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Are you a crafter looking for a cheaper way to buy adhesive vinyl, printable vinyl, or heat transfer vinyl? You probably landed on this page because you are wondering can crafters buy vinyl wholesale.
No. Crafters can usually not buy vinyl wholesale. Let’s look at why.
Table of Contents
Flow of Vinyl to Crafters
To understand why crafters cannot buy vinyl wholesale, we have to look at the flow of the vinyl before it gets in your hands.
First, a manufacturer makes the vinyl. This takes place in large factories with large equipment. Some well known manufacturers of vinyl are Siser, Chemica, 3M, Orafol, Avery, and more.
Next, the manufacturer sells vinyl to distributors. These distributors buy large rolls of vinyl and cut them down to size. Distributors also often have large warehouses. (Note: Some manufacturers also have their own distribution centers.)
Now, the vinyl is sold to retailers who sell the vinyl to crafters either online or in a brick and mortar store.
How to Buy Vinyl Wholesale
- Make sure that you are a registered business in your state or county. Vinyl manufacturers will not sell to hobbyists.
- Be sure that you do not have any conflicts of interest. This means that you will only sell vinyl, not sell products made with vinyl. Unfortunately, this is a deal breaker for most crafters. Most vinyl distributors will not allow you to buy wholesale vinyl and sell handmade projects directly to consumers.
- Have a written plan that you can share with the manufacturer detailing how and where you will sell the vinyl.
- Reach out to the manufacturer of the vinyl you would like to buy wholesale. You’ll be expected to purchase several thousands of dollars of vinyl for your first order and, in most cases, meet monthly minimums. Some specifics for popular manufacturers: Orafol – the opening order is around $100,000. Siser – the opening order is around $10,000 with monthly minimums of around $5,000.
You’ll Need to Choose: Vinyl Distributor or Craft Retailer
If you want to continue selling handmade products – you’ll need to continue buying vinyl from your favorite distributor.
If you would like to abandon selling handmade products and become a vinyl retailer – make sure your paperwork is in order and contact your favorite vinyl manufacturer.
Links to Distributors
Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also teaches a course on creating digital SVG designs, available at How to Design SVGs.
Cindy
Monday 8th of March 2021
Hello, I am interested in opening a small business and was interested in selling vinyl. As I am reading this.. is it my understanding that we can NOT order our vinyl and sell it in my shop if I decide to move forward to do this. I would like to sell vinyl and blanks. I was thinking of also offering my services to create items if needed, but after reading this.. is this like a crime to sell vinyl and offer my crafting services to the public? I am so confused as to why these rules and min amounts to order is so high and make it difficult for individuals to open a business and give communities more opportunity to purchase vinyl. Not every town has a vinyl store near by and this would be great for my community. I just don't have the funds to become an authorized dealer at their min ordering rules.
Christine, Cutting for Business
Tuesday 23rd of March 2021
Most vinyl manufacturers do not allow you to sell supplies and finished products at the same time. While not a crime, it protects the marketplace integrity. If you cannot meet the minimum orders, consider working out a discount deal with an Authorized Dealer. If you plan to purchase in bulk, you can still make it work.
Angela L Kirkpatrick
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Thank you for this information. It really helped out. I plan on continuing to craft and sell. You rock!
Christine, Cutting for Business
Monday 22nd of February 2021
Happy to help!
Torrey
Thursday 21st of February 2019
Thank you so much for this post. I would love to open up a vinyl shop on my side of town. The closest one is 35-40 miles away. Is there any specifics you should approach a potential middle man with? or do you just say "Hello. I am looking to open a business." Would they feel as if it would be competition even if they are on a different side of town?
Christine, Cutting for Business
Wednesday 3rd of July 2019
I doubt you'll have good luck with a local store supplying your vinyl for sale at your nearby store. I'd look for a large online seller and ask if any price breaks are available for you if you order in bulk.
Martha Colton Mack
Friday 28th of September 2018
I’m currently in the process of setting up my business which not only sells my own custom signs, but I also will provide mobile workshops for several crafts, sell wood blanks and cutouts, and also stencils which will have the option of requesting custom stencils. I do not want to offer just Mylar material because if it’s required bridges, but want to offer ones that are for one time use, specially Oracal Oramask 810. This Oramask is the priciest of all 4 that are available; however, in my experience it causes less problems that arise when using the 813 and even the 811 (paint pullling up when removing and also wood splinters). Obviously, my purchase will be from a distributor, but is selling the vinyl as stencils to customers going to be an issue?
Christine
Sunday 4th of November 2018
No, it shouldn't be.
Amber Crow
Friday 2nd of March 2018
I have been lucky enough to be able to open a vinyl store just this year. We started working on it December 1,2017. There was red tape like one guy at Siser didn’t like my name but one guy passed it to another and here we are today. I am lucky there isn’t a store for about 80 miles west of a big city and everywhere else over a 100 plus miles away. It is a lot of hard work and there is a lot of red tape sometimes. On one product I had to give almost a resume of my work history and how I came to opening the store. Then another with questions after I sent that then waited about 3 weeks to find out I am now a authorized reseller on another product. My hardest one is Cricut I have emailed and done this several times trying to find out how to carry everything crafters need for their Cricut such as blades, Matt’s etc. one thing about my store is I do teach people how to use their machines if they are having problems or do better hands on with a little help instead of watching and starting over YouTube.
Beth
Wednesday 13th of March 2019
Anna, can I contact you to get more information about how you started.
Christine
Friday 2nd of March 2018
Thanks for sharing!