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SHADYCHASE54
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How can I acquire a business address?
Hello all, I have a problem regarding the recieving of chemicals from one of my suppliers. I have recently lost acess to one of my bigger suppliers
because they are requiring me to provide a shipping adress that is listed as business. Has anyone any suggestions on a cost effective way of obtaining
this? I don't have any issue spending some money monthly but I am looking for somthing that won't totally break the bank. Storage isn't a must have
but shipping and recieving would be. Anyone in digital land that has a potential solution for this or experience around this problem I would love to
hear from you. Thanks in advance.
SHADYCHASE54
[madscientist: Please don't title threads in all caps!]
[Edited on 15-3-2011 by madscientist]
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ScienceSquirrel
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Mood: Dogs are pets but cats are little furry humans with four feet and self determination! 
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I just made one up;
Science Squirrel
Unit 1
Woodland Farm
Oak Road
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madscientist
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Thread Moved
15-3-2011 at 04:03 |
watson.fawkes
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The easiest way to have a business address is to rent one, which in many cases can be as simple as renting a private mail box from a mailing service,
because those addresses are pretty much always commercial addresses.
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Contrabasso
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Come to an arrangement with a local shopkeeper with a suitable trade. "Rent" mailbox and parcel reception from them. Pick a place where the supplies
you want are credible. Where do you work? Can you get the storekeeper to receive parcels for you?
My work receive things for me, but parcels with diamonds (usually 1.4G!) go elsewhere.
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MrHomeScientist
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I've got the same problem. I was going to form an LLC company for chemical ordering, but I've called GFS Chemicals and they have said they still will
not ship to a residential address (which would be the physical location of my LLC). I thought of renting a PO box for it, but they won't ship to that
either. I don't know much about the process of starting an LLC, any advice on if I can register some sort of business address for it?
@watson.fawkes: Could you elaborate on what you mean? Who rents out "private mail boxes"?
(PS: I'm in the US, btw)
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mr.crow
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You could rent one of those turn-key office solutions where you get a cheesy little room in a commercial/industrial area. Just camp out there until
the delivery van arrives. Might have to sign the lease for a period of time, going to cost a lot of money.
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble
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Nilson
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For those in the US: UPS (United Parcel Service) stores rent mailboxes on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, for reasonable prices.
You can get anything you want shipped there, and their address is a commercial address. You get a key to a mailbox, you use said key to get your
paper mail/small packages out of the mailbox. If you get a larger sized package sent there, they sign for it, and you pick it up.
That way you have a store attendant always there to sign for your package, you don't have to "camp out" anywhere.
All you need is two forms of ID and a way to pay for the mailbox service.
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SHADYCHASE54
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I just want to start off by appologizing to moderator(s) for posting my title in caps.
That aside thank you to everyone lots of great ideas you have provided me with a couple good options to consider. Special thanks to watson.fawkes,
Mr.crow and Nilson your suggestions were particularily invaluable. Regarding mr.crow's suggestion, I would love one of those small office space places
both for recieving but especially for storage. I wonder how much those type of places would set one back as compared to leasing a store front space.
obviously I realize it all depends on the rental prices in a particular city but what are they like a couple hundred bucks monthly as compared to a
thousand + for a real space if anyone knows? If this isn't an option due to being too costly I think I'll check out renting a box from UPS them
signing for my package would truly be great.
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Contrabasso
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Most times chem suppliers are wise to fiddles, and know the usual uses for whatever you buy from them.
Their usual real questions are based on "who buys your product?". That's often the hard one to answer.
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cyanureeves
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some flea markets will charge for displaying a sale booth. i was going to use one of those addresses to acquire a rapid fire- sound suppressor
liscence as one has to furnish a business address for a dealer liscence. a co-worker was already doing that and only had two knives and one or two
rifles at the booth, anybody who wanted something could just bring a picture of any weapon and he could just order it at wholesale price.
