Joining a supplier from an invite

What does this tour show?

It shows a seller deciding whether to take on a supplier's range. Amira, a sample seller of beauty products, has a small following who buy her candles and lip balms. At noon a message arrives from Northern Skincare Co, a skincare brand, inviting her to resell its products. She would not buy stock up front; the brand would post each parcel. Before she says yes, she wants to know what she is agreeing to.

The tour has three steps on the invite page that opens from the supplier's link: who is inviting her, How it works, and Ask to join.

Why read the terms before joining?

Because reselling changes how you are paid. With your own products, the buyer's money is yours when it arrives. With a supplier's products, the buyer pays, the supplier keeps its price, and your share comes later. How much later, at what price and with what conditions are all set by the supplier. An invite that states those terms plainly, in the same words for every seller, lets you decide in a minute rather than after a week of messages.

Step by step

1. Open the invite link. At 12:00 Amira taps the link Northern Skincare Co sent her. A page opens with the supplier's name at the top and the heading "Sell Northern Skincare Co's products".

2. Read the one-line offer. Under the heading, a single sentence sums it up: add their products to your shop at your own price; they ship, you earn. That is the whole model. Everything below it is the detail.

3. Check the currency. The first line under How it works is Sells in: Pounds. A supplier can only invite sellers in its own country, so prices, delivery and payment all stay in one currency.

4. See how many products. Products: 14. That is the size of the range she would be able to add. She does not have to add all of them; she will choose on the Resell page.

5. Understand how she earns. How you earn: sellers choose the price, above a minimum. Amira sets her own price for each product, as long as it is at or above the supplier's floor, and keeps the difference between her price and the supplier's price to sellers.

6. Note when she is paid. Paid after: 7 days after delivery. Earnings wait a week after each parcel arrives, so a return in that time can be handled before money changes hands. Amira can plan around a payout that comes about a week behind sales.

7. See who approves. Joining: Northern Skincare Co approves each seller. She is asking, not signing up instantly. The supplier gets to look at her shop before saying yes.

8. Tap Ask to join. At 12:02, satisfied with the terms, Amira taps the large Ask to join button. A box underneath changes to Request sent, with the note "You can sell once they approve you" and a Waiting for approval label.

9. Wait for approval, then set prices. Once the supplier approves her, the range appears on her Resell page. There she sees the supplier's rule beside each price box and chooses what to charge. The reseller tour later in her day shows that step.

The invite terms in one table

A quick example with the sample body butter: the supplier's price to sellers is £9.50 and its minimum is £12. If Amira sells at £13.50, she earns £4 on each one. At the minimum she would earn £2.50.

Tips before you ask to join

• Check the range fits your shop. Fourteen skincare products sit well beside candles and lip balm; fourteen power tools would confuse your followers.
• Work out what you would earn on two or three products before you join. If the gap between the supplier's price and a price your followers will pay is small, it may not be worth it.
• Plan for the delay. Paid seven days after delivery means a good week of sales pays out the week after.
• Ask the supplier about delivery times. Your buyers will hold you responsible, even though the supplier sends the parcel.
• Join one supplier at a time. Learn how its orders and payouts work before adding another.

Common mistakes

Joining without reading How it works. The terms are short, but they decide when and how you are paid. Read every line.

Assuming instant approval. Ask to join sends a request. Do not announce the new range to followers until it appears on your Resell page.

Pricing at the minimum by default. The minimum protects the supplier's brand. It is not a recommendation, and often leaves you very little.

Expecting to choose your own supplier from a list. There is no directory. If you want to resell a brand, ask it to send you an invite.

What should you do next?

Carry on with the day's orders while the request is pending. In the afternoon, Amira drops off a parcel and takes cash; the delivered tour shows how she records it. In the evening tour, the supplier's range is approved and she sets her prices, shares them and sees her earnings.

The pricing guide and the markup versus margin guide are the best preparation for setting resale prices. The cash flow guide explains how a seven-day hold on earnings affects the money you have to hand.

How EasyTaskr helps

In Share & Sell, a supplier's invite link opens a page that sets out its terms: the currency, the number of products, how you earn, when you are paid and whether it approves each seller. Ask to join sends your request, and once approved the range appears on your Resell page.