I'm Getting Started with WHOLESALING

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I started Dropshipping for a Chinese supplier to USA market through eBay. I got some good sales. While I'm getting good sales on eBay, I would like to try selling locally since I can the great potentials here.

I love trying different ways in making some good money on the internet and I have been successful so far with all of them and I'm doing this fulltime for a year now.

This time, I would like to branch out with selling physical products. Today I tried buying some products from my dropshipper. I know they are not the good people to buy some wholesale items from. I should buy direct from the manufacturers (which I will do later) or maybe my dropshipper is a manufacturer (not sure really). Well, I don't care about that now. What I care about is the result of this approach.

So here's what I did:

I ordered some sample items from a China based company because I'm thinking about buying some items to sell locally. I still need to learn how much time it will spend to get to my address and how much money (total) including custom tax will I be spending.

Ordered 5 items for $32.65 total + $4.9 shipping and insurance (I paid for the cheapest shipping which is a registered Mail). The item is shipped today and they provide tracking. I'm going to wait for it and I'll observe how much tax will I be paying.

TARGET MARKET: Local

Sell the items for profit.

PLANS:

If this goes well, then I'll order more products and sell more and advertise on the internet.

I HOPE TO GET SOME GOOD RESULTS TOO>

I'll keep this thread updated.
#started #wholesaling
  • Profile picture of the author Jute
    Globalwriterdirect!

    Good luck! I will keep an eye on your thread )

    Cheers

    Jute
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    • Originally Posted by Jute View Post

      Globalwriterdirect!

      Good luck! I will keep an eye on your thread )

      Cheers

      Jute
      Thank you,

      I'm still waiting for the package to arrive. I will update this thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author Deezign
    Sounds like an interesting plan Good luck to you!
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  • UPDATE::::

    I took me almost forever to update this thread. I do apologize. I almost lost hope because I thought the package was lost.

    I found out that the item arrived last March 15, 2013. 15 days after the shipping date however the post office did not contact me. I went to the post office to inquire and they said that it was there and they apologized. I don't want to tell the whole story here. I held my temper during that time.

    EXPENSES:

    $32.65 total + $4.9 shipping and insurance = $37.55
    Custom Fees = $8.75
    TOTAL = $46.3 or last just say $50 for some extra sweat (I walked to the post office because it's 10 minutes away from my house on foot). The post office people in here are d^*U)cks. They didn't even contact me about the package.

    I had 5 items which I can sell for $18 - $20 each. Pretty much awesome ROI.

    MY CURRENT TARGET: Sell the items within 1 week and order some more.

    LESSON LEARNED:

    1. My post office sucks - I need to check the package every now and then.
    2. Importing small items isn't hard in our country. The custom fees are affordable.
    3. I can sell the items real good.

    I am planning to sell the items locally (in our town) in the first 3-5 days. If not all items are sold, then I will post them in Facebook or Ebay.

    I will update this thread real soon.
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  • UPDATE::::

    I took me almost forever to update this thread. I do apologize. I almost lost hope because I thought the package was lost.

    I found out that the item arrived last March 15, 2013. 15 days after the shipping date however the post office did not contact me. I went to the post office to inquire and they said that it was there and they apologized. I don't want to tell the whole story here. I held my temper during that time.

    EXPENSES:

    $32.65 total + $4.9 shipping and insurance = $37.55
    Custom Fees = $8.75
    TOTAL = $46.3 or last just say $50 for some extra sweat (I walked to the post office because it's 10 minutes away from my house on foot). The post office people in here are d^*U)cks. They didn't even contact me about the package.

    I had 5 items which I can sell for $18 - $20 each. Pretty much awesome ROI.

    MY CURRENT TARGET: Sell the items within 1 week and order some more.

    LESSON LEARNED:

    1. My post office sucks - I need to check the package every now and then.
    2. Importing small items isn't hard in our country. The custom fees are affordable.
    3. I can sell the items real good.

