How to Buy Knives Wholesale for Your Store
To buy knives wholesale for a store, register your business, get the resale certificate your state or country requires, then choose: a domestic distributor means no customs and fast restocking at a higher unit price, while a factory abroad means the lowest unit price, but you become the importer and pay the duty. Most small shops do well to test a factory with a small order first.
Updated 5 November 2026. Written by Pakistan Knives Factory, a knife manufacturer in Sialkot since 1982: we sell factory-direct, so we say where a distributor is the better choice.
The paperwork in the US
- Employer Identification Number (EIN): free from the IRS. Required if you have employees or a partnership, and otherwise optional, though useful for banking and for registering with your state.
- Seller's permit: in California, for example, retailers and wholesalers need one, and it is free. Other states have their own rules.
- Resale certificate: lets you buy for resale without paying sales tax. It can be any document with the required items, including a statement that the goods are for resale. A multistate form exists, but each state decides whether to accept it. Using one wrongly brings penalties.
Domestic distributors usually ask for these before opening an account. A manufacturer abroad does not usually ask for them: you pay duty when the goods enter the country.
Distributor or factory?
Buy from a distributor if you want a few of many brands, delivery within days, no customs and no currency transfers. The distributor is the importer: you only pay an invoice. In exchange, your unit price includes their margin.
Buy from a factory if you want the lowest unit price, your own brand or a range nobody else nearby carries. In exchange, you are the importer of record, you pay the duty and the broker, you wait for production and shipping, and you pay ahead.
Many shops do both: a distributor for fast-moving branded items, and a factory for their own line.
Work out your landed cost
Landed cost = (unit price x quantity + shipping + duty + broker and customs fees + bank charges) / quantity.
An example for the US in November 2026: 100 folding knives at US$5.00 each pay US$155 in duty, as explained in our import guide. Add the shipping quote and the broker's fee, divide by 100, and only then compare it with a distributor's price.
What a small first order looks like
- Pick a few references across price points rather than many of one, and include an entry price and a premium piece.
- Add what sells with a knife: sheaths, sharpeners, gift boxes and display stands.
- Keychain knives and table knife sets make simple gifts. Check your local rules for every type of knife you stock.
- At Pakistan Knives Factory there is no minimum order, and the wholesale price applies from 50 pieces of a reference.
Before you sell
- Check the knife law in the places where you sell: rules on blade length, opening mechanisms and age limits vary widely.
- Keep the origin mark on the knife or the box: see how knives must be marked.
- Check your supplier before the first transfer.
Questions buyers ask
Do I need a business licence to buy knives wholesale?
Domestic distributors usually ask for a business registration and a resale certificate. A manufacturer abroad does not need them, but you then act as the importer and pay the duty.
Is it cheaper to buy knives directly from a factory?
The unit price is lower, but add shipping, duty, a broker and the wait. Compare the landed cost per piece with the distributor's price before deciding.
Can I buy a small quantity from a knife factory?
Some factories have minimum orders. Pakistan Knives Factory has none: any quantity ships, and the wholesale price applies from 50 pieces of a reference.
Sources
- IRS, Employer Identification Number
- California CDTFA, your California seller's permit
- California CDTFA, valid resale certificates
- Multistate Tax Commission, uniform exemption certificate
- Who may enter merchandise, 19 USC 1484
General information from a manufacturer, not legal or tax advice.