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MrHomeScientist
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Getting a mailbox with the local UPS store was a great idea and looks like it will work, so far. It's different from a PO box in that you get a street
address to ship to, which can be considered a business address. It's pretty reasonable at $11/mo for the yearly rate. I may just do that regardless,
as I'm rarely home to sign for packages anyways.
@Contrabasso: Couldn't that question legitimately be answered by "nobody"? If you claim it's only going to be used for internal research purposes,
then you won't be selling it to anyone. That was going to be my aim for my LLC - set it up as some variation of a "research institution."
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Contrabasso
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If you produce no product for sale then you still have to have some justification for the spend. Businesses need income and expenditure and chem
suppliers may want to see some evidence of business rather than hobby.
Remember that Hobby is a retail sale with all the obligations that puts on the vendor. Business means a trade sale and a lot of regs are easier on the
vendor. If you can't convince the vendor that you are trade it doesn't matter what premises you have.
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watson.fawkes
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Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist  | | @Contrabasso: Couldn't that question legitimately be answered by "nobody"? If you claim it's only going to be used for internal research purposes,
then you won't be selling it to anyone. That was going to be my aim for my LLC - set it up as some variation of a "research institution."
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The magic phrase here is "Contract Research Organization"; it's a term of art. It's used a lot in
pharmaceuticals, but also for university-affiliated research labs. The customer of a CRO is typically some technology-oriented company that needs
independent verification or requires some special expertise. | Quote: Originally posted by Contrabasso | | If you produce no product for sale then you still have to have some justification for the spend. Businesses need income and expenditure and chem
suppliers may want to see some evidence of business rather than hobby. |
The point here is that a business
need not be manufacturing products for sale to end users in order to be a valid business.
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Contrabasso
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As a production lab then your business justification is chemical product going out and invoices being paid in. -Business model
As a Research house your output product is in report or thesis form which usually gets paid for by the receiving house. Business model
If you have no obvious output and cash inflow the assumption will be that you are either a hobby or a drug maker.
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antibody
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a website and email addresses
A website for your "research company" and email addresses that are consistent with the business name and web domain can also go a long way in
positioning you as a legitimate business.
Once, after ordering a sample from a supplier, they got back to me for clarification on how the product was being used. During our conversation it
came up that the rep had already scoured our website looking for information about our operation. We passed the test and now enjoy a great
relationship with this suppllier.
I don't know how common a practice this is, but we are living in the information age and it isn't difficult for suppliers to connect the dots.
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ketadd
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UPS store mailboxe is a good start. You can also use companies like Vitran and they will hold things for delivery. Works well for larger orders since
some UPS store owners can get snoopy and do not like chemical deliveries. Some couldn't careless but others will create problems for you. When using
these COD shipping places like Vitran which are more equipped to receive hazardous items, use the UPS store mailboxe as your company address. This is
the best way to go, in my experience.
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franklyn
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The responses here are really ignorant
It is immediately obvious to any firm supplying chemicals
that you are not a business you claim to be when you do
not inquire about establishing an account and discuss with
them credit and payment terms and conditions. Name me
one business that operates without a credit rating.
You M U S T obtain a federal tax identification number
for commercial enterprise from the Internal Revenue Service.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1635.pdf
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.h...
In commerce this is the same as providing your Social
Security number to a bank when opening a savings or
checking account.
See how far you'll get without providing it.
I am not an MBA don't ask me for clarification , consult
the Small Business Administration _
http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-ma...
and the Internal Revenue Service _
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99336,00.h...
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4591.pdf
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antibody
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FYI Frankyn - In Canada you only need a federal tax number to charge taxes, not to pay them. Taxes that are paid on business purchases are deducted
from the remittance of taxes that have been collected . . . in most provinces anyways. The only place a business would ever use that number is on an
invoice or a tax remittance. Never to a supplier.
Not every member of this board is an American!
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franklyn
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- Oops ! - I didn't see that , in any case you are right ,
not everyone here is in the states. Advice then may
have limited particular use anyway given the regional
circumstances. As I understand it now , the problem
is American sources imposing the same onerous
domestic requirments on foreign buyers.
