Want To Start E-Cigg Biz

[Todd]

I have been vapeing for 21 days now and I have always wanted to start some kind of online marketing biz. This seems like a great way to go I can only see this getting bigger. I have worked out where I can get the site done , what E- marketing to use and where to get the domain .

My question is what sort of inventory to start with, I can buy in quantity from suppliers in China but don't have the funds to lay out 2-3k for stock. I can afford to stock 5 or 10 units of starter kits to get going. Any one have any thoughts on this?

[Christopher]

Well first suppliers are not just going to tell you where they get their product and they're sure as hell not going to tell you how to go it through customs. Believe me everyone wants to be a supplier.

My advice to you would be to save a little more money. You should have at least 100 kits per model you carry. Not to mention atomizers, batteries and extra stock for replacements. (And trust me you will be doing replacements if you have any sort of kick to your name) You have to remember it's not just "selling a few kits online" you need to legally get your business license, TID numbers and any other city permits you may need. I would also advice that you incorporate yourself. In the unlikely event that someone shocks themselves with an ecig charger and decides to sue and you don't have some type of an LLC guess what? There goes your house, cars and anything else the lawyer can grab from you. There's a lot more than meets the eye to becoming a supplier. (It's an incredible amount of work)

Get yourself a customs broker as well and I hope your not planning to use PayPal because they WILL shut your account down and your funds can be held up to 6 months.

I'm not trying to bust your bubble, I'm just giving you a straight up honest answer. Welcome to the forums

[NeRo9k]

I was curious about this as well, it does sound like a lot of work.

[Todd]

Well first suppliers are not just going to tell you where they get their product and they're sure as hell not going to tell you how to go it through customs. Believe me everyone wants to be a supplier.

My advice to you would be to save a little more money. You should have at least 100 kits per model you carry. Not to mention atomizers, batteries and extra stock for replacements. (And trust me you will be doing replacements if you have any sort of kick to your name) You have to remember it's not just "selling a few kits online" you need to legally get your business license, TID numbers and any other city permits you may need. I would also advice that you incorporate yourself. In the unlikely event that someone shocks themselves with an ecig charger and decides to sue and you don't have some type of an LLC guess what? There goes your house, cars and anything else the lawyer can grab from you. There's a lot more than meets the eye to becoming a supplier. (It's an incredible amount of work)

Get yourself a customs broker as well and I hope your not planning to use PayPal because they WILL shut your account down and your funds can be held up to 6 months.

I'm not trying to bust your bubble, I'm just giving you a straight up honest answer. Welcome to the forums

Christopher, thank you for your honesty. That is what I need to hear of how it actually is. I was not sure about the Biz license and TID #'s and such. I was thinking of starting small then if the demand is there go ahead and stock what you are talking about. I do see your point. I defiantly want to a legitimate above board biz. As far as Pay Pal I am pretty sure that you can use one of many on line merchants like Yahoo.

I will have to look into what a customs broker actually is.?? I think from what I have seen that I can start something like this. Just need to get pointed in the right direction.

Thanks for all you good advice

[TheSmokingMan]

Christopher, thank you for your honesty. That is what I need to hear of how it actually is. I was not sure about the Biz license and TID #'s and such. I was thinking of starting small then if the demand is there go ahead and stock what you are talking about. I do see your point. I defiantly want to a legitimate above board biz. As far as Pay Pal I am pretty sure that you can use one of many on line merchants like Yahoo.

I will have to look into what a customs broker actually is.?? I think from what I have seen that I can start something like this. Just need to get pointed in the right direction.

Thanks for all you good advice

Hey Todd, Welcome to the Vapor Talk Forum. I know that this post is a few days old but I've been busy.

Running a business is no easy task. I don't care how small it is or how easy "they" tell you that having your own Internet business is. I own an electrical contracting firm, I started it from scratch with one employee, myself, 5 years ago. The day I started my business was the day I walked out of my old job with nothing but an $800.00 paycheck. Starting and maintaining a business without capitol is extremely hard and for your business to succeed your family will suffer without capitol. I was fortunate enough to have friends and family that kept our lights on and food on the table while I was waiting for contractors and insurance companies to pay their bills. My advice to you before starting a business is to explore what it actually will cost to do what you want to do, add about 20% to that figure for things that no one saw coming and save up that amount. If you are going to quit your current job make sure that you have enough money in addition to the start up capitol, to pay your family's bills for a year. The advice given to you by Chris about incorporating is very sound advice. Everything you own is in danger if you have a lawsuit and are not incorporated in some form or fashion and even then a sharp lawyer can pierce the corporate veil and attach your house and property in some cases. If you are going into the e-Cig business you also have to understand that #1 the FDA has not approved these products and that leaves everyone who sells this stuff wide open to all kinds of lawsuits if someone gets sick or dies from anything related or unrelated for that matter to e-Cigs, lawyers can twist anything to their point of view. #2 the US Customs Department is seizing a lot of the shipments that come into the US, you could loose your entire net worth in one shipment seizure. #3 there is a good possibility that this product or method of nicotine delivery will be made illegal, if that happens then your whole business is out of business.

