So, you all are selling goods imported from China?

[JavierAlonsoMartin]

Good day,

I had the idea that importing from Alibaba in bulk and selling retail was what everyone here was doing to earn their money.

I wanted to jump on the bandwagoon too but noticed that with the taxes placed on border, shipping to your country and then within it, and adding the eBay fees, the margins are extremely low (if not negative).

I'm currently dropshipping, and for some items I have 60-80% margins, which just disappear once you start importing those items.


So, my question is, how do you guys get past this? Do you buy extremely high quantities to negotiate the prices low? Or you don't import from China at all and all this time I've been believing in a lie?


Thank you!

[rsot]

Not everyone here imports from China - just so you are clear.

[JavierAlonsoMartin]

Originally Posted by rsot

Not everyone here imports from China - just so you are clear.

Thanks for the reply.

Local manufacturers then? Just a little bit confused as I feel that I had this whole eBay thing wrong all this time.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by JavierAlonsoMartin

Thanks for the reply.

Local manufacturers then? Just a little bit confused as I feel that I had this whole eBay thing wrong all this time.

Some ppl here dropship. Some ppl find retail wholesale distributors. Some ppl here actually have contracts in China to manufacture their own trademarked goods. Some ppl here do secondary market sales (like resell used stuff). There are so many markets than just Alibaba importing.

[nate]

There are some pure bread hustlers here, that's a guarantee. I sell ANY & EVERYTHING that can triple my money no matter where it originates from. The other side of the world, or right down the street. Any one who limits them selves to one source of income is going to have a ruff time. The people that do are the ones you'll see post here about some other seller moving in on their category doing some so called shady sh#t just because this new seller can sell a product cheaper than them. These people actually believe its impossible for someone else to do what they're doing better than they're doing it. LMFAO

[phaz0rz]

The vast majority of our inventory is imported from China. Import duties vary from country to country as well as customs regulations. I've heard it's difficult to get under-declared shipments into UK, while in USA it's almost impossible to find a shipment that's not under-declared. In USA we aren't charged any import taxes unless the declared value is over $800 (it was $400 until 3/2016), and on top of that customs never seems to verify a shipment's value. It's quite easy for our supplier to break a $5k order into 2 or 3 shipments, each having a declared value under $800.

Leveraging buying power also helps to stay profitable. I remember struggling with the cost of express international shipping on smaller orders.

[unkown5454]

all my stuffs from North Korea like whoa

[phaz0rz]

Originally Posted by unkown5454

all my stuffs from North Korea like whoa

I've always been so curious about NK.

[BigCJ]

North korea is best korea..

[Zelda]

I import stuff from China into EU and my margins are 200%-800% with duties, taxes, etc. included.
So maybe you just need to look for other products that you can sell with higher margins?

[faded]

You just have bad products. And you'll get better pricing if you actually go to China, 90% of alibaba is just distributors, agents and resellers. Its the ebay of China, how many USA factories do you see listing on Ebay?

[phaz0rz]

Originally Posted by faded

You just have bad products.

Not necessarily true. I have a handful of regular customers from Latin American countries who buy from me using forwarding companies. They say due to corruption in their country they are able to get products cheaper from me than if they imported the same products from China themselves, because they would be taxed so heavily on China imports. One guy told me he has to pay over $100 in taxes for an order shipped from China with DHL, when the declared value is $100. I charge 3x more than a factory would and it's still cheaper for them to buy from me.

And you'll get better pricing if you actually go to China, 90% of alibaba is just distributors, agents and resellers. Its the ebay of China, how many USA factories do you see listing on Ebay

taobao is the Ebay of China, not Alibaba. Ali may be flooded with trading companies but it's still geared towards B2B. See how long it takes you to buy a single light switch on Ali, lol. I agree going to China is the best way to find manufacturers, but you can still find good factories on Ali if you do your research. In my experience at least.

[JavierAlonsoMartin]

Thank you all guys for the answers. Seems like I wasn't that mistaken, just not enough hard work finding the right products & suppliers. Although good to know that there are also many different ways besides importing, thanks rsot for mentioning the options.

[vettefever17]

Originally Posted by JavierAlonsoMartin

Thank you all guys for the answers. Seems like I wasn't that mistaken, just not enough hard work finding the right products & suppliers. Although good to know that there are also many different ways besides importing, thanks rsot for mentioning the options.

