855 Comments (page 6)

Awesome Article. My first question is this: Why would so many of these suppliers not sell their own products directly to the general public through these well know avenues (Ebay, Amazon, Etc.)? Seems like it would be fairly easy for them to monopolize their product/niche.

A lot of them do but it's just more profitable to sell to businesses still. This is one reason building a brand is so powerful.

To START, your Seller Account is probably fine

Hi Will, Thank you!!! Great article... Would you suggest trying product that does not exist on eBay / Amazon ?? So the only real data would be from similar products that seem to be working. (e.g. "gause sponges" for medical use but the ones i'm looking into aren't online) Regardless weather it's a good idea or not, would you know of any added steps to determine if it were a good buy? Thank you for your help, and a great read!

And to think some people charge good money to do classes for the information you provided with this in-depth article. Good value to readers, I like your approach! Way to go and keep up the epic work you put in.

Hi, Looks like you have a lot of great info here, but PLEASE PLEASE put a date to the article. Even the comments have no dates. I'm not sure if you do this on purpose so the information doesn't look outdated, but I can tell you that if that is the intention, then it has the opposite effect, as if there is no date to go with this information, I can assume it is 10 years old and therefore not relevant anymore. It is a big turn off for this article and any further information/products you have. Without dates it is very difficult to gauge the relevance of the information and whether it is worth investing any time into it. PLEASE, please assign dates to your posts and comments. I usually turn immediately away from any site that does not have dates, but I'm willing to give this another go as it seems you have some really substantial and valuable content. From skimming the comments, all I can see is someone saying they are reading this on their new iphone 4, that is the only way I can estimate a date. An earlier reply from you to a comment asking about the date was "this year", again very vague and of no use to me. "this year" could be 2014, or it could be 2004, as there is no date associated to the comment I cannot tell.

Really great post with common sense info, thank you for taking the time! I'm just getting started with this and trying to find a product to start with, any suggestions would be much appreciated. I've been forced into a lifestyle change because of arthritis in my neck and I'm hoping this will be the ticket.. Thanks again! Wish me luck

Hi Will, I've been buying product samples and listing them either on amazon or eBay. My question is... What's a good measurement to determine whether or not it's a good product to sell based off of the information gathered from selling the samples? I have one product that took 6 days to sell under a preexisting listing on Amazon. I have another product that took 24 hours to sell on amazon under a different listing. I have a product on eBay I listed about 12 hours ago... If sample sales are an indicator of how quickly it will sell on amazon... None of these are likely to sell 5-10/day. Is that sales per day number too high of an expectation at first? Or do I need to keep looking? This site is awesome and part of me is kicking myself for not going through the holiday group you guys had. Thanks, Dan

I know you said don't worry about tax on the front end, but do I need to setup a company in order to be legal? I ask because when I joined Ali it asked for a Company Name and said "Must be exactly the same as that registered with your local government" Thanks - AJ

Hi! I was wondering that when you were younger and without a credit card, how did you overcome paypal payments? Is it by parents? Are there any other way to pay suppliers without creditcards? :P

I could tell you 90% of selllers on Aliexpress are middle-men, only a few are factories, lots of them ship via China post air mail which is the cheapest way for package under 2kg, normally 2-3 weeks to arrive

Don't wanna disappoint you guys, they just need to pay $3300 to become Gold Suppliers.

Having trouble finding a product to sell any suggestion to get me off on the right track?

Sweet article! Scrolled through comments, didn't see this question asked: Your friend who was branding the subwoofers -- did he physically brand them himself (and how did he do that?) or did he reach out to his supplier and have them brand each before shipping?

Before shipping, it's a really simple process.

Hi, my problem is a product that I sell and it's already selling but a do mine by hand and stronger and better I would like to know how how can I make more we quantity is hire people to do the product faster I reader he'd my product and gotten good reviews. Need help on how to produce more. Thanks

Hi!i'm just starting to plan my 'shop' and your blog is really helpful!i'm glad i found it! Thanks for all the good advice!

Hello, I just want to say thanks for your articles. I have read through your articles and have now just ordered a few samples. At the same time I am looking ahead to see what else I can get my hands on that will make a profit. I think most of my time since I am barely starting has been doing research and re-reading your articles. thanks

Hi! Great post! I wanted to ask about taxes: is there not any import taxes if you import from China? I live in Estonia and if i want to import goods from outside of European Union then i have to pay about 30% extra. Thanks.

Thank You ! This is great info!