    I am planning to sell the items locally (in our town) in the first 3-5 days. If not all items are sold, then I will post them in Facebook or Ebay.

    I will update this thread real soon.
    Signature

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  • Hello,

    I don't know if anybody is reading this thread because nobody has replied to my post. Anyway, I just want to post an update today.

    Last April 1, 2013 in the morning, one of my wife's friend contacted us regarding the item that I have for sale. This is the one that I bought from China.

    I told him that I can sell the item to him for Php 600 or $15. I told him that I am selling the item for less because he is a friend and if he likes it he can tell his friends - (something like referral thing). I paid it right away and I got my first item sold with $5 profit.

    I know it's small amount but this is just a test and I know that I can make this big.

    I decided to take pictures and post them in Facebook and Sulit.com.ph a classified ads website in the Philippines. To my surprise, I got 3 sales in Facebook and my price for it is Php 700 each or $17.5 as a discount price for the first 3 buyers. And the 4th buyer will have to pay Php 900 or $22.5 . Well, they felt the urgency and my Facebook post went viral.

    I also sold the last one for Php 900.

    No more products in my end and I got lots of people who want to buy. LOL.

    MY PROBLEM NOW IS HOW TO TELL MY CUSTOMERS THAT I DON"T HAVE THE PRODUCT ANYMORE.

    Maybe, I'll tell them that they are sold out and I'll inform them once more products are in (after 15 - 30 days DAMN). Well, at least I have a list of buyers.

    SUMMARY:

    EXPENSES : $50
    REVENUE: $90
    PROFITS: $40

    Not really good if we take a look at the time I spent waiting for the product to arrive but if I have lots of items then I would make a killing.

    I'm Buying more items now. Maybe around 10 - 50. I'm going to grow slow because I want to test the CUSTOMS now.

    I will update this thread.

    Please leave your comments.
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    • Profile picture of the author dswconsulting
      Great job on turning a profit! Ill keep an eye on your post to see how things progress.
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    • Profile picture of the author mexabet
      Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post


      To my surprise, I got 3 sales in Facebook
      Can you explain to us how you were able to sell something on Facebook? Or did you mean using Facebook Ads to market your products?

      I would surely appreciate if you can PM me the products you import from China. There's no need to worry - I don't live in your country.
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      • Originally Posted by mexabet View Post

        Can you explain to us how you were able to sell something on Facebook? Or did you mean using Facebook Ads to market your products?

        I would surely appreciate if you can PM me the products you import from China. There's no need to worry - I don't live in your country.
        I just posted it in my wall. The buyers are my facebook friends. I will create a facebook page where I will post all the products I have for sale.

        I didn't have any facebook ads.

        I think I'm not going to tell the product since I'm also selling it in eBay to the US market. Sorry.

        I think, any high quality product would sell for as long you have good connections.
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    • Profile picture of the author marketm
      globalwritersdirect,

      Thanks for updating this thread and keept us informed. You don't pay any taxes in Philippine for importing products from China? What are your strategies on selling offline. Let's say all of your close friends will buy your product, how you will find others to sell your products? You have open a local store or you will use the word-of-mouth advertising?
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      • Originally Posted by marketm View Post

        globalwritersdirect,

        Thanks for updating this thread and keept us informed. You don't pay any taxes in Philippine for importing products from China? What are your strategies on selling offline. Let's say all of your close friends will buy your product, how you will find others to sell your products? You have open a local store or you will use the word-of-mouth advertising?
        I paid taxes:

        EXPENSES:

        $32.65 total + $4.9 shipping and insurance = $37.55
        Custom Fees = $8.75
        TOTAL = $46.3 or last just say $50 for some extra sweat (I walked to the post office because it's 10 minutes away from my house on foot). The post office people in here are d^*U)cks. They didn't even contact me about the package.

        ================================================== =====

        For now, I'm doing it small but I have some big plans for it. It's been my dream to own a brick and mortar business/store in the Philippines.

