Approaching Suppliers as a Sole Trader

Hello,


I am in the process of setting up a small online retail business. I have bought my domain name and set up site with shopping cart etc.


I’ve identified some European suppliers and am about to approach them with my first orders.



As I as yet have no stock, and site is not live, I’m concerned with credibility when approaching suppliers.



If I set up as a sole trader will this give me any greater credibility with suppliers?


As there is no ltd. after my name how will they even know that I’m a registered business as opposed to a private citizen?


Does a business account with a bank have an identifiable code or something?



Cheers

When dealing with trade customers in the EU, it's usually required you provide your VAT No as this is easily verified. As your business is small though this might not suit you but you can voluntarily register for VAT even though your sales might not reach the limit where you are obliged to register.
To have some credibility this would be the way to go in my opinion