Frequently Asked Questions

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What do I need to qualify?

Minimum eligibility criteria include:

· $5,000 or more in average monthly revenue, per SKU, and at least $30,000+ in average monthly revenue in aggregate across all SKUs

· At least 3 months of consistent sales history (don’t worry if you have been out of stock for a couple of months- in this case we will look back a bit further to try and understand your “in-stock” sales rate)

· The bulk (at least 75%) of your business needs to be e-Commerce / direct-to-consumer (‘DTC’). If you sell a lot to wholesalers, then we are probably not a good fit for you.

· You use Amazon FBA and/or third-party warehouse companies (3PLs) in any of the US, UK or EU for your storage and fulfillment (We do not partner with companies that use their own warehouses for ecommerce fulfilment)

· The business must be incorporated (i.e., corporations or limited liability companies)

What information do you need to verify my business?

In order to provide you with an offer and to onboard you as a partner, we will need to verify identities and analyze some data about your products. The good news is, we are not a bank or a venture capital investor, so the information we need is much simpler and less intrusive. We only care about your products. The information we will need includes the following:

· Connect us to your selling accounts (e.g., Amazon, Shopify etc.) This will allow us to analyze your sales history and understand your products in more detail

· We will also need to understand your Forecast sales numbers over the next 12 months – we appreciate this can be difficult to accurately estimate, so we will make our own assumptions if you don’t have your forecasts ready

· We will need to understand your supplier terms – your minimum order amounts, lead times and other bits and pieces like this. This allows us to understand how much capital will be needed to ensure you remain in stock!

· We will need to understand a little more about your logistical set up (where you store your products and how you get them there)

We have a great team on standby to help you understand our application in more detail and gather the information you need.

Is partnering with Forever 8 a good fit for my business?

If the criteria below sounds familiar, we are probably a good fit for you:

· You have a product-based Amazon, e-commerce or direct-to-consumer company

· You’re profitable

· You turn your inventory in 120 days or less (recommended)

· You are looking for ways to expand

· Replenishment is constrained and you frequently find yourself out of stock.

· Marketing is limited due to capital tied up in inventory.

· Inventory funding prevents new product development

· You are looking for a long-term partner that will be there to buy as much stock as you need to satisfy the demand

Are my products suitable?

The following points are important to us:

· Your products have been sold online for at least 3 months (e.g., on Amazon, eBay, online shop, etc.) – we do not fund inventory for new product launches

· Your products have a shelf life of at least 2 years

· Your products are ready for sale (i.e., goods to be sold immediately and not raw materials)

· The sale price of your product is $500 or lower

· The following products are excluded: Weapons, ammunition, branded watches, alcohol, perishable goods, electronics with a short product life cycle (mobile phones, laptops, TVs)

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How does repayment and mark-up work?

Once onboarded, we will be fully connected to your 3PLs and sales platforms, so we will know how many units you are shipping each month.  At the end of each month, we will look at how much you have shipped and charge you for those units.

As we simply charge you for units as you ship them, there is no fixed repayment amount each month, no interest charges ticking away and no pressure on you to have to sell a certain amount

If I am already using other working capital loans or wish to in the future, can I use Forever 8 funding at the same time?

While partnering with us, nothing prevents you raising equity from investors, taking on other forms of working capital loans, or even taking on long term debt. Our solution is completely off-balance sheet, so we can remain your inventory partner for a long time and be a long-term source of capital alongside other capital sources.

How long do funds take to arrive?

Once you have been onboarded, we will pay you for any on-hand inventory or re-imburse supplier deposits within 1-2 business days.

How much inventory will Forever 8 buy?

We commit to funding all the inventory you need while we are working together.  How much this ends up being depends on how quickly you grow and how much stock you need.  Our “average” customer ends up needing about $200,000 of our capital over the course of our partnership.  However, we can fund up to $15 million of capital per customer.