        As far as I can observe, selling online is very profitable for me. I only buy small items from China or locally and sell it in facebook or to my friends. I only sell unique items or those which are selling really well.

        For now, I sell in Facebook, ebay and sulit.com.ph. I don't have that much item to sell yet so I'm fine with the word of mouth. But when everything's doing fine for me, then I'll scale it up.
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    • Profile picture of the author alvinchua91
      Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

      Hello,

      I don't know if anybody is reading this thread because nobody has replied to my post. Anyway, I just want to post an update today.

      Last April 1, 2013 in the morning, one of my wife's friend contacted us regarding the item that I have for sale. This is the one that I bought from China.

      I told him that I can sell the item to him for Php 600 or $15. I told him that I am selling the item for less because he is a friend and if he likes it he can tell his friends - (something like referral thing). I paid it right away and I got my first item sold with $5 profit.

      I know it's small amount but this is just a test and I know that I can make this big.

      I decided to take pictures and post them in Facebook and Sulit.com.ph a classified ads website in the Philippines. To my surprise, I got 3 sales in Facebook and my price for it is Php 700 each or $17.5 as a discount price for the first 3 buyers. And the 4th buyer will have to pay Php 900 or $22.5 . Well, they felt the urgency and my Facebook post went viral.

      I also sold the last one for Php 900.

      No more products in my end and I got lots of people who want to buy. LOL.

      MY PROBLEM NOW IS HOW TO TELL MY CUSTOMERS THAT I DON"T HAVE THE PRODUCT ANYMORE.

      Maybe, I'll tell them that they are sold out and I'll inform them once more products are in (after 15 - 30 days DAMN). Well, at least I have a list of buyers.

      SUMMARY:

      EXPENSES : $50
      REVENUE: $90
      PROFITS: $40

      Not really good if we take a look at the time I spent waiting for the product to arrive but if I have lots of items then I would make a killing.

      I'm Buying more items now. Maybe around 10 - 50. I'm going to grow slow because I want to test the CUSTOMS now.

      I will update this thread.

      Please leave your comments.
      Sounds really good. I'm inspired to try starting small with physical products and selling them. When I have found several winners I will start scaling.

      May I know how you sourced for your suppliers? Alibaba? Or where?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jute
    Hi Globalwritersdirect,

    Nice to hear that you are making money... even though not millions yet but still you are making a profit and that is more than alot of other people are.

    I would recommend you to be honest with your customers and say that you have run out of stock, because the demand was "to high" and that new products are on its way but it will take bla bla days before they arrive.

    Good luck and keep us updated!

    Regards

    Jute
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    • Profile picture of the author ZachRobinson
      What products are you selling?
      Signature

      Zach Robinson

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      • Originally Posted by ZachRobinson View Post

        What products are you selling?
        I'm not sure if it's okay to tell you what I am selling. I'm sorry. Or if you are really interested to know then I can send you a PM.
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    • Originally Posted by Jute View Post

      Hi Globalwritersdirect,

      Nice to hear that you are making money... even though not millions yet but still you are making a profit and that is more than alot of other people are.

      I would recommend you to be honest with your customers and say that you have run out of stock, because the demand was "to high" and that new products are on its way but it will take bla bla days before they arrive.

      Good luck and keep us updated!

      Regards

      Jute
      Hi Jute,

      Yes, it's a good feeling knowing that I can make money with this. I'm still in the test phase though. I will order 3-5 products (5-10 items each) and see how much custom will charge me for it.

      Yes, I already replied to those who want to buy from me. I told them that new items will arrive within 15-20 days and they'll be the first people to know.

      I'm enjoying this.
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    • Profile picture of the author gkuang2
      Originally Posted by Jute View Post

      Hi Globalwritersdirect,

      Nice to hear that you are making money... even though not millions yet but still you are making a profit and that is more than alot of other people are.

      I would recommend you to be honest with your customers and say that you have run out of stock, because the demand was "to high" and that new products are on its way but it will take bla bla days before they arrive.

