Hey guys, checking the vibe here. If there was a physical coffee bean warehouse in your city where you could just walk in, grab what you need at a fair price, and leave without any BS or friction — would you be interested? Does this sound better than your current coffee setup?
Hey guys, checking the vibe here. If there was a physical coffee bean warehouse in your city where you could just walk in, grab what you need at a fair price, and leave without any BS or friction — would you be interested? Does this sound better than your current coffee setup?
Hi everyone! I’ve probably been studying this topic for about a year already, and honestly I’m so tired of it that it’s just crazy. It feels like I’m mining obsidian, lol. But at the same time it’s quite interesting to me, since every day I learn a lot of new things.
Who can give me a hint? Because I don’t really trust AI, it makes up a lot of stuff.
For example, there is oil. Usually oil is produced in the USA or Canada. I am physically located in Chicago. I don’t really want to be a paper trader who can buy there, add 2 cents, and sell here — all of this will take about a month, back-to-back, no guarantees. For me it’s boring and not interesting. I don’t really like sitting in front of a computer for a long time, even though I’m forced to. I would rather spend time in some warehouse, even though I’ve never worked there.
So my logic would be to buy, for example, a truckload of canola oil from Canada, bring it to Chicago and sell it here by pallets, tons. Not by pounds, not by packs. Wholesale. Come, buy, take it, even right now. Within an hour. If you want — I’ll deliver it myself in two hours. I’m on the phone 24/7, even at 2 AM, I can deliver on Saturday and Sunday too. Certificates, documents — are there.
I don’t know the prices, I have no idea what the margin could be, but I’m not interested in squeezing every cent of margin — give me a couple of dollars on top and I’m yours for life.
And by logic it seems like everything matches, quite a useful service, probably. But in reality I’m already confused.
I started writing to oil factories to buy it or at least to find out prices. Nobody replied to me. I created a website of my wholesale business, wrote from a commercial email, with signatures, wrote with professional terms. Zero replies. Completely. Lol.
Well, that’s half the problem. If buying I will somehow manage. But how to sell it — I have no idea. It will arrive and what will I do? That’s it, we can finish there.
Of course I’m not going to buy without sales perspective, I will study the market fifteen times, I want to find out for how much they buy, for how much it is delivered, for how much warehouse costs, my own or 3PL, and if the economics make sense and there is a point — I’m ready tomorrow to throw a stack of money on the table and take the risk, I don’t care at all.
I also wouldn’t like to sell in packs or pounds, of course I would have some MOQ like from 1 pallet, I don’t want to deal with stores, ethnic stores, restaurants, it doesn’t interest me, so they bring my brain out all day over 5 pounds of oil. At the same time I’m probably not interested in selling 50 tons, since that’s also not my market at the start. I would like it later, but not at the start, because I can’t even sell 1 ton, what 50. I would like to sell at least 1–5–10 tons.
The biggest thing — how the hell to sell it. To whom. How. If I can’t buy it, then in selling it will probably be a catastrophe at all. ChatGPT says go to restaurants. Lol. Then it said go through the back doors of warehouses and look for a buyer. No, I’m not completely stupid and seem to be a bit smart and I understand that this is complete nonsense, but I still don’t see chances how to sell it. Although by logic — here is the oil, here take it, no need to wait two weeks, here are documents, market price, come and take it. This sale should work and be interesting. But I have no idea how to organize it.
Another interesting thing it said — brokers. I think they will ignore me too, probably, but that’s at least some direction of development.
In general maybe someone can at least direct me somewhere, because I’m just going in ten directions at once, lol.
Hi everyone! I’ve probably been studying this topic for about a year already, and honestly I’m so tired of it that it’s just crazy. It feels like I’m mining obsidian, lol. But at the same time it’s quite interesting to me, since every day I learn a lot of new things.
Who can give me a hint? Because I don’t really trust AI, it makes up a lot of stuff.
For example, there is oil. Usually oil is produced in the USA or Canada. I am physically located in Chicago. I don’t really want to be a paper trader who can buy there, add 2 cents, and sell here — all of this will take about a month, back-to-back, no guarantees. For me it’s boring and not interesting. I don’t really like sitting in front of a computer for a long time, even though I’m forced to. I would rather spend time in some warehouse, even though I’ve never worked there.