One important way that we are different from many other working capital solutions in the market, is that our capital commitment is uncapped. When we onboard you as a customer, we will look at your forecasts and make an estimate of how much capital we think you will need – BUT this is not a fixed number built into our agreement with you – if you grow rapidly and your new marketing strategies triple your growth we are committed to keep buying as much inventory as you need to fuel your growth. We are a long-term partner, not a short-term working capital solution.

How much is the mark-up typically?

We come in as your inventory buying partner.  We commit to buying all the inventory you currently own and all the inventory needed to fuel your growth.  We then charge you for that inventory on a monthly basis, after you have sold it.

In exchange for this, we mark up the cost of your inventory, so you end up paying a bit more for it than had you bought it off your supplier yourself.  Our mark-up on your inventory depends on your products but is typically 10-15% above your supplier cost.  For example, if you normally pay your supplier $10.00 for a unit of inventory, if you partner with us, you will end up paying between $11.00 and $11.50 for it (after you have sold it!)

How does my fee pricing work?

We give you a Unique Fee Schedule for each SKU based on the following metrics:

· Supplier Costs

· Supplier Terms

· Lead Time

· Current Inventory Levels

· Historical Sales Velocity

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Will Forever 8 actually pay me for my current inventory and how much?

Yes! Upon signing, we will buy any sellable inventory that you have in your fulfilment centers, immediately freeing up capital for you to spend however you see fit.

We will pay you at the cost per unit that you originally paid your supplier.  We do not reimburse you for shipping, duties, or taxes.

In addition, for existing orders that have been placed with suppliers, we will reimburse you for any deposits paid on approved SKUS and will commit to funding any balance of payments due to suppliers when that order is ready to ship. If your Inventory is In-Transit, we will need to wait until it arrives at your 3PL/FBA, before we can pay you for it.

What is the process?

We come in as your inventory buying partner.  We commit to buying all the inventory you currently own and all the inventory needed to fuel your growth.  You tell us what amounts you want to buy and we pay your supplier directly. We then charge you for that inventory on a monthly basis, after you have sold it.

How much inventory can I order with Forever 8 and how do I place the order?

We mutually agree on a minimum inventory amount prior to signing our partnership.  Once your inventory levels fall below that amount, Forever 8 is legally bound to order more inventory for you.  You are never obligated to order more inventory at any time, hence you decide if and when to order

To place an order, you just notify Forever 8 of the SKUs and amounts you would like to order and Forever 8 raises a Purchase Order with your supplier and pays your supplier directly.

How long does it take to send me pricing and onboard me as a customer?

Once you have completed our online application and connected us with your selling platforms, we can typically provide you with pricing within 72 hours.  If you decide to move forward, we will have to complete onboarding, which can be as quick as a few days.  If there are delays in getting us the information we need, then the onboarding process will take longer.

How long do we partner for?

All our partnerships are for a minimum of one year, but our contract is open ended and we would like to remain your partner for many years. During the course of the year, you are required to purchase all of your inventory through us (your ultimate supplier stays the same). At the end of a year, you can elect to have us stop being your intermediary supplier and sell through whatever inventory remains.

How do you know what I have sold?

We track all your shipments for the purpose of our billing every month.  We do this by accessing your 3PL accounts and Sales Platforms, so that we can pull inventory reports at any time.

Do you have to fund the inventory for all my SKUs?

No. We can partner with businesses by funding just a sub-set of SKUs. You can add more SKUs to the ones we fund over time, if you want.

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Will my supplier and 3PL be aware of your involvement?

Yes. Part of the onboarding exercise involves meeting your 3PL and Supplier to explain the nature of our partnership. This is very straightforward and most suppliers and 3PLS are used to their customers having capital partners.

Will I need to change my 3PL or anything to do with my logistics?

We understand how hard it can be to find great freight forwarders and 3PL partners, so no, we do not require you to change a thing. Aside from us being the owner of your inventory prior to sale, really very little about your business will change (except for the fact you should be out of stock less and will hopefully be growing much faster!).

