merchant wholesaler

A merchant wholesaler is an independent business that buys merchandise in large quantities from manufacturers, stores it, and then redistributes it to retailers and other businesses. This process is a key part of wholesaling, which is the selling of goods to anyone other than a retail customer. Wholesalers typically sell in bulk at prices lower than retail.12

Merchant wholesalers are the most significant type of wholesaler. They can be full-service, offering a range of services like stocking, warehousing, credit, sales support, and delivery, or limited-service, providing fewer services to reduce costs. Wholesaling became especially important with mass production, allowing manufacturers to reach many retailers efficiently and vice versa.12