So my logic would be to buy, for example, a truckload of canola oil from Canada, bring it to Chicago and sell it here by pallets, tons. Not by pounds, not by packs. Wholesale. Come, buy, take it, even right now. Within an hour. If you want — I’ll deliver it myself in two hours. I’m on the phone 24/7, even at 2 AM, I can deliver on Saturday and Sunday too. Certificates, documents — are there.
I don’t know the prices, I have no idea what the margin could be, but I’m not interested in squeezing every cent of margin — give me a couple of dollars on top and I’m yours for life.
And by logic it seems like everything matches, quite a useful service, probably. But in reality I’m already confused.
I started writing to oil factories to buy it or at least to find out prices. Nobody replied to me. I created a website of my wholesale business, wrote from a commercial email, with signatures, wrote with professional terms. Zero replies. Completely. Lol.
Well, that’s half the problem. If buying I will somehow manage. But how to sell it — I have no idea. It will arrive and what will I do? That’s it, we can finish there.
Of course I’m not going to buy without sales perspective, I will study the market fifteen times, I want to find out for how much they buy, for how much it is delivered, for how much warehouse costs, my own or 3PL, and if the economics make sense and there is a point — I’m ready tomorrow to throw a stack of money on the table and take the risk, I don’t care at all.
I also wouldn’t like to sell in packs or pounds, of course I would have some MOQ like from 1 pallet, I don’t want to deal with stores, ethnic stores, restaurants, it doesn’t interest me, so they bring my brain out all day over 5 pounds of oil. At the same time I’m probably not interested in selling 50 tons, since that’s also not my market at the start. I would like it later, but not at the start, because I can’t even sell 1 ton, what 50. I would like to sell at least 1–5–10 tons.
The biggest thing — how the hell to sell it. To whom. How. If I can’t buy it, then in selling it will probably be a catastrophe at all. ChatGPT says go to restaurants. Lol. Then it said go through the back doors of warehouses and look for a buyer. No, I’m not completely stupid and seem to be a bit smart and I understand that this is complete nonsense, but I still don’t see chances how to sell it. Although by logic — here is the oil, here take it, no need to wait two weeks, here are documents, market price, come and take it. This sale should work and be interesting. But I have no idea how to organize it.
Another interesting thing it said — brokers. I think they will ignore me too, probably, but that’s at least some direction of development.
In general maybe someone can at least direct me somewhere, because I’m just going in ten directions at once, lol.
Hi everyone! I’ve probably been studying this topic for about a year already, and honestly I’m so tired of it that it’s just crazy. It feels like I’m mining obsidian, lol. But at the same time it’s quite interesting to me, since every day I learn a lot of new things.
Who can give me a hint? Because I don’t really trust AI, it makes up a lot of stuff.
For example, there is oil. Usually oil is produced in the USA or Canada. I am physically located in Chicago. I don’t really want to be a paper trader who can buy there, add 2 cents, and sell here — all of this will take about a month, back-to-back, no guarantees. For me it’s boring and not interesting. I don’t really like sitting in front of a computer for a long time, even though I’m forced to. I would rather spend time in some warehouse, even though I’ve never worked there.
So my logic would be to buy, for example, a truckload of canola oil from Canada, bring it to Chicago and sell it here by pallets, tons. Not by pounds, not by packs. Wholesale. Come, buy, take it, even right now. Within an hour. If you want — I’ll deliver it myself in two hours. I’m on the phone 24/7, even at 2 AM, I can deliver on Saturday and Sunday too. Certificates, documents — are there.
I don’t know the prices, I have no idea what the margin could be, but I’m not interested in squeezing every cent of margin — give me a couple of dollars on top and I’m yours for life.
And by logic it seems like everything matches, quite a useful service, probably. But in reality I’m already confused.
I started writing to oil factories to buy it or at least to find out prices. Nobody replied to me. I created a website of my wholesale business, wrote from a commercial email, with signatures, wrote with professional terms. Zero replies. Completely. Lol.
Well, that’s half the problem. If buying I will somehow manage. But how to sell it — I have no idea. It will arrive and what will I do? That’s it, we can finish there.
Of course I’m not going to buy without sales perspective, I will study the market fifteen times, I want to find out for how much they buy, for how much it is delivered, for how much warehouse costs, my own or 3PL, and if the economics make sense and there is a point — I’m ready tomorrow to throw a stack of money on the table and take the risk, I don’t care at all.
