How To Ensure Wholesale Products Are Authentic

Ella Fabrio

29 Oct 2025 — 7 min read

The global trade in counterfeit goods is massive, potentially worth over half 400 billion dollars a year, according to the OECD. For any business that buys in bulk, verifying product authenticity is a major challenge.

At Qogita, we understand that your business's reputation and even your customers' safety are on the line. This expert-driven guide provides you with clear, actionable steps on how to ensure wholesale products are authentic and to show you how to identify reliable suppliers.

How to Ensure Your Wholesale Products Are Authentic

When you are looking for a reputable wholesale partner, you must always do your homework. By carefully checking a few key areas, you can greatly increase your chances of partnering with a seller that is truly authentic.

This process is vital for any type of wholesale supplier, whether they are a traditional distributor or a modern digital marketplace. Knowing what is a wholesaler and how they operate is the very first step toward safe purchasing.

1. Contact Information

Icon representing business contact details with symbols for an address location pin, phone handset, and email envelope

A clear sign of a real business is transparency. Authentic wholesalers always make their contact details easy to find. This means they should provide more than just an email form.

Check for a physical address that you can verify on a map, a working phone number, and professional email addresses (e.g., info@companyname.com, not a generic Gmail or Hotmail address).

Suppliers who are not legitimate often hide behind vague forms or contact information that leads nowhere because they do not want to be easily traced or held responsible. If a wholesaler makes it hard to contact a real person, that is a major red flag.

Qogita's Commitment: We make sure our full contact information is simple to access. If you ever need help or have a question, you can easily reach out to us via our Contact Us page.

2. Verified Business History

Image showing a group of people reviewing a supplier’s records and background information on a computer screen

A reliable wholesale business will have a solid history that is very easy to find and check. This includes important details like their business registration information, how many years they have been operating, and a track record of customer satisfaction. Legitimate companies have nothing to hide.

How to Check Their History and Reviews:

Business Registration: Use official government portals in the country where the business is registered. For example, in the UK, you can use Companies House.
Independent Reviews: Look beyond the wholesaler's own website. Search for reviews on dedicated third-party B2B (business-to-business) review platforms like Trustpilot or specialised wholesale marketplaces like Qogita or Alibaba (checking for "Verified Supplier" status). You can also simply search the company name plus "reviews" on Google.
Financial and Legal Standing: For larger companies, you can sometimes find information filed with financial regulators, like the SEC in the US, or use commercial credit reporting services to check their financial health.

If a company is hard to find or has a very short history with no real footprint, that can be a signal that you should look elsewhere.

3. Payment Methods

Image showing a person processing a payment with a card machine while handing goods to a customer

Unusual or unheard-of payment methods can strongly suggest an illegitimate business. Reliable wholesalers will use secure, traceable, and commonly accepted business payment systems.

Be cautious if a supplier only accepts methods like wire transfers to a personal name, cryptocurrencies, or cash. All these offer no buyer protection or way to get your money back if you receive fake or damaged goods. A trustworthy company will offer secure, standard options that protect both parties.

Qogita's Accepted Payments: At Qogita, we accept standard, secure payment methods to make sure the transaction process is smooth and trustworthy for all our business customers.

4. Reasonable Prices

Image showing perfume bottles with unusually heavy discount tags, suggesting that the products might be counterfeit or not authentic

Prices that seem too good to be true usually are. Every legitimate product has a production cost, and trustworthy suppliers must maintain a healthy profit margin to run a sustainable business. If a wholesaler offers products at prices much below the standard market rate, it is a huge red flag.

A business with prices that seem too cheap is probably not a legitimate or trustworthy wholesaler and is likely selling fake, expired, or diverted inventory.

For example, in the skincare industry, the standard wholesale price is often around 50% of the suggested retail price (MSRP). If a popular serum has a retail price of $100, the typical wholesale price for a retailer is about $50. If a supplier tries to sell you that same serum for only $20 per unit, it is almost impossible for them to be selling an authentic product from an authorised source.

Always do your homework by checking the recommended wholesale prices for the brands you want to buy.

5. Good Website Usability

Illustration showing a clean, professional website layout on a computer screen

A particular red flag that suggests a business might not be legitimate is a website that is badly designed or difficult to use. A professional wholesaler invests in a reliable, modern online platform because it is essential for business. The overall quality of the website should be good, well-designed, and have updated, reliable information.

Look out for poor English, blurry images, broken links, or a checkout process that feels unsecured or glitchy. A poor website often signals a business that is not serious, or worse, one that is just trying to scam you quickly before disappearing.

6. Verified Suppliers

Qogita’s supplier verification process that guarantees all listed suppliers are 100% authentic and trustworthy

The single most reliable way to ensure product authentication is to choose a wholesaler that rigorously checks its own sources.

Responsible wholesalers will be able to verify their own suppliers and have this information easy to find. They should be transparent about how they vet brands and distributors to guarantee the products are genuine and come directly from authorised channels.

If a company cannot clearly state or show its sourcing process, you should hesitate to buy from them.

At Qogita, we focus intensely on authenticity and reliability. We have a strict supplier vetting process that checks licenses, source documents, and compliance records.

This means every single supplier on our platform is legitimate, authorised, and compliant, giving you peace of mind that the products you buy are 100% authentic.

How to Spot Fake Beauty Products

Beauty and personal care items are some of the most widely faked products in the world. Since using unauthentic cosmetics can put your customers' health at risk, knowing how to spot fake beauty products is essential. Before you commit to a large purchase, use these tips to help you verify authenticity:

Scrutinise Packaging and Labelling: Authentic brands use good quality materials, clear printing, and specific fonts. Look for poor cardboard quality, blurry logos, misspelled words, or colors that look a bit off compared to the real item on the brand's website.
Check the Scent, Texture, and Consistency: Counterfeits often use cheap, harmful ingredients. Be alert for products that have a strange chemical smell, a gritty or overly thin texture, or a colour that does not exactly match the original item.
Verify Batch Codes and Serial Numbers: Every genuine product will have a unique batch code, often stamped or etched onto the container or box, not just printed on a sticker. Check if the brand offers an online tool or customer service line where you can confirm the code's validity.
Inspect the Applicator and Seals: Genuine items usually have secure, tamper-proof seals (like plastic wrapping or a foil seal inside the cap). Check applicators, such as mascara wands or brush heads, for signs of poor quality, like loose bristles or cheap plastic.
Ask for Samples to Verify: If you are buying a product you have never stocked before, the best check is to ask the wholesaler for a small sample. This lets you inspect the packaging, quality, and feel of the product yourself before you place a large and expensive order.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that protecting your business from fakes comes down to doing your homework every single time. You need to be the expert who knows how to spot the red flags: a missing address, an unbelievable price, or a messy website. Checking a supplier’s history and inspecting product details closely are the keys to staying safe.

At Qogita, we believe you shouldn't have to spend all your time worrying about getting tricked. By curating a list of pre-vetted, trustworthy suppliers, we make quality assurance simple.

This commitment is part of how Qogita is changing wholesale, helping businesses like yours focus on growth, not on sorting out fake inventory.

When you partner with us, you get high-quality products you can trust, supported by features that help your business thrive:

Guaranteed Authenticity: We verify every supplier so you can shop with true peace of mind.
Flexible Buying: Our low Minimum Order Values (MOVs) let you manage your cash and inventory better.
Simple Shipping: We offer competitive solutions to make logistics easy and keep your costs low.

Ready to stop worrying about fakes and secure authentic stock? Start browsing authentic wholesale products on the Qogita platform now.