Sell to shops or sell to a wholesale supplier (middle man)

I have been making a few products for tobacco smokers out of exotic wood for over a year now and am now motivated to go full steam ahead after recieving 5k inheritance. I sell on Etsy.com and to local shops currently. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to sell to try and sell my products to the handful of companies that supply these shops at a lower cost but higher quantity. Or contacting the shops myself and getting as much as I can per piece and hopefully having more orders come in after the initial sale. I get in between 4-6 per piece selling in quantity to shops 30 or more pieces at a time average.



Does anyone manufacter a product that sells retail in a niche market? If so which route do you use? If you supply wholesalers what is a typical number of items they purchase?



I like the idea of going to a wholesaler to get my name out there, establish a reputation for excellent quality, then sell my customer base custom or unique pieces through a website.



Any input on how to go about this is much appreciated :-)

via Small-Business-Forum.net http://www.small-business-forum.net/starting-your-business/10188-sell-shops-sell-wholesale-supplier-middle-man.html