Have you wondered where and how people are making a full-time income from home? One of the ways they do it is by starting their own import/export business. While this may seem to be difficult task, it is actually very easy to do – thanks to the awesome power of the internet.
To briefly summarize the process, a person looking into importing goods first finds a product which they would like to sell. This is generally based on a fair amount of market and product research. They would then research ways to outsource the product overseas. Countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Korea etc. are all places where products are generally imported into the USA. Once a company is found to work with, an arrangement is made in regards to product quantity and wholesale cost, and any customized features the importer would like in their product. When the product is received, the importer looks over everything for quality control purposes, calculates the overhead in order to determine a good price, and then sit back and wait for the profits to come in.
By using the following guidelines, you will be on your way to starting your own import/export business:
Choose a Hot Product – The first thing you need to do is to find a product that is profitable. There are many ways for you to do market research and product research online. To find out what is selling, simply go to http://www.google.com/trends or http://www.ebay.com/pulse. Ebay Pulse will be more accurate, as it will tell you exactly what is selling, and more importantly, what people are looking to buy. Google Trends is also a useful tool in finding what sells. You simply type in whichever product it is you want to sell, and it will tell you how many searches a month it is getting, and also tell you how the search has done over the year.
Finding A Place To Outsource – Although it seems like it would be hardest to do, it is actually easier than most people realize. There are many resources online for you to find factories to design your product for you. The most difficult way would be to search for your product and add the term “factory” to your search. This may give you some results, but odds are these websites are not in English, so they will not show up in the listings. The best thing to do is to go to http://www.alibaba.com, http://www.ec21.com, or http://www.made-in-china.com, and do a search on your product. These websites are directories of thousands of companies overseas in providing products for import to the USA, and they actually serve as matchmakers. You can contact the vendor and work out an arrangement from there.
Selecting a Company To Outsource Your Product – When you have found your list of prospective companies to work with on these sites, there are a few terms you need to familiarize yourself with, which are generally defined on these websites. The most important is the Minimum Order Quantity(MOQ). Different companies have different MOQs for you to meet in order to work with them – some of them have none. Finding a company with a reasonable MOQ will ensure that you won’t get stuck with overstock, and save you money in the long run. You should also consider pricing in regards to any customizations you may want. Colors, logos, and optional features can be added to your products – some at an extra cost – and, some companies will customize your product at no additional cost, depending on your MOQ.
Working With Your Outsourced Company – Once you have done your research and found the right company to meet your needs you simply need to work out an arrangement with them. Typical turnaround time is 1 week, but it may take up to a month to receive your order – using standard shipping methods(boat) – as it is coming from overseas. You can always pay more to get it faster if the need arises. For optimum savings, it is worth the wait for it to come by boat, than any of the other methods.
Pricing – When you have your product it would be wise to calculate your selling price considering all the factors which allowed you to attain them. First decide a reasonable price above cost, then decide how much profit you may be able to maximize, and calculate shipping into the price, as shipping is generally the most expensive part of the import/export business.
By using these guidelines, you should have no problem starting your own import/export business, and making a good income from home. By just adding your own personal, unique creativity into these methods, it could make the difference in developing an average product that is somewhat profitable, to a product that takes a market by storm. Get started researching today – you’ll be surprised at the wide array of products that can be imported from overseas.
Nice Post!