The 2026 eCom Trends Report
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Podcast | Episode 598
The 30-minute Wholesale Crash Course that Will Free You from Meta, Amazon and Google
What if the key to explosive growth wasn’t a killer ad strategy, but getting out of DTC entirely? In this episode, I’m joined by Jared Mehr, former Sales Director at Pura Vida Bracelets, who helped scale the brand’s wholesale channel to over $35 million a year. Now, he’s teaching other eCommerce brands how to win big in wholesale without sacrificing their margins or their sanity.
Listen in as we talk about how Pura Vida went from zero wholesale revenue to landing major accounts like Nordstrom, what most brands get wrong about wholesale, and why it’s not just for “big” companies. Jared also shares his playbook for making your brand irresistible to retail buyers, how to prep for trade shows, and the exact tools he recommends to manage wholesale ops.
You’ll learn:
- How Jared helped scale Pura Vida’s wholesale channel from scratch to over $35M/year. (1:00)
- Why wholesale can be your most defensible and overlooked sales channel. (3:00)
- Step-by-step strategies to build a successful wholesale program. (5:00)
- Cold calling scripts, trade show tactics, and what actually works. (10:00)
- Tools and systems Jared used to manage a massive wholesale portfolio. (13:00)
- Pro tips for trade show success, from booth setup to buyer engagement. (18:00)
- What kind of close rates you can expect from cold outreach and how to boost them. (20:00)
- How to structure MAP pricing and create a scalable wholesale program. (25:00)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
(With your host Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel.com and Jared Mehr formerly of Pura Vida Bracelets)
What Was Mentioned
- Jared Mehr of LinkedIn | Email
- Pura Vida Bracelets
- Quickbooks
- RepSpark
- NuORDER
- Elastic
- Faire
- eCommerceFuel Forum
Ideas Worth Sharing:
"You need an elevator pitch that's going to relate to a retailer.” - Jared Mehr Tweet this "Not only are you selling these products at wholesale pricing, you also have to factor in when you go to higher sales reps and you're paying them a commission of 8% or 10% or 12%, so you need to have that buffer." - Jared Mehr Tweet this "A couple really cool tips that I can give to people that are kind of starting out is find brands in your space." - Jared Mehr Tweet this
Post by Andrew Youderian
Founder and Chief Instigator, eComFuel
Andrew quit an early finance job to sell CB radios online — an admittedly unorthodox career path. It set him on a course to found and sell multiple businesses, host a decade-running podcast, lecture at Harvard Business School and create eComFuel, the leading community for 7- and 8-figure online business owners. Andrew is fascinated with branding, AI, building community, investing and growing meaningful businesses that don't require sacrificing what truly matters.
