Are clothing lines considered wholesalers or retailers if they sell online as well?

Wholesale usually implies re-selling to others in "bulk", Cosco or Sam's Club would be wholesale while Walmart or Target is Retail sales. If you sell products directly to end users then your doing retail, if you sell products to someone else that sells to the end user then your wholesale selling to the retailer. If you end up doing both, then I'm not really sure, you would probably still be a wholesale business that also sells direct to consumers.

Obviously, the other respondent is incorrect. Costco, Sam's Club, Target, Walmart, etc are all retailers. Yes, Costco & Sam's can sell tax free if you have a resale license but so does Joanns fabric and michaels craft stores which are also retail stores. Since the bulk of your business will be wholesale to stores and boutiques, I think that you would say a wholesale business. I don't think there is any problem with an FEIN as long as you collect sales tax when necessary. On a side note, remember it's difficult to walk the line between a retailer and wholesaler. Some businesses such as Life is Good has been successful with this. But you can't ever undercut prices on your website or you will lose your wholesale customers.

Wholesale usually implies re-selling to others in "bulk", Cosco or Sam's Club would be wholesale while Walmart or Target is Retail sales. If you sell products directly to end users then your doing retail, if you sell products to someone else that sells to the end user then your wholesale selling to the retailer. If you end up doing both, then I'm not really sure, you would probably still be a wholesale business that also sells direct to consumers.

Hi Mate, you will not get reliable wholesalers by searching on Google. Instead you should try trade portals. You must have heard about B2B trade portal.