Distributor Question

[ddog27]

Is it normal to pay a distributor a retainer fee? I am new to this and I have an international distributor asking for one. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

[DEFCON Creator]

Be careful. Is this a reputable distributor?

[ddog27]

Be careful. Is this a reputable distributor?


I check with their states corp commision and also the BBB to see if they had any complaints against them. Anything else I should be checking?

[DEFCON Creator]

Personally, I'd ask for a list of other vendors they use, and if you've heard of any of them, to contact them directly. In some cases, you'll find that the vendors they list have never done business with them. There are quite a few scams out there regarding int'l distributors. I'm not liking the fact they want to charge you a fee to do business. How much are they asking for?

[ddog27]

They want $2500.00

[AlabamaJack]

:shocked:

[DEFCON Creator]

I wouldn't ever contact them again. That's absurd. Not to mention, one of the scams that was recently uncovered involved the same amount of money.

[DickT]

This does not pass the sniff test, the only fee a distributor should ask for is for advertising in a flyer of some sort which would be a couple 100 bucks.(always ask for the righthand page in a circular. I've never heard of a retainer fee. A broker usually operates on a 5% commission FYI. What country was this guy from?

[ddog27]

They are from Texas. I am reading the contract that they want me to sign and they want the $2500.00 and to make the mark up on my products. I have sent them samples of my stuff and talked to them and then they through in the $2500.00 just recently. It did not sit right with me so I thought I would ask. Thanks guys!!

[AlabamaJack]

DefCon...whats the sauce maker in Dallas that is a member here? Do you know?

[DevilDuck]

Big Dawg is from Ft. Worth.

[AlabamaJack]

Thanks DD, Big Dawg will shoot me for forgetting his name...

ddog27, you might try and contact Big Dawg and ask him if he has ever heard of or dealt with this distributor if he is from Texas...or maybe Chuk Hell...

[Chiliac]

Everybody please correct me if I'm talking bollox, but what I am not getting is why YOU should pay a retainer fee to THEM? As far as I understand the word (I may be wrong), a retainer fee is kind of a down payment, an advance so to say....

Shouldn't they be paying you money for your sauces, i.e. what do they need an adavance for???

Anyway, I can only second what the other guys said. In my experience (not in selling sauces, but biz is biz is a bitch) any company asking strange fees before moving a finger is trying to make quick cash on you without making any efforts. If they'd work their socks off trying to sell your/their products, they wouldn't need to ask for that and wouldn't dare to spoil their good reputation (their sales figures should speak for themselves) with some crappy fee like that.

Aside from that, the amount of dough they ask is hilarious! Just make a quick calculation and find out how many bottles of sauce you'd have to sell to make any profit!!! That number alone should tell you wether to deal with them or not!

[DickT]

Hey DDog, I have specialty food reps around the great lakes,NY and MD, If you like I could get that info to you, They work on a 15% commission, they travel from store to store, show your product and then they send you the order. It works out preety good and there are rep all over the country under different groups, works great if you have multiple flavors. It another option to get brand recognition. I was at the fancy food show last year and thats how I picked up the reps. If you are interested, contact me and I'll get you some info. D T :cool:

[ddog27]

Hey DDog, I have specialty food reps around the great lakes,NY and MD, If you like I could get that info to you, They work on a 15% commission, they travel from store to store, show your product and then they send you the order. It works out preety good and there are rep all over the country under different groups, works great if you have multiple flavors. It another option to get brand recognition. I was at the fancy food show last year and thats how I picked up the reps. If you are interested, contact me and I'll get you some info. D T :cool:

Sure! Send me their info.

[ddog27]

After telling them I was not interested in their services, I just got an email that stated they could lower the retainer to $1800.00. How nice….:rolleyes:

[DEFCON Creator]

After telling them I was not interested in their services, I just got an email that stated they could lower the retainer to $1800.00. How nice….:rolleyes:

:lol:

[tinner666]

:shocked: Sounds fishy. Does it smell fishy?:lol: