W9 Resale Certificate: Fill & Download for Free

Assuming that you are starting your business in the US, the big thing you need to do is allow the sellers to have control over shipping and taxes. For taxes, the seller needs to provide the resale certificate number for the state they are in within your platform. Buyers only need to pay tax if they are in the same state as the seller they are purchasing from. You may need collect a W9 or some other forms. In addition, at the end of each month, you should provide sellers with a downloadable file that shows all of the taxes that they created. Amazon does a really good job with this. Create an Amazon seller account and checkout how they handle taxes, and that will put you on the right track. I’d recommend going over your final plan with a CPA or a tax specialist as well.For shipping, you need to give sellers the option of how much they want to charge for each method of shipping (3–5 day, 2 day, overnight, etc.). Alternatively, you could just set those rates for them and sellers will just price accordingly.

In terms of legal requirements, here's what comes to mind:Do you need to or should you file any relevant trademark/wordmark/copyright filings with USPTO to protect your works? Check with an attorney about this. Retailer's won't care, but should you be trying to protect your works?You will need to incorporate, as retailers purchase from corporate entities, not individuals, unless its very small retailers (single locations or small chains), or are willing to purchase from a sole proprietar.Do you need any product liability insurance? Besides a standard general liability policy, you might need to add product liability, and the retailer will also be named as the insured on your policy, which is another reason why you need to incorporate, as insurance companies insure corporations/partnerships, not sole proprietars. Check with a business broker about insurance.Does the retailer have vendor documents that you need to sign? Do they have a routing/shipping and logistics policy that you must adhere to? They may also require guaranteed sale, which means if the product does not sell, you agree to purchase it back. What are there other terms - especially payment? Is it the standard 30 net 2? Do they have any other tradespend requirements (like damage or marketing requirements - additional percentages off your wholesale price to them for these kinds of terms)? You want to analyze all this carefully because these "tradespend" requirements can really eat into your profitability. On average, across all retail, tradespend ends up being 13.5% of your wholesale price, so it can add up. Drug stores are 20% +, especially in year 1.Are there any FTC requirements/standards regarding your product category? My guess is not, but check anyway. If it is food, check with the FDA/USDA. Are you subject to providing a material safety data sheet (MSDS) to the retailer about your product? My guess is not, but check anyway. Do you need Prop 65 overlabeling for selling in California? My guess is not, but check anyway. If food, you will need a COA (certificate of analysis).Do you need to use distributors? A retailer may prefer to order product through a distributor. Ask them when you are selling to them. Or, you might want to use a distributor who can help sell your product to a wider retail base. What are their legal requirements?Make sure when you do business with a retailer that you obtain a W9 from them so that you have legal record of where to send any relevant tax documents to them. Also get a copy of the resale certificate so you have proof that you are selling for wholesale purposes, and thus you do not need to collect or pay sales taxes.

Per Design Within Reach - Design Within Reach:One of the following credentials is required to open a Trade Account:Current business or state professional license in a residential or commercial design-based business, or the hospitality industryProof of current AIA or IDI provincial registrationProof of current ASID membershipInterior design certification (e.g. NCID, CCIDC)W9, Federal ID form, or official document showing EIN numberResale or Sales Tax CertificatePlus, all of the following:Business card that indicates your current design profession/titleLinks to your website and/or LinkedIn, Facebook and any other websites that state your firm’s most current profession and/or designExamples of your past and/or current design/architectural work (links to online portfolios, scanned photos or printouts of articles/blogs/sites that showcase your firm’s work)