Great information and I'm excited to put it to use since I've been looking to move away from services and into physical products. I have one question about Teraspeak. I signed up for the free 7-day trial but it looks like the sell-through data, etc is only available for "professional users," at a cost of ~$15.00 monthly, billed annually. Do I need to upgrade or did I miss a specific area that has the information we're looking for? Teraspeak is not the most intuitive of websites to use.

Hi Will, thanks for sharing this. Although I live in Australia, I definitely can use your tips and tricks here. I'm not sure if these questions have been posted and answered. You mentioned: "just make sure they are sending via EMS, TNT, DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc to your house and you shouldn’t have any issues. The samples will likely be sent the same way your future orders will be sent, so getting the sample is good to try that out as well". Are you saying that even when you buy more bulk items, you use these couriers even though they cost a lot? I'm assuming you take these courier costs into your margin, and yet you're still making 50% margin? Do you normally enter into a formal agreement with the supplier when you decide to buy bulk? Cheers,

Hello Will, Thank you for the tips but how did you find it best to manage your inventory levels across all the selling platforms?

Thanks for sharing this article. It gave me some really great actionable tips. I thought it was a great point about narrowing on your niche. Necklaces isn't enough it has to be owl, clock etc. I still find it amazing that such a specific niche can be profitable but that is demonstrated again and again in a number of different business types.

I noticed you mentioned you don't care for adwords, but your giving away adwords coupons?

Regarding Alibaba Suppliers: I understand that is important to use Gold Supplier and onsite check. What about Assessed Suppliers? There are several products from suppliers that I would look at that are not mark as an assessed supplier. (They are listed under the trade assurance though).

Hi Will, I watched your webinar and I am working on a few products, where can i get a spreadsheet like the one you used for finding products, to list 50 products. Thanks in advance Adilaj

Hi Will, Love your blog. Been searching for products for a few days and still searching. Just have a few questions though. I am from Canada, should I look into selling only to Canadians? If so, do you know how I could filter ebay listings so I can see products sold only to Canadians? It seems like I can only filter from Canadian sellers, which is not really helping. Thanks, Antoine

Hi Bro, Thanks this post really helps! My questions is this; I have what I think a really great niche that could sell in US and European markets and beyond. I was wondering what the best way to start was to initial minimse outgoings ie use shopify, amazon and ebay - set up amazon / ebay associate and start selling their products on my site right away while I go through the sample /finding suppliers route you suggested. Thoughts? Also im in the UK so do you still think the Alibab approach is best? Should I start selling in the UK, European MArkets (I live in UK) or go straight for US? Last question - I dont really have much capital to get me tarted so worried about having to buy products in buld initially - any thoughts/advice? Or do I need thousands before I can get started on getting products? Cheers so much! R

Hi Will, Awesome article! Regarding the search product, do you mean that it is worth looking for products with a price of $ 10 or more? Cheers, Alejandro

This post has tons of useful information. Keep it up guys!

Hi Will, I'm very,very new to Import Marketing. But, I have to tell you just from your website you have inspired me to succeed. You have a way of just laying it out there and getting it understood. If, I can help forward your message or help you in any way contact me. I want to find a niche and get myself selling products on-line. I thinks it's great that your so young and very accomplished. Thanks, Tim

Hi, awesome blog, I'm really keen and trying to start an online business but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a product, there's just so much to pick from, help? Thank you

Hi, I asked you for help previously on helping me find a product but I accidentally used the wrong email, please use this one to reply. Thank you so much

You'll want to make it to this :) https://startupbros.com/importing-empire-online-event

Hi Will, thanks for this great article. what would you recommend in case a product is sold by amazon itself. would you still consider the product a good product (considering the margin are good and the products is a best seller)? Thanks! Mat

I have been trawling through information for weeks in prep for starting an on line business. I was just about to place my first "bulk" order and found your blog. Whew. Thank goodness I did. I think you saved me a great deal of angst. I am now back to the drawing board, armed with the knowledge I needed to start. Thank you for posting.

It was great to learn step by step. Really I find great interest in educating. Keep going.... Great and great

I almost never leave a response, but I looked at some off the remarks here Step-by-Step Guide on Howw To Find A Profitable Product To Sell - StartupBros. I actually doo have 2 questions for you if you tend not to mind. Is it only me or does it look like like some of these remarks look as iif they are left by brain ead individuals? :-P And, if you are posting at other places, I would like to follow you. Could you make a list of evrry one of all your public pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or lnkedin profile?

