Stock in the Channel hunts for VARs

Product sourcing newcomer seeks channel partners

Competition is hotting up in the online product sourcing space with newcomer Stock in the Channel on the hunt for partners.
The site – developed by the same team that formed e-commerce firm Lynx Internet – is aimed specifically at resellers. It enables UK VARs to view and compare all current IT stock and prices from distributors free of charge. The site is updated every half hour and products are updated on a daily basis.
Users enter a product name or number and can see stock availability, recommended retail price, open distributor price and an account price.
Tony Meyers, director at Stock in the Channel, said the company already has 700 resellers signed up, along with 20 distributors including Ingram Micro, Computer 2000 and Bell Micro.
“We have the capability to deal with every single distributor in the UK,” Meyers said, adding the site has details of more than 100,000 products.
For a £50 monthly fee, resellers can also become a registered customer and a cost of £250 a month enables partners to create their own web store linked to the site.
“It is going to save resellers a lot of time and allow the smaller independent VARs to take market share,” claimed Meyers.
Rupesh Vara, senior sales manager at ITdealer.com, a rival channel sourcing company, said: “ITdealer has put in sheer hard work to understand what our customers want and provide what we promised. We offer a unique service in the channel and see no serious competition.”
However, Meyers said: “Stock in the Channel is a similar set up to ITdealer, except it is free. What they sell, we give away.”
Ebay for resellers is launched by IT dealer