Where to buy trade stock?

[Allen]

I realise it's risky, I realise in today's world of IT it doesn't guaruntee a large income, but I just wanted to know where these big companies get thier stock from as I've been thinking for a while now about starting up a very small business to perhaps run in my spare time (it's only a thought right now, so I don't want comments about whether or not it's a good idea ).

Obviously they get such large amounts that they can get it cheaper, but where do they buy it from? The actual manufacturer's themselves? Or are there specific resellers in the UK that can get them and sell them on at trade prices?

I'm just looking at whether or not it would be a feasible option at the moment without 100% effort. Perhaps I could use the likes of eBay to start off...

[DR]

computer2000
Quantum
PCI

to but name a few...

[Swafe]

can public but off them ?

[da_ging]

no Swafeman u cant ,

the cto mag is what u want big_al and i think u will find there is very LITTLE difference in price between trade and retail on most items

unless u buy in quantities of atleast 100+ u wont get it from the manufacturer

ive been thinking of doind something similar with the bloke i used to work with but we both know that it aint an easy thing to do ,the most difficult thing is getting ppl to buy your stuff

the best area to make large profit is with laptops ,particularly if u can source cheap ones or u repair broken ones

[5lab]

iirc ebuyer do a b2b service with a slight discount. not 100% sure thou

[DR]

Best thing to make money on is heatsinks. They don't go wrong and are cheap if you buy 2000+

[Allen]

Hmm, but if I was gonna pursue this then I would be better off starting up a Sole Trader company to get the discount. It wouldn't matter how much I actually buy and sell as I could do as I wish...

And as for getting people to buy, then eBay has to be the best option surely? There's loads of people on there who advertise for companies and also have loads of sells... I wouldn't know where to start unless I advertised in somewhere like Micromart or something, but then I'd need to make sure I had room for stock and stuff like that which would take up more time than I currently have.

[Jiff Lemon]

As always, the bigger the company, the cheaper the stock.

Wouldn't expect any significant discount unless you buying in quantities of 100. Hardware margins are already wafer thin, so the only way to make any sort of a profit is through bulk.

Ebay can be an "interesting" place to buy stuff - But for the sake of sanity, do PLENTY of research before buying. For example, if a server has the word XEON in it, e-traders seem to think it's gold dust.

[Swafe]

why cant the public buy off them ? would they make an expection if you put some business their way, e.g buying in bulks of 100 ?

[Big RICHARD]

why cant the public buy off them ? would they make an expection if you put some business their way, e.g buying in bulks of 100 ?

Probably because they aren't VAT registered.

[Allen]

Mooching around at http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk it seems as though you can register a company for about £20. Is this all it would cost to actually get a business name or are there lots of other extra things to consider, like banking and stuff...

I've requested a business pack from both Barclays and HSBC as I can't seem to find any other genuine help on the net for business starting.

If anyone else has there own business I'd be interested to hear from you. Cheers!

[Skii]

Re-sellers.

Get a copy of Computer Reseller monthly or CTO - in them you will see literally hundreds of trade resellers. In my professional experience I dealt with Redstar, SCL, MicroDirect, VIP, Centerprise, Northamber, and Micro-P and a few others.

Margins are very low, they buy in bulk, and sell in bulk - thats where the money is.

[Angus]

If I remember correctly (GCSE Buisness Studies - so a bit sketchy), then you only need to register your business with companies house if you wan to be a Ltd or plc company in which case you need all sorts of accounting and audit stuff.

ltd means that you can sell shares to raise investment in the business, plc means that you can sell shares on publicly on the stock market. It's best (I don't know if you can do it at startup) if you ahve a growing concern as punters are more likely to invest in you.

Banks are normally quite helpful as they want your business with them.

Apart from that, good luck if you go ahead with it but be aware that there's a lot of competition out there (But you know that anyway )

[Allen]

Yeah, I know there's a lot of competition, and I don't even know if I'd be able to do what I'm thinking (coz I have a plan in my head, but don't wanna explain it here as there's not enough room and you'd get bored...) but I still wanna look into all the possibilities of it.

The accounting side of things, I'm fine with. I've worked in accounts for years and know book-keeping inside and out and am also studying accounts in the evenings.

It would have a be a sole-trader company as I don't wanna involve other people with shares and stuff like that, and I don't wanna borrow too much money from the bank coz I only wanna stay in the 'little league' if you like.

I suppose you could call me a wannabe Dell-boy but with computer components instead of crappy junk!

I've also thought about doing people's books in my spare time to get a bit more money, but again, wouldn't know how to go about doing this...

[Angus]

The accounting side of things, I'm fine with. I've worked in accounts for years and know book-keeping inside and out and am also studying accounts in the evenings.

You have to get someone else to audit your accounts for you. (You can do them yourself bu then someone else has to check them each year)

[Allen]

Only if your turnover is above a certain amount though, isn't it? It recently increased too I believe...