In order to get the best prices on product many wholesalers will require you to have your own Taxpayer ID & be a legal business.
The first step to doing this is finding your sales tax number for your state. You can do this by simply going to by going to "http://www.(your 2 letter state ).gov for example if you wanted Texas you would put in http://www.TX.gov Most states will allow you to just download the forms but other will require you to go in person to get them. If you can't find your state then simply do a search for business licenses for your state.
Once you have found this you will more then likely have a small fee of less then $50 that you will need to pay to your state in order to obtain this paperwork. Some states may also charge a deposit of $200-400 which is based upon your expected annual sales. This is for tax purposes.
Once you have this information you should either request or print a "resale certificate" this will allow you to get some items that are needed for your business with no sales tax. Your certificate should include:
Business Name & Address
Sales Tax ID Number
A description of what type of goods you normally resell
A statement saying the property is being purchased for resell
A signature line
This is just an outline of what a resellers certificate should have on it. It's best to contact your specific state and be sure to follow their guidelines as they are different from state to state. Most companies will only ask for your resellers number but some will also require a faxed copy of your resellers certificate.
If you plan on making any significant amount of money you will also want to obtain a EIN Number from the IRS which you will use for corporate or partnership tax purposes. If you are sole proprietor you can just use your Social Security Number for this.
Once you have this business license you can go about getting a DBA or Doing Business As. This is your Business Name that you will register with your state and also the name you will do your banking under. This is how you will pay for purchases you might make that are business related.
After you have gotten all this you can being buying things but you may also want to get a business phone, letterhead, business cads, website and other things such as this. The more credible & permanent your business presence looks the more likely you are to get the better prices from distributors and wholesalers.
They want to establish long term relationships with clients not short term one's with people that place periodic small orders.
The first step to doing this is finding your sales tax number for your state. You can do this by simply going to by going to "http://www.(your 2 letter state ).gov for example if you wanted Texas you would put in http://www.TX.gov Most states will allow you to just download the forms but other will require you to go in person to get them. If you can't find your state then simply do a search for business licenses for your state.
Once you have found this you will more then likely have a small fee of less then $50 that you will need to pay to your state in order to obtain this paperwork. Some states may also charge a deposit of $200-400 which is based upon your expected annual sales. This is for tax purposes.
Once you have this information you should either request or print a "resale certificate" this will allow you to get some items that are needed for your business with no sales tax. Your certificate should include:
Business Name & Address
Sales Tax ID Number
A description of what type of goods you normally resell
A statement saying the property is being purchased for resell
A signature line
This is just an outline of what a resellers certificate should have on it. It's best to contact your specific state and be sure to follow their guidelines as they are different from state to state. Most companies will only ask for your resellers number but some will also require a faxed copy of your resellers certificate.
If you plan on making any significant amount of money you will also want to obtain a EIN Number from the IRS which you will use for corporate or partnership tax purposes. If you are sole proprietor you can just use your Social Security Number for this.
Once you have this business license you can go about getting a DBA or Doing Business As. This is your Business Name that you will register with your state and also the name you will do your banking under. This is how you will pay for purchases you might make that are business related.
After you have gotten all this you can being buying things but you may also want to get a business phone, letterhead, business cads, website and other things such as this. The more credible & permanent your business presence looks the more likely you are to get the better prices from distributors and wholesalers.
They want to establish long term relationships with clients not short term one's with people that place periodic small orders.
