>	- What is a California reseller's license or certificate, and
>      how may I obtain it and is it different from a Business license?

It is a license that allows you to buy products without paying sales
tax until you resell the product.  This license does NOT guarantine that
you will get any better pricing on merchandize other than delaying
the sales tax issues (though you usually will).  

To apply for a reseller's license, contact your local "California
Franchise Board" for more info (find the numbers in the front of your 
local phone book.  Note:  To get a valid license, you must:

	- Fill out a LOT of paperwork
	- Attend a mandatory TAX seminar
	- Possibly pre-pay a $500 tax deposit (can be waived)

  To get a business bank account
	- Apply for a Fictitious-Name-Statement
	- Advertise the request for a Ficticious-Name-Statement in
	  a local paper for 4 weeks

This whole thing can be fairly involved and there are NO
guarantees that it will be approved.


>	- What other things, ie. tax, accounting, and etc. do I need
>	to obtain before I may legally start a small home business?

I believe you are legally required to have a local business license.
Prices for these vary widely (Chico: $25  Walnut Creek: $100+)


>	- Where and who do I contact to obtain distribution and cheap
>	computer parts? (is Bell Industries one of them?)

Ahh, insider tricks and I won't tell!  I've never heard of Bell
Industries but they might be a good vendor.  Basically, you want
to buy quality merchandize at the lowest price to give good prices
to your customer without lowering your profit margin.  You will find
that you will have to splinter your resellers into groups like:
RAM/CPUs, HDs, monitors, etc since each distributor will have 
different pricing, name brands, etc.  The only hint I'll give you
in respects to this is:  Find a product you want to sell and then
find out who distributes it.


Quick comments on quality of products:

	- If the products you sell are poor quality, they
	  will fail.  Then your customer will become upset
	  and want a replacement or refund.  Then you have
	  to deal with finding a good replacement, returning
	  the defective units (if you can:  Most comp. shows
	  are fly-by-night jobs), and then deal with all the
	  profit loss involved.  Then, you now have an upset
	  customer and they won't recommend you for any repeat
	  business.  I would attack your customers with 
	  exceptional hardware at fair prices and tell them
	  why you shouldn't buy the crap the local clone shop
	  is trying to push.

	  All in all, DON'T get your hardware at computer shows 
	  if you intend to resell it.

	  On the flip side, m ost distributors will be fairly 
	  cheap (name brand and OEM) but prices vary WIDELY.  
	  You need to call back often and research new 
	  distributors all the time to stay on top.  You
	  will also find that many mail-order places and
	  big computer stores will sell products cheaper than
	  you can buy it from your distributors.  This is 
	  because you have to buy HUGE volumes to get awesome
	  discounts.  Again, keep up on the ads, promos, 
	  new distributors, etc.  I've bought software from
	  Costco many times.  It's just more cost effective
	  that way!



The real deal is:  There isn't much cash in low volume hardware.  If you want
	    	     to make some money, start consulting, tutoring, etc.  There
		     is a lot of money in the services side (if your good that
		     is)!

Good luck!