To really know whether or not Salehoo is a Scam, we have to look at what Salehoo is. Skip to the next section for the Salehoo scam talk. Salehoo claims to be an online membership providing access to a directory of approximately 5000 product distributors across roughly 75 product categories. The Salehoo directory provides contact information these kinds of product suppliers:

• true wholesalers
• dropshippers
• liquidation and closeout inventory specialists
• light bulk wholesalers
• factory distributors
• Chinese factory and wholesale distributors

As mentioned above, Salehoo is a membership, which means that you pay a one time fee for permanent access to the site. What you get is the complete online "rolodex" of all businesses listed with Salehoo, access to the wholesale forum, and wholesale dropship training materials.

Salehoo claims to verify all product suppliers listed in its directory. This means that Salehoo only lists a company after it is confident that the business is legitimate. If a business is later discovered to be unethical or should member complain about the business practices of a particular company, Salehoo can remove it from the list.

The wholesale forum allows members to network, share information, and ask questions to other members and management. This is potentially the most valuable feature of the Salehoo membership. Information found in expensive ebooks is routinely shared about product sourcing and tactics that work on eBay, in ecommerce, Craigslist, and in flea market selling environments. In the event you can't find a satisfactory source for a particular product, either the members themselves will chip in and help or management will provide you with the leads you need.

Good question. What is the Salehoo scam? Well, most of the Salehoo scam controversy appears to have been started by Terry Gibbs of salehoosucks.com. Keep in mind that Mr. Gibbs has a grudge with Salehoo, but this is where to look if you want to start with the main core of the talk about the "Salehoo scam."

However, it is also the case that many people simply misunderstand what Salehoo is. There is so much Internet marketing hype about making fast money with dropshipping and wholesaling that many lose sight of the fact that Salehoo is simply, at bottom, a directory and resource to lead you to product distributors.

Common misunderstandings: Many people think that Salehoo is itself a product supplier, but this is not the case. Sometimes people think that Salehoo is responsible for the products that they buy from the companies listed in the Salehoo directory, but again, this is not the case. If you have a problem with a business listed in the directory, you can make a complaint to Salehoo, but ultimate responsibility for anything you purchase from a supplier does rest with you. It also sometimes happens that people may think that Salehoo is a system for making money, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Although Salehoo does provide some basic education and training to help new members learn how to approach the buying and selling of goods, Salehoo is not a system or method or approach or technique for making money. Salehoo's basic purpose is to put the products you need into your hands, and after that, it is up to you to resell them in whatever way you choose.

Salehoo, as stated above is simply an online "rolodex" of many, many prodcut distributors. It is a resource to help people interested in selling physical goods through their businesses. Some of the suppliers are wholesalers, some dropshippers, others factory distributors, and there are others who are light bulk specialists, and still others are liquidation closeout specialists.

If you are trying to decide whether or not to join Salehoo or some other online wholesale directory memberhip site, it is important to understand that, as mentioned above, Salehoo is not a product supplier. It is not repsonsible for any of the products that you might buy from any business listed in its directory. The only thing Saleho does is to make sure, or verify, that the businesses it lists are legitimate. If a business treats you badly, or in any other way behaves in an unethical manner, you would need to complain to the Salehoo management. Salehoo does "fire" businesses on the list if they fail to live up to their ethical obligations.

That depends. Ultimately that is up to you. I am a member of Salehoo, and though I think it lives up to its sales page, it certainly is not for everybody. Even Salehoo readily admits that. But, is it for you? Will you lose out without the Salehoo membership?

In my opinion, Salehoo's best features are:

• An active forum. Here, you get precise, blunt feedback on specific product sources and tips on how and where to sell.
• EBay market place news. Salehoo brings significant eBay news to your attention.
• The Salehoo Directory. Access to the annotated list of approximately 5000 product suppliers.
• Member only access to small bulk lots of high quality liquidated retail inventory. Salehoo has recently established a separate business to broker small bulk lots of high-end, retail liquidated inventory to Salehoo members. This means you don't have to buy in huge bulk quantities to get closeout inventory for pennies on the dollar.

In my opinion, I think Salehoo could be of benefit if you are a prospective eBay and/or home business ecommerce seller. If you need focus and are still in the "figuring-out" stage of your business, Salehoo could help provide clarity and direction. If you do not yet know what to sell, the Salehoo list can point you in the direction of thousands of proudcts, and more importantly, inspire ideas to take you beyond the boundries of a mere list (even if that list is 5000 strong). If you simply want to be plugged in to an active network of buyers and sellers, then Salehoo can provide you with that community.

Of course! In fact, if you have already determined the product line you wish to sell, you may not have any use for an online wholesale directory. If you know the products you want to sell, you merely need to approach the manufacturer and establish the terms to allow you to resell the product line. If the manufacturer already has an authorized wholesale distributor, find out who it is and work with them to estbablish an account.

Tradeshows! One of the best ways to get first hand information on new products, established product lines and to network with manufacturers and distributors is by attending tradeshows. You can find out about tradeshows in your area by checking with your local chamber of commerce, and even by talking to area retailers. Do an Internet search for "tradeshow directory" or "tradeshow listings." The Hub, Wholesale Sourcing for Home Business also has a long list of links to wholesale suppliers as well as a valuable tradeshow directory.