Any Thought of Being a Supplier???

[Ashhead]

I seem to have no suppliers, retail or web, in my area... I was wondering if many consider becoming suppliers in thier ares? What's involved? What holds us back?

What about a US distributor for US suppliers?

 

[Winace]

I have been asking that same question, I have gotten nothing back so far.

 

[Synthnadz]

I would say that the uncertainty about the FDA situation would be a pretty big consideration here. Given that the SE / njoy ruling is still pending, it would probably be an awkward time to pony up money for building an inventory and a business around e-cig related products.

In short, I'd say that it would probably be a terrible business move to make under these circumstances. ;-)

 

[Ashhead]

What about starting small, week to week, enough to share with friends/fam?
buy in bulk, small orders, till the dust settles.
Upside would be: If fda wins, I'd have a good personal stock... Would just need to keep up with e-liquid...

 

[Lightgeoduck]

What about starting small, week to week, enough to share with friends/fam?
Buy in bulk, small orders, till the dust settles.
Upside would be: If fda wins, I'd have a good personal stock... Would just need to keep up with e-liquid...

I would have to say that everyone and his brother has thought about starting an ecig business @ one point or another...and there are tons of people doing as we speak.

That would be a good idea...purchase in bulk enough for you and maybe a few friends...and maybe sell some excess to cover your habit and build from their.

as for a full fledge biz...that's up to you on the risk.....
MPO(my personal opinion) that I have shared on this matter is this...if you feel that you have to ask about if a bizness is a good idea or not..it might not be the time to do it..frequent this forum and learn all you can and build friendships and a name....if it is meant to happen it will. FDA or not

IF you should decide to biz up a bit... don't do it with a get rich quick mentality, but as providing a service/product for a fellow vapor and I am sure that will help you go FAR....and you will stand the test of time

my 3.2cents worth

DUCK OUT

 

[Ashhead]

I was kind of looking looking for input, pitfalls to look out for, ideas to separate me from the masses... What I personally found dissapointing was no local people are involved.
I believe I have an "in" for a very public group of smokers on a national level. THe ones I have spoke to have said "what the heck is an e-cig?". Probably more of a local answer iI think.

 

[martha1014]

First if you are going to adverstise on the internet is will cost you more than you realize. My husband has an internet business selling case knives. It cost him anywhere from 1500.00 to 2000.00 a month just to adverstise. Unless you can write you own website which he did it will cost a lot for a computer programer plus the cost of continuously updating your website.
You have to pay memberships from several advertising companies. You will have to have a credit card acceptance company. My husband uses Pay Pal. These companies charge a percentage up to 5% and a cost per transaction fee. These fees can be quite expensive.

These are just a few of the problems and cost to run an internet business. Since there are so many suppliers out there you would probably have to pay a lot to get your site listed among the bigger ones.

I would think hard before getting into this and then there is the FDA to contend with. Even if they approve these there will be alot of regulaltions that will have to be adhered to.

And the list goes on -----

 

[Winace]

First if you are going to adverstise on the internet is will cost you more than you realize. My husband has an internet business selling case knives. It cost him anywhere from 1500.00 to 2000.00 a month just to adverstise. Unless you can write you own website which he did it will cost a lot for a computer programer plus the cost of continuously updating your website.
You have to pay memberships from several advertising companies. You will have to have a credit card acceptance company. My husband uses Pay Pal. These companies charge a percentage up to 5% and a cost per transaction fee. These fees can be quite expensive.

These are just a few of the problems and cost to run an internet business. Since there are so many suppliers out there you would probably have to pay a lot to get your site listed among the bigger ones.

I would think hard before getting into this and then there is the FDA to contend with. Even if they approve these there will be alot of regulaltions that will have to be adhered to.

And the list goes on -----

I, for one, know the expenses of running a business. Profitability and success are not really the question here, the hurdles are. Yes, if the FDA shoots it down we would need to keep our assets liquid (no pun intended). If the FDA approves it, well, barring regulation, we would have a step up on the competition since we are already established.