Watch the newspaper for businesses that have gone
out of business. These are usually advertised as
auctioning off the contents of the premises. The
business is established and will still be listed as such.
Visit the site and obtain stationary for an invoice then
impersonate that business name to establish accounts.
Direct that goods will be received during the
" transition to the new facility" at your " business
office " which you represent as a commercial address.
Once you have established yourself in this way
subsequent purchases should proceed automatically
without further revision.
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quicksilver
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I would like to offer a bit of advice here. Unless you really DO have a
legit company; this COULD be a very bad mistake. Even IF you have a legit company, ordering certain materials can get you on someone’s radar faster
than many would believe.
[Whether you live in most any country,] ordering chemicals through subterfuge is a risky proposition & in the case of chemicals that track to a
given end, you can quickly wind up with a quiet investigation from your country’s law enforcement elements. The employees at chemical firms are not
idiots. The concept of a “paper company” is as old as the hills and generally is standard procedure in many a drug cook’s agenda. There are very
legitimate means to acquire chemicals and there are means to stay within the law by understanding rocketry or pyrotechnic clubs, student chemistry and
science clubs and related organizations as well as knowing the law. Pretending to be something that you are not is a great way to put yourself in a
bad position even if what you are doing is perfectly innocent! Please think this through before doing something that makes you “look bad”….There
is NO reason to put yourself in that position. We are living in an age when suspicion is rampant and can be ugly.
Frankly I know of a VERY legit company, the owner of which, once told me something that steered me away from this issue.
What's more this is a public forum & read by hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world. Many of them are in the business of
identifying drug cooks, etc.
Please think this through very carefully & realize that most anything you may want to experiment with (within the law) is available without
getting yourself on someone's radar!
IF your agenda is to get into something that skirts the law; discussing it on a public forum is not the best idea & perhaps you may want to take a
moment to think it through to the end.
Several of you know me well enough to PM me if you would like to discuss this issue further. As I believe strongly in this regard I welcome a
discussion - however I don't believe that a public arena is the place to further elaborate why this issue in general is not in your best interest and
for that matter; the interest of amateur or hobby chemistry. Obviously, this is simply my opinion & certainly not a case of chastisement.
Edit: Obviously you don't need to take my advice. However if you think this through deeply enough, you may realize that we live in an age where
suspicion is trouble. Perhaps a milder level but why risk something of this nature for a hobby?
[Edited on 19-3-2011 by quicksilver]
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Polverone
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I have never tried to order controlled chemicals from a supplier that deals only with businesses. I do not know if that is what you are trying to do.
I do know that some suppliers don't want to sell so much as litmus paper to individuals, so there are certainly non-nefarious reasons you may need a
minimal business proxy.
I don't know if franklyn's advice about imitating defunct companies will work, but if you are ordering chemicals that aren't heavily scrutinized it
seems both unnecessary and potentially trust-destroying to perform such a charade. A few years ago I wanted to order a variety of chemicals from
Croda. They wouldn't deal with an individual, even though the chemicals were all non-controlled and non-hazardous. After I established a business I
was fine, even though the sales rep knew I had already tried to order as an individual. They were just following a checklist.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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SHADYCHASE54
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I find it interesting how far this topic has expanded since posting it. When I offered this question up for public scrutiny I never imagined it would
take on such personality with such a potentially sinister undertone, although on further contimplation, I guess I should of. All of this merely
started from the fact that one of my main suppliers stopped allowing me to order; all due to some clandestine barrack brats that decided it opertune
to start producing illicit substances on base. Now the supplier in question stopped allowing cash sales in my city however, some 3-4 hrs. away in
another city I could still order from the same supplier without a question asked. In posting this to the S.M crowd I was merely looking for a way
around this as I am not a drug chemist and I have little to hide, being caught decieving wouldn`t destroy me and it just totally pissed me off loosing
my best supplier.
