EXHIBIT 99(a)(3)

LETTER TO DTC PARTICIPANTS


                             BELL MICROPRODUCTS INC.

                           OFFER TO PURCHASE FOR CASH
                            ANY AND ALL OUTSTANDING:

            3 3/4 % CONVERTIBLE SUBORDINATED NOTES, SERIES B DUE 2024
                             (CUSIP NO. 078137AC0 )


      THE TENDER OFFER WILL EXPIRE AT 9:00 A.M., NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON JANUARY
      18, 2007, UNLESS EXTENDED BY BELL MICRO (SUCH TIME AND DATE, AS THE SAME
      MAY BE EXTENDED, THE "EXPIRATION DATE").


                                                               December 13, 2006

To Brokers, Dealers, Commercial Banks, Trust Companies and Other Nominees:

      Enclosed is an Offer to Purchase (the "Offer to Purchase") and the related
Letter of Transmittal, relating to the offer by Bell Microproducts Inc., a
California corporation (the "Company" or "Bell Micro"), to purchase for cash any
and all of its $109,850,000 outstanding 3 3/4 % Convertible Subordinated Notes,
Series B due 2024 (the "Notes") at a purchase price equal to $1,000.00 per
$1,000.00 of the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest
to, but excluding, the date on which the Notes are purchased. All capitalized
terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to
such terms in the Offer to Purchase.

      To receive the purchase price, holders of Notes must tender Notes in the
manner described in the Offer to Purchase and the related Letter of Transmittal
on or before the Expiration Date. Bell Micro's obligation to accept for purchase
and to pay for Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn in the tender offer is
subject to certain conditions. See "The Tender Offer--Conditions of the Tender
Offer" in the Offer to Purchase for a full description of conditions to the
tender offer.


      Notes tendered in the tender offer may be withdrawn at any time on or
prior to the Expiration Date. Bell Micro reserves the right (1) to waive any and
all conditions to the tender offer, (2) to extend or terminate the tender offer
or (3) to otherwise amend the tender offer in any respect.

      Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the tender offer
(including, if the tender offer is extended or amended, the terms and conditions
of any such extension or amendment) and applicable law, as soon as practicable
following the Expiration Date, Bell Micro will purchase, by accepting for
purchase, and will pay for all Notes validly tendered (and not validly
withdrawn) pursuant to the tender offer, such payment to be made by the deposit
of immediately available funds by Bell Micro with Global Bondholder Services
Corporation, the depositary for the tender offer.

      We are asking you to contact your clients for whom you hold Notes
registered in your name or in the name of your nominee. In addition, we ask you
to contact your clients who, to your knowledge, hold Notes registered in their





own name. You will be reimbursed by Bell Micro for customary mailing and
handling expenses incurred by you in forwarding the enclosed materials to your
clients. Bell Micro will pay all transfer taxes, if any, applicable to the
tender of Notes, except as otherwise provided in the Offer to Purchase and the
Letter of Transmittal.

      Enclosed is a copy of each of the following documents for forwarding to
your clients:

      1. Offer to Purchase, dated December 13, 2006.

      2. A Letter of Transmittal for your use in the tender offer and for the
      information of your clients.

      3. A printed form of letter that may be sent to your clients for whose
      accounts you hold Notes registered in your name or in the name of your
      nominee, with space provided for obtaining such clients' instructions with
      regard to the tender offer.

      4. A return envelope addressed to the depositary. DTC participants will be
      able to execute tenders through the DTC Automated Tender Offer Program.

      PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TENDER OFFER WILL EXPIRE AT THE EXPIRATION DATE,
WHICH WILL BE AT 9:00 A.M., NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON JANUARY 18, 2007, UNLESS
EXTENDED. WE URGE YOU TO CONTACT YOUR CLIENTS AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER
TO OBTAIN THEIR INSTRUCTIONS.

      A Letter of Transmittal or an Agent's Message, together with a
confirmation of book-entry transfer of Notes, must be received by the depositary
on or before the Expiration Date with respect to holders wishing to receive the
purchase price for the Notes.

      The Company, upon request, will reimburse you for reasonable and customary
mailing and handling expenses incurred by you in forwarding the enclosed
materials to your clients. Any questions or requests for assistance you have
with respect to the tender offer should be directed to Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC, as the dealer manager, or Global Bondholder Services Corporation, as
the information agent, at the addresses and telephone numbers set forth on the
back cover of the Offer to Purchase. Requests for additional copies of the Offer
to Purchase and the other tender offer materials may be directed to the
Information Agent.

                                                Very truly yours,

                                                BELL MICROPRODUCTS INC.

      Nothing herein or in the enclosed documents shall constitute you or any
person as an agent for Bell Micro, the trustee or the depositary, or authorize
you or any other person to make any statements on behalf of any of them with
respect to the tender offer, except for statements expressly made in the Offer
to Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal.


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