No one, smokers or non-smokers, I have approached in a major mall of the Charlotte, NC area have ever even heard of the idea, let alone attempted vaping. Saturation is low and getting in at this level could be a great venture. Keeping costs low and inventory tight would be key in case of a ban. But, inventory and overhead is the key to any business, not just something of this nature.

 

[Ashhead]

First if you are going to adverstise on the internet is will cost you more than you realize. My husband has an internet business selling case knives. It cost him anywhere from 1500.00 to 2000.00 a month just to adverstise. Unless you can write you own website which he did it will cost a lot for a computer programer plus the cost of continuously updating your website.
You have to pay memberships from several advertising companies. You will have to have a credit card acceptance company. My husband uses Pay Pal. These companies charge a percentage up to 5% and a cost per transaction fee. These fees can be quite expensive.

These are just a few of the problems and cost to run an internet business. Since there are so many suppliers out there you would probably have to pay a lot to get your site listed among the bigger ones.

I would think hard before getting into this and then there is the FDA to contend with. Even if they approve these there will be alot of regulaltions that will have to be adhered to.

And the list goes on -----

Still brings me back to "think small" friends and fam and expand from there.
Not looking for a new business for myself per say, have enough to do as is. Hobby with small profit margin thing.

I do however believe I know of an untouched resource for someone who is already set up.

 

[hifistud]

I suppose it's like any business decision - you weigh up the pros and cons, look at what your USP is (if you have one), write up the business plan and see whether or not it's viable.

At this stage, there are few barriers to entry, and the real killer is likely to be overhead costs, if you're looking at bricks and mortar. There would seem to be a few "businesses" trying to find a USP that, to many on here, seems like usury and profiteering (no names, no pack drill, but let's say "subscription"), while, it seems, the assembled throng would like businesses to make very little money on each transaction.

That is what will, in the final analysis, determine whether or not you will succeed. In a market that is price-driven, the only winner is the manufacturer, as he can produce to a price or stop production should downward pressure make it unprofitable. Ultimately, customer service and quality of product suffers.

Someone, earlier, mentioned expensive watches. I don't see Rolex or Patek Philipe posting massive losses!

Seriously, a local supply chain has numerous advantages over Web-based commerce, not least of which is immediacy of delivery and personal contact. I will, however, admit my bias here - I much prefer to buy locally whenever I can, rather than facelessly over the Web, in order to support local businesses, and I have an in-built distaste for businesses which set out to destroy other businesses by simply undercutting them out of existence.

Good luck with your determinations, and I truly hope that you can find a model that will work for you and your customers.

 

[Pyrate]

I friend and I were talking about this. Starting up a small e-cig biz to supply friends/family/co-workers locally.
Something "out of the trunk of our car" supplying gear, accessories and liquid.
We have been turning others on to vaping and we could probably do well selling direct to them.
Problem is finding a wholesale supplier to purchase in bulk from to keep costs low.
Dont want to have to purchase from another online retailer and then jack up our prices to cover expenses and still make a profit.

 

[Tecratk]

I think the guys modding ecigs and selling them have the right idea... suppliers like JantyUSA, PureSmoker, etc who are designing new types of battery cases that fit the popular model atomizers. PureSmoker I believe is run by Steve and Casey out of their home. I don't think there's much money to be made in this climate if all you're doing is bulk ordering and reselling. That will probably be a different story after the final say on "the ban" though.

There are quite a few ecig kiosks in various malls and flea markets that I've been to around Florida though. I saw one at a local flea market that was selling 10ml bottles of liquid for 20-30$ a piece! and they were unlabeled! No description of what the liquid contained. That is kind of scary... I do not purchase eliquid that doesn't have an ingredient table somewhere on it.

 

[martha1014]

Customers are looking for quality, price and availability. If I order something I would like to receive it in 2-3 days. If you don't keep a good inventory available to ship immediately I think this would be a disadvantage. I also like the personal attention I get. If I email a company I would like to see a response ASAP. I also like say Nhaler because of their services such as giving free stuff with my order. If you can provide these services you will be mentioned on the forum and this is great advertisement.

