Where can I buy pet supplies wholesale in the USA?

Retailers, boutique pet stores, and Amazon or Walmart sellers can buy pet supplies wholesale from dedicated pet distributors such as Petco Wholesale, which sell dog, cat, reptile, and small-animal products in bulk at below-retail pricing. Most distributors require a resale certificate or EIN, and some set a minimum order quantity, before opening a wholesale account.

What “Wholesale Pet Supplies” Actually Means

If you’ve ever compared the price tag on a bag of dog treats at a big-box store to what it actually costs to make, you already understand the gap wholesale is built to close. Buying wholesale means purchasing pet products directly from a distributor at a bulk, below-retail price, instead of paying full shelf price at a retail store. The distributor buys in volume from manufacturers, and passes a share of that discount on to businesses that are going to resell, use, or redistribute the products — not to end consumers buying one bag at a time.

This is different from dropshipping, where you never touch inventory and margins are thinner, and different from buying retail-arbitrage style from Costco or Amazon and reselling at a markup, which usually violates brand policies and leaves you with no reliable supply chain. A real wholesale account gives you a consistent price, a paper trail (invoices you can use for retail platform approval), and a relationship you can actually call when something goes wrong with an order — that’s the kind of partner Petco Wholesale aims to be.

Who Actually Buys Pet Supplies Wholesale

The buyer base is wider than most people assume when they hear “wholesale.” It includes:

• Independent and small-chain pet stores that can’t get manufacturer-direct pricing at low volume
• Amazon and Walmart Marketplace sellers who need invoiced inventory to get approved in gated pet categories
• Groomers, boarders, and veterinary clinics that resell treats, supplements, or grooming products in-house
• Subscription box and gift-bundle businesses that need a wide catalog at a predictable unit cost
• Flea markets, pop-up retailers, and regional distributors who resell in smaller local batches

What’s Typically Available Wholesale

A full-catalog pet wholesaler usually organizes inventory into a handful of core categories, each with its own buying pattern and margin profile — dog supplies, cat supplies, reptile and small-animal supplies, and health/grooming items like flea-and-tick treatments. We break each of those down in depth further in this pack; the short version is that dog and cat make up the highest volume, while reptile and small-animal is lower volume but far less competitive, which is often where independent stores build their best margins.

How to Open a Wholesale Pet Supply Account

The process is more paperwork than negotiation. Most distributors, including Petco Wholesale, ask for:

• A resale certificate or sales tax ID (this is what legally lets you buy without paying sales tax on inventory you’ll resell)
• An EIN or business registration, proving you’re operating as a real business, not an individual buyer
• [ADD: your current minimum order quantity / minimum opening order value]
• [ADD: typical account approval turnaround time]

Once approved, most accounts get access to a wholesale price list or portal, and reorder from there — no re-negotiating pricing every time. Ready to get started? Register for a wholesale account here.

What to Actually Look for in a Wholesale Distributor

Price is the obvious factor, but it’s rarely the one that determines whether a wholesale relationship works long-term. The things that actually matter are whether the products are authentic and sourced through legitimate channels (counterfeit pet medication and treats are a real, documented problem in this industry), whether shipping is fast and predictable enough to keep your own shelves stocked, whether the minimum order quantity fits a business your size, and whether the catalog is broad enough that you’re not managing five different supplier relationships for one store. If you’re unsure about any of this, it’s worth a quick call — reach out to our team before you commit to an account.

Wholesale Pet Supplies for Amazon & Walmart Sellers

If you sell on Amazon, sourcing wholesale isn’t just about price — in the Pet Supplies category specifically, it’s often the only way in. Amazon gates most pet products, and getting approved to sell them usually requires an invoice from an authorized distributor. We cover exactly how that process works, step by step, in the companion article on Amazon FBA sourcing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a minimum order to open a wholesale pet supplies account? Most distributors set a minimum, though it varies — [ADD: your current MOQ/minimum order value] is what applies here.

Do I need a business license to buy wholesale? Yes — a resale certificate or EIN is standard across the industry, since wholesalers are legally required to verify they’re not selling tax-free inventory to end consumers.

How fast does wholesale pet supply shipping usually take? [ADD: your current standard and expedited shipping windows] — see our full shipping policy for details.

Have more questions? Check our full FAQ page.