Can I buy wholesale clothing without KvK?
Yes. We don't ask for a KvK number (your registration number with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce). You buy blank menswear from 1 pack of 8 pieces per article, and an order is at least 250 euro excluding VAT. A starter who first wants to see whether their webshop takes off gets the same prices, article numbers, packs and delivery time as a business that has been around for years.
That isn't a given. Search for wholesale clothing without KvK and you mostly find suppliers who want to see a business account before you get a price.
Why does a wholesaler usually ask for a KvK number?
Because a wholesaler supplies businesses. According to the KvK, that's why you can often only buy wholesale if you have a KvK number. That is the wholesaler's own policy; we haven't found a legal requirement in any source.
The reasons are practical. Prices are listed excluding VAT, because business buyers reclaim that VAT. And a wholesaler doesn't want consumers who send back one piece after two weeks. A KvK number is then a quick filter.
We don't use that filter. If you buy clothing to resell, you often don't have a registration yet on the day you want to test your first pack. The rules on VAT and returns still apply; only the barrier to getting started is gone.
What changes when you buy without KvK?
Three things: the VAT, the invoice and the risk. All prices are excluding VAT, and the VAT is added on top on your invoice. According to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst), a VAT entrepreneur deducts that purchase VAT from the VAT they charge themselves. As long as you aren't a VAT entrepreneur, you can't, and the VAT is a cost.
The invoice is made out to the name you give in your request, even if that's your own name. Reverse charging VAT, so an invoice without VAT, is only possible with us for a business delivery to another EU country, with a valid VAT identification number from the buyer.
Then the risk. Wholesale purchases come with no returns: the statutory cooling-off period of 14 days applies to consumers, not to a business purchase. In law, a consumer is someone acting outside their business or professional activity. If you buy to resell, you generally fall outside that, even without a registration. What you don't sell stays your stock. We exchange a wrong or damaged article.
What price do you work with without a VAT number?
With the price including 21 percent VAT. That standard rate applies to everything that isn't exempt and doesn't fall under the reduced rate, and clothing isn't on that reduced list. So multiply every unit price excluding VAT by 1.21: that's what the article really costs you. For a pack of 8 you do the same with the pack price from your quote, and you add the shipping costs too.
On the selling side, a price you show to consumers includes VAT. If you aren't a VAT entrepreneur, your margin is the difference between what you charge and what the pack cost you including VAT. How to work that out step by step is in our article on calculating margin on wholesale clothing.
When do you need to register with the KvK?
When you meet all three of the KvK's criteria. You independently supply products or services, or are preparing to. You charge a price for them that earns you money, so more than it cost you. And you regularly supply to others than just family or friends. A hobby that only costs you money isn't a business.
If you buy clothing to resell at a profit, in practice you quickly meet those three criteria. According to the KvK, you can also register while you're preparing to start, for example because you want to buy a collection. From your registration, the Belastingdienst sees you as an entrepreneur; whether you're also one for income tax, the Belastingdienst assesses separately.
Do you pay tax if you sell without KvK?
On your profit, usually yes. If you buy goods and sell them at a profit, the Belastingdienst sees that as a source of income and you pay tax on that profit, with no minimum amount. If you aren't an entrepreneur for income tax, that income generally counts as income from other work, without the right to schemes such as the self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek).
Only people who sell as a hobby or in a private capacity usually pay no income tax on it.
For VAT, you're an entrepreneur if you independently run a business and regularly earn income from it; according to the Belastingdienst, whether you make a profit or a loss doesn't matter. As a VAT entrepreneur you charge VAT to your customers, pay it to the Belastingdienst and generally deduct the VAT on business costs as input tax.
If your turnover is no more than 20,000 euro per calendar year, you can opt for the small businesses scheme (KOR). You then charge no VAT to customers and file no VAT return, but you also don't reclaim VAT on costs and investments, so not on purchased clothing either. If your turnover goes over that threshold in a year, according to the Belastingdienst you deregister straight away.
How do you start a webshop without KvK?
Start small, in this order. You don't need to arrange everything on day one.
- Pick a few articles that fit your range, 1 pack of 8 pieces per article, together at least 250 euro.
- Work out your selling price with the purchase price including VAT, the shipping costs and your own hours, before you order.
- Keep every invoice, even without a registration: your bookkeeping starts with your first purchase.
- Register with the KvK as soon as sales become regular, or earlier if you're preparing with a larger purchase.
- Then check with the Belastingdienst or an accountant whether the KOR suits you, or whether you'd rather deduct the VAT.
- Pass on your VAT number with your next request.
- Reorder what sells by article number, and leave what doesn't.
What can you buy at MakeaLabel without KvK?
You choose from 130 blank menswear articles, from stock and without a label. There's no price listed: you request the price for your whole selection in one go, and within 1 working day you get the unit price per article, excluding VAT. Your final unit price depends on your total order.
You buy per pack of 8 pieces of one article. A pack holds 1S, 3M, 2L, 1XL, 1XXL; without XXL, 1S, 3M, 2L, 2XL. Jeans and chinos in waist sizes come per pack of 12. From stock we deliver within 1 to 2 working days in the Netherlands. Shipping comes on top of the pack price: 15 euro per box in the Netherlands, 29.99 euro per box outside it.
We don't put a print, embroidery or your own neck label on stock blanks: they're ready to go as they are. Your own hangtags are possible, from 500 pieces. Want your own label in the clothing? Then it becomes your own production; for a wholesale customer that's from 100 pieces, with a sample first.