Buying in bulk, from China
Discussion
I would be interested to know if we could put the odd pallet into anyone’s container if they have space. We sometimes need goods sending quickly but don’t have a full container load ourselves. If we could share and spread the costs it would help both parties.
We also have a warehouse in Beijing if anyone needs storage? Plus staff that can handle whatever you need.
We also have a warehouse in Beijing if anyone needs storage? Plus staff that can handle whatever you need.
EINSIGN said:
I would be interested to know if we could put the odd pallet into anyone’s container if they have space. We sometimes need goods sending quickly but don’t have a full container load ourselves. If we could share and spread the costs it would help both parties.
We also have a warehouse in Beijing if anyone needs storage? Plus staff that can handle whatever you need.
Einsign,We also have a warehouse in Beijing if anyone needs storage? Plus staff that can handle whatever you need.
How would I go about getting these 5 boxes of printed material from the docks to the UK...Is there one particular shipper that gets used? How do you recommend to handle the service from drop off at the docks in China to the docks here in the UK and possibly from there to our base. The printers are based in Beijing....
Have you used or heard of Xiamen Uptex Industrial?
Kev
Goochie said:
maser_spyder said:
Crikey, we're all at it!
I have offices and staff in China for sourcing, dealing with factories, shipping etc.
If anybody wants to ship part load (small items, couple of pallets etc.), I can help out, no problem.
Also if you're looking to source products I can get the office in China to do this for you no problem. They will also deal with the factories directly, so no language barrier and no agent needed. My guys work odd hours to keep up with us in the UK, so no time difference problem either.
If you're worried about losing money, I can definitely help, as we don't pay the factory until the goods have been shipped to our China warehouse and tested by our China staff.
If you're looking at electricals, unless it's a speciality niche market, forget it. There's already a heck of a lot of competition out there for most electricals. Mp3, memory, cameras etc. has all been done to death by people with more experience, deeper pockets and less to lose that you have.
Out of interest, where in China are your people based? I'm looking at a supplier in Hangzhou and have a friend on the ground there to scout things out for me but she has no where to keep anything and no means of dispatching items etc.I have offices and staff in China for sourcing, dealing with factories, shipping etc.
If anybody wants to ship part load (small items, couple of pallets etc.), I can help out, no problem.
Also if you're looking to source products I can get the office in China to do this for you no problem. They will also deal with the factories directly, so no language barrier and no agent needed. My guys work odd hours to keep up with us in the UK, so no time difference problem either.
If you're worried about losing money, I can definitely help, as we don't pay the factory until the goods have been shipped to our China warehouse and tested by our China staff.
If you're looking at electricals, unless it's a speciality niche market, forget it. There's already a heck of a lot of competition out there for most electricals. Mp3, memory, cameras etc. has all been done to death by people with more experience, deeper pockets and less to lose that you have.
I used to have an interest in a boat factory in Jinhua, very nearby to Hangzhou, but I've moved on from that now.
Hi
This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
mouk786 said:
Hi
This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
Search the business section of these forums. You will see that your questions have all been asked and answered many times before This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
A few years ago we set up a small company dealing with Chinese bikes and quads etc.
We alsohad some generators, car accessories etc all of which were sourced via Alibaba.com.
Up until recently all the supplieres were only interested in supplying 20 or 40 foot container loads of goods.
Now the Credit crunch has seen a dent in their export volumes they are happier to supply smaller quantities, one company even offering to send me free samples, which has been previously unheard of.
I have had my fingers burned by one supplier who supplied completely the wrong motorbikes and then ignored my emails but have also dealt with some good people there.
My advice would be to deal in a product that has few moving parts or electrical components and that is cheap to buy, something you could order a million of, sell without hastle or comback from punters and make £1 clear profit on each.
Don't forget to add in the price of Duty, VAT, shipping agents clearing fees and onwards delivery to your address as well as selling costs.
Many times I have looked at stuff and thought
thats cheap only to be dissapointed when you add in all the ather costs.
We always used a Telegraphic Transfer to pay for the goods and a Bacs transfer to pay the clearance co.
HTH Good luck
We alsohad some generators, car accessories etc all of which were sourced via Alibaba.com.
Up until recently all the supplieres were only interested in supplying 20 or 40 foot container loads of goods.
Now the Credit crunch has seen a dent in their export volumes they are happier to supply smaller quantities, one company even offering to send me free samples, which has been previously unheard of.
I have had my fingers burned by one supplier who supplied completely the wrong motorbikes and then ignored my emails but have also dealt with some good people there.
My advice would be to deal in a product that has few moving parts or electrical components and that is cheap to buy, something you could order a million of, sell without hastle or comback from punters and make £1 clear profit on each.
Don't forget to add in the price of Duty, VAT, shipping agents clearing fees and onwards delivery to your address as well as selling costs.
Many times I have looked at stuff and thought
thats cheap only to be dissapointed when you add in all the ather costs.We always used a Telegraphic Transfer to pay for the goods and a Bacs transfer to pay the clearance co.
HTH Good luck
mouk786 said:
Hi
This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
You'll find living near Southampton makes almost no difference to costs.This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
Transport companies will still charge for removal from the docks to your location. For example, transport from Southampton to Southampton will be around £160, Southampton to Basingstoke around £240. Hardly any difference.
I wouldn't want to dissuade you from trying, but if this is as far as you've got with a business plan, you have quite a long way to go. There are already a lot of people with much more experience doing most products. You'll have to have a pretty good idea for a niche product to get some market share!