      Good luck and keep us updated!

      Regards

      Jute
      This guy is absolutely right. You want to build a good reputation with your buyers. Even though you lost out on a sale this time around, it helps with the reputation and more sales will come from this in the future.
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  • Profile picture of the author jking1
    Good Luck.

    Do you provide me a list of genuine Chinese Wholesalers list ?
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    • Originally Posted by jking1 View Post

      Good Luck.

      Do you provide me a list of genuine Chinese Wholesalers list ?

      I don't understand your question. sorry .
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      • Profile picture of the author MKaren
        Hi there,

        seem you have started right there... I would like to know hows the quality of the product?

        I mean, is your dropshipper offers to find you good quality products in china?
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        • Originally Posted by MKaren View Post

          Hi there,

          seem you have started right there... I would like to know hows the quality of the product?

          I mean, is your dropshipper offers to find you good quality products in china?
          I sell on eBay and I never had any issues with the quality of the products. All my customers are happy. So as with my local customers, they are happy with the products.

          My dropshipper has a list of products and they are all high quality. I know that there is a much cheaper source for these items but I am not ready for them yet. I don't have the money to buy in bulk. My droshipper can ship small packages which I can afford at the moment so I think I'm going to stick with them at the moment.
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          • Profile picture of the author MKaren
            Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

            I sell on eBay and I never had any issues with the quality of the products. All my customers are happy. So as with my local customers, they are happy with the products.

            My dropshipper has a list of products and they are all high quality. I know that there is a much cheaper source for these items but I am not ready for them yet. I don't have the money to buy in bulk. My droshipper can ship small packages which I can afford at the moment so I think I'm going to stick with them at the moment.

            Good Job! ..keep up the good work and let us learn from you, hope I can also contact you in the future and perhaps you can help me out with a few pointers

            thanks for this thread :p
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            • Originally Posted by MKaren View Post

              Good Job! ..keep up the good work and let us learn from you, hope I can also contact you in the future and perhaps you can help me out with a few pointers

              thanks for this thread :p
              I know that there are a lot of people out there who have been making it big selling items offline and online. I'm just a start up and I'm still testing the waters but I want to share my experience as a form of gratitude to those who have helped me achieved what I have reached so far.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trevorjc
    Just sent my first shipment of to Amazon, just some old and nearly new books as i'm testing out the FBA procedure. If this goes well i'll maybe sell some more but ideally i wish to sell new in demand products probable imported from China.

    Good luck to you.
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    • Originally Posted by Trevorjc View Post

      Just sent my first shipment of to Amazon, just some old and nearly new books as i'm testing out the FBA procedure. If this goes well i'll maybe sell some more but ideally i wish to sell new in demand products probable imported from China.

      Good luck to you.
      Have you purchased some sample items to see the quality?
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      • Profile picture of the author Trevorjc
        Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

        Have you purchased some sample items to see the quality?
        No it was just some books that i had that i no longer wanted. It was more to test the system to see how it worked. Shipment was received into warehouse today at 2.00 am and by 8 one had already sold
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        • Profile picture of the author Knowledgepa
          Global..I am in the Atlanta, Ga area. PM me if you get a chance. Maybe we can help each other along the way. Seems like we are on the same page. Nothing like networking and utilizing all resources. Hope everything is going well!
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          • Sent you a PM.
            Signature

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          • Originally Posted by Knowledgepa View Post

            Global..I am in the Atlanta, Ga area. PM me if you get a chance. Maybe we can help each other along the way. Seems like we are on the same page. Nothing like networking and utilizing all resources. Hope everything is going well!
            Sent you a PM
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        • Originally Posted by Trevorjc View Post

