But we're not talking about sales tax right here. We're talking about Grainger's policy regarding who they will sell to, and who they won't. Their policy is that they sell only to businesses; the fact is that their definition of a "business" is lenient enough to include the sole proprietor working out of his own home.
When you order off the Web site they collect sales tax. The local branch belongs to the same company, so it's also "set up to collect sales tax" and they've never asked me for a tax number in the branch and have always collected tax. If you have a tax number they'll take it but they don't require it.
I'm not sure I see your point. All that last says is that "We'll charge you sales tax unless you have a tax number".
You seem to be more interested in what a Web site says than in what happens in the real world and in the real world you walk into Grainger with money and a need for a product that they have in stock and they're more than happy to take your money and give you the product.
Try it. They're not going to shoot you.
They've changed, then...but it's been quite a while since I was where there was a local one. There, "no account, no sale" and no cash sales, only "on-account" and no tax on the invoices. Or, maybe local outlets didn't all operate under the same rules, only have the one to compare to.
Given the words on the web site that pretty much mirrored that, I figured that was still their operational mode...
What with the web sales and advent of integrated inventory and collection software, not too surprising they've "modernized". I've not bought anything direct from Grainger or McMaster-Carr in ten years as the local machine shop gets orders in next or second day routinely and since the shipping is amortized over the larger volume it's much more convenient and usually still cheaper after they take their cut to simply get them to place the order since they also just add it to the monthly statement.
As a retail business operator in New York State I have to track sales tax "exempt" purchases for in-house use and pay the appropriate tax due. This applies to out of state/internet purchases, purchases made on an Indian reservation. etc. as well. Sales tax is considered an end user tax and the end user is ultimately responsible for paying the tax if it was not collected by the seller.
Agreed, but I had to submit proof (NYS reseller certificate) before I was able to purchase from Grainger.
I imagine that what constitutes acceptable "business identification" may vary from one Grainger store to the next, and can be affected by state law as well. Indiana has a much less aggressive regulatory climate than New York.
BTDT, To open my own business account I had to submit proof I was a valid business operator (NYS resale certificate).
Robert Bonomi wrote: ...
Depends on _which_ tax id one is referring to...
As far as I'm concerned, it's a moot point. I opened an account at Grainger with a business card. The only other information they asked for was how I planned to pay for purchases (i.e. if I wanted to open a credit account). Told them, Nope, I'll pay as I go, with cash or check. Took less than five minutes.
Undoubtedly...just pedantic mode on... :)
OP should try and see what it takes in his situation.
As noted elsewhere, there's not one local here, so the cost-effective and convenient way for me is to let the guys at the machine shop add order and pick it up next day or the day after at worst and since got to go to town to get the mail anyway, no additional effort to stop by on the way to/from...in TN, there was one not too far away, but at that time, at least, they were open-account only and it took a fair-sized account to get through the approval process. But that's getting to be quite some time ago now although it's easy to forget how long that has actually been... :)
It's been 5 years now, but I opened my account through their website. I know for a fact that I didn't do it in person at the store. Simple, easy, no questions, no hassle. A company name required, but no tax number necessary - neither a taxpayer ID nor a sales tax exemption certificate (whichever one is meant by the term "tax number"). I don't recall if the online application had a field for such a number, but if there was one, it wasn't a _required_ field.
I recently noticed that fasteners had been added to their catalog. Last night, out of curiosity, I made a search for square drive/Robertson screws in their online catalog and didn't find any obvious references, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the McFeely product line - including the square drive items - show up in their catalog at some point.
I pay by credit card so if/when I need something it's just place a "Will Call" order online, give them the credit card number, stop by the store the next time I go by there, sign for it, and I'm on my way. Quick, easy, maybe not the least expensive source, but my experience has been that the quality is generally better. And it's no question that it's a lot more convenient than trying to deal with the BORG drones or sort through bins trying to find something that actually matches the label on the bin.
I know some folks are leery about CC transactions online, but I've never had a minute's trouble. One of my requirements for an account (credit, demand deposit, etc.) with any financial institution is that they provide online/download access to the account. A scheduled task runs on my computer every morning that downloads all transactions from all my open accounts. That gives me notification within 24 hours of any transactions posted to that account. Have yet to see a single unauthorized transaction from Grainger, or any other source for that matter.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
Who said anything about "opening my own business account"?
Might be the Person Behind The Counter, too. My Dad and I used to buy anything we needed from Graybar in Jacksonville, FL. One day I went in to get some watertight conduit for the boat and the PBTC told me he wouldn't sell to me without either an electrician's license or a building permit. So I asked to talk to his supervisor and explained the situation, including the fact that they don't issue building permits for modifications made to boats and the supervisor tore the twit a new one and I walked out with my conduit.
Some PBTCs need to be LARTed a few times before they get it through their heads that their job is to sell stuff, not drum up business for members of the IBEW or whoever.
J. Clarke wrote: ...
Sometimes, undoubtedly.
However, the thing w/ the Grainger in TN was that there were no cash sales of any kind -- everything was open-account so w/o the account, you didn't walk away w/ (anything except an account application, perhaps). Very handy as didn't have to have the checkbook or cash and made the transaction quick and sweet....of course, that was pushing 20 years ago now--it's depressing to realize that in some ways, refreshing in others... :)
As that was the only place ever was that had a local outlet, I assumed that was they operated everywhere.
--
Well I tried ordering from the website some time ago. Keep in mind I live in NH with no sales tax, so regardless they weren't going to be charging me any tax. But they sent me back an email saying they couldn't verify my business. So I took my order to McMaster where I didn't have to deal with any hoops to jump through.
-Leuf
Interesting. They never asked me about a business at all that I can recall. But maybe they've figured out now that they can make more by actually selling product than they can by alienating potential customers.
-snip-
What's the task? I think it's a great idea and would be interested in getting a copy myself, so any info to that end that you'd be willing to share would be appreciated.
Thanx Renata
Will you now have a web site that will accept overseas destinations with easy payment options and delivery addresses as opposed to the hoops and things that were required before? Thanks.
******eat the samoosa to reply
Well, it's nothing that I wrote, though I suspect a script/macro could be written to do the job. I use Quicken for all my financial records. One of the built in features is a "One Step Update" which can be configured to go online and update not only the program itself, but also any accounts which have been enabled for online access. That update operation can be set to run at scheduled times.
I have a couple of complaints with the program. First, if the update fails for any reason, it leaves a copy of Quicken running without a user interface. The only way I've found to shut the "background" task down and allow a "foreground" copy with a GUI to run, other than to restart the computer, is to kill the process using Task Manager. The other complaint is that the scheduled task doesn't run as a service which means the user has to be logged on to the machine in order for the task to run. Neither one is a 'deal killer' for me, but I do find it a little aggravating.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.