Goochie said:
How is duty calculated and at what point in the process is the VAT calculated? pre-duty, post-duty etc.
duty will vary, depending on what it is you are importing and from where.It can be 6, 8 or 10 % IIRC
If you have a CIF price add the appropriate duty and then add VAT
Clearance fees wer about £160 on my last shipment and then the cost of collecting it from the docks.
BTW
just because you ask for your goods to come to a certain docks, it does not mean that they will end up there.
My last lot of bikes entered the UK through Southampton as requested butthe clearing company decidd to unpack the container at their base in Tilbury in Essex.
I either had to drive from Wiltshire to Tilbury to collect, as opposed to Southampton or pay then to deliver it to me.
That's the problem with not having a whole contailer and using CSF (shared container)
mouk786 said:
Hi
This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
There are several HUGE trade shows where you can meet all the manufacturers, and see virtually everything that's being made/marketed. So if you want the latest prodcts, clearance stuff, or your own custom made products with you name on, these are the shows to go to.This is something I have thought abotu doing - ordering in soem cheap stuff from China and selling it online
I live near a dock (Southampton) - what kind of minimum quantity/cost woudl I need to order?
I am going to be small time to start with - i.e hundreds rather than thousands.
Are there any good websites that list the biggest/best wholesalers?
I've just come up with an idea for a product that costs around 15p to make, retails between £3-£6, and should sell 50 million at least. And just when I was looking for a peaceful life
mouk786 said:
My idea is more of a hobby or extra on the side to my 'real' job.
Where are these trades shows?
I am (like everyone else) wondering what I can buy cheap and sell a lot of!
Mostly in China.Where are these trades shows?
I am (like everyone else) wondering what I can buy cheap and sell a lot of!
The Canton fair, which is the biggest, held twice a year in April/October.
There's loads more specialist fairs, and some less specialist throughout the year.
Why not try a google search for 'China trade fair' or similar.
Or do you want us to find you the products, arrange the finance, shipping and sales outlets for you too?
You'll probably have to do a little more research on your own if you're to succeed in this....
mouk786 said:
My idea is more of a hobby or extra on the side to my 'real' job.
Where are these trades shows?
I am (like everyone else) wondering what I can buy cheap and sell a lot of!
Beaten to it, but Canton. Just Google it.Where are these trades shows?
I am (like everyone else) wondering what I can buy cheap and sell a lot of!
Regarding shipping - if you don't want to go for a container, just buy some excess luggage!
British Airways allow you to take an extra dozen of so cases/boxes/packages at 32kg each for just under £100 per case (was just over £60 until Sep last year, Grrr!)
You can fill them up, pay some duty, and the best bit is the goods arrive in the UK with you INSTANTLY!
If you are looking at smaller quantities, this is cheaper than ANY shipping company.
Above this there is a consolidated pallet, where you buy a pallet of stuff and share it in a container (which probably won't save you much money).
Always fun coming through customs with 10 cases!
Also good if you want to test the market, or have specific deadlines to meet.
Edited by Cpn Jack Spanner on Thursday 9th April 09:46
mouk786 said:
Cheers, just been to China on hols, didn't plan on going again so soon, but might have to check it out
All those sellers on ebay selling cheap tat (like headphones etc) do you think they get them from places like this?
Of course you can!All those sellers on ebay selling cheap tat (like headphones etc) do you think they get them from places like this?
The canton fair is a trade show, with thousands of exhibitors showing millions of products. If you have checked it out before replying, you would know this already....
Those sellers on ebay with headphones and other tat are miles ahead of you already. You'll almost definitely find the margins squeezed so tight it's hardly worth the effort. You would have to sell a whole lot of kit to make any decent amount of cash.
If you can find something that hasn't been done to death already, you'll do well. But not headphones. And not ipod cases. And not mp3 players.
There is plenty of stuff you can buy that people haven't done to death yet. Quite shocking really, and it's amazed me for over a decade just how easy it is to buy stuff, bring it over here, and sell it for 4 time what you paid.
I STILL think to myself, "why isn't everyone doing this, it's so easy!".
There are trends to follow though, back in 2002 I had the best product at the best time & queues of people all day. Then everyone jumps on the bandwagon, and it goes to pieces. Then it's time to move onto something else.
I'm personally infamous as being the person who introduced the UK to cheap samurai swords
It was (and still is with the right product) ridiculous, I remember getting annoyed if I listed something on eBay and it didn't sell within an hour!
I STILL think to myself, "why isn't everyone doing this, it's so easy!".
There are trends to follow though, back in 2002 I had the best product at the best time & queues of people all day. Then everyone jumps on the bandwagon, and it goes to pieces. Then it's time to move onto something else.
I'm personally infamous as being the person who introduced the UK to cheap samurai swords
It was (and still is with the right product) ridiculous, I remember getting annoyed if I listed something on eBay and it didn't sell within an hour!
Can you do this privately ie. without starting a business or ltd. company?
So, say, I pay £3000 out of my bank account for a load of stuff and pay all the bills by cheque or cc then sell the gear at car boot sales or suchlike?
Obviously I'd declare any profit on my tax return as income.
And if you can do that why start a business? For vat exemption only?
So, say, I pay £3000 out of my bank account for a load of stuff and pay all the bills by cheque or cc then sell the gear at car boot sales or suchlike?
Obviously I'd declare any profit on my tax return as income.
And if you can do that why start a business? For vat exemption only?
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