Hi Will, This is really an excellent article. I live in Australia & am currently negotiating 2 models of products in China, only 10 pcs each model for a start ship directly to amazon.com (USA) via DHL without me seeing the products. I know that I would probably have only $4 of margins on each pc but that's fine with me, just to keep this importing business going. What can you advise for me because I won't be seeing the goods and amazon.com is big on customer service. If there are defects, my sellers name will be jeopardized and since the goods will be shipped via DHL, do you think the shipment will be hassle free without me needing to pay for additional customs duties, tariffs and other taxes? Thanks for your help.
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Hi Maria, Thanks for reading and commenting, glad you liked it! Let me know how that works out for you, dropshipping direct from China to US buyers has never worked for me. There are so many things to keep in mind. There is really no way you can do this without getting samples first. Chinese factories usually package their orders with whatever random crap they can find. There will be Chinese characters all over it, and US buyers hate that. You also won't be able to get in front of any problems, and shipping time will be 7+ days in many cases. It's probably possible to dropship direct from China to a US buyer, but it didn't work for me years ago. Maybe if you tell the US buyers they are coming from a Chinese factory it will work. You could maybe also work this out somehow with Amazon fulfillment, but that's probably going to take a lot more work. Hope this helps, sorry it probably wasn't what you were hoping for :-\ Will
Thanks Will for that reply. Oh well, everyone has different experience, I suppose. I did put on Shipping & Returns and on Warranty pages that goods come from China. Probably, buyers understood that because they still bought on my website. I didn't see the products at all because they were directly shipped to USA. I am just hoping that the goods are good and they are what the buyers expect them to be. Regarding fulfillment by amazon, I will just plunge on it because it seems to be a good business model for this age where capital/investment is limited. Anyway, thanks for your posts because they will help me in starting up an import business.
No problem Maria, I hope I'm wrong! Like I said, if the buyers know that it is coming from China, then it's a little bit different. If they bought on your own website, then I wouldn't be too worried about it! In most cases the products will be good enough quality, I just don't like doing anything without seeing samples first. Let me know how it goes, and keep me updated on how your grow your importing business in the future! Good luck, Will
Thanks Will. I am actually reading & following your post on https://startupbros.com/step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-find-a-profitable-product-to-sell/#/ When the supplier quoted the 20 pcs. of samples via DhL, I would lose $3.60 for each piece because there is still amazon fulfillment fees that I had to consider. The supplier suggested sea freight as this would be way cheaper. Do you have experience in sea or air freight offered by shipping companies via alibaba.com? My idea is to buy all product samples (each box maybe will have 5 to 10 kilos) then ship them together using the sea or air freight offered by these companies?
Hi SM, I have found recent inspiration to start importing products from China and to sell them online. I am still a bit overwhelmed with the amount of information I found on this page. taking it one step a time. I have been benefiting from all the comments and am getting closer to order some samples. I saw your post and reminded me the days of Me trying to import Indian/Pakistani Mangoes to US which wasn't a big success due to tons of regulations involved. Anyways, I think you rather be better off sending your product directly to US from China and then sell it online. I will be setting myself up with some warehouse space and shipping arrangements. Let me know if you want to split the cost with me and have your items directly shipped here in New York. you can contact me at anwarratoltraders at gmail dot com Thanks, Yasir P.S. Great Blog Will. I'm still absorbing information. I will definitely come up with questions later.
Hi Yasir, Awesome to hear you're taking action! One step at a time :) Sorry to hear you had trouble importing before. I mentioned in the article, food regulations are a huge hassle. Can't imagine having to deal with that! Thanks for checking out the blog, and definitely feel free to post questions! Talk later, Will
Great informative article. Did you ever have to pay import duties when importing through channels such as AliExpress?
Hi Will, I'm having a similar problem where the cheapest air freight is costing me around $3.5/kilo and causing a huge impact on the price per unit since what I'm importing is a bit heavy. 1.5kg/unit. Is there any of your articles on receiving good imported by sea. I have no experience with sea freight and just assume that getting freight forwarder or broker would just add a lot of cost and will cut the margins short. Please advise where we can find a guide on importing by sea. I'm in New York and am sure there are a lot of people in NY importing by sea sharing containers. Thanks, Yasir. P.S. Thanks for your earlier comment.