All of this is to say, how much are you willing to risk to get in on a ground floor opportunity that may be huge or may be bust tomorrow? You may have better odds at the black jack tables with out the work or headache. If you have the money to loose and it won't effect you if you were to loose everything you put into this business, then it is an investment that you could look at. If you can't afford to loose what you put into it and you have to get something out of it for your family to live, then the risk is too great for you, keep your day job.

[Todd]

Hey Todd, Welcome to the Vapor Talk Forum. I know that this post is a few days old but I've been busy.

Running a business is no easy task. I don't care how small it is or how easy "they" tell you that having your own Internet business is. I own an electrical contracting firm, I started it from scratch with one employee, myself, 5 years ago. The day I started my business was the day I walked out of my old job with nothing but an $800.00 paycheck. Starting and maintaining a business without capitol is extremely hard and for your business to succeed your family will suffer without capitol. I was fortunate enough to have friends and family that kept our lights on and food on the table while I was waiting for contractors and insurance companies to pay their bills. My advice to you before starting a business is to explore what it actually will cost to do what you want to do, add about 20% to that figure for things that no one saw coming and save up that amount. If you are going to quit your current job make sure that you have enough money in addition to the start up capitol, to pay your family's bills for a year. The advice given to you by Chris about incorporating is very sound advice. Everything you own is in danger if you have a lawsuit and are not incorporated in some form or fashion and even then a sharp lawyer can pierce the corporate veil and attach your house and property in some cases. If you are going into the e-Cig business you also have to understand that #1 the FDA has not approved these products and that leaves everyone who sells this stuff wide open to all kinds of lawsuits if someone gets sick or dies from anything related or unrelated for that matter to e-Cigs, lawyers can twist anything to their point of view. #2 the US Customs Department is seizing a lot of the shipments that come into the US, you could loose your entire net worth in one shipment seizure. #3 there is a good possibility that this product or method of nicotine delivery will be made illegal, if that happens then your whole business is out of business.

All of this is to say, how much are you willing to risk to get in on a ground floor opportunity that may be huge or may be bust tomorrow? You may have better odds at the black jack tables with out the work or headache. If you have the money to loose and it won't effect you if you were to loose everything you put into this business, then it is an investment that you could look at. If you can't afford to loose what you put into it and you have to get something out of it for your family to live, then the risk is too great for you, keep your day job.

Thanks for all your advice. I am hearing everything that you guys are saying about starting up. Any time you start a biz it is a risk, that should go without saying. I have run businesses in the past and I am well aware of the implications of having you name on the door. so to speak. This would defiantly be a gamble to start a biz like this.I have all kinds of people asking me where to get these e_ciggs? If I had stock and some biz cars I could sell just from walking around smoking my E-Ciggs and I will once I get started. However people seem to opening up E-cig /vape biz in droves. But what if , just what if E-ciggs were eventually approved by the FDA ? That would be huge! The FDA, Customs, and health issues are a concern. I mean what if someone dies , I feel like that would probably be the end of it.Or perhaps not. I believe that these things we are all so excited about will be justified if sales keep increasing in the U.S..I think that anything that has helped me get of analogs after 30 years is worth passing on to others so that they may help them self's, and yes I am aware that I would be profiting from that but it's a win -win . I have calculated about what it is going to cost to start and if after I see potential/sales . I do have an investor that will take it to the next level if need be.

I mean what is the worst that could happen? I loose a couple thousand bucks but I took a chance to improve the lives of people while putting a few bucks in the bank. Many others are taking the same risk and it looks like some are doing well even on a small scale. I would like to talk with someone who is in the biz to ask them a few questions about how they are doing . Anyway I intend on opening a E-cigg biz I am already working on the site , applied for an LLC, talked to China ,set up an order, and getting all the pieces together. I will start small and see what happens. This is the only positive thing in this economy I have seen in a while.

Thanks

[broomgal]

As a small business owner I applaud you for wanting to start your own business!

All the advice given is spot on and besides the *regular* business issues you also have the ones related to this product specifically so it sounds like a lot of work but I wish you luck!

Getting your name *out there* is tough and Chris is right about suppliers don't want to just give up sources ( I get asked this all day long in my business). Just remember to give awesome customer service and that will keep people coming back and they will tell others. Good Luck!

[keenan]

Wow, I NEVER really knew it took that much work. I applaud ALL of you who have done this succesfully. I was so naive, I really thought you just bought some stuff, opened a web site, and boom you were off. Im WAY too lazy for that. (just kidding, Im really a hard worker ant ).