Of course :) Twitter: @StartupBros Instagram: StartupBros Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StartupBros Of course, don't forget to sign up for the importing webinar: https://startupbros.com/importing-empire-online-event See you there :)

Do you have any ideas about making a decent business off fair trade products. I love the idea of small imports, but I'm concerned about the working conditions in these factories that Alibaba brings in.

Hi will how much do you think I would need to start up in the uk

Hi,i am new and looking toward a business online. while looking through your tips, right now i am look at supplier at alibaba. Just want to know from your experience if OEM product etc watch wallet is it illegal?

OEM products aren't illegal. Selling trademarked or patented products is though!

People get going with just a few hundred dollars... some even less.

Hey Will, First of all, the blog is gold! Thank you for the great advice! Second, I have a question regarding to the shipping procedure. You said that to hire someone such as a friend or a family member to take care of your shipping is a good idea. My question is, what if I open an amazon warehouse and let my supplier ship the products directly to my amazon warehouse so amazon can take care of the shipping? I'm only considering amazon at this point. And of course, that would be after I've been satisfied with the sample. So, what are your suggestions? Again, thank you for this great blog, Matt

Hi Matthew, That could work. Of course, it may not be worth the money to open a warehouse right away. I would consider fbainspection.com to get your products ready for FBA now.

Oh, even better! Thanks a lot Kyle!!

Oh, even better Kyle! Thanks a lot!!

Thanks for the great read. In regards to the Q&A above "Is there a way to know the exact current volume of sales before choosing a product to sell?" you mention you check how many items were sold within a week on ebay. My question to that is how do you get that data on ebay? I can see how many total items are sold but I can not find any way to filter how many items were sold within a given tiime frame. Thanks for your input.

Hi Will, Thanks for your helpful information. We have a warehouse with lots of extra space and a shipping area. We are interested in having a service where we ship products for other companies who would prefer to outsource the shipping. How could we get started on that?

I would start by asking Jim at fbainspection.com how he did it... or Will Tjerlund (fbaexpert.com) how he does it :)

how much is in a unit ? For example i wont to buy tubs of protein ?

Hello Will, The words cannot describe how mazing job you have done to give us all a hope to do bissiness. I couldn't find any dates on this article or on the comments, to see if this can still apply to the year 2015? If I'm little behind in finding this great article, it's still ok because it's an awesome and a life lesson! Thank you!

Sir I want to is it profitable in india too??if yes what are the best products you would suggest.

Just wondering how it would work with buying a product from alibaba, putting a brand logo on it and selling it for a totally different purpose. Is that legal?

Hello Will, very interesting and informative article. My wife and I are interested in pursuing the sales of products in the very way you have so generously described. The one question we have (forgive me if this sounds stupid) but how do we determine which products are available for resale and which are not? Basically in an effort to comply with laws, trademarks etc. Thank you for the helpful information your articles have already provided, and for answering our question if you so kindly choose to do so.. Thank you Will

100% legal, it's called private labeling :)

Hi, I'm wondering if we can use our LLC for another business we started recently? And is that sufficiant to sell on Amazon? They said you need a tax number and I wasn't exactly sure what that meant and have been looking into it but than I ran across this page and got distracted. Is my EIN number sufficient?

Fantastic article! One question I have had, is even if you find a product that has good margins on ebay. Is it a good idea to check if the item is selling or not? Maybe check auctions to see if people might be interested or not in the product. I see alot of possibly profitable items that no one is bidding on. That leads me to believe that the product will not sell. Maybe it's because people set there price too high? But then again maybe few people are willing to by said product in the first place. Thoughts?

This post is worth everyone's attention. Where can I find out more?

hi there can some one help me here please. i already have suppliers From china i just need to know how much profit should i add on my items also how do i recover the transport and VAT or duties that i have to pay upon arriving. for instance an item is costing 12.10 usd how much profit can i add on top how do i recover the transport and duties. bear in mind that i have to pay the business expenses and rent plus two employees. pls give me the final amount and do break it down. i need to sell an item at 100% profit meaning i should recover the 12.10usd back plus transport and VAT of 16.5 or duties of 45% please help

Hi Will Now that was an interesting article/blog, read it from start to finish, which is a first for me, and will go over it in more detail at the weekend when I have more time off. I have just come out of a really expensive divorce(put violins away I am ok :-) .. For a while now I have toyed with the idea of selling something, online or at shows for example. The reason I mentioned the divorce is that I need to get something going, some way of making some decent dosh after my split, and if it takes some hard work, fine. Now I am old enough and wise enough now to know that nothing moves in a straight line or comes easy, I am probably a little too cautious, hence why I have not taken a risk just yet. I only have a few thousand £'s to play with, but after reading your advice I was lifted more than I have ever before. I run a small electrical business, so I know a little about marketing etc, and more than anything I know it's all about the product and marketing and trying to get something that's half the planet is trying to sell as well. Anyway.. thanks again John

I want to start on this type of business. But i have no experience in this kind of business.Will it be a bad idea if instead of buying in bulk, buying in smaller quantity until I understand it better?. Also i want to say thank you for posting all this information.