Thanks Natasha, glad to hear you liked it! I've never used AliExpress, but I'd imagine it's pretty much the same. The shipping companies should charge you for the duties/taxes, and your supplier should know which products will be taxed going into the US. Also, many factories will mislabel their goods to avoid you duties and taxes. So talk to your supplier and your courier and they should know :)
Hi Yasir, Sorry to hear you're having trouble with shipping the weight of your product. Like I said in the article, importing heavier products is tough to do profitably. Unfortunately, I don't have any articles about importing via sea freight. I have a little bit of experience with it, but not much. I don't know anybody who has used a forwarder or broker (depending on your definition of broker). I have a few clients who import a ton of product, I could ask them specific questions for you if you want. Couldn't tell you where to find an article on importing by sea, sounds like a quick Google away though. Good luck, Will
For exemple in my country East Europe I have to pay 24% VAT if the order is above 10 Euros and VAT and Border Taxes if the order is above 150 Euros but I manage to bypas the taxes almost everytime now, as I as the supplier to send separate packages below the 150E, and as gifts with 3$ value. I started to order from Aliexpress because of the Free Shipping. Thanks for the wonderful informations here Will. You saved a student here :)
Awesome Silvero, thanks for the input - that's super helpful. I couldn't even count how many people email me struggling with VAT tax, I always feel bad I can't give them good advice! Thanks!
Thank you so much for this! I've been looking for products to sell for about a month now and everything I come up with is already being sold for a low profit margin. And everything I end up looking at is low cost items. For my first product, should I really try and stick to the $10 and over thing you said? I keep getting stuck on the £2 and £3 things (I'm in the UK). That makes me worried that I wouldn't be able to undercut prices easily and could also be very easily undercut right out of the market.
You're welcome Will, I manage to sell at 170-300% profit :D Yay I am so Happy !!!! Thanks !! (i sell vintage watches)
Hi Rachel, Thanks for commenting! Awesome to hear you're already taking action and looking for products to import. Honestly, if you can make money on it, then take it! Don't worry about the cost if the margins are there and there are no issues with shipping or whatever. It's tough to find a product to import, but keep at it! Hope this helps, Will
Awesome to hear! Can't ask for more than a 300% profit :) Keep me updated, really glad to hear about your success. Shoot me an email, maybe we can feature your story on the blog! Talk soon, Will
I'm not even sure how I ended up on your page but I was very frustrated when I was clicking my way through the internet, not even knowing what I was really searching for. Coming across your article enlightened my hope that there might be a way to start a business like the one you are describing here. I live in the "boondocks" in Wyoming and hope that this would be something I could do from home after I was laid off a few months ago. Very nice and informative article!!! Thanks for putting in all the effort.
Hey Christine, I'm not sure how you ended up here either, but I'm glad you did! :) Good to hear you got some value from these articles. Hope our future posts can be even more helpful :-D
Hi Will Just felt like I was reading a story . "TAKE ACTION" . Thats what i wasnt doing until now. Thanks Will Viv
Will, The depth in this series you're doing on Importing from China is superb. This really has inspired me as to the possibilities. Registering with Alibaba now. Keep up the good work! Ian
Hi Viv, Awesome to hear! I think taking action is the key to success at anything, as you know if you've read this article :) If you just keep taking action, you literally can't fail! Just keep moving... Will
Ian, Awesome to hear, glad the articles could help! Let me know how it goes. Thanks, Will
Common frens, Grow up. This is just a shit! Dont take me wrong. Cant you see that even Chinese are there on eBay and Amazon. Do you think them fool. They will sell those products that you are going to sell @ better bucks hmm!! Got something. Dont windup with all your investments..
There will always be opportunity out there Sanjog, the environment just changes. You can read through these comments and see numerous people making money with this, and many more on forums and elsewhere. It's definitely possible to make money importing from China, it's just getting harder. Don't get me wrong, I'm no longer importing things from China. I think there are better opportunities out there for me personally. However, I know a fair deal about importing products from China, so that's what I wrote about here :) The people who have been making money with this method have been making around $500-1500/week in profit after the first month. So there is definitely opportunity there, it's just getting a little tougher to do it consistently with how quick the market changes. Great entrepreneurs know that change breeds opportunity, you just have to find and leverage it.
Hi Will, When you say protect yourself with escrow, do you mean for any orders (large or small), or just for sample orders? I am running into some suppliers who have the "Escrow" designation on Alibaba, but will only do accept paypal for sample orders, not bigger ones. Red flag? Thanks
Hi Cort, I usually try to use escrow, paypal, or whatever form of financial protection for the first 3-6 months of working with a new importer. I start with the first sample order, I'll almost never buy something without financial protection on that order. The thing to realize is that any time you aren't using a third-party to protect the transaction, you're taking on risk. It's ultimately up to you when you feel it isn't risky any more to buy from your supplier using Western Union or a Bank Wire or whatever. Escrow and PayPal essentially perform the same financial protection function. Either one of them will do what they can to protect you in the case of a bad supplier (or worse). So, no red flag there :) Hope this helps, Will
Hey Will, I am from India n I really wanted to start an Import business. First of all I wud say you r doing a pretty gud job on clarifying doubts people have on their mind in this blog. Keep up the good work. I have started doing some research on Alibaba.com and found products like dirt bike helmets and pc accessories like mouse etc would be having some decent profit if imported to India at the price mentioned by the supplier(yet not sure cause i haven't been to import business). Then I came up with a lot of websites n even forums of Alibaba revealing that Alibaba.com has a huge scamsters around there in the name of suppliers. I am really confused if i could take my next step on import business. It would be very nice of you if you guide me on how to make my next move. I would like to stay in touch with you.
