Buying wholesale
How does inquiry-based wholesale ordering work?
Inquiry-based ordering means you don't check out against listed prices. Instead, you build a list of the products and quantities you want, send it once, and receive a single written quotation covering every line — at Levant Direct, usually within one business day. You then confirm, adjust or ignore the quote; nothing is committed by asking.
It's the standard way wholesale works in the Levantine and Middle Eastern food trade, because case pricing genuinely depends on who's asking, how much, and where it's going.
Why wholesale suppliers quote instead of listing prices
A wholesale case price isn't one number. It moves with case count, whether cases combine into a mixed pallet, the delivery point, and whether the order repeats weekly or lands once a quarter. A restaurant in Scarborough ordering three cases monthly and a grocery chain ordering thirty cases weekly should not pay the same rate — and with quote-based ordering, they don't.
Publishing a single retail-style price would force the supplier to set it high enough to cover the smallest, most awkward order. Quoting lets each buyer's real volume speak. That's why nearly every serious supplier in this category — importers, soap houses, sweets producers — gates wholesale pricing behind an inquiry form.
What actually happens after you send an inquiry
The steps are simpler than most first-time buyers expect:
- You browse and build a list. Add products from the catalogue with quantities — cases, not single units. Pack formats are shown on each product page.
- You send it once, with your business name and contact. The inquiry basket sends the whole list as one request.
- The supplier prices every line and replies with a written quotation — ours typically arrives within one business day.
- You reply to confirm or adjust. Quantities can move up or down; lines can be dropped. Delivery and payment terms are agreed at this step.
- The order ships. Reorders are usually a one-line email — 'same as last time, plus two cases of sumac.'
How to get a better quotation
Quotations reward information. The more your inquiry tells the supplier, the sharper the pricing can be.
Send one combined list rather than several small ones — a mixed inquiry of spices, sweets and soap consolidates into one delivery and quotes better than three separate requests. State your realistic monthly volume, not just the trial order, and say so if a line would become a standing weekly order: repeat business is exactly what wholesale pricing is built to reward.
It also costs nothing to include products you're merely curious about. The quote shows you the economics; you decide with numbers in hand.
Finally, name your business type. A shawarma restaurant, a fine-food grocer and a gift retailer stocking Aleppo soap have different case-size sweet spots, and a supplier who knows which one you are can quote formats that actually fit your shelf and your storage — cartons for the retailer, catering formats for the kitchen.
Related questions
Am I committed to anything by sending an inquiry?
No. An inquiry is a request for pricing, not an order. You can accept all of it, part of it, or none of it.
How long does a quotation take?
At Levant Direct, usually within one business day. Complex inquiries with special sourcing requests can take slightly longer.
Can I ask about products that aren't in the catalogue?
Yes — note it in your inquiry message. Our eight supplier houses across Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Türkiye and Egypt can often source variations and sister products on request.