What wholesalers need
A wholesaler earns on volume and turnover. The products have to be easy to sell on, consistent from lot to lot and cheap to move. That creates three needs. Stock depth in a short list of proven styles, so customers can reorder the same item. Mixed containers, because a single style rarely fills a load and canopies, beach tents and dome tents sell in different weeks. Carton sizes that are known before booking, because tents ship by volume and the carton decides the freight cost per unit.
The wholesale program focuses the range on the lines that move, specifies frame and fabric grades that suit resale, and plans the load from carton data rather than estimates.
Recommended lines and grades
Pop-up canopies are the core of most wholesale programs. The 10x10 ft size is the standard; 10x15 and 10x20 ft extend the line. Frame grade decides the price tier and the customer it suits.
| Item | Typical spec | Typical resale customer |
|---|---|---|
| Steel square-tube canopy | Consumer grade frame, 10x10 ft | Garden and occasional home use |
| 40 mm hex aluminium canopy | Commercial standard, leg wall about 1.1-1.2 mm, 600D PU polyester top, about 20-24 kg | Market vendors, trade shows, clubs |
| 50 mm hex aluminium canopy | Heavy-duty frame | Rental and frequent commercial use |
| Beach stretch shade | 274x274 cm, 208 cm poles, about 2.9 kg, sandbags | Seasonal beach and pool stores |
| Dome tent | 4 person, 274x213x150 cm, about 4-4.5 kg | Outdoor and general merchandise stores |
See pop-up canopy tents, beach tents and dome camping tents for the full reference specs.
Mixed loads, cartons and quantities
The reference 10x10 canopy packs into a carton of about 158x27x27 cm per set. Dome tents and beach shades pack into much smaller cartons, so they fill the gaps around canopy cartons. The desk collects the carton size and gross weight of each style from the partner factory, plans the mix per shipment and books FCL or LCL accordingly. Container counts are calculated per order from those cartons, never quoted as a fixed figure. Sea freight usually takes about 15-25 days to the US West Coast and about 30-45 days to Europe. The logistics page explains booking and consolidation.
On quantities, 10x10 canopies and printed kits typically start at 20-50 sets per style; tents for existing styles at 300-500 per style; new structures are assessed per project; every quantity is confirmed in writing. Samples take 7-15 days and bulk 30-45 days. Wholesalers selling into a spring season place bulk in winter so stock lands before store buyers reorder.
Claims your customers can repeat
Wholesale stock gets resold under other people's descriptions, so the claims printed on the bag and carton matter. Canopies carry an anchoring note rather than a wind rating: stake and guy every leg, add weights of about 40 lb or 18 kg per leg as an industry convention, and take the canopy down in strong wind. Tent fabric reads waterproof-rated with the hydrostatic head per ISO 811 report. Flame resistance and UV figures appear only where a report exists for that order. Clear, modest wording on the packaging protects your customers and keeps disputes away from you. See anchoring and wind.
Checkpoints before shipment
- Canopy legs: profile, wall thickness, joints and rivets against the approved sample; rust checks on steel frames.
- Canopy top: fabric, seams and colour against the swatch; fit on the frame.
- Kit count: stakes, guy lines, weight bags and carry bag per set.
- Tents: pitch test on sampled units, seam water spray check, stake count.
- Carton size and gross weight against the booking data; ISTA 1A drop test.
- Sampling to ISO 2859-1 at general level II, major AQL 2.5 and minor 4.0.
Illustrative example
An illustrative, anonymous case: a wholesaler wants 40 mm hex aluminium 10x10 canopies in three colours plus beach shades and dome tents for the summer season. The desk splits the order between a canopy factory in Linhai and a camping tent factory in Zhejiang, plans one mixed shipment from the carton data, and sets each canopy colour within the typical 20-50 sets per style. Inspection checks leg wall thickness and top colour on every colour.
How to start
Send your styles, frame grades, colours, quantities per style and the delivery window through the quote form. The desk replies with a shortlist, carton data and a loading plan.