I think there can be a profit made on ecigs but I think the overhead will be more than we think. You could also have the customer send you the money via pay pal and it would not cost you anything. I have done this on a couple of orders I have placed. Of course if you get too big pal pay would stop this.

With the price of all of the supplies and kits the profits can't be all that big. My husband's internet business sells knives and the larger the order the more money he makes. Some of his knives are as high as 800.00 but the majority of each item sold is around 80.00. He does make a pretty good profit but spends a lot on advertisement.

 

[Winace]

Customers are looking for quality, price and availability. If I order something I would like to receive it in 2-3 days. If you don't keep a good inventory available to ship immediately I think this would be a disadvantage. I also like the personal attention I get. If I email a company I would like to see a response ASAP. I also like say Nhaler because of their services such as giving free stuff with my order. If you can provide these services you will be mentioned on the forum and this is great advertisement.

I think there can be a profit made on ecigs but I think the overhead will be more than we think. You could also have the customer send you the money via pay pal and it would not cost you anything. I have done this on a couple of orders I have placed. Of course if you get too big pal pay would stop this.

With the price of all of the supplies and kits the profits can't be all that big. My husband's internet business sells knives and the larger the order the more money he makes. Some of his knives are as high as 800.00 but the majority of each item sold is around 80.00. He does make a pretty good profit but spends a lot on advertisement.

Selling Case knives is no easy business (lived in Bradford, PA for 15 years, where they are made, along with Zippo lighters).

This could just start off recreational and proceed from there. It would be more small profits on large volume.

 

[Scottbee]

My wife has thought of doing it like the candle, Pampered Chef, Jewelry, Tupperware, and Sex Toy business. This would work best with the KR808D-1 style product.

Throw a vape party... have friends come over and try various sampler cartomizer flavors.... and then sell them 5 packs and batteries.....

 

[Madness008]

Personally, Id be down to set up shop here in Austin. If anyone is interested, PM me. People would much rather buy these in person, and be able to try flavors and be able to return broken stuff in person. Dont understand the "I like the customer service via e-mail" logic.

 

[JebGipson]

I would like to open an e-cig business but I am waiting on a few factors/reasons. 1. FDA ruling... ban... or regulate... urggggg... 2. I need a shop or something as I would like to sell some of my "personal" recipes but in order to do so in what I feel would be a satisfactory manner I would like to have an environment just for mixing/making my own flavor extracts My kitchen is not the place to make business scale juices... 3. I need a business plan, I need a nitche starting market base would be simple because I talk to 5-10 people a day asking me about where to get an e-cig but what about after that? advertising as it was mentioned is another thing... banner exchange? what should I go for?... so some patience may be order before one starts a business.

 

[thewomenfolk]

Don't you think the USA suppliers are so often "out of stock" on items we need because they don't want to buy and be stuck with a large inventory in case of a ban? Better to be able to bail out quick.

On a different note, I'm not sure anyone who owns a small business is going to be able to survive for long in our new political climate of redistribution, where everyone is going to have the right (and obligation) to be equally poor.

Add to that the promise of higher taxes and increased government control and regulation in our lives and you get a natural discouragement to anyone to aspire to anything. I don't mean to start anything, but reality is reality, and things just don't look good. I feel sorry for anyone trying to hold onto their small business (private ownership) in these days of 'change'.

 

[alsmom]

I think it would be a good idea for someone that already has a brick and mortar business to add e-cigs to their business. Like the hardware stores that sell Yankee Candles. But as far as starting a business based solely on e-cigs, its a bit risky. I would think all the head shops would be stocking them, do they have head shops anymore???

 

[Winace]

My wife has thought of doing it like the candle, Pampered Chef, Jewelry, Tupperware, and Sex Toy business. This would work best with the KR808D-1 style product.

Throw a vape party... have friends come over and try various sampler cartomizer flavors.... and then sell them 5 packs and batteries.....

Have a PV shaped as a sex toy and you may be onto something!