Now a few days has past and the sting has stopped throbbing so much, I am not even sure if I am even interested in going this far to trick a company
that might just as likely be offering up all new members to the rcmp for further investigation, one just never knows. Like I said I don`t really have
anything to hide however, being investigated by the rcmp potentially or finding my name on a x list doesn`t sound like a very fun vacation spot. Again
it is interesting where this topic has moved I also find it interesting that it is such a sore topic to some moderators and one worthy of warning, wow
I never thought such a minor topic would become so touchy, oh well opinions and as/holes or so they say, thats life. Personally I think you would
have to be a complete moron to be a drug cook who spends his off time posting his conquests and problems online especially in these days where every
post can be so effeciently tracked. But thats just my take.
SHADYCHASE
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Contrabasso
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The problem is that though most chemicals are used for legitimate purposes the most press attention is paid to the few chemicals that are used for
illegal purposes. Possibly someone in your town IS cooking drugs so the suppliers decide/get warned to shut off supplies.
The sad thing is that most real terrorists seem to be able to buy and ship store and use anything they want.
Additionally most chemicals have some hazard marking and now people care what disposal happens to things.
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quicksilver
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Believe me I understand the frustration. Personally - I doubt that a true "connected" terrorist would use that route & that's honestly not the
thrust of my opinion. I really don't want to get into details but we really do live in a different world than even a post 911 world community. And
even though the Patriot Act was reigned in (to a degree) there are over-zealous individuals on one side and frank idiots on the other who's order
compiles a totality of "red flags".
In the USA and Canada the "List 1" chemicals are drug cook hot buttons & no matter what an individual needs are I would maintain a very strict
avoidance of that no matter the reason for purchase.....again; just opinion. I want to underline that I don't say this on the level of condescension
or "knee-jerk reaction" but rather, the common level of how much this thing has been attempted in the past. The unfortunate truth is that many cases
(not just this discussion) of attempts to re-invent one's self can be construed as sinister because the mind-set of those who delve into this issue
are already set to wonder 'why", etc.
If you were put into a position of having to jump through hoops and simply form a company to make a common order I certainly agree that being calmly
up front about it would be the only way to go.
Realistically, thinking back on this, perhaps I should not have been so emphatic but that's perhaps a reflection of my own "paranoia" regarding the
world in which we live.
I have seen one mistake cost a great deal of trouble but generally those type of things are a total leave of common sense & most likely NOT what
we are talking about here.
I would love to order a couple of items.....but I wouldn't - simply because I don't trust another individual to make a clean call on my intentions.
[Edited on 19-3-2011 by quicksilver]
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franklyn
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1. - You , me , the rest of us , are individuals who obtain chemicals for personal hobby use.
2. - Chemical suppliers as a matter of policy do not make transactions with the group just
described , and deal only with verifiable business entities.
Oohh darn , hmmm , how can I make myself appear to be a business , in effect , seem like
something I am not ?
Beyond the mundane task of seeking to engage in commerce , what are the ethics of it ?
Lying in business is not only practiced , it is expected , perhaps you never heard of
" your check is in the mail ". The entire concept of registering a business entity as
" doing business as ( fill in pseudonym here ) " is to conceal the identity of the party
with whom you are actually doing business with ! What is " credit repair " anyhow ,
pretending solvency to obtain greater lending than what might be prudent for you.
You don't overstate your assets or embellish your resume , and you don't claim
personal expenditures are business related. Dudley Do Right is a cartoon character.
Behaving like that diminishes your credibility by seeming naively child like - red flag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWgi6W-uMeI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFyAJhueDJA
In the course of your life you have a standing relationship with a woman. You meet
another woman who captivates your interest. So how do you respond ? Oh honey
I would go out with you this evening except that I met this other woman who is
more interesting than you , and tonight I'll be with her instead.
- It is one thing to lie to others , it is another entirely to lie to yourself
about what you do to feel good about it , with that I can't help you.
__________________________________________________
Benny Hill said it best _
" What do you call a dog with no legs ? "
" It doesn't matter , he won't come anyway "
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