Hi Saravana, Awesome, glad to hear the article helped put you one step closer to your goal :) There is probably some potential for importing from China to India. And those products may even work well. The key is, as it seems you've figured out, where do you sell those products? It's key to find a product with high potential, import some samples of those products, sell those samples, and see what happens. That way, you minimize your risk and find out the true potential of a product quickly. Hope this helps, Will P.S. - Not sure if you've read this, but if not - https://startupbros.com/step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-find-a-profitable-product-to-sell/
Hey Will, Firstly, thanks for the great article, it has definitely taught me alot. My question is this. Say you have a product already, now the problem is who would want to buy something from someone on ebay with a new sellers account containing zero feedback?
Everyone has to start from zero, Andrew! Make some trustworthy product pages and ship your product sooner than you say you will. Once you get the first few you're off to the races.
Hey Andrew, Thanks for reading, glad to hear you could pull some value out of it :) Nobody will ever buy anything from somebody with zero feedback, and there is no way to solve this issue! Sorry, should have mentioned that if you don't have established accounts on eBay and Amazon that you, in fact, can never sell anything on those platforms! I'm kidding of course :) The truth is this is a VERY small issue, and if you're going to pursue the importing business it's one of the smallest issues you'll ever have. Can you really not think of any way to get some feedback? Come on now, you're smarter than that! Hope this helps, Will
Will, I used your simple letter with a few tweaks to make it specific to the products I was interested and got tons of responses. I targeted 3 different product types at basically three different price points - low, medium, high. I am now working with the suppliers and making sure that I can make payments through PayPal with Escrow, even for samples. You were definitely right about the email address you use, so think it's worth reiterating for folks. CREATE A DESIGNATED EMAIL for the products in question. It will also help you as I used one email and now I am sifting through tons of junk mails trying to find the relevant ones for that product. All the suppliers names are very similar and it's hard to discern otherwise. It's all good, and I think I'm making progress towards finding a supplier to go with. Thanks again, will report back with progress/questions!
Hi amazing article, I'm 14 years old and obsessed with making a profit. I currently sell iPhone covers on eBay, but it isn't doing as well as I wanted it to I would be very great full just if you gave me some advice on expanding my little business. I know I'm young and not fully experienced. But could you give me a few ideas. For example the supplier , most profitable products at the moment. Kind regards Harry
Hi Harry!! How about you buy iPhone chargers, screen protectors, iPhone headphones ect .... And sell them as a pack like an iPhone starter pack?? Always here to help Gage!
Hi Will, Very interesting article, definitly the best around and I am going to try out this. But I have a few question for you first It is probably because i'm new to the website but this is getting really frustrating, I have been trying to check Alibaba and surprisingly almost no suppliers or products show their prices. Does this mean I have to contact everytime the supplier, that would be time consuming. How can you fastly see the prices on alibaba? Also another question to which I'm very curious about, The way you described everything seems like you can get huge profits out of this. Worse it goes with 10 orders per day you get a 100$ profit a day, thats way more a normal worker would get. If this worked so well when you was only 15, I can imagine how it could work so good now with all the experience you have. So here is my question, If your techniques works so good why are you here writing articles revealing your secret methods instead of being out there making tons of money for yourself. Don't get me wrong i highly appreciate what you are doing, I'm just very skeptical when it comes to online money making techniques Thanks alot for your help and assistance, and for your amazing information :)
Daniel, I found that as Will mentioned, there are some suppliers that respond very quickly on Alibaba. My additional tips based on the queries I submitted and the quality of responses follow: Have a notepad/Word Doc open and copy the draft letter and change a few things to make it specifically related to the products you're inquiring about. Also in your Word Doc, have a custom title you create for the message. After filtering the suppliers as mentioned, pick your top 20 or 30 and click on the Contact button and then when the message pops up you paste in your custom title, custom letter, and hit send. It takes less than 2 minutes per Supplier. Changing the title helps you stand out, b/c it prepopulates a generic message title that many people probably don't change. I did 30 suppliers for one product type in less than an hour. And I had responses in less than 12 hours pouring in. You do need to sift through some of the spam as once your email is out there you'll start to get emails from suppliers selling $150 iPad mini's and all kinds of other (obviously counterfeit or real but don't have the rights to sell) so you have to resist the temptation! Regarding the why share vs. do, it's obvious -- these guys have been around the block and want to help people. They've done some of this low level stuff and it's concrete advice for people who want to work, but it is that -- work. You will be marketing the hell out of your products, tracking orders, interfacing with customers, and shipping all kinds of products. Unless you can afford to outsource some of that you will be busy. And while it's good activity that can certainly bring profits, it's work that anyone can do vs. them leading people by providing the know how and attracting a following. The Age of hoarding ideas and charging boatloads of money for access to content is over. Sharing ideas, delivering great content, and creating community around a common goal/niche is where we've arrived. And they are offering something you don't see all that often--a fresh and honest perspective that will sometimes kick you in the teeth and make you think :-) There are many great folks out there sharing great ideas - like Pat Flynn or Michael Hyatt, but I just like that Will and Kyle don't BS and are not all "fluffy". Sorry for the long response... and Startupbros keep up the great work!! Ian
Hey Harry, Thanks, glad you liked it! Yea, iPhone covers are a tough market. It's good that you're taking action though, especially at such a young age! You're right around the age I got started at :-P I'm not sure on the most profitable products to import from China right now. I have a little bit of an idea for the US market, but definitely not for the UK. Sorry :-\ The best advice I could give you is to try reading the other post - Step-by-Step Guide on How To Find A Profitable Product To Sell After you read that, if you still want more - try out Terapeak. That's eBay's data analytics tool, it will dig into what's selling on eBay and why like you wouldn't believe! It's got a 7 day free trial, so make sure to cancel on day 6 if you don't want to spend money. Hope this helps, Will
Not a bad idea! Gage always drops in with some good advice :-P Hope all is well!
