Advice on Importing

[Tom0151]

Hello All,

I am looking in to starting an small import business with my brother importing various goods from China all low cost items intially.

We have not got a huge budget so will be looking to start as small as possible in terms of costings.

Being completely new to this i was wondering if anyone who has experience in this area could help me with :-

Intial set up cost?
Licences - what do i need if anything?
Reputable wholesale websites i could use from China
General advice on starting up a small "home" import business
What general cost's do i need to look in to?

I appreciate this is a very vague group of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks In Advance

Tom0151

[bebani]

Importing can be quite risky if you have no experience with it. You might want to start out as a trade agent. When you sell products as a trade agent you make less money but the products are never yours. When it works from both sides you can switch to importing and increase you're profit.

[Arhiann]

There's a very good book about it.

amazon.co.uk/Export-How-Started-International-Trade/dp/0071358714/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246391778&sr=8-3

That should answer most of your questions

I can't post a clickable link yet, but I'm sure you can work out whats missing.

[Tom0151]

Thanks for the replies ill have a look at that book all help at the minute would be great!

This is going to be a really naive stupid question but im goping ask it anyway.

I have seen some Chinese wholesalers that sell "designer" goods T-shirts etc, what is the law around buying these and what is the best way of finding out if they are legit or copies? Obviously the price is a give away - but if you bought them in good faith i,e where led to believe they were genuine?

Thanks in advance

Tom

[consultant]

Hi Tom,

some pointers:
Intial set up cost?
from £0 upwards - it depends on how you want to trade. As a sole trader, just start going m(making sure you register with HMRC). For limited company, this can start from £30 up. You then have websites/servers/email/telephones etc - you can always do a lot of this yourselves
Licences - what do i need if anything?
on most things, no licences are required. If in doubt call the HMRC customs help line
Reputable wholesale websites i could use from China
Be careful with Alibaba! Globalsources and HKTDC are good sites. In a lot of cases, you may deal direct with the factory, but it does depend on the type of product and required volumes
General advice on starting up a small "home" import business
Have a look at www.thewholesaleforums.co.uk (mods - is this link ok?). This is more focussed on trading
What general cost's do i need to look in to?
Dont look at a cost price and divide it by the exchange rate and go 'wow, that's cheap. Always remember shipping costs, import duty and VAT - most new importers get this wrong and get stung.

Do not touch branded goods from Asia. Real deals are VERY rare and it is unlikely you would see them without visiting China/Asia.

Finally, ignorance is no excuse when it comes to HMRC - you are liable for all of your actions!


Good luck.

[vtps005]

Before starting a business they should need or know the advice and information about the business and marketing It must be the starting point for the good Business...

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