# Reselling ingredients bought in bulk



## HerbalEarthling (Jun 19, 2013)

As long as you are a legal tax paying business and all of that, are you allowed to buy let's say oils or herbs, can you buy it in bulk, repackage it into smaller containers and resell it with your own label?

PS First time post!  Woo


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## AngelMomma (Jun 19, 2013)

I do not know the answer to your question   But a BIG welcome to SMF!!!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


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## Relle (Jun 19, 2013)

I can't give you the info you need because I'm not in your country. As this is your first post and first time here would you like to go to the Introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself.


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## pamielynn (Jun 19, 2013)

Do you mean like selling a small bottle of almond oil out of your big bulk container? Why not? As long as you bought it from a true supplier and you're not stealing products from someone else's business (I wouldn't advise buying scrub from the Body Shop and reselling it as your own). I sell essential oils this way.

Hope somebody jumps in here and tells me if I'm wrong.


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## nebetmiw (Jun 19, 2013)

You need a resellers licsence to do this.  You can not just resell someones elses product because you bought too much of it with your name on it.


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## pamielynn (Jun 19, 2013)

So how does it differ technically from using their product as a raw ingredient? Is it just that you've made a whole new product? I'm very interested in this..

Say I take some lavender oil from Liberty and put it in smaller bottles and sell it. Is that wrong? What about if I take the same lavender oil, mix it with some vanilla oil and make a "new" product - is that different?


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## Lindy (Jun 19, 2013)

In Canada it is allowed....


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## nebetmiw (Jun 25, 2013)

pamielynn said:


> So how does it differ technically from using their product as a raw ingredient? Is it just that you've made a whole new product? I'm very interested in this..
> 
> Say I take some lavender oil from Liberty and put it in smaller bottles and sell it. Is that wrong? What about if I take the same lavender oil, mix it with some vanilla oil and make a "new" product - is that different?



Rebottling lavender oil from Liberty with your name on it is wrong.  You did not make the oil they did.  Now mixing it with other oils and renaming it something else is OK, for it is now not just lavender oil.


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## pamielynn (Jun 25, 2013)

I don't know - I think it's perfectly legal. I'm going to dig into a little deeper and see what I can find out. I'm sure there's a fine line, because they are just reselling it too. Liberty (for one) doesn't distill their own essential oils.


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## HerbalEarthling (Jul 1, 2013)

pamielynn said:


> I don't know - I think it's perfectly legal. I'm going to dig into a little deeper and see what I can find out. I'm sure there's a fine line, because they are just reselling it too. Liberty (for one) doesn't distill their own essential oils.



This is exactly my thoughts. Like if you bought it from a wholesaler; these companies don't grow, distill or dig up any of the products themselves. They buy it from the producers, break it up into smaller quanities, put their label on it then sell it to people like me. And no I'm not saying that I bought too much of it and I definitely wouldn't resell someone else's product with my label on it because I did not nor would want to claim that I concocted it. That would be wrong. Specifically, I want to know about reselling single ingredients that I buy at wholesale.


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## nebetmiw (Jul 1, 2013)

Again you need a RESELLERs Lic. to do this.  You can not just rebottle something and put your name on it.  If you do not have a reseller lic or retail lic, BTW this is not the same as selling soap.  You will have to collect tax for this stuff that is why you need the reseller Lic.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 1, 2013)

I was really confused until Nebetmiw's last post cleared things up. 

The OP talked about reselling products. Nebetmiw talked about a reseller's license. I don't know about anyone else, but I was thinking the term "reseller's license" specifically pertained to the specific business of reselling products in the sense the OP used the term -- as more of a distributor rather than a manufacturer.

What I finally realized was Nebetmiw is talking about is the permit issued by the state that allows a business to buy products without paying sales tax, because the business intends to sell the product to others and collect the appropriate sales tax from them. Whether you resell products without really changing them ... or use products to create something new for sale ... you still have to collect state sales tax from your buyers. 

Iowa calls it a retail sales tax permit. Wisconsin and Minnesota call it a business tax registration. Obviously other states call it by other names. You need one for every state in which you have a business presence -- one for where your business is physically located plus one for any state you might go to for a fair/show/market to sell.

Duh..... 

Edit: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/75248


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