With the advent of online businesses in recent years, the wholesale designer apparel marketplace has become increasingly important. Finding the top designers at wholesale prices is challenging, as there is a horde of imitation sellers and frauds competing against the legitimate wholesalers. Legitimate designer apparel wholesalers do exist, and are looking for new customers.

High end designer apparel wholesalers, those who carry products from Prada, Ralph Lauren, and Versace are few in number. For the most part, they consist of import wholesalers and liquidation wholesalers. The import wholesalers are those marketing to small and mid range department stores and boutiques. They are fairly picky about new customers. In recent years, they have been more accommodating to online and small retail sellers. At a minimum, they require a business license and tax id prior to doing business.

Liquidators for high end designer apparel are few in number as well. They work with the large luxury department stores, handling their unsold merchandise. This results in some interesting options, as some items sell well on the east coast might be unsold by west coast department stores, and trends in Asia differ greatly from trends in the USA and Europe. However, these items were usually on the shelf for some time, and some may suffer from wear. As with importers, most wholesale liquidators for designer apparel want to deal with legitimate businesses, and require a tax id, as well as sometimes a business license. Quantities and lots are usually smaller than with high end apparel, but sizes and options are sometimes limited.

Midrange fashion and designer apparel, such as Zara, Gap, DKNY, and Tommy Hilfiger are also available through importers and liquidators. As with the higher end apparel, importers are focused on retail boutiques and department stores, and are sometimes picky with their requirements. Liquidators are common, and sometimes auction lots on mainstream sites, although best prices are obtained through genuine wholesale liquidators.

The toughest part of finding quality wholesale designer apparel is determining which wholesalers are legitimate and which are selling fakes, or worse, outright frauds. Imitations are common with overseas manufacturers, and dealing with a reputable wholesaler is a must.