Hello Will, I want to start a lighting shop..for thatI need to import LED light, Spot light, Wall bracket, Decorative light. Plz suggest me how can buy me those product. also inform me the procedure of payment. Your help will help me to get better opportunity. Thanks Rashed

I'm also from Romania, I was thinking exactly the same, what is your progress on Amazon asa a romanian seller ? Any succes ? Thanks.

Hey Will, This is a wonderful article. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Rebecca

Hi Any advice to start my own brand? Regards Issa

I find this article very interesting. I just want to know what year it was written in. Could you please tell me?

Good morning! I wanted to see if there are times when you get no responses via alibaba. I have messages 8 gold suppliers of one specific product and have yet to hear anything back and it's coming up on 24 hours. Is this normal? Thank you!!! Marc

Hey I was curious can I have a link to a replay of your last webinar?

Why the heck not: www.startupbros.com/import-replay

Thanks for this great tips.

What attributes do you look for in a seller on AliExpress.com. I know you discussed what you prefer on Alibaba.com. I am just staring out selling on eBay,random items,single dad here so i am trying to be real smart and not taking huge financial risk in the beginning. Any advice you can give would be very helpful. Thank you. Richard

If you know how to navigate Alibaba, there is really no reason to use AliExpress (if you read the importing posts here you're competent enough to not get screwed)

Hi Will, Thank you for all this information. I've just gotten on the band wagon. It's really made things clearer for me. I'm sorry to ask, as I know the question has been posed in many ways to you. But i need to be clear on the process of shipping products. So the steps you are suggesting is the following : 1. posting myself - initially buy a small amount of product, to be sent by me through the post to customers (so that i am certain the product will sell and i build a reputation with my wholesaler) 2. outsourcing drop shipping?? this is where i am confused by some of the comments and responses. I am unsure if you meant, I should negotiate drop shipping with the wholesaler to do this for me and directly send the product to customers? or do i find an independent dropship company within America to delivery products for me from my wholesaler ? I have a friend who is has this business and the wholesaler in China does her shipping for her. Bit confused but hope I was clear about my confusion ? Any help would be fantastic :)

1. exactly :) 2. Send your products to FBA and have Amazon distribute them to individual customers for you :)

GREAT STORY! THANKS FOR POSTING!!

First off thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us. Quick question: I have just tried contacting my first potential supplier (using the email template you suggested) The supplier asked me to send how many pcs I need? What are pcs? (and how might you respond ) Thanks (for everything), Cassandra

pcs = pieces Let us know how it goes with the supplier!

I must say... Thank you soooo much for this incredible piece of information! We need more people like you on this planet, to educate those who are not business savvy, and you do it for free. How can i make a donation? Again, thank you so much for taken your precious time writing this powerful piece of information.

The best way to help us is share this with friends :) Also, I think you'll love this: www.startupbros.com/import-replay

Awesome post, planning on building a website and your post gave me very good insight. Thank you sir

Hey thanks for your blog, starting a fashion accessory business trying to sell unique items and found your blog very helpful. Going to outsource the shipping to a family member and wondering if you've got any advice on figuring out a payment structure. Would you recommend a days wage? Or a price per unit packaged? Thanks Chris

A few things have changed, site's have been updated. Is everything still valid? (site settings @ Ebay etc.) (i can't see any sales records or evidence that something has certain amount of sales or how frequent they are being sold. >> Completed listings > Ebay ) sorry, I'm confused And how do i know if a product is having a consistent base of buyers? My problem is, i cannot decide if a product is crap or golden. And i have difficulties finding products from ebay/amazon on alibaba or the other way around. I hope you'll help me thanks!

