<< My questions is, how do I go about opening the lines between our company and the companies who produce the products (intel, amd, crucial, etc..). >>
As already mentioned, you need to get a sales tax or reseller ID license from your state. This license or permit can be called a few different things, depending upon the state, but generally it is referred to as a sales tax license. What it does is designate your business as a reseller of merchandise, and thus you may purchase from wholesalers without having to pay your state sales tax. However, you must COLLECT sales tax from the end-users who purchase from you, then remit it back to the state.
It took me eight (8!) weeks to get my state tax license, good old government efficiency. But, before you apply for your sales tax license, you should apply for a business permit known as DBA (Doing Business As). This is usually done at your county courthouse and it takes no longer than a few days, usually an hour or two.
A DBA is a must if you want to use a name for your business other than your own name. It essentially allows John H. Smith (example name) to do business as "JHS Computers", or whatever name you want for your business (provided it isn't already taken by someone else in your county). If you open a P.O. Box or small business checking account, its far more professional to open the account under "JHS Computers" instead of John H. Smith. To do that, you'll need to show the Post Office and bank your DBA. However, a DBA isn't an absolute requirement to get started, a sales tax license is.
The reason I suggested getting the DBA first is so that you can apply for your sales tax license under your DBA name. If you do it in the reverse order, you may not get the DBA name you want because it might already be taken. Best to get the DBA first, then the sales tax license.
While you're waiting for your sales tax license and ID number, just visit the manufacturer websites of the products you want to sell. Find a link to their OEM or reseller pages, then inquire about a reseller account or privileges. Intel used to call this an IPD - Intel Processor (or Product) Dealer. I'm not sure what they call it now.
Microsoft has some other title like System Builder, System Integrator, Value Added Reseller (VAR), or something like that. If there are no OEM or reseller links that you can see, just use their regular sales or marketing email contacts to inquire. You want to apply or register with that manufacturer as an authorized reseller of their products.
When I had a business, Microsoft and Intel enforced a minimum sale requirement to retain your reseller status that went into effect 30 days from the date of your first order. Intel was something like 10 retail processors a month. I don't know what it is now, or even if they still have a minimum requirement. Most manufacturers don't care.
Typically this is a pro forma process and the manufacturer doesn't care whether or not you already have a sales tax license, because you won't be buying from them, anyway. You will be buying from their authorized distribution partners. It is the distributor who will insist on having a copy of your sales tax license before they will sell to you.
The manufacturer will give you a list of their authorized distributors and you then inquire with them about opening a reseller account. That's about it. Once you're approved, the distributor will send you their product line information, catalogs (print or online), sales rep information, etc.
As someone already noted, just about any distributor will sell in small quantities (five units or less), but they don't like to. Most are catering to the medium to large quantities, and that's where the wholesale discount is. At one time, I had reseller accounts with Tech Data, Ingram Micro, SED, SuperCOM, among a few others, and I was shocked when I was quoted a HIGHER price than I could get online from a volume reseller. I know the rule of commerce is 'the more you buy, the cheaper each unit is', and so I wasn't expecting a huge discount, but I surely didn't expect "wholesale" prices to be MORE than retail!!
I would have been happy to get enough of a discount so that I could match retail prices (after the freight charge), breaking even. Not a chance if you're buying small quantities. So, if you're not dropping at least several thousand dollars on each inventory purchase, good luck!
A bit of advice: unless you have a wad of capital and credit, don't even entertain the possibility that you can compete with Newegg, TigerDirect, Fry's Electronics, etc. in terms of component pricing. I went several thousand dollars in the hole trying, before I went under. The only way small resellers have a chance is to break even on parts and make their money on the service/labor end of the business.
