TIL that inventory rule my supplier gave me was actually spot on

Back in March my main supplier in Shenzhen told me to never order more than 60 days of stock for any item under $15. I thought he was just protecting his own turnaround times, so I ignored him and stocked up on 120 days of a cheap phone case line. Three months later that same case got delisted from Amazon for a patent issue and I was stuck with 1,400 units. Cost me around $3,200 to liquidate through a local reseller in Dallas. Has anyone else had a supplier give weird advice that turned out to be the real deal?

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burns.ruby1mo ago

Commiserating with you hard on this one. My first big supplier in Guangzhou warned me to keep a tight cap on anything trendy, said fads die faster than shipping takes. I didn't listen on a batch of patterned charging cables, and sure enough, three months later the style was dead as a doornail. Took me almost a year to move those things at a flea market for pennies on the dollar. Now I treat any supplier warning like free market research, even if it stings to hear.

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