All of these guys are giving you great advice. Another tip I could give you with China is to never give up price shopping. There is ALWAYS someone cheaper. They market up just like we do in our markets. Remember the difference in currency rates. Put your search for new products as an essential task of your business. I like to put about 20 percent of my business time in observing markets and new products. It keeps you ahead of the curve and cost efficient to the items you already have. Good luck!

[spycat]

Originally Posted by vettefever17

All of these guys are giving you great advice. Another tip I could give you with China is to never give up price shopping. There is ALWAYS someone cheaper. They market up just like we do in our markets. Remember the difference in currency rates. Put your search for new products as an essential task of your business. I like to put about 20 percent of my business time in observing markets and new products. It keeps you ahead of the curve and cost efficient to the items you already have. Good luck!

im agree with this

[toml3030]

Originally Posted by JavierAlonsoMartin

Do you buy extremely high quantities to negotiate the prices low? Or you don't import from China at all and all this time I've been believing in a lie?

I have small manufacturing operations in US and import from China. Once you have volume, the ways to go IMO, is to deal with factory directly and do contract manufacturing. If you do this you can customize your product so your product isn't fungible. Let's say I'm making cheap plastic jewelry, and blue bangle bracelets get hot. I pay the manufacturer directly to make the same blue bangles but make it a slightly different shade of blue and not to sell to anyone else that specific shade of blue. Then I can sell those bangles with under my own brand and charge 2x as much as anyone else. If you want that specific blue bangle you pay my prices because no one else is selling them. By the time competitors copy my products and the price goes down, I have moved on to something else. I have sold products at up to 2000% markup doing things like this.

[toml3030]

Originally Posted by vettefever17

All of these guys are giving you great advice. Another tip I could give you with China is to never give up price shopping. There is ALWAYS someone cheaper.

Once you get big enough, I think it's better to have narrow down your suppliers so you become a big customer for them. If you are a big customer for that company they're more willing to do favors for you and is less likely to screw you, since their profits from screwing you won't be as much as you keep buying from them.

[dallis]

Yeah, I find that too.

I still like to keep other suppliers warmed up and ready to step in though. You never know when your main supplier will flake out.

[vettefever17]

Originally Posted by toml3030

Once you get big enough, I think it's better to have narrow down your suppliers so you become a big customer for them. If you are a big customer for that company they're more willing to do favors for you and is less likely to screw you, since their profits from screwing you won't be as much as you keep buying from them.

You are correct about that. But once you corner a wholesale market with a few of the big boys, you can have a bit of flexibility and options if one cant meet demand. To be honest, most of the bigger guys on these outlets to sell to Americans are the same company. They simply change their profiles to take advantage of the market.

[vogeltron]

I use to do the China game for 6-7 years then for me it became unprofitable with regards to eBay. Now I source liquidations and do lots of retail arb, some thrift stores and estate and garage sales on the weekend. I also go to the Off Price and ASD show in Vegas once a year to get a few wholesale contacts I get products from here and there.

It is way more work sourcing but once you learn my profit margins went way up as well as my sell through rate. No more worrying about VERO for unbranded goods and all the nonsense or b.s. from US Customs. Not to mention all the people still importing phakes which boggles my mind. If you have been on this board as long as I have, that was like 90% of people on here from 08-11.

I respect everyone's hustle. The Private Labels stuff I have found marginal success with Amazon been a complete bust on eBay.

[spycat]

Originally Posted by toml3030

I have small manufacturing operations in US and import from China. Once you have volume, the ways to go IMO, is to deal with factory directly and do contract manufacturing. If you do this you can customize your product so your product isn't fungible. Let's say I'm making cheap plastic jewelry, and blue bangle bracelets get hot. I pay the manufacturer directly to make the same blue bangles but make it a slightly different shade of blue and not to sell to anyone else that specific shade of blue. Then I can sell those bangles with under my own brand and charge 2x as much as anyone else. If you want that specific blue bangle you pay my prices because no one else is selling them. By the time competitors copy my products and the price goes down, I have moved on to something else. I have sold products at up to 2000% markup doing things like this.

if you don't mind, may i know, how you find the manufacture in US?

[MM78]

Originally Posted by spycat

if you don't mind, may i know, how you find the manufacture in US?

Probably same way most find other manufacturers....search?