Exclusive dispo partnership with one wholesaler, or stay open to everyone

Question

This keeps coming up and the room is going to split.

Situation I'm in. One acquisition-focused wholesaler does 6 to 9 contracts a month and wants me on an exclusive: I move only his deals, he sends only to me, 45 percent to me. Predictable volume, one relationship to maintain, and I'd know my inventory a week ahead which is a real advantage when you're matching to buy boxes.

The other model is what I do now. Six sources, no exclusivity, splits from 35 to 50 depending on who's asking. Lumpier, more admin, but nobody can turn me off.

Case for exclusive: you can pre-sell. Knowing on Monday what's coming Thursday means you can call three buyers in advance, and that's how you hit sub-48-hour matches consistently. Also the split negotiation stops, which saves real time. And a partner who trusts you gives you first look at the good ones instead of the leftovers everyone else passed on.

Case for staying open: single source concentration is the thing that kills dispo operations. If he has a bad quarter, changes markets, hires his own dispo person, or just stops liking you, your business goes to zero with no notice. Six sources means a dry spell from one is an inconvenience. It also keeps your pricing honest because you see what different acquisition people bring.

I've seen people do well both ways, which is why I'm asking rather than telling. The thing I can't resolve is whether the pre-selling advantage is big enough to pay for the concentration risk.

jessreyes12 · Accepted Answer

I'd frame it as what the exclusive actually buys you, because I don't think it's the pre-selling.

You can pre-sell without exclusivity. Any wholesaler you have a decent relationship with will tell you what's under contract before it's assignable, because him telling you costs him nothing and getting it sold fast is his whole interest. Six sources telling you Monday about Thursday is better inventory visibility than one source, not worse. The pre-sell case only works if your current six are holding deals back from you, and if they are, that's a relationship problem inside each one rather than an argument for picking one.

What the exclusive genuinely buys is the 45 percent and the end of split haggling. So price it. If he does 7.5 deals a month average at, say, a 10k fee, 45 percent is about 34k a month. Against your current six sources at a blended 42 percent on whatever your actual monthly volume is. If the exclusive is worth 8k a month more, that's the premium you're being paid to accept single source risk, and you can ask yourself whether 8k covers a quarter with zero revenue.

The asymmetry that decides it for me: he can replace you in a month by hiring one person. You cannot rebuild six acquisition relationships in a month once you've told them all you're exclusive elsewhere. His downside is a hiring decision, yours is your business. Take the volume, take the 45 if he'll give it, refuse the exclusivity clause. If he only offers volume with exclusivity attached, he's telling you he's worried about you having options.

Exclusive dispo partnership with one wholesaler, or stay open to everyone

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