes for resales I have a small business Haiti please help meRhea Bontol on 3:46 12 Dec
Did you know that about 75% of our international suppliers ship worldwide? That includes Haiti, too! Start using the directory to find out which supplier/s best suit your need.Moises on 22:31 9 Dec
Looking to start a small business of shoesRhea Bontol on 3:43 12 Dec
You can start looking for verified suppliers in the directory. Don't forget to contact these suppliers for the requirements needed to start selling shoes!RPearson on 21:47 28 Dec
Really excellent and complete information. Thank you. Where can I find other articles of like manner?Rhea Bontol on 3:18 2 Jan
Here's another one on Choosing the Right Wholesale Shoes for DropshippingRICHARD ELDON BRASSY on 7:10 26 Jan
hello i wanna be able to buy wholesale in bulk all brands of shoes Jordans addias Reebok Converse NikeRhea Bontol on 1:00 20 Feb
You can search suppliers for that on SaleHoo. Just note that when you source high end brands for resale (i.e. Nike, Reebok, or Converse), you will need to have the manufacturer's permit to sell under their brand. The easiest way for you to sell branded items is to source your products from liquidators - we have these on SaleHoo. When you're ready to checkout our Directory, you can join the full membership here.Cherie Slaughter on 14:51 10 Apr
I really want to start but don't know howRhea Bontol on 4:26 13 Apr
Hi Cherie! If you want to sell shoes, you can start by finding the right suppliers for you - SaleHoo can help you with that once you become a full member! As soon as you find a supplier, make sure to ask them for the requirements needed to start selling their products. And once you complete their requirements, you're all set to start your online business.Checkout the suggestions here for selling sites that best suit your need.
jett villareal on 2:51 23 Apr
i want to avail wholesale.how?Rhea Bontol on 0:33 14 May
Hi Jett! Join the full membership now so you can access our list of trusted suppliers. See you around!Zukiswa on 9:33 5 May
I want to resale the shoesRhea Bontol on 0:35 14 May
Hey Zukiswa! There are some suppliers suggested on this blog and you can access them yourself once you become a full member. Cheers!Omosalewa on 16:23 2 Sep
Great tips. Thank you!Linet on 8:11 3 Sep
Very useful information.Lucia on 17:00 12 Sep
I am interested in buying online shoesLorraine Motau on 5:07 18 Sep
Need to start selling shoes, want to buy in bulkNtombodidi on 1:44 18 Oct
I would like to resell shoesAlaba aderonke on 15:16 22 Oct
I need to join soon as possibleI need an agent
Rhea Bontol on 19:10 28 Oct
You can join our href="https://www.salehoo.com/join-now">Directory membership to access our verified and trusted suppliers.