Lipco has been in the wholesale gifts and souvenirs business for more than sixty years now and has been in operation within the American retail and souvenir market for more than 60 years now, as a long established and experienced wholesale gifts and souvenir provider.
They provide themed and affordable wholesale bulk merchandise that you can source through a variety of merchandise including traditional novelty souvenir trinkets, drinkware, toys and apparel, collectibles and gifts and more – which would suit any gift shop, souvenir shop, specialty stores or niche online vendor.
The business overall model of the company is to stock the widest variety of themed gifts and souvenirs at reasonable prices, with a low wholesale order minimum and good customer service-a very appealing characteristic from a buyer interested in a listing on a wholesale directory or wholesale directory USA.
About Lipco
Since its founding as a distributor of general goods in 1964, Lipco has grown to be the number one souvenir and gift wholesaler in the US, now having over eleven thousand different products to choose from in their extensive catalogue.
The company, based in Kirbyville, MO, now carries large stocks of souvenirs, drinkware, toys, figurines, gifts and apparel, and with a history spanning decades, makes a reliable supplier for any retailer who wishes to stock up physical or online retail stores with souvenir merchandise.
The products they offer range from country, state, and novelty themed items, to various general gifting items and even some novelty souvenirs that may have personalized name-dropping on them, and the ability to custom print any t-shirts or apparel.
The products are sourced strictly from approved wholesale buyers, which means one would have to create an account with them to see their prices and place wholesale orders-the practice for many wholesale central suppliers wanting to maintain their wholesale prices, and relationships.
Product Range and market fit
Lipco offers thousands of products falling into several categories, some of which are:
-Souvenirs: Gifts ranging from state and city keychains, to carved figures and magnets with pictures.
-Gifts: Includes small novelty and collectible gift items, and home décor themed figurines.
-Drinkware & Apparel: This section of the business sells theme-specific mugs, tumblers, t-shirts and other clothing items.
-Toys & Games: Classic toys as well as modern novelty games that can also appeal to tourists or be purchased as gifts for children or novelty items for adult gifts.
This product range would fit any small retail outlet, tourist trap gift store, or department store; while a shop selling higher-end items may not benefit from these products so much. However for an online store selling wholesale, it could be especially useful to an Amazon FBA seller trying to differentiate their listings and gain a market advantage against generic, mass-produced items. However the novelty items do not quite fall into mainstream Amazon-based product categories such as electronics or basic apparel, so sellers that aren’t interested in specialty gifts should not pursue Lipco.
Online Presence & Credibility
Lipco’s website contains an online catalogue of their products and also hosts a portal where prospective clients can register and apply for a wholesale account. Through the website customers can place orders online, as well as receive physical and online catalogues and see their price list.
This is very beneficial to business buyers looking on the internet for the best wholesale items for their business by browsing catalogs and asking questions directly via wholesale central sites. News reports show that a strong draw to retailers for Lipco is their wide range of custom merchandise available.
Unfortunately their reviews from trusted sources such as Trustpilot or Better Business Bureau are relatively rare. This is not out of the ordinary for American wholesale central suppliers who often rely on business to business (B2B) relationships, rather than broad customer market reach. Buyers are therefore advised to thoroughly research the supplier by performing a background check before making their purchases.
Our honest opinion
Over sixty years in business has to be taken into consideration as this has proven Lipco’s ability to adapt to and survive in changing market environments, offering the buyer a sense of stability in knowing they can be trusted to fulfill orders and have a great deal of knowledge about souvenirs.
They offer both an extremely wide variety of items under the gifts and souvenirs theme, as well as offering the possibility for product customisation for businesses looking for unique branded merchandise.
Strengths:
– Immense variety of items across several sub-categories of souvenirs and gifts
– Extensive business experience, a sign of stability and reliability
– Reasonable minimum wholesale order and competitive prices targeted toward the retailer
– Opportunity to customize certain products with specific branding for unique retail offers.
Areas for improvement:
– Lack of independent customer reviews making it hard to determine a precise overview of the seller’s service
– Specific niche of products are not suitable for every retailer type; an expert research should be done to ensure it will fit one’s business needs before attempting to buy bulk quantities of items.
Generally, Lipco is considered a good wholesale supplier for retail businesses wishing to include unique souvenir gifts within their own retail stocks, and it will undoubtedly benefit any individual looking for those kinds of specialized wholesale products.
About Supplier Central
Supplier Central is a worldwide B2B business platform that seeks to create successful connections between suppliers and buyers within all types of different industries, including the Gifts and Souvenirs niche, amongst others.
These wholesale buyers, traders and even eCommerce businesses can use the platform to find a supplier they are happy with, test their service, compare their prices and make agreements, as it provides a much larger degree of comfort compared to using the often vague and unknown services listed online.
By displaying any specific business on a dedicated wholesale directory website like the ones you can find through Supplier Central, any given business looking to source products will find it easier to find sellers through categorized business profile pages, and also take advantage of viewing individual catalogs.
Final Words
In summary, Lipco is the definitive veteran and specialist supplier of novelty souvenirs and giftware; an impressive number of products coupled with years of expertise provides it as an outstanding solution for retailers seeking souvenirs and gift items, though it can not be directly compared to large quantity manufacturers and wholesalers like Amazon FBA suppliers or even the top-most widely used, broad wholesale sourcing companies.
However, as the overall satisfaction of sellers cannot always be precisely assessed from independent reviews alone, retailers are advised to acquire samples from the seller and make thorough inquiries, before adding a relatively specialized wholesale supplier to one’s business.
