What do gray market "US warehouses" look like?

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krsct

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When you hear "US Warehouse," the image that comes to mind is probably a big facility, plenty of square footage, and wooden pallets loaded with goods. My hunch, though, is that in the gray market these so-called US warehouses are usually just a shop in some random strip mall—or maybe even somebody's basement or garage. Does anyone actually know what they're like?
 
Not exactly "news"...

Could just be a storage unit...when you're sitting on thousands of vials of unidentified white or purple powder and shipping out hundreds of orders weekly, drawing a lot of attention isn't something you'd want.
 
My own guess — and it is only that — is that these are small US companies running ”Skinny Shot” style offerings (or gyms). Their compensation could be free product, a cut of each order, or possibly both.
 
Minkster said:

Typically it's just somebody's apartment
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I came away with the same sense — these are just people's apartments, houses, or garages.
 
krsct said:

When you hear "US Warehouse," the image that comes to mind is probably a big facility, plenty of square footage, and wooden pallets loaded with goods. My hunch, though, is that in the gray market these so-called US warehouses are usually just a shop in some random strip mall—or maybe even somebody's basement or garage. Does anyone actually know what they're like?
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At the start...

Chinese suppliers mostly relied on genuine (though I won't call them legitimate) 3PL operations as their US "warehouses," and these facilities were nearly always Chinese-owned, Chinese-run, and Chinese-staffed.

Later on, certain suppliers shifted toward recruiting private people—often originally buyers or local sellers—to act as "warehouses." Under the 3PL arrangement a supplier might keep 1 to 3 warehouses, but with this newer approach they brought in multiple individuals and scattered stock among them, capping what any one "warehouse" held at a level they could afford to write off if that person cheated them. That is chiefly why a lot of suppliers struggle to track inventory, run into delays, or fall back on shipping from China: these folks running a warehouse out of a garage or spare bedroom are, at best, tracking things with email and spreadsheets rather than a WMS (warehouse management system).
 
ZippityDooDah said:

At the start...

Chinese suppliers mostly relied on genuine (though I won't call them legitimate) 3PL operations as their US "warehouses," and these facilities were nearly always Chinese-owned, Chinese-run, and Chinese-staffed.

Later on, certain suppliers shifted toward recruiting private people—often originally buyers or local sellers—to act as "warehouses." Under the 3PL arrangement a supplier might keep 1 to 3 warehouses, but with this newer approach they brought in multiple individuals and scattered stock among them, capping what any one "warehouse" held at a level they could afford to write off if that person cheated them. That is chiefly why a lot of suppliers struggle to track inventory, run into delays, or fall back on shipping from China: these folks running a warehouse out of a garage or spare bedroom are, at best, tracking things with email and spreadsheets rather than a WMS (warehouse management system).
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That's quite fascinating, and as you point out, it sheds light on why inventory accuracy is such an issue. I've made 1 purchase from a US warehouse and 1 from China. Waiting on shipments from China is a hassle, but the spotty and scarce US stock made buying from overseas unavoidable.
 
ZippityDooDah said:

At the start...

Chinese suppliers mostly relied on genuine (though I won't call them legitimate) 3PL operations as their US "warehouses," and these facilities were nearly always Chinese-owned, Chinese-run, and Chinese-staffed.

Later on, certain suppliers shifted toward recruiting private people—often originally buyers or local sellers—to act as "warehouses." Under the 3PL arrangement a supplier might keep 1 to 3 warehouses, but with this newer approach they brought in multiple individuals and scattered stock among them, capping what any one "warehouse" held at a level they could afford to write off if that person cheated them. That is chiefly why a lot of suppliers struggle to track inventory, run into delays, or fall back on shipping from China: these folks running a warehouse out of a garage or spare bedroom are, at best, tracking things with email and spreadsheets rather than a WMS (warehouse management system).
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It seems like someone could make money off this...
 
Alright then. This is a heads-up aimed at every vendor out there: as of now, I am officially putting myself forward to serve as your US warehouse. So feel free to begin sending those peptides my way!
 
Mr. Blonde said:

Alright then. This is a heads-up aimed at every vendor out there: as of now, I am officially putting myself forward to serve as your US warehouse. So feel free to begin sending those peptides my way!
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Didn't that PP woman pull the same move, taking off with a garage packed with stock (or was it Uther?)? Anyone familiar with what went down there?
 
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