Any articles on getting started on Amazon? Having some luck importing for eBay, I'd love to get going on Amazon but it seems a little harder to break in to than "The Bay"

Hi people My question is related to determining whether or not a product is viable given its competitors already on the market. I understand that I need to gauge whether or not it will sell by looking to see if it is already currently being sold successfully by someone else. This is where i'm confused however. From what I can see, finding a product already selling on ebay/amazon etc is both good news and bad news. The good news is you know it can sell, but the bad news it might already be taken care of, so to speak. So how can I tell if a product has healthy competition and sellers that I can sell alongside or perhaps even undercut slightly, or if the competitors already have the monopoly and trying to compete would be pointless? More to the point, what sort of sales figures relating to the product and its current seller/s on ebay or amazon would indicate that the market looks safe and worth competing in? Say I notice there are already 3-4 different people selling a marked up toy on ebay that I have found on alibaba and want to resell myself... say these sellers, while perhaps not necessarily power sellers, each have around 150 sales in the last couple of months and ongoing. Should I consider contacting suppliers and attempting to enter the market for them as well, or is it already saturated? I mean when you say competing with power sellers is difficult, how can I determine if they are power sellers or just healthy competition? what should I be looking at? Also if I decide to compete, will I go completely unnoticed alongside others whose profiles make it clear to buyers that they are more experienced with the product and have more sales? Any feedback here would be really appreciated Regards Chris P.S Thanks for the information you've already provided through the guides and apologies if I've missed something while reading through the comments that answers this already.

hi there, can u please tell me how can i figure out that the ad on alibaba i am interested in is not fake.the supplier is gold supplier.

Will goes over this in-depth at www.startupbros.com/import-replay Enjoy!

Hi Will, First of all thanks for sharing this, I've read your 2 articles on the rise and fall of your importing business and this one and it was quite interesting. Here's my question for you: when you start buying in bulk, how do you deal with taxes and customs duties? Are these included in the transportation price that are charged to you (what does it say in your invoice)? I assume that you let the vendor take in charge all aspects of transportation. Taxes and customs duties represent extra costs that can be very dissuasive for some products, and it requires work to calculate. But you're not mentioning it or I've read too fast. How do you deal with that part, do they send to you as a particular person or company? Do 'sample' still appear on the invoice when your supplier actually send larger quantities? Don't hesitate to send me a private message Thanks Antonin

Hey Will, Are there sellers that have a lot of random products in their stores? I tend to see sellers picking many variations of the same item, for example, pool inflatables--, they don't have random other products, clocks or pet toys. Will my etsy/amazon store look weird if I have 10 different random items selling at the same store?

Hi Will, Mind-blowing article...Got a lot of insight on how the world of e-commerce works.Keep up the good work :) Cheers Siva charan

Reading through your article I found nothing about picking up items on say alibaba or aliexpress that are commercially popular items (like well known figures from movies etc) and selling those. Do I have to worry about licensing issues? Is this something taken care of by the manufacturer?

Hi i wanted to ask a Q i contacted a few suppliers on Alibaba asking for samples 1st they said no problem but one problem keeps arising the delivery cost which is absolutely ridiculous they keep asking for 30 to 40 dollars saying that is the cost to ship and the delivery company is DHL and the product is pretty small too, so i dont know how they come to that figure Startup Bros can you plz clarify shipping costs which are the norm.

You absolutely have to worry about licensing issues! Trademarks and patents matter in the US, even if they don't much in China

Thats an awesome post and I loved reading it...thanks! I have a question.. the product that I have short-listed is "maternity cum nursing dresses".. Now this probably doesnt qualify as a great product (quality / higher return rate, etc etc) but would still like to get your view - Is that specific enough? I cannot be more specific as different dresses would have different styles/patterns etc - Yes I understand return rate could be high.. but I plan to serve a niche segment in terms of style/price.. any thoughts?

Hi Will! I just came across your blog and I am so grateful for all of this wonderful information you're sharing...To piggy back off of Grant's question about price, if you dont know the price yet how do you determine your margins? I guess I got confused somewhere and thought you narrow your choices based on profit margins before contacting the wholesaler. Did I confuse the order of steps?

Thanks for the info, this was incredibly informative. Very motivational too. Time to scour Alibaba and see what I can find.

Hi, Very good post. I loved reading it. I have a question. I also want to sell product online, i am new in this field. I want to sell in India firstly then i will move on another one. Then, how much minimum money will be required? and which site will be good for me, if i will get order then how i can send to the customer. is this site will be ok for me www.shopify.com?

Thank you very much for this post, it inspired me so much that today I received 2 of 3 samples I ordered. Just for fun I went on Amazon and started up a seller account. One of my items is clothing, They want UPC, or register for one, then brand name. Opps, I had no idea about this. Do you know any shortcuts for this issue? I think I have a really good product and I think I should pursue it. You are awesome and I so much appreciate you sharing this info. If we just had more of your kind, we didn't have to look for money so much anyway!