Problem with wholesalers regarding address

[gdgrand]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum so please bear with me on this one. Any advice would be appreciate greatly as I haven't found anything helpful thus far.

I have recently started an e-commerce site (also my first foray into working for myself) and I operate at the moment working from home as it is obviously fairly small at the moment. There are several wholesalers who will not accept me as a customer as my registered business address is my home address, therefore they no doubt think I am buying stuff for myself! I have no idea how to get around this problem and was wondering if any one could offer me any advice at all? Would it be possible to have two separate addresses and still have the items delivered to my home/business address? :|

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Joanne.

 

[domains]

Hi Joanne, welcome to UKBF

Having a start up address that is your home address is just part of the whole "Working for yourself" plan, which unfortunatly most suppliers do not get or even understand!

Best way is to get yourself an office/virtual address for "the company" then have your warehouse/delivery/shipping blahblah address as your home address.

Will cost you about £15 a month but well worth it...

Also get your new business listed on all the websites / directories / yellow pages / yadayada websites BEFORE you apply for accounts/suppliers help etc

 

[silvermusic]

Put a unit number before the rest of your address, i.e.

Company name
Unit 16
26 xxxxx Rd
X Town
AB1 2AB

Those who doubt this works, I can tell you it does, got several top notch suppliers doing that.

 

[deniser]

It wouldn't work with me because I go to Google Street View to see what the supposed shop looks like. I did it only this morning and the B&M shop the person supposedly had was an ordinary house, not a shop at all.

I don't even mind people working from home. What I seek to ensure is first, some honesty and secondly that my product is not going to become devalued on Ebay etc. So tell them what you intend to sell the product for and how you are going to present it for sale, what other products it will sit next to etc.

I have several suppliers who do work from home but run a professional online business and I have no objection to that. What I won't supply to is someone working from home with a homemade looking website with random products, no contact information, no clear direction, as you know the stuff is just going to end up on Ebay at virtually no profit.

 

[gdgrand]

That's great info, thanks.

My reasoning behind working from home is to have minimum overheads when starting. I'd rather invest my money in marketing and products rather than have the expense of premises which I don't believe I need just now. I have an outhouse where I intend to work from, separate from the house.

I have read a few things online that suggest that I could use my solicitor's address as my registered address. Is this also a possibility? I have set up a limited company (dormant at the moment) and currently operate as a sole trader.

 

[silvermusic]

It wouldn't work with me because I go to Google Street View to see what the supposed shop looks like. I did it only this morning and the B&M shop the person supposedly had was an ordinary house, not a shop at all.

I don't even mind people working from home. What I seek to ensure is first, some honesty and secondly that my product is not going to become devalued on Ebay etc. So tell them what you intend to sell the product for and how you are going to present it for sale, what other products it will sit next to etc.

I have several suppliers who do work from home but run a professional online business and I have no objection to that. What I won't supply to is someone working from home with a homemade looking website with random products, no contact information, no clear direction, as you know the stuff is just going to end up on Ebay at virtually no profit.

Forgot Google Street view, I did mine long ago, before that existed.

I guess a lot also comes down to the type of products you're selling too.

 

[gdgrand]

It is a furnishings and home accessories company.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

How do they know it is your home address?

 

[GraemeL]

My reasoning behind working from home is to have minimum overheads when starting. I'd rather invest my money in marketing and products rather than have the expense of premises which I don't believe I need just now. I have an outhouse where I intend to work from, separate from the house.

I used to run a big (several £100m) wholesaler. We had many established customers who had made investments in premises etc etc in order to sell more products. Understandably, they got upset when a start up comes along and opens an account because the new entrant inevitably lowers the price in the market because they have few overheads and (usually) don't understand what adequate margins are. So those who have invested lose out. Hence the vetting of new entrants was tough and business premises were a pre-requisite.

Surprisingly, when a new entrant grows a bit and invests in more IT, office space, staff, insurance thereby becoming established, they object to new entrants. Can you believe it?

 

[GraemeL]

The problem behind it supplier don't willing to forward their supplies at home because somehow he developed his assumption the business carry out from homes not pay their bill on time. The reason might be behind it that they thinks they do not having enough capital so that why they start it from home so how they can pay money for the supplies. So better, option to cope up with this matter is to set up the virtual office for the business rather than using home address in order to gain the trust of the customer. This can affect positive impact on suppliers. And surely he will respond you well.

