Forum

Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Anyone know of a good cheap place for an LLC? The ghost book says LegalZoom.com but anyone have other ideas?

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

You don't need legalzoom. Some states you can apply online.. fees vary.

I think the cheapest one is New Mexico for $50 and no annual fees.

Next best place is Wyoming for $100 in fees, and like $50 annually.

You'll need a registered agent which costs vary from state. Wyoming is like $29 a year.

I also did Nevada and they require a business license so total cost (not including registered agent) was something like $400+. Nevada you can fill out online easy. Also research free registered agent and you can get registered agent 1 year for free. After that it's $99 annually for registered agent. Also Nevada has annual fees I forget what it is exactly.

New mexico and wyoming you have to mail it out. Your registered agent may help you or answer questions / work with you / or do it all for you for a small fee.

Legalzoom and other services will charge you for something you can simply do on your own. Don't worry I was there where you are at, and found that it is pretty simple to do on your own.

By the way all the ones I mentioned are popular ones I've looked into. And they all have no income tax.

I've never done New Mexico yet. So if you look into that, please let me know how long it takes for everything to complete and how it went for you.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

And welcome to the forums by the way! I see this was your 1st post :)

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

yes thank you for the fast reply. I'm in California so I guess I'll look into the fees in that state.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

$800+ for California Lol

I would look somewhere else if I were you

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Problem is the friend's address I'm using is in California. Doesn't the LLC have to be in the same state or it doesn't matter to Amazon?

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Also, the only way to get an EIN number is to file LLC right? I'm in California by the way.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Corp, LLC, LLP, etc.... CA is one of the most expensive places. I would find an adviser and look at NV if I was in CA.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

How do you guys do it when you need a new EIN number? What is the cheapest option?

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Wyoming LLC is cheap, AND you are not even required to register with the state who the officers of the LLC's are. Perfect for stealth purposes. However if you do business in CA, you do have to register in CA as a foreign corporation.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

My main problem is that I don't have someone's name that I can use so I really need a new name plus a new social. I don't want to just make up a name because I want this to be a long term thing and want to be prepared in case Amz asks for more info. I was reading that a DBA will allow me to get a new name plus an EIN number for much cheaper than an LLC. Has anyone tried this? If so, why not just open DBA instead of doing the LLC which is much more expensive? I'm confused.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

DBA is YOUR and YOUR name doing business as(DBA) It links directly to you.

Some people have had success with this and some people have had issues. If you have no problems at all, then odds are you will be OK but there is always a risk.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

So even if I enter my DBA info when opening the Amz account such as "Susan Collections" on the name and my new EIN, Amz can still see the owner's name who filed the DBA?

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Some people have not had any problems at all and others have.

Question: How many items a month are you selling?

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Well, you do NOT have to have an existing LLC to get an EIN for the LLC. However, you eventually DO have to set one up. The IRS understands that business formations do not always happen as in step 1, step 2, step 3.

California is CRAZY EXPENSIVE for LLC formation. You can file for an LLC in ANY STATE that you like, the only requirement is that you have a REGISTERED AGENT in that state. Many companies will do this, some as cheap as $100 per year.

Some states have better tax rates, some have better privacy laws, etc. There are TONS of options. If you are unsure of what to do, you probably SHOULD get some professional advice. A mistake now could cost you a lot in the future.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

No I'm not selling anything as of yet, I bought ghost and doing all the research I can before opening the account. I want to get it right the first time. But yeah, I was looking at LLC and they are super expensive, that is why I was thinking of doing a DBA and getting an EIN number that way. I'm planning on this being an account with hundreds of sales a month.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

An EIN registered to you as a D/B/A will match against YOUR NAME. You want an LLC or a Corporation so that it will match against the BUSINESS NAME.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

You can be selling on amazon in 15 minutes or less. It takes me just about 8 minutes to open an Amazon account. You do not have to add tax information until you sell 50 items.
I know you dont want to hear this but you can have cash flow to help open your new company starting in just a few minutes.
You can open an unlimited amount of accounts if needed while you are getting established and like Jeff said, you can get an EIN in a few minutes for free when needed and then file your LLC/corp, etc... a month or two down the line but meanwhile you have cashflow.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Did you guys ever have Amazon ask for the owners ID or Passport in the US Amazon platform for an LLC account???

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

I have never been asked for an ID of any kind for any type of account on Amazon.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Me neither. That is not to say it CANNOT happen, but I think it is unlikely.

Re: Hello All, newbie here. Question about LLC
 

Never in the US, but in the UK you need to submit ID