I also wouldn’t like to sell in packs or pounds, of course I would have some MOQ like from 1 pallet, I don’t want to deal with stores, ethnic stores, restaurants, it doesn’t interest me, so they bring my brain out all day over 5 pounds of oil. At the same time I’m probably not interested in selling 50 tons, since that’s also not my market at the start. I would like it later, but not at the start, because I can’t even sell 1 ton, what 50. I would like to sell at least 1–5–10 tons.
The biggest thing — how the hell to sell it. To whom. How. If I can’t buy it, then in selling it will probably be a catastrophe at all. ChatGPT says go to restaurants. Lol. Then it said go through the back doors of warehouses and look for a buyer. No, I’m not completely stupid and seem to be a bit smart and I understand that this is complete nonsense, but I still don’t see chances how to sell it. Although by logic — here is the oil, here take it, no need to wait two weeks, here are documents, market price, come and take it. This sale should work and be interesting. But I have no idea how to organize it.
Another interesting thing it said — brokers. I think they will ignore me too, probably, but that’s at least some direction of development.
In general maybe someone can at least direct me somewhere, because I’m just going in ten directions at once, lol.
Hey everyone,
I’m currently working in a logistics-heavy sales role. I consistently outperform seniors who’ve been here for 7+ years. While most people hate being on call, I love it. I’m picking up the phone on a Saturday night to solve an operational headache. I love the scale of this industry—the trucks, the warehouses, the engine roar.
For the past year, I’ve been obsessively studying commodity structures—everything from coffee bean supply chains to flour mill economics. My dream is to transition from pure office-based sales to owning a physical distribution hub.
The Plan: I want to buy FTL (Full Truckload) or containers of a standard commodity (sugar, flour, coffee, etc.), stock it in my own warehouse in Chicago, and sell it in 1–5 ton lots (break-bulk/LTL).
The Conflict: I’m not interested in being a "paper broker" sitting behind a screen for 12 hours. I want skin in the game and a physical presence. I’m also not looking to sell by the pound—Costco already won that war. I want to hit that "middle zone" where the giants don’t care and the small guys can't reach.
However, everywhere I look, it seems the gates are locked. 95% of the market is controlled by giants. I’ve tried picking the brains of AI (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini), but they just give me generic, contradictory fluff.
My main struggle is the "How":
In this industry, are sales strictly limited to cold emails and calls? Because I don't see any other way.
If I bring a truck of flour to a warehouse in Chicago—then what?
Nobody is "Googling" for wholesale flour in a way that leads to a sale.
Instagram/FB ads for bulk commodities feel like a joke.
Cold calling usually ends at a voicemail.
Cold emails have a 1% conversion rate (according to the AI).
It feels insane to take on the massive risk of renting a warehouse, buying the inventory, and handling the logistics, only to rely on a 1% conversion rate from a spam folder. I’ve put in too much work for that to be the only answer.
My question to the veterans: How does a new, physical player actually break into the local B2B loop? Is it all just "pavement pounding" and knocking on doors, or is there a layer of this industry I’m missing?
I know this sounds like a "newbie" post, but I genuinely have no one else to ask who actually knows the smell of a warehouse.
Any insight is appreciated.
Hey everyone,
I’m currently working in a logistics-heavy sales role. I consistently outperform seniors who’ve been here for 7+ years. While most people hate being on call, I love it. I’m picking up the phone on a Saturday night to solve an operational headache. I love the scale of this industry—the trucks, the warehouses, the engine roar.
For the past year, I’ve been obsessively studying commodity structures—everything from coffee bean supply chains to flour mill economics. My dream is to transition from pure office-based sales to owning a physical distribution hub.
The Plan: I want to buy FTL (Full Truckload) or containers of a standard commodity (sugar, flour, coffee, etc.), stock it in my own warehouse in Chicago, and sell it in 1–5 ton lots (break-bulk/LTL).
The Conflict: I’m not interested in being a "paper broker" sitting behind a screen for 12 hours. I want skin in the game and a physical presence. I’m also not looking to sell by the pound—Costco already won that war. I want to hit that "middle zone" where the giants don’t care and the small guys can't reach.
However, everywhere I look, it seems the gates are locked. 95% of the market is controlled by giants. I’ve tried picking the brains of AI (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini), but they just give me generic, contradictory fluff.
My main struggle is the "How":
In this industry, are sales strictly limited to cold emails and calls? Because I don't see any other way.
If I bring a truck of flour to a warehouse in Chicago—then what?
Nobody is "Googling" for wholesale flour in a way that leads to a sale.