Hello Alicia. Have you some experience to support your claim?

 

[Reg AddKing]

We offer virtual office addresses (see my signature). Can't guarantee they're magic ticket to solving the OP's problem, 'though.

I used them before I started working for a company that supplies them. I'd never use my home address for business. Who know who is going to call and then you can't get away from them i.e. nutters.

 

[gdgrand]

I used to run a big (several £100m) wholesaler. We had many established customers who had made investments in premises etc etc in order to sell more products. Understandably, they got upset when a start up comes along and opens an account because the new entrant inevitably lowers the price in the market because they have few overheads and (usually) don't understand what adequate margins are. So those who have invested lose out. Hence the vetting of new entrants was tough and business premises were a pre-requisite.

Surprisingly, when a new entrant grows a bit and invests in more IT, office space, staff, insurance thereby becoming established, they object to new entrants. Can you believe it?

Thanks Graeme for your reply. I understand completely what you are saying, in fact my mum told me the exact same thing today! I am a little disgruntled about it all but I do see that companies will want to protect their existing customers' interests. The funny thing was that the house I recently purchased was bought because it had a large workshop to the side and I thought it would be perfect for being based at home rather than investing money in a shop that might fail. If it was successful I would obviously be looking to have a shop but it now seems that I might have to get one now if I wish to go down that route which is a little unfortunate.

Consultant in reply to your question they know my home address as when applying for a trade account I have to put that information down.

 

[GraemeL]

Thank you Joanne.

You may be able to get an account at a cash and carry type outlet, but not sure how old you are. Usually (I think) you have to demonstrate that you have your own business (A business card is sufficient, I think????) or are an employee.

Don't give up, 9 out of 10 would do so after your set back and its the 10% who succeed in life.

(Mum's are very wise)

 

[gdgrand]

Thank you Joanne.

You may be able to get an account at a cash and carry type outlet, but not sure how old you are. Usually (I think) you have to demonstrate that you have your own business (A business card is sufficient, I think????) or are an employee.

Don't give up, 9 out of 10 would do so after your set back and its the 10% who succeed in life.

(Mum's are very wise)

I have managed to get trade accounts with a good few wholesalers so it's not the end of the road. The best one that I had found, however, was the one who couldn't deliver to me as I didn't have a shop (although they said I could pick the stock up.....pity I live 3 and a half hours away from them!) I have also heard that trade fairs are excellent places to get unusual stock so I intend to try that as well. There are always options!

I have spent so many days and nights tirelessly working on this so I don't intend to give up any time soon. Thanks for the advice Graeme

 

[dbsales]

i've been running a business using home the address for supppliers for years, never had any problems with any wholesalers/manufacturers etc., we import regularly from all over the world, never had any problems, it may be that you simply arent willing to spend enough to warrant wholesale prices..ive never had a wholesaler turn down a sale!!

 

[TODonnell]

Hi everyone,

I have recently started an e-commerce site (also my first foray into working for myself) and I operate at the moment working from home as it is obviously fairly small at the moment. There are several wholesalers who will not accept me as a customer as my registered business address is my home address, therefore they no doubt think I am buying stuff for myself! I have no idea how to get around this problem and was wondering if any one could offer me any advice at all? Would it be possible to have two separate addresses and still have the items delivered to my home/business address? :|

What you need is a virtual office!

Basically, a virtual office, costing from £19 a year, allows you to use a professional business address as your own.

You can have your letters forwarded to you. So, don't worry about that.

The important thing is the image you're portraying, plus it helps you get around the problem of getting wholesalers to deal with you.

If you have any large orders just change the delivery address to the address your bank card is registered at (which should be your home address)!

Email me if you need further support. We specialise in helping entrepreneurs with virtual office needs.

 

[gdgrand]

i've been running a business using home the address for supppliers for years, never had any problems with any wholesalers/manufacturers etc., we import regularly from all over the world, never had any problems, it may be that you simply arent willing to spend enough to warrant wholesale prices..ive never had a wholesaler turn down a sale!!

The money I was willing to spend was never an issue. The issue was that they told me under no circumstances would they deliver to a residential or private address and I was wondering if there was any way in which I might get past that.

 

[TODonnell]

The money I was willing to spend was never an issue. The issue was that they told me under no circumstances would they deliver to a residential or private address and I was wondering if there was any way in which I might get past that.

Hey buddy, how large is the delivery (in kg please), because we have a parcel forwarding service. So, you could use our address.