It’s not going to be long now… and if you put your ear to the ground, you can clearly hear the ominous rumble of the train coming right at you. Black Friday will be upon us in a big hurry, and if you aren’t watching the signs of sales trends and predictions, you might be working harder than you need to during the Christmas rush, in order to recoup your losses! The category lists are growing fast on sites like  toptenwholesale.com, manufacturer.com, wholesaleu.com, and offpricenetwork.com as products find their place in the ever-widening scope of goods that make their mark on the radar screen. Here’s some information that might come in handy if you’re looking to catch a few of the opportunities that come during a time of record unemployment and foreclosures, huge decreases in consumer credit, a big surge in über-frugal discretionary spending, and the audible hiss of air being let out of the tires as overall confidence lulls…

With the US Dollar shrinking rapidly, and a seemingly never-ending series of contradictions regarding the instability of the economy hitting all of the news feeds… it’s easy to see that this holiday season will present some interesting challenges to the wholesale and retail specialists that are trying to tie it all together in time for the major shopping wrap-up of 2009. General merchandise has always been a market with its upswings and downturns, but this time the numbers to focus upon are the forecasts for what kind of money will be spent by the consumer this season in specific areas like Christmas and party supplies… and how you can apply some smart spending of your own towards meeting their specialized demands, without resorting to too much guesswork.

Here we are, approaching the 2009 Halloween parties, gatherings, clubs, events, and other assorted fun… and it’s the same old problem your customers have probably run into before; they don’t have a thing to wear, and they’ve got places to be. There’s also a serious undercurrent of heavy-duty budgeting that will insidiously work its way into all of the holidays this time… so the smart wholesale and retail specialists should be ready to offer wholesale fashion accessories to build your sales!

Today’s consumers are looking to you to provide them with the wholesale fashion accessories that transform a lifeless, drab, and uninspired costume into one that leaves people wondering why they didn’t find the source first? Clue your customers in to your secret (well… not so secret, I hope) cache of bling and other things that will increase your item count, and push your sales volume a tad further than if you strictly tried to rely upon the outdated strategy of thrusting a ready-to-wear costume in front of the customer… expecting them to dutifully take it, with no further questions to ask.

If you need further evidence of a market that is promoting successful returns for the ones who are coming up with new answers to the old questions, there’s actually more answers out there than there were just a few months ago. Let’s think about the leading wholesale distributors that are offering big benefits to retailers during these tough economic times. Some national online wholesalers are offering free shipping to all new customers, and helping small businesses that are looking for new and improved ways to dial-in their efficiency and crank up their competitiveness in the market. You might even be surprised to find out that top-quality apparel, handbags, and fashion accessories are being put up against the goods carried by larger department stores, at considerable savings! This new angle on the perceived value of branded goods is creating a huge opportunity for those who want to break into the market.

Here’s a quiz: Do you immediately think of China when you think of wholesale jade? If you do, it’s not an uncommon perception… most people think that wholesale jade is strictly a precious Chinese stone, and that it’s really only found way out in the far-flung corners of the globe. Truth is, jade can be found in many places… there’s even a two-ton piece sitting in front of the Visitor’s Center in downtown Anchorage, Alaska!

Something that surprises me is the fact that jade jewelry has long been the understated adornment, even though it’s been around for a very long time (some jade artifacts have been excavated from prehistoric sites) and it’s always been considered a thing of beauty and value. Today’s jade can be found worn by many men, women, and children in China, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. It’s still got the mystique of being a treasured Oriental material, yet has deep roots in South American history as well. Another thing that surprises me is the fact that while I was living in the USA, I saw jade on a very rare basis. Living in China, I see it all the time.

Should buyers, sellers and wearers of Urban Wear … also called Hip Hop Apparel and Youth Clothing … be concerned about Baggy Pants Laws? Those are some rather strange Town Council Ordinances that basically say: Wear Baggy Pants — or Show Any of Your “Tightie Whiteys” (underwear) — and You Get a Ticket.

Plastic bags to take away purchases or trade show giveaways. Custom-printed advertising bags. Food and Furniture bags. Wholesale flat poly, reclosable and zippered, or expandable gusseted. Industry-grade liners. FDA-food-approved and leak-proof. Garment or Biohazard.

Go ahead: Pick a product, any product, from head (Hats, Scarves) to toe (Shoes, Boots). Or pick “A” (Arts & Crafts), through “G” (Gifts, General Merchandise), till you run out of alphabet (Radio ID Ear Tags, Toys, Valentines, Watches).

Something happened while you were keeping your wholesaler, distributor, chain or independent retailer business running through choppy waters. Whether you’re navigating through overstock inventory that didn’t move during the holidays, or whether you’re planning trade deals to fill empty warehouse shelves, here’s a news flash.

Concord (DollarItem.com:The Better Choice) and Advanced E-Media (Innovative E-Commerce Solutions) have teamed up to offer easy and Complete B2B Turnkey Web Packages tailored to online Wholesale merchandise sales, marketing, ordering and inventory.

A total e-commerce and marketing solution, Concord’s three scaled wholesale storefronts offer easy entry into the wholesale B2B merchandise sector. Easy start-up benefits include:

· Daily product inventory updates — automatically uploaded with professional images and a searchable online catalog customized to your merchandise mix – with no demands for technical expertise;

Headline pulse checks on 2008 holiday sales display words like “bleak” and “dismal” and “below expectation.” After all, everyone knows about the recession, weak economic performance, the latest unemployment stats and an almost global credit crunch.

Road Warriors and other Business Class hotel guests probably balk at the idea they’re “pampered” guests … not when they are on-call and at work almost 24/7! Still, business and pleasure travelers alike want all their electronics gadgets, toys and tools wherever they go.