Hi Daniel, Glad to hear you liked the article! Hope you do try it out, I always love people taking action :) Everything Ian said is pretty much spot on (thanks Ian!), so I'll keep it short... Yea, you'll have to contact suppliers each time. That's why I included a section on that with my email templates and workflow to do it in the article. Ian has it right above. I don't use this method any more, and I'm not planning on it. And I don't really want to make importing products from China my specialization as an entrepreneur, so that's why you don't see me trying to sell you importing products. I just have some experience, and the purpose of StartupBros is to help entrepreneurs learn from my experiences as an entrepreneur :) There's an unlimited number of ways to make money. Like Ian said, it's not about hoarding ideas. I can't implement every idea I have. Some I implement, some I save, some I share, and some I throw away. Moreover, I've met some incredible people through this article. I basically converted my experience into new connections that will actually help my career grow (since again, I'm no longer importing products from China). I think that's better than throwing it on some sales page and trying to sell it to everybody. Hope this answers your questions :) Good luck on your venture, keep us updated! Will
Hey Ian, Thanks for those extra tips, and for the help in the comments :) Definitely takes some time to send out the emails, but not that much. As I'm sure you know, that time is nothing compared to the time spent in product research. I don't think I could have put that second part of your answer any better, so I'm glad you did! I'm glad you get the impression we're not fluffy and all "anyone can do it!". I didn't think this article gave off the "Get Rich Quick!" feeling. As you know, I'm all about putting in some work and building a real business...none of that silver bullet stuff ;) Thanks again for the comment, Will
Great experience and well written....what better than real life experience. Soon I will start on my own and your article was a real great read. Deep.
Thanks a lot Deep, glad to hear you liked it. Hope my article can be of value to you when you start importing products from China yourself :)
Hello, here is my suggestion: Go and buy from Aliexpress and have the benefit of the Buyer Protection + the Free Shipping in 99,99% from all the products. If you're using Alibaba, check for the Escrow mark near each supplier, if they dont have it, dont buy from them !
Hi Silviu, AliExpress is certainly an option, especially for importing samples. I think if you go the extra mile with Alibaba though, you can find better margins. Like I said in the article, being able to sift through and find suppliers is an early competitive advantage. Anybody can buy something on AliExpress, those products are much more saturated for importing. But again, lots of suppliers like to put some small items on AliExpress along with their main importing profile on Alibaba. And definitely agree with you there - financial protection or no sale! It's a must when importing from China... Thanks for the input! Will
Hi Will, As everyone has said on here already, great article and a really valuable resource to anyone who has been considering this type of thing for a while! Its very kind of you to take the time to reply to everyone's comments too. I wanted to ask a couple of brief questions about shipping bigger items. as you mention in your article to generally stay away from these. I am looking at bringing in Bicycles from China/Taiwan to the UK. 1) Are there any major pitfalls you are aware of with bigger items (Damage, weight restrictions, time etc)? 2) Suppliers I have spoken to so far seem to recommend going for a 20HQ or a 40HQ container (depending on quantity) but quote anywhere from 900 USD to 6200 USD, any reason for this fluctuation? 3) FOB pricing has confused me, even after looking it up all over the place? Am I generally right in saying that is the cost of getting it to the port (e.g. Shanghai), then shipping and what happens once it arrives is down to me? 4) I have contacted around 20 suppliers but only heard back from a couple and had to chase most by chat. Then many of them have not actually got my email. Is it common for most emails to get lost when using the automatic contact boxes? 5) For payment terms, how much is generally paid up front and at what point is the remainder released from Escrow? Think thats all for now! Thanks again for the article. Alex
This is really great information. Do you guys offer any type of paid consulting/coaching for things like verifying the supplier, picking niches etc?
