What are "trade references"?

[eflat]

so yeah i meet all the requirements but i'm not sure what they mean by trade references.

are these people i have done business with?

also, has anyone else here have an account with ingram micro? any other good ones like it? i'm not to keen on them because they do not take amex and i like to charge everything to amex is makes bookkeeping much easier and their card has great benefits.

 

[Rapidskies]

TechData for the win

 

[jjones]

Trade references are exactly what you thinnk they are, they are other companies you have done business with.

 

[jdub1107]

Yea, trade references are businesses that have dealt with you. They call and ask a bunch of questions to see how their dealings with you were.

 

[Stonesoldier]

used both techdata and ingram micro back around 2000-2001

both a little too pricey

they both want volume buyers
to get the better pricing you have to do around $40,000 with them
and still some things are cheaper at best buy with tax

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: Stonesoldier
used both techdata and ingram micro back around 2000-2001

both a little too pricey

they both want volume buyers
to get the better pricing you have to do around $40,000 with them
and still some things are cheaper at best buy with tax

Yes that is true Newegg is cheaper but the end user won't get any warranty through Newegg and manufacturers won't know I am buying there stuff if I buy from Newegg.

Is that $40,000 a year or per order? I will to well over $40,000 a year. Hell my first order is going to be around $20,000.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: Stonesoldier
used both techdata and ingram micro back around 2000-2001

both a little too pricey

they both want volume buyers
to get the better pricing you have to do around $40,000 with them
and still some things are cheaper at best buy with tax

Yes that is true Newegg is cheaper but the end user won't get any warranty through Newegg and manufacturers won't know I am buying there stuff if I buy from Newegg.

Is that $40,000 a year or per order? I will to well over $40,000 a year. Hell my first order is going to be around $20,000.

And what if I am just starting out? How am I suppose to have trade references? And what if I only sell to individuals not businesses? Do they count as trade references?

 

[Stonesoldier]

It was 40K a month if i remember right

ALWAYS ask for better pricing
even before your first order


as for references
they just want to know who you do business with
an example would be if you bought parts from belkin on a regular basis ,heck even one time counts
or any other manufactuer
end users are also trade references


your sales rep should be able to answer any questions

 

[Sphexi]

I dealt with IM for a bit, didn't like em. For one, they don't do drop-shipping well, which TechData does. They'll ship stuff to a customer for you, but it's hard and complicated, and their logo appears on the box, not your name or your company's name.

 

[Utterman]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
I dealt with IM for a bit, didn't like em. For one, they don't do drop-shipping well, which TechData does. They'll ship stuff to a customer for you, but it's hard and complicated, and their logo appears on the box, not your name or your company's name.

Both Ingram Micro and Tech Data offer programs to blind drop ship items and also personalized delivery which will put your company logo on the packing list and shipment label.

Try to get to know your sales rep and they will bend over backwards to get your business.

 

[Utterman]

Originally posted by: Rapidskies
TechData for the win

Confirmed!

With the volume that I do with TD, I get pay between 10-20% less than what CDW and Ingram Micro offer!

 

[Sphexi]

Originally posted by: Utterman

Originally posted by: Sphexi
I dealt with IM for a bit, didn't like em. For one, they don't do drop-shipping well, which TechData does. They'll ship stuff to a customer for you, but it's hard and complicated, and their logo appears on the box, not your name or your company's name.

Both Ingram Micro and Tech Data offer programs to blind drop ship items and also personalized delivery which will put your company logo on the packing list and shipment label.

Try to get to know your sales rep and they will bend over backwards to get your business.

It's been a solid 5+ years since I dealt with either company, and back then IM wasn't all hot stuff. Their prices weren't great (for us at least), and we couldn't afford $40k bulk orders to get the sweet deals. Plus they charged out the butt for shipping, we ended up simply getting Newegg to ship us what we needed to build comps, and gave up trying to deal with mail order/Internet orders. No money in it anyways, all the good money is in servicing

 

[ryan256]

I've dealth with IM as well. As far as I can tell the only thing they have going for them is the ability to get nearly any part or piece of hardware. If you're buying something rather common though its best to just get it from TechData or even NewEgg since they will have better prices.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: Utterman

Originally posted by: Rapidskies
TechData for the win

Confirmed!