Instagram/FB ads for bulk commodities feel like a joke.
Cold calling usually ends at a voicemail.
Cold emails have a 1% conversion rate (according to the AI).
It feels insane to take on the massive risk of renting a warehouse, buying the inventory, and handling the logistics, only to rely on a 1% conversion rate from a spam folder. I’ve put in too much work for that to be the only answer.
My question to the veterans: How does a new, physical player actually break into the local B2B loop? Is it all just "pavement pounding" and knocking on doors, or is there a layer of this industry I’m missing?
I know this sounds like a "newbie" post, but I genuinely have no one else to ask who actually knows the smell of a warehouse.
Any insight is appreciated.
Hey everyone,
I’m currently working in a logistics-heavy sales role. I consistently outperform seniors who’ve been here for 7+ years. While most people hate being on call, I love it. I’m picking up the phone on a Saturday night to solve an operational headache. I love the scale of this industry—the trucks, the warehouses, the engine roar.
For the past year, I’ve been obsessively studying commodity structures—everything from coffee bean supply chains to flour mill economics. My dream is to transition from pure office-based sales to owning a physical distribution hub.
The Plan: I want to buy FTL (Full Truckload) or containers of a standard commodity (sugar, flour, coffee, etc.), stock it in my own warehouse in Chicago, and sell it in 1–5 ton lots (break-bulk/LTL).
The Conflict: I’m not interested in being a "paper broker" sitting behind a screen for 12 hours. I want skin in the game and a physical presence. I’m also not looking to sell by the pound—Costco already won that war. I want to hit that "middle zone" where the giants don’t care and the small guys can't reach.
However, everywhere I look, it seems the gates are locked. 95% of the market is controlled by giants. I’ve tried picking the brains of AI (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini), but they just give me generic, contradictory fluff.
My main struggle is the "How":
In this industry, are sales strictly limited to cold emails and calls? Because I don't see any other way.
If I bring a truck of flour to a warehouse in Chicago—then what?
Nobody is "Googling" for wholesale flour in a way that leads to a sale.
Instagram/FB ads for bulk commodities feel like a joke.
Cold calling usually ends at a voicemail.
Cold emails have a 1% conversion rate (according to the AI).
It feels insane to take on the massive risk of renting a warehouse, buying the inventory, and handling the logistics, only to rely on a 1% conversion rate from a spam folder. I’ve put in too much work for that to be the only answer.
My question to the veterans: How does a new, physical player actually break into the local B2B loop? Is it all just "pavement pounding" and knocking on doors, or is there a layer of this industry I’m missing?
I know this sounds like a "newbie" post, but I genuinely have no one else to ask who actually knows the smell of a warehouse.
Any insight is appreciated.
Hey everyone,
I’m currently working in a logistics-heavy sales role. I consistently outperform seniors who’ve been here for 7+ years. While most people hate being on call, I love it. I’m picking up the phone on a Saturday night to solve an operational headache. I love the scale of this industry—the trucks, the warehouses, the engine roar.
For the past year, I’ve been obsessively studying commodity structures—everything from coffee bean supply chains to flour mill economics. My dream is to transition from pure office-based sales to owning a physical distribution hub.
The Plan: I want to buy FTL (Full Truckload) or containers of a standard commodity (sugar, flour, coffee, etc.), stock it in my own warehouse in Chicago, and sell it in 1–5 ton lots (break-bulk/LTL).
The Conflict: I’m not interested in being a "paper broker" sitting behind a screen for 12 hours. I want skin in the game and a physical presence. I’m also not looking to sell by the pound—Costco already won that war. I want to hit that "middle zone" where the giants don’t care and the small guys can't reach.
However, everywhere I look, it seems the gates are locked. 95% of the market is controlled by giants. I’ve tried picking the brains of AI (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini), but they just give me generic, contradictory fluff.
My main struggle is the "How":
In this industry, are sales strictly limited to cold emails and calls? Because I don't see any other way.
If I bring a truck of flour to a warehouse in Chicago—then what?
Nobody is "Googling" for wholesale flour in a way that leads to a sale.
Instagram/FB ads for bulk commodities feel like a joke.
Cold calling usually ends at a voicemail.
Cold emails have a 1% conversion rate (according to the AI).
It feels insane to take on the massive risk of renting a warehouse, buying the inventory, and handling the logistics, only to rely on a 1% conversion rate from a spam folder. I’ve put in too much work for that to be the only answer.