Hi Alex, Awesome to hear you found the article valuable, thanks! Responding to comments is the least I can do, this is a LONG article to get through! :) I've never imported anything from China larger than I can hold. That doesn't mean it doesn't work, or that you can't make money doing it. I just didn't... Like I said in the articles, it's just riskier to import bigger items. Due to the increased shipping costs, every error is much more expensive for you. There are a lot of other things to wrap your head around, but I wouldn't know since I haven't imported large products... FOB stands for Free On Board. It's referring to liability, the supplier is free of the liability of the product after it's boarded onto your transport (free of liability on boarding). It basically means that if the product is lost, damaged, or destroyed during shipping - they are not liable. This is why shipping insurance is there for. Some suppliers are harder to get in touch with than others. Some markets don't take Alibaba inquiries as seriously. It's different for every market. Every supplier will also have certain mediums they respond to better than others as well. I'd just keep looking around and following up. Everything goes into Escrow, and you release it all at once. Some suppliers will want 10% up front or something like that. There are also payment terms like Net 30, definitely go with that if you can convince your supplier. Also, with you talking about importing containers, this is all pretty variable. Like I said, I haven't done huge items like bikes. It may be that some of this information is wrong for that market, so make sure you do your own research (as I'm sure you will) Good luck! Will
Glad you liked it Rob! I do a LOT of consulting/coaching for people importing products from China. I don't verify the supplier and verify niches though, I just help walk people through it and help them learn to do it. Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish...you know :)
this is really a awesome article, great job will. you show us transparent process of importing from china and how to sell them. we cant find this kind of useful article at zero cost in todays world. thanks alot. i am from india. and i know many manufactures who are looking to export their products to foreign countries. this manufacturers are basically of plastic industries, textile industries, kitchen ware products, and from many more. so pls suggest me that in which country i can easily get importers of these products. i want to do this business as middle man or export agent. thanks alot in advance.
Thanks a lot Jignesh, glad to hear you liked it! Just look at the comments! Seems like a lot of people from the EU, USA, and Australia really want to start importing products from China or India! As in any business, the trick is how to sell it :) Good luck Will
I will shoot you with a detailed email about my story :) I am earning a constant profit of up to 260% :)
I am keeping an eye everyday here on replies:)
I found this article very interesting and encouraging, just the right kind for a beginner looking to start business. the suggestions were very honest and practical. I would wish he also provides some tips on e-business tie up and some do's and don't.
Congrats on finding an awesome product Silvero!
Glad to have you around, thanks for the help :)
Awesome, glad you found the articles encouraging! Hope you can get some value out of them on your journey to the top :)
Hi, I'm 14 and I want to get started in this business. I want to know how much you invested to get things rolling in the beginning. Thanks
Hi Stone, Awesome that you're getting started so young, keep it up! I probably lost $300-500 before I started making money with this, but I had to figure it out myself. But, you still need to be very careful when importing products from China :) Hope this helps, Will
Hi Will, Do you know anything about iOffer? I've seen some good deals there that would provide good margins on ebay and Amazon. I was looking at designer sunglasses specifically. Thanks in advance! Rich
Hi Rich, I've had some success with iOffer before, but not a whole lot. With the small amount of traffic iOffer gets, you can only scale it so high. It's definitely something to look into, and I know you can make money there with products you import from China/Asia. But, I don't think you can build a business exclusively off of that sales channel. You're probably going to want to branch out eventually, either way you grow. Hope this helps, Will
Hi Will, Thanx for the great article. I am in the UK and have been trying to find out for some time now how to go about setting up a little buying and selling side line to supplement and maybe eventually replace the income from my full time job. I went to my local 'car boot' sale last week (not sure if you have them in the USA) and there was this guy selling new plain boxed electrical items from China from the back of his car. I watched him sell the entire contents in less than half an hour! After seeing this it renewed by enthusiasm to try and do something for myself and now your excellent article has pointed me in the right direction. Off to Alibaba right now. Andrea
Hi Andrea, No problem, glad you liked it - Hope it can help you in replacing your full time job! We don't have those in the US, at least not established meetups :) There is a whole economy of people making a living selling imported products from China, but with the internet you can really scale it up! Just make sure it's all legal, of course... Good luck, Will
Will, Thanks for sharing that information. That is where I am now. Trying to cut out the middleman and import from China. I have a indoor market booth and see great potential if I can get the right products.
Hi Will (sweet name!), Glad you liked it! Congrats on your success so far, importing your products from China could definitely help you grow. I don't think I mentioned it, but when I was importing the fashion accessories, I tried to sell to Flea Market Booth Owners. Had some limited success, but face-to-face sales is tough when you're under 16 :) Good luck, Will
Hi Will, Thanks for sharing your secrets on this blog. I would like more detailed information on shipping. I contacted a supplier a few months back about importing a product that wasn't large but but could be very heavy (up to 55lbs per piece) so the only viable shipping method was sea freight. They quoted me FOB shipping and said that I would have to find my own shipper and take care of my own logistics. Is this how most suppliers operate? I went through the motions of looking into finding shippers for my product and started with the usual suspects like UPS, FEDEX and DHL. I was told by these shippers that I would have to find a customs broker to get my items through customs or I could hire a their own internal customs brokerage division but this was a seperate fee from shipping. Have you ever shipped anything via Sea Freight? If so what has been your experience with this (From sourcing shippers, truckers, figuring our U.S. tarrifs on the stuff you want to import, etc.)? How does the entire process work step by step from getting the products out the factory door to my own door step? Thanks!
