mom-6 wrote
Usually in order to purchase wholesale from a vendor you have to have a 'for resale' tax certificate/tax id #, although I have heard of some allowing anyone who is purchasing in volume(say multiple whole bolts of fabric) to do so at the wholesale price.
I know about 20-25 years ago I purchased the fabric for square dance skirts for a whole club that wanted identical skirts direct from the manufacturer at a price lower than we could get it from the local retailer since it was several bolts of fabric. Whether that was true wholesale pricing or just a volume discount, it was a cheaper price.
ah! that's tricky business.
in most states, you can get a license easily, usually free. you use that number when you're ordering and that entitles you to a wholesalers' discount. you already know that part. it's called a resale number. if a business wants to sell you a large 'lot', sometimes it's called wholesale, but it's really discount unless they ask for a resale number. or else they're breaking the law.
but if you use a resale number and get called on it by the IRS, you have to be able to show a set of books, meaning that you must be able to prove in ink and with receipts, that you bought whatever for a business and for-profit purposes (since you're not a non-profit organization).
AND, since you're now a business, you have to file a tax return, quarterly, showing all that. you used to be able to go for three years without making a profit, as many starting businesses do. but you still have to file, showing that. after those years were up, you had to show a profit. what the rules are now, i don't know. i have a number from years ago when i sewed and sold, and to tell the truth, it's such a pain trying to prove what i'm using it for and filing four times a year that i haven't used it in over twenty-five years. i wonder if it's still good or if they expire? who cares?