As you were sitting around the hookah with a few of your good friends and a glass of wine, it hit you. "Why don't I sell hookahs? " It's happened to many hookah smokers and some even act on the idea. Is it a good one?
The answer is an emphatic, YES! Hookahs are a growing market. In just one year, the number of search inquiries for the term "hookah" has tripled. That can only mean one thing, the market is growing. https://shishaquality.nl/
The next step in your quest for running a hookah business is figuring out what kind of hookah business you will have. Perhaps you should open a café, a shop in the mall, or an online store. Maybe even an eBay store. I guess now you are stuck with the task of buying a hookah from a solid wholesaler.
Wholesale hookah purchasing can be quite an obstacle if you don't work with the right partner. A search for hookah wholesalers can lead you to web sites that advertise "wholesale to the public" which is little more than retail hookahs at a less than noticeable reduced price. If you have decided to run an online store, drop shipping will certainly be of interest to you.
If you ask a wholesaler to drop ship, you may be faced with little enthusiasm on their part. This is understandable as wholesalers tend to make their money by buying and selling in bulk. Other hookah wholesalers see it a little differently. By assisting you with shipping in your businesses' beginning, some wholesale hookah dealers will hope to keep your account when you strike it big. Don't be surprised if a company wants to charge three to five dollars an item to drop ship. While you probably shouldn't pay more than that, it is well worth a maximum of eight dollars.
Hookah wholesalers may include added benefits to the additional charges for drop shipping. These benefits may include branded literature, manuals, or even your business card upon your providing them. However, the unfortunate truth is that most wholesalers will not be interested in paying attention to such details.
Drop shipping hookah wholesalers are few and far between but be assured, they do exist. When working with one, make sure that you have a private label guarantee. This is very important. Basically, a private label guarantee means that your hookah wholesaler will not include literature or contact information (either inside or outside of the package) that could lead your customers to your source. The exception is an address of package origin as most package carriers require the physical address to be displayed.
Not having a private label guarantee will only lead to inevitable awkward conversations with your customers as they wonder why the web site on the box is not the web site they ordered from.
All that aside, when selling online you must remember that you are still "selling". That means taxes. Make sure you are inline with your local department of revenue and department of business regulations. Most states will require that you maintain a retail tobacco permit to sell on the internet. This can usually be acquired by paying a license fee less than two hundred dollars. Some states may not require a tobacco permit if you are only selling hookahs and a clean criminal record is always helpful. You will need to check your local laws as they may periodically change and all state regulations are different.
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