Hi Will, Thanks for the great article, it has been an immense help in getting started. I had a quick question for you, our main goal in the end is to have drop shipping to our customers however we are currently in the first talks with one of our suppliers where they say that once we place our order there will be a 30-35day production time to complete. From what I can tell, this factory creates on the spot vs carrying inventory. Which does not hint towards the potential to drop ship. Do you think it is still possible to have drop shipping in the future with them? Should I breach the subject with them due to this concern this early in our relationship or should I give it a go anyways? Thanks!
Hi Benny, No problem, glad you got some value out of them! Yea, when you're importing heavy products from overseas, shipping is a much different game... When importing something unusually heavy or large, you'll usually have to set up your own shipping courier, and further ensure that all regulations are taken care of. Your research was correct. You'll probably have to find a customs broker. I know from friends that UPS is good, but I have no idea on the fees or how they compare to anybody else. I've never personally imported anything like that, I've only dealt with friends/clients that have. Of the people I know who ship via Sea Freight, it's about half and half. Smaller importers tend to use UPS/FedEx/DHL, while larger (and more frequent) importers use their own broker. Of course, I only know a few people that do that, so take that last bit with a grain of salt. Although, maybe it's time for me to get a guest post! A step-by-step guide for importing products from China via Sea Freight would be very valuable, and certainly answer many questions! Until then, I hope this helps... Thanks, Will
Hi Nick, Thanks for commenting, glad to hear the article could help! It's possible to have a drop shipping relationship with anybody, it matters how you want to do it. You should really talk to suppliers, especially since drop shipping is often not advertised. It's also very much on a supplier-by-supplier basis, and less of a product-by-product basis. I definitely think it's ok to ask about it though. If you want to grow into that, then find the perfect supplier that will grow with you. You may have to negotiate a custom deal, as most supplier won't just up and agree to start drop shipping (unless they're made to dropship). But, keep looking, they're out there! Hope this helps, Will
haha its like we lived parallel lives.. Im up in Canada and I was a part of the massive airsoft flood back in the days.. I was the same age as you, at the time airsoft was borderline illegal to buy in Canada so I would have the guns shipped to US addresses and break them down there and drive them back over the border and reassemble to sell locally.. haha it was great. TBH.. I still don't work, my friends always ask me about it but I ask why? Let your brain do the work.. not your body. Very good read.. Maybe we can even collaborate! Cheers
Haha, awesome JJ! I'm sure you were making even more than I was in Canada. I could never figure out how to ship into Canada. I'm sure you made a killing as a small time smuggler though :) Yes, I agree with you there. When posting this article on importing, I didn't think it would be as popular as it was. You'll always be able to make money importing products from China, but I think there are much more lucrative ways to attain success now. But again, it depends how you want to build your life. Thanks for the input JJ!
Hi from the UK, Will :). Great article, but I was just wondering about your last comment about there being more lucrative ways to make money, could you through a few hints? Cheers!
Hi Nicholas, thanks for commenting! While you can still make money importing products from China, I think there are definitely more lucrative ways to make money quickly. Importing is a very long and hard business to start from scratch. In my book, importing is old news, a common commodity. If you can combine importing products from China with other methods, then maybe you have something. But simple import arbitrage is getting harder, and the margins are getting slimmer while fading faster. A good entrepreneur can create more value for people in a weekend than they can in a lifetime of importing products from China. There is so much opportunity on the internet, and much of it is greater than importing. Of course, it matters on your skill set and passions and things like that. You have to learn to take those and create value with them. Then you have to effectively spread that value in the correct way, while having the correct systems in place to convert that into money. It's a tough game, and for me importing products from China was a big stepping stone in my path to where I'm at. The most important thing is to keep taking action. If you feel the urge to pursue this, then pursue it. Worst case scenario, you'll lose $1,000 and 3 months. But you'll learn a ton. I still use things I learned in the overseas importing business today. Just look at this article! What other income methods/online business models were you considering? There's literally thousands, it's all about finding and connecting the right ones in the right way.
Thanks for the quick reply I was thinking online marketing/advertising, but maybe that would need alot of initial capital. To me honest, a friend and I just want to start something where we can make £1000 a month each to start, but which also has the potential to grow when we feel comfortable.
