Add A Wholesaler Approvement and Management Script to Your Site
There are lots of ways to skin this particular cat. Here’s how we tackled it on one recent project.
Workflow
The general workflow is simple: the prospective wholesaler applies, the administrator approves or denies them and then approved wholesalers can place orders at the reduced price.
Script Flow
The first step is for wholesalers to register as a wholesaler. This form would need to include all standard fields (name, address, phone, etc) as well as their resale ID. Although they are registered, they are not yet approved.
Once registered, the system should send an alert to the site administrator indicating they have a new wholesaler to manage.
Using a management script in an HTTP-AUTH protected directory, the administrator reviews each application. A single click approves the wholesaler, another click sends them a password. (These are two clicks for a reason–it could be combined into one.)
The wholesaler then authenticates themselves on the site. If they forgot their password, they can request that the server send it to them.
The order page is just another PayPal or Mal’s-E shopping page.
The administrator can disable users if necessary and can add, modify or delete them through an administrator screen.