Question about becoming a supplier

[Apatel]

I was just wondering, as a business person, what kind of returns are you suppliers seeing. Are you stocking over 10K in inventory and what kind of bottom line profits are coming in? Everytime I look it seems there are new suppliers, but most still don't have products, or if they do they are priced very high.

I realize this may seem personal and I apologize, but still wonder.

Are all the suppliers doing as well as PS? It seems the biggest risk for the moment is Customs and getting products. Which could tie up, and put at risk, a lot of cash. The products seem to sell themselves.

For example even if PS is seeing $10 profit per order, and I doubt it's that low, with over 10,000 orders that's 100K in profit. There has to be overhead, but very little if you are operating out of your home.

I already have a Subway restaurant and Gas station, so I'm always curious about this stuff.

I can understand if you don't want to answer, but if you do please be honest.

 

[Fedor]

Margin is around 50% for most suppliers. Those who sells more than 50-60 bucks are basically profiteers imo. Even at 50-60 bucks, you should take into consideration many intangibles like cust service, reliability, track record. I know...i'm tough on these things...LOL

While customs is always a risk, you should choose an experienced manufacturer who has good success with getting though customs. There was a thread that linked to the FDA list of confiscated/ held ecig shipments. I saw many manufacturers with JOYE taking the lead in numbers as well as some bigger names like First Union. These are probably on a hit list by the FDA. I've not seen Smoore on the list yet, which probably explains the increasing number of suppliers carrying their products. It also helps that they have great ecigs though....just ask the number of satisfied Pilot users.

I hope you eventually carry these products and achieve success with it. I know quite a bit about Chinese suppliers and i'm not a supplier myself so there is no conflict of interests. Let me know if you need any help.

 

[Apatel]

Thanks Fedor for taking the time to reply,

Like I said I'm just curious for now. I'm too busy with my other businesses to do this. I just opened my Subway on Jan 7th. Customer service and quality are key to any business, and usually the biggest cause for businesses failing. That's why 14 day warranties don't seem like much from the US suppliers, when most of the Chinese companies (manufacturers/suppliers) say they offer 1 year warranties.

My first e-cig (1 month ago today) was from ecigmall, and only because of the 7 month warranty and same price as others. Their service was good as well. Gashin has already replaced an atomizer and battery.

 

[Fedor]

14 days is ok.

E-cigs are not built to last a year. The technology is simply not there yet. Its all about bottom line. A supplier cannot be constantly replacing parts all the time and selling at low prices. They might do so in the beginning to create goodwill but this practice will not last, at least imo. I for one will not want to buy from a supplier who's losing money. Especially when it is cheap enough for us to stock up parts.

Just my 2 cents