Ask multiple suppliers for samples and quotes on the same item. Show the lowest price to higher-priced suppliers and ask them to match or beat it. Competitive pressure often gets them to drop their price.
So I know you're always negotiating with suppliers. What are your top tips for doing so? Very good question. There's a few strategies I employ, but the most important thing I recommend when you're negotiating with suppliers is to be making samples with a few different people. And once you've gotten your pricing from everybody, you pin them against one another. So if somebody is giving you one t-shirt at $8 and the other person is giving you the same t-shirt at $10, ask the person giving it to you at $10, can you do it for less than $8? And you'd be surprised, sometimes they'll say yes.