We also don’t get involved in running your business at all – aside from us paying your suppliers and billing you each month, you will remain responsible for dealing with all aspects of your business, getting your stock delivered on time and any other day-to-day operations.

Who pays for shipping, duties and taxes?

We are an inventory capital partner, which means we only pay for the supplier costs of your inventory. You will need to pay for all taxes, duties, and shipping costs, required to get your products sellable on your platform.

In the event you are bringing goods into the UK or EU, we will fund the VAT due on importing the goods, as the inventory is in our name. When we bill you at the end of each month for the units sold, we will be adding VAT to our bills.

What if my supplier terms change?

We would issue you a new mark-up schedule based on the new Supplier Terms.          

What if my supplier costs change?

Our Fee Schedule will change with your supplier costs, so if your prices go up or down, so will your mark-up.

What if my 3PL changes?

We would need to contact your new 3PL, prior to moving the inventory, to make them aware of our relationship.

What if I change suppliers?

We would need to evaluate the Supplier prior to funding a new Purchase order with them.

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Can you help my business in other ways, aside from just funding inventory?

Our core offering is Inventory Capital. However, as part of this, given we are the owners of the inventory, we will end up helping you in several ways at no extra cost, including:

· Forecasting – we have tools that help accurately forecast inventory needs and buying requirements.  You may not need our help here, which is totally fine, but if you do, then a lot of our customers find our insights and tools in this department very helpful!

· Lost Inventory – you may or may not be aware, but 3PLs / Amazon frequently ‘lose’ inventory. We appreciate that 3PLs and Amazon tools are often hard to navigate, but we are tracking your inventory every month and have gotten pretty good at figuring out where stuff has gone. A lot of our customers find this insight extremely helpful and are benefitting from being able to recoup the cost of lost stock that they previously were unaware of.

· Amazon- we have an in-house team of Amazon experts that are on-hand to help you sell more. We don’t charge for this and don’t come in and tell you how to run your business. However, if you are struggling with advertising strategies, or find your listings are getting suppressed, then we will be on-hand to help you work through these issues.

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Will applying affect my credit?

We determine eligibility by analyzing your actual business metrics, so applying for an advance with Forever 8 Fund will NOT affect your credit score.

Why is no personal guarantee or private liability necessary?

We screen for healthy businesses for items and brands we believe can work. Our partnerships don’t require you to give personal guarantees or even security on your business, as we will be the owner of your inventory. As owner of your inventory, we are your true partner – we are taking product risk alongside you and our security is in place due to the fact that we own the inventory.

Which platforms can I sell on?

Amazon, l eBay, Walmart, and leading e-Commerce platforms (including Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.),

What if something happens to my business and I cannot sell the inventory?

Firstly, we are a team of product and e-Commerce experts, so if your business is struggling then we will be on-hand to provide you as much help as you need to get back on track and help you sell through the inventory.

However, we all know business is unpredictable and, if something unforeseen has happened, then you will always have the right to simply buy the inventory back off us.  If you are unable to do so, then we will simply part ways and sell your stock directly ourselves.  If we cannot sell it, that’s our problem – we have no recourse to you or your business for unsold inventory.

What if I want to sell my brand?

We understand that selling your brand can sometimes be your ultimate goal.  If you decide to sell your brand, our Agreement will pass on to the buyer of the brand.  Alternatively, as long as you are current with you obligation to us, we will allow you to terminate our partnership after a six-month period with us for a third-party sale.

What if I want to launch new products?

If you launch a new product that is related to your existing portfolio (new color or function), then we will likely just add it to our Agreement.  If it is an unrelated product, we would need 3 months of sales history.

What if I want to add more platforms to my brand?

If it is a platform we cover, we simply connect to that platform to monitor your sales.  If not, get in touch with us, and we should be able to find a solution!

What if I sell internationally?

We currently can service partners in the US, UK, & EU.           

What happens if I make a sale to another business or bulk order?

We would invoice you as if was an online sale. Nothing changes.                                                                

Never worry about inventory capital again

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