My question to the veterans: How does a new, physical player actually break into the local B2B loop? Is it all just "pavement pounding" and knocking on doors, or is there a layer of this industry I’m missing?
I know this sounds like a "newbie" post, but I genuinely have no one else to ask who actually knows the smell of a warehouse.
Any insight is appreciated.
Hey everyone,
I’m currently working in a logistics-heavy sales role. I consistently outperform seniors who’ve been here for 7+ years. While most people hate being on call, I love it. I’m picking up the phone on a Saturday night to solve an operational headache. I love the scale of this industry—the trucks, the warehouses, the engine roar.
For the past year, I’ve been obsessively studying commodity structures—everything from coffee bean supply chains to flour mill economics. My dream is to transition from pure office-based sales to owning a physical distribution hub.
The Plan: I want to buy FTL (Full Truckload) or containers of a standard commodity (sugar, flour, coffee, etc.), stock it in my own warehouse in Chicago, and sell it in 1–5 ton lots (break-bulk/LTL).
The Conflict: I’m not interested in being a "paper broker" sitting behind a screen for 12 hours. I want skin in the game and a physical presence. I’m also not looking to sell by the pound—Costco already won that war. I want to hit that "middle zone" where the giants don’t care and the small guys can't reach.
However, everywhere I look, it seems the gates are locked. 95% of the market is controlled by giants. I’ve tried picking the brains of AI (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini), but they just give me generic, contradictory fluff.
My main struggle is the "How":
In this industry, are sales strictly limited to cold emails and calls? Because I don't see any other way.
If I bring a truck of flour to a warehouse in Chicago—then what?
Nobody is "Googling" for wholesale flour in a way that leads to a sale.
Instagram/FB ads for bulk commodities feel like a joke.
Cold calling usually ends at a voicemail.
Cold emails have a 1% conversion rate (according to the AI).
It feels insane to take on the massive risk of renting a warehouse, buying the inventory, and handling the logistics, only to rely on a 1% conversion rate from a spam folder. I’ve put in too much work for that to be the only answer.
My question to the veterans: How does a new, physical player actually break into the local B2B loop? Is it all just "pavement pounding" and knocking on doors, or is there a layer of this industry I’m missing?
I know this sounds like a "newbie" post, but I genuinely have no one else to ask who actually knows the smell of a warehouse.
Any insight is appreciated.
Hey everyone,
I’m currently working in a logistics-heavy sales role. I consistently outperform seniors who’ve been here for 7+ years. While most people hate being on call, I love it. I’m picking up the phone on a Saturday night to solve an operational headache. I love the scale of this industry—the trucks, the warehouses, the engine roar.
For the past year, I’ve been obsessively studying commodity structures—everything from coffee bean supply chains to flour mill economics. My dream is to transition from pure office-based sales to owning a physical distribution hub.
The Plan: I want to buy FTL (Full Truckload) or containers of a standard commodity (sugar, flour, coffee, etc.), stock it in my own warehouse in Chicago, and sell it in 1–5 ton lots (break-bulk/LTL).
The Conflict: I’m not interested in being a "paper broker" sitting behind a screen for 12 hours. I want skin in the game and a physical presence. I’m also not looking to sell by the pound—Costco already won that war. I want to hit that "middle zone" where the giants don’t care and the small guys can't reach.
However, everywhere I look, it seems the gates are locked. 95% of the market is controlled by giants. I’ve tried picking the brains of AI (ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini), but they just give me generic, contradictory fluff.
My main struggle is the "How":
In this industry, are sales strictly limited to cold emails and calls? Because I don't see any other way.
If I bring a truck of flour to a warehouse in Chicago—then what?
Nobody is "Googling" for wholesale flour in a way that leads to a sale.
Instagram/FB ads for bulk commodities feel like a joke.
Cold calling usually ends at a voicemail.
Cold emails have a 1% conversion rate (according to the AI).
It feels insane to take on the massive risk of renting a warehouse, buying the inventory, and handling the logistics, only to rely on a 1% conversion rate from a spam folder. I’ve put in too much work for that to be the only answer.
My question to the veterans: How does a new, physical player actually break into the local B2B loop? Is it all just "pavement pounding" and knocking on doors, or is there a layer of this industry I’m missing?
I know this sounds like a "newbie" post, but I genuinely have no one else to ask who actually knows the smell of a warehouse.
Any insight is appreciated.