contract agreements with large companies

[ajc]

Hi – I am looking for any advice on the following if you can help!
I have a product that I can sell to diy wholesalers (B&Q etc) as well as building companies, but I have no idea about the general orders and contracts these companies will place.
My strategy is to offer x amount @ £y with the price increasing by 5% for every increment of 10,000 less than x. is this standard practise?
Is it acceptable to negotiate with both markets to promote and market my product as part of this cost to the end user? Or will this have to be negotiated separately on a contract? or will this have to be done by me?
Thanks

[Statler]

Hi,

First of all, have you actually approached the likes of B&Q to find out if they are interested in your product? Making contact with the relevant people, ie the Buyers, would be my own issue, before I started worrying about the size of the orders they may or may not place.

Lee

[ajc]

i haven't yet as i'm in the process of deciding whether to have a patent first to ensure it can't be copied. is this the best course of action to take or is it uneccessary if i've already got the product manufactured?
thanks for your advice lee

[Statler]

Hi,

It's definitely worth finding out if you can patent your product, or in fact, if the idea has already been patented! You can find out more at:

www.patent.gov.uk

Lee

[ajc]

thanks lee - i will look into before i get the product manufactured or market it to buyers. any advice about how contracts normally work ref marketing products etc??

[Statler]

Hi,

There's some information about contracts with other businesses in the Be Your Own Boss section:

http://shell-livewire.org/beyourownboss/main.php?catid=2&subcatid=25&artid=1046696102.082

Was that the kind of thing you were looking for?

Lee

[ajc]

will have a look and let you know - thanks again