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Re: storefront

amspcs — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:34:23 GMT

They can and often do ask anything and everything in order to confirm that you don't have a credit history of not honoring your obligations, that you have a viable enough business to sustain itself and make a go of it, and that there is a strong possibiilty that you will order from them, pay for it, and live to order another day....not take the first train out of Dodge after the first order before paying for it. If you have poor credit, that doesn't speak well for their probability of getting paid. If you have a fly-by-night business operation, that doesn't speak well for your surviving. It's all about getting paid. A distributor shipping you merchandise is no different than a banker advancing you money---they take due diligence to protect their investment as well they should.

BG

Re: storefront

elochka — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:19:44 GMT

The buildings here are cheap so that's not much of a concern.

Do wholesalers ask about your business and marketing plans?

Re: storefront

amspcs — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:56:15 GMT

Re "wholesalers often only sell to someone with a storefront"--that all depends on the individual wholesaler, your business plan, your credit and so forth. In this day and age with ecommerce growing at the expense of storefront business, I would be surprised if this turned out to be a major issue and you were unable to find someone willing to supply you. Plus, if you are primarily an internet business, why are you stocking anyway?? Find a supplier with lots of stock and let HIM do the storage, you buy as you sell it.

.Re:" I didn't know if I could call it a storefront if I only sell online " at least in my industry (merchant credit card processing) the designations storefront vs. online refers to HOW you conduct business, not so much where you are physically located. In my lndustry, if you sold primarily or solely via internet sales with minimal or no face-to-face retail transactions, we might consider it somewhat of a misrepresentation if you were to claim you were a 'storefront' business just because you were physically located in a storefront.

AMSPCS
www.MerchantServices-help.com
amspcs@juno.com

Re: storefront

elochka — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:31:54 GMT

The articles on home-based businesses all said that wholesalers often only sell to someone with a storefront. I wanted to rent it anyway (need the extra room) but I didn't know if I could call it a storefront if I only sell online.

Re: storefront

Lighthouse24 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:50:08 GMT

As already stated above, yes. (It's where the terms "storefront lawyer," "storefront accountant," and "storefront detective" originated -- professionals who established offices in what was traditionally retail space on the ground floors of downtown commercial buildings.)

Re: storefront

amspcs — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:46:12 GMT

I'd like to expand on Luckiest's answer, which is correct by the way. As far as the 'label' you attach to your business for your own edification, what's the difference, storefront,warehouse, or whatever?

I'm interersted in your motive for the question. Is there a reason this 'label' is important to you? For instance, is it a factor in your ability to obtain inventory? Get a business license? Get a merchant account? Obtain financing? Otherwise, if you are primarily an ecommerce business, why would you pay prime rent and overhead for a costly storefront location when a less expensive office suite, warehouse locale, or even home office suffice? I think you'll get more useful info from this forum if provide full details.

AMSPCS
www.MerchantServices-help.com

Re: storefront

LUCKIEST — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:28:49 GMT

Storefront, YES, but what difference does that make??

storefront

elochka — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:27:21 GMT

If you rent a storefront building but use it more as office (internet sales) / warehouse, is that considered having a storefront ?