No problem - what else is there to do at 5am on a Saturday but build! :) Again, there's about a billion things out there that you can make $1,000 a month doing. It's more about what you'll actually do! That's where the whole passion and skill set thing starts to play into it. Why do you think online marketing/advertising takes a lot of initial capital? I started my marketing agency with nothing...
It's 10.30 here... On Sunday :P I have a terrible hangover. I thought that because I'd have to pay a programmer to do the websites and such. I'm pretty good with computing, apart from actual computer languages. I literally have no cash right now, stupidly walked out of my accountancy job because of a tiff with my manager, little did I know there are no jobs in Wales right now apart from door to door selling. I'm willing to do absolutely anything it takes to become successful. My dad has a company in London centre but I wouldn't like to work for him, I'd like to make it on my own if possible /endsadstory haha
Haha, yea I'll be going to bed soon enough :) I didn't have to pay anybody but a designer for my logo when I started my marketing agency. Actually, I first started just doing consulting work for local businesses, and eventually it just evolved into something more. I don't know how to code either, apart from HTML/CSS. It's tough to build anything sustainable when you're up against a wall. I would focus on getting money in the door for now, and then figuring out how to scale that up. That's essentially what I did when starting the marketing agency. You need money now though, and it's going to be really tough to think long-term and delay gratification within your business. I think you'll have an urge to pull money out short-term at the damage of your long-term game. If you just focus on bringing money in the door and scaling up from there, I think you'll avoid that issue and learn everything you need to know about building a successful business on your skills/passions. Those who are willing to do anything to become successful will figure out how to eventually. The obstacles you run into are the rites of passage of success. Good luck, and hope this helps!
Great advice, I think that's exactly what I'll have to do. No doubt I will be pestering you along the way though! Thanks for all the great replies :)
Pester away - good luck!
Hi Will I am Chinese and have been living in the uk for last 12 years. I have always wanted to start up my business, trading here and there. I found your article very inspiring and helped me a lot. thanks man! Pangpang
Will, great article!! what are your thoughts in the reverse? selling US made items to China? I have read 65% of chinese would rather have western items such as vitamins, baby products, etc because the regulation is lax there and not trusted. My wife is Chinese and she is always shipping things to her friends in China. Do you know of regulations on shipping, tax and other issues related to this idea? Thanks, Mike
Awesome to hear that Pangpang, glad I could help out! Good luck to you, but you won't need it if you're fluent in both Chinese and English :)
Glad you liked it Mike! Let me preface my answer to this by saying I have no idea what I'm talking about on this one, I've never even began to research doing this in reverse. However, it makes sense that there is demand there. The first thing that comes to mind when you mention importing outside products into China is their Government. I have no idea, but I have to assume their Government would absolutely hate this on any significant scale. Now, I know you can bribe them pretty easily, much different than in America - but I've never dealt with anything like that. It's just such a vastly different political climate in China, that I'm not sure if it's legal or heavily regulated or what. But, that shouldn't stop you! Especially with your wife already making money by shipping products into China, she's probably significantly more qualified to answer this than I am :) Hope this helps, and good luck! Keep us updated, Will
Hi Will, I found this post yesterday, have to say it is really well written. Includes lots of quality information and it made me act right away. However, I'm not from the US, neither from any of other big countries of the world, I come from Slovenia which is in EU, but am worried about how to handle supply of the packages to customers, as postage costs are really expensive here and it would hurt margin too hard, so my question is in regards to this. Anyway, you wrote something on topic how supplier from China handles all shipments and customer returns, does that mean that you do not have any contact with product shipment to customer at all (Except ordering samples and test it before continue with bussiness?)? Can you write a bit more on this topic? Thanks for help in advance and keep up the good work! Regards, Zigy
Hi Mitch first of all thanks a lot !! for the tutorial and inspiration man great stuff done mate. I am in the process to take action man, I have order my sample from a supplier in china already its on its way. If I like it I will be ordering from them. Do you think its still possible to make profit from ebay ? How can I get the cheapest shipping possible to ship to customers here in the US? theres ebay items that are charging low for an item and even include free shipping Is there a tutorial on how to get dropship to clients ? For example I want to get into the medical field for example wheelchairs, supply to dentists etc. How can I get them to be interested in my chinese product ? I hope you have a little bit of your time to take a look at my questions and answer like I said again Thanks A Lot mate. You sure are an inspiration man
Hello, I can help, since I am from EU, i know the Customs Post tricks. You dont have to be affraid of the VAT and Customs Post taxes if you know how to do it, in USA there are no vat taxes... I posted a tip above for EU people, here is a copy paste for you: "For exemple in my country East Europe I have to pay 24% VAT if the order is above 10 Euros and VAT and Border Taxes if the order is above 150 Euros but I manage to bypas the taxes almost everytime now, as I as the supplier to send separate packages below the 150E, and as gifts with 3$ value. I started to order from Aliexpress because of the Free Shipping. Thanks for the wonderful informations here Will. You saved a student here" Yes, for exemple I ordered 20 days ago, 8 watches from 5 to 11$ as price. The total price was around ~$50, so for my country the VAT tax is 24%, I will be insane to pay 24$ from $50 no ? So I asked the supplier to send my watches in different packages in different days, a delay of 2 days will be fine, and he agreed ofcourse. For my country its doesn means if the supplier writes 3$ as value and or gift, my Customs Post requires me the printscreens of the order with the price on it, so they can see them clearly. But there is a catch too: every package sent by the supplier were watches that do not exced the 10Euro tax free limit, means that in one box is a watch with 5 and 8$ which is 13$ and below 10 Euros. With the free shipping, I will have nothing else to pay but the get the watches from the Customs. Your packages will arrive with a delay of 3-4 days, so there will be no problem for you.. no extra taxes no extra bullshit. This method works for EU people only, but please check your taxes before doing anything, must be the same anyway, only that your VAT may be lower than mine... Good luck.