With the volume that I do with TD, I get pay between 10-20% less than what CDW and Ingram Micro offer!

I will have to look into this techdata. Basically this business has not even gotten started yet. But when we start we are going to start pretty big -- so I want to make sure I am buying from as official of places as possible.

I will be looking into TechData. As I said I only threw out the name IngramMicro because I hear it mentioned so much.

Also, I would like a place that takes American Express even if I have to pay extra for it.

Also, I am not interested in drop shipments. I want everything delivered to me and go from me to the customer.

I big reason people are going to like my company is because we are going to keep a lot of stock and ship very quickly.

How is a small guy like me going to keep a lot of stock?

Simple, we sell VERY few items (for example the only components we will start off selling are hard drives, processors, and NEC dvd drives.

Second, because these are SMALL items, we have plenty of room to store a ton of stock so that we will always be ready to ship stuff out.

We are definatley going the quality route, not the quantity route like other businesses seem to be doing.

 

[Utterman]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: Utterman

Originally posted by: Rapidskies
TechData for the win

Confirmed!

With the volume that I do with TD, I get pay between 10-20% less than what CDW and Ingram Micro offer!

I will have to look into this techdata. Basically this business has not even gotten started yet. But when we start we are going to start pretty big -- so I want to make sure I am buying from as official of places as possible.

I will be looking into TechData. As I said I only threw out the name IngramMicro because I hear it mentioned so much.

Also, I would like a place that takes American Express even if I have to pay extra for it.

Also, I am not interested in drop shipments. I want everything delivered to me and go from me to the customer.

I big reason people are going to like my company is because we are going to keep a lot of stock and ship very quickly.

How is a small guy like me going to keep a lot of stock?

Simple, we sell VERY few items (for example the only components we will start off selling are hard drives, processors, and NEC dvd drives.

Second, because these are SMALL items, we have plenty of room to store a ton of stock so that we will always be ready to ship stuff out.

We are definatley going the quality route, not the quantity route like other businesses seem to be doing.

Good luck with your company!

As far as credit cards go, Tech Data does accept CC but only Visa, Discover, or MasterCard. Maybe see if you can get some sort of terms setup with them, but that's hard for a new company.

 

[blakeatwork]

Originally posted by: Rapidskies
TechData for the win

Maybe not for the win, but for a business just starting up, they're a lot better then using Ingram-Micro.

Even ASI is a better source, as they have more of the non-corporate SKUs like DFI, Abit, etc..

 

[archcommus]

Another question about this. Not sure if this is CitizenDoug's case, but if your company is brand new and currently has no past trade references, how do you get hooked up with ANY distributor to start out?

 

[jadinolf]

So funny.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Another question about this. Not sure if this is CitizenDoug's case, but if your company is brand new and currently has no past trade references, how do you get hooked up with ANY distributor to start out?

Basically you will just have to use your own line of credit. IE, your credit card. They generally only require trade references to establish a line of credit with the company.

I'm sure it is also there to discourage miscreants such as myself -- however if you don't let all the paperwork scare you away basically all they are asking for is a credit card number and tax certificate

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: Rapidskies
TechData for the win

And now that I have an account with TechData, I will second this.

I have purchased several thousand dollars worth of merchandise from them already and the service is amazing.

It always ships same day -- for FREE. Prices are reasonable and the selection is wild.

I'm so happy with TechData that I am debating whether to even both opening an account with Ingram Micro.

If you are a really small business, I would recommend ASI. They don't carry as much stock and charge for shipping, but are tailored more towards small business (ie you are not ordering at least $1000 worth of merchandise per order).

 

[compuwiz1]

Once you pass the reference test, they'll want to see a millon dollars in liquid assets. You have just begun.

 

[SuperSix]

There are a few other good distributors. Of course I'm biased (I'm a sales rep for ASI), but don't overlook companies like SED, D&H, MALabs, and others.

As far as trade references go, we ask for them, but they really mean nothing.

You wll be hard pressed to find a disty that takes Amex, with as thin as disty margins are, absorbing Amex's higher fees is tough.

And ASI is tailored more for the smaller reseller, and we don't carry some of the high-end manufacturrs lke TD or IM, we are the 3rd largest disty in the US for a reason.