Google Answer Experts!  I hope you can help me with this
one...hopefully some of you have direct experience in this field! 
Here it is:
 
I would like to find out detailed information on how to start to sell
cellular phones over the web nationally for the top 6 carriers and the
terms/conditions associated (franchise fees? min. sales volume?
margin? fulfillment options? profit potential per line? residual
commission on activations? min. inventory? etc):
 
Verizon Wireless 
Cingular 
AT&T Wireless 
SprintPCS 
Nextel 
Voicestream 
 
(any others would be nice, but not required) 
 
I am *NOT* looking for affiliate website programs that pay minimal
amounts for "leads" to their website.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
Rather, I want to find information on how to directly sell over the
web nationally in the USA.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
I assume you would have to become an authorized dealer for each
carrier in some way.  One factor is if they all allow internet
marketing & sales for their dealers/agents - [I know that some
carriers have not allowed it the past, however you see many sites
today that sell phones over the web nationally for almost all of the
carriers, so it must be allowed somehow now.]  If it's possible for
each, it's the details on contracts, agreements, channel structure,
etc. [I know some carriers make you go through "master dealers" that
are regional and you would be come a local sub-dealer.  But some
carriers don't allow you to activate phones nationally (for example,
if you are based in California, you can't sell a phone with a
telephone number in the NYC 212 area code) as a local dealer in a
given region, so I believe in that case you have to make agreements
with multiple master dealers, one in each region in order to be able
to activate phones nationally...but are there different arrangements
for web-based cell phone dealers?
 
Perhaps each carrier has "dealer recruiting" type materials or
contacts available?  Reminder - I'd ideally want information specific
to selling over the internet of course...
 
In addition (not as the replacement for the answer to the above
quesion), if it's easily available, listings of available master
dealers, etc in each region would be appreciated (if you have to set
up an agreement with them vs. the carrier directly of course). 

Hey kkcoolj-

Boy, alexander was a bit snippy...

For what it's worth ($4?), here is some of the information that you
requested.

First Tier Wireless Carriers:
http://www.rcrnews.com/images/random/carrier-1st%20tier.pdf

Second Tier Wireless Carriers:
http://www.rcrnews.com/files/carrier%202%20tier.pdf

Top 20 cellular resellers in the US (2001):
http://www.rcrnews.com/files/resellers.PDF

Some other good resources can be found here: 
http://www.rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?pageId=173


Reseller Programs:

Without talking to an existing reseller, or chatting directly with one
or all of the companies, the detailed data about the reseller programs
is not available. Most co.'s have applications to fill out prior to
getting any of the goods. You might try contacting a current reseller
to see if they'll give you some idea of the costs, fees, etc.

Cingular:
http://www.cingularwireless.com/about/doingbusinessform

Voicestream just began selling through Amazon.com:
http://www.voicestream.com/about/partners.asp

Sprint's Reseller signup:
http://www.sprintbiz.com/forms/wholesale_apply.html
http://www.sprintbiz.com/wholesale/

AT&T's Wireless Data Alliance Program application
http://www.attws.com/general/wireless_ip/downloads/2000channelapp.doc

http://www.attws.com/bus/gov/wireless_ip/bizopps/dsp_index.jhtml
http://www.attws.com/bus/gov/wireless_ip/bizopps/index.jhtml

Nextel
I have been unable to a partnership/VAR/reseller program. You might
trying calling their corporate office at 703-433-4000
(http://www.nextel.com/contact/)
This was interesting, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.
http://www.nextelpartners.com


Other sites:
These guys have paid for some Google Adwords (type in nextel):
http://cellular-shop.com/

Google searches:
[one of the wireless carriers: Nextel, Cingular, etc...] reseller (or
partner or alliance or VAR)

Hope this helps!

mit