I forgot to say, import something that is in 10 Euro per piece, search for something that isnt too expensive, like a phone, dslr camera or anything that is above this price and look for Aliexpress.com to take advantage from the free shipping, or else you will face the high taxes..
I know it can be a major pain to be handling 30-40 products a day on eBay and other sites, did you use some sort of software to manage this and make it easier to keep track of everything?
Very good tip, Silvero. Must be the same in other countries as well. Thanks for that tip.
You're welcome, and we all thank to Will, thats why we are here now :)
Hi Zigy, Thanks, I appreciate that! I always say I'm a terrible writer, so I'm glad to hear the guide is easily comprehensible. Also glad to hear it helped you to take action! :) Yea, when you're importing to the EU, you have to be sure to comply with or preferably avoid local taxes and regulations. You can find all that information in other comments though, it seems you know that so I won't repeat it all... The drop shipping thing is a little off. I had an American company who worked exclusively with my Chinese factory supplier, who I eventually got to start shipping for me. You can get Chinese suppliers to ship for you as well, but there are a lot of issues with it. But, if you tell your customers that before they buy, then I don't see much of an issue. Hope this helps, if not comment back! Will
Hi folks, first of all thanks Silvero and Will for their answers. I really appreciate! Silvero, so in this case, if I want to avoid paying customs and tax, there is no way of growing business big? I mean, like selling tens of pieces a month? And my question to all importers who sell their products worldwide: question is about DELIVERING product to target customer, how do you handle this? My goal is to sell my products internationally - worldwide, because I my country's market is just too small and doesn't offer any potential for business growth at all. And as I did a fast small research with the available data on prices I found on shipping companies' websites, shipping costs are just too high both for me (if I cover them, margin will be close to none) and for my customer (if he covers shipping costs, then product will be too expensive for him). Any ideas? What has been your average margin on a product you sell, Will? Or maybe just few examples? Thanks for answers in advance, really appreciate your help! Kindest regards, Zigy
Zigy "so in this case, if I want to avoid paying customs and tax, there is no way of growing business big? I mean, like selling tens of pieces a month?" You can grow the business big, but when you will do it, the taxes wont be a problem for you then, if you know what I mean. Every business owner pays taxes on import, thats the way the country earns from importing... If you will buy furniture or TVs in the future you will pay the VAT as you pay the VAT for every small thing you buy from inside, like water, bread, milk, toilet paper, you pay VAT anyway. The selling price will cover all your taxes and will bring profit for you, but if you get there, you will pay in advance the tax and you will get the money from the tax when you sell it, got it ? Its like paying in advance for something that you will earn after. In your selling price will include all your taxes you paid at the first :) plus the profit you'll take. Dont worry, this is how business works.
Awesome, glad to hear this article could help you take action! With samples on the way, you're pretty much already importing from China! Now to make money doing it... It's definitely possible to make a profit on eBay. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be anything for sale! Shipping prices are set, unless you start shipping in bulk. Compare each shipping courier and educate yourself to know when each one will be the cheapest. I haven't seen any guides like the one you're asking for unfortunately. Maybe I should write one! :) Hope this helps, and good luck to you!
Awesome information there Silvero, I'm sure that will help hundreds of people who will never comment. I appreciate you saying I saved a student - it seems you're saving a lot yourself!
Not really at the time, like I said I was young and ran it pretty lean. Once things got too big for me, my friends, and my garage - I was lucky enough to find a dropshipping partner through my supplier. Somebody else asked me this question earlier this week though, maybe I'll put a post together on inventory management soon! Sorry I couldn't help more :-\
And I thank all of you for being here :)
Hi Zigy, Yea, glad Silvero stepped in! :) Shipping tends to be the biggest expense and challenge when importing from China, especially when you're in a smaller market. There's not a whole lot that can be done, unless you know some way to get rid of the physical limitations that are leading to increased costs :) I try to keep my margin above 50%. If it's below that, I consider it a huge problem. Hope this helps! Will
thanks you give the best advice really appreciate it,
Thanks a lot Mark, glad I could help!