          No it was just some books that i had that i no longer wanted. It was more to test the system to see how it worked. Shipment was received into warehouse today at 2.00 am and by 8 one had already sold
          You can actually sell anything now. You can even sell rocks online.
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  • Profile picture of the author Knowledgepa
    Hello Global. I am also using the strategy that you mentioned about selling locally as well as online. I am ordering a few products from the Wholesaler and have been selling them to a few people. I have rented a booth at an indoor market (mainly for advertising my banner with the website info), talked to a few business owners, advertised on craigslist and I am currently looking into a kiosk to place products. I agree with using all strategies to get the product known and in demand. Things are moving slowly for me...but they are moving. I will keep doing my part and let time take care of the rest. Good Luck!
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    • Originally Posted by Knowledgepa View Post

      Hello Global. I am also using the strategy that you mentioned about selling locally as well as online. I am ordering a few products from the Wholesaler and have been selling them to a few people. I have rented a booth at an indoor market (mainly for advertising my banner with the website info), talked to a few business owners, advertised on craigslist and I am currently looking into a kiosk to place products. I agree with using all strategies to get the product known and in demand. Things are moving slowly for me...but they are moving. I will keep doing my part and let time take care of the rest. Good Luck!
      Where are you located at? You are steps away from me. I just got started and you have a nice strategy.
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  • I'm going to update this thread with the strategy that I am using.
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  • It's been 7 days since my last post in this thread. I was too busy managing my business.

    My affiliate website has been making sales like crazy. Got 9 eBook sales and 2 physical products in the last 2 days. Anyway, that's not what I'm going to talk about here but that's what keeping me too excited and planned for my next affiliate website doing research and planning the contents and everything for my next project.

    OKAY, here's my wholesaling project update:

    My next batch of items haven't arrived yet. I actually reinvested all the money including the profits so that I can get more items to sell.

    I'm going to grow this one. I invested $50.


    SUMMARY OF MY FIRST BATCH OF ORDERED ITEMS:

    TOTAL INVESTMENT/EXPENSES: $50
    Revenue: $90
    Profit: $40

    I reinvested all $90. This time I purchased 10 and added new items/designs of products in the same niche.

    I will keep this one growing until I can reach thousands of $$$$.

    Please let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.

    Thank you very much.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    What is the business plan? How do you plan to scale?
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    • Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

      What is the business plan? How do you plan to scale?
      Buy low, sell high.

      Sell online through eBay, Facebook, word of mouth, local (everywhere) - I have connections and I'm good at selling stuff, sulit.com.ph, and other channels.

      I invested $50 for this and I'm pretty sure that it would take me months before I can get the enough amount to start my own website and to buy bulk number of items to sell but I would get there.

      Then I'll create my own ecommerce website selling the products nationwide (Philippine market).

      Next step, is to build my own brick and mortar store or sell the products in bulk to local stores to unload the burden of running my own store.

      Is this a plan?
      I'm not good at creating business plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    Not really a plan. How do you intend to sell bulk/through your website? Will you buy traffic? Do you have experience with ppc and CPA?
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    • Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

      Not really a plan. How do you intend to sell bulk/through your website? Will you buy traffic? Do you have experience with ppc and CPA?
      I mentioned that I'm slowing everything down until I can make this big.

      I don't have any experience with PPC or CPA but I am doing well with Affiliate Marketing, Selling stuff on ebay and other ecommerce website. I'm not going to buy traffic. Buying traffic or ads will surely provide me with good results but I am not ready with it and I don't have any plan to do it.

      This business is not only about selling online. The internet is just one of the many ways you can sell stuff.

      I don't need my own website right now because I only have a low inventory.

      Have you read my posts in this thread? That explains everything.

      Do you have any suggestions? Why do you say that my plan is not a plan? Sorry just a newbie here who's taking action and documenting his steps on this thread to keep him motivated.
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  • Profile picture of the author chenyanroger
    Ok,
    I think globalwritersdirect's plan is just a beginning.

    I advise you to wholesale items by express.
    You can save much time.

    And, if you are interested in getting help of sourcing, I can help you.
    Good relationship is everything.

    Roger.
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    • Originally Posted by chenyanroger View Post

      Ok,
      I think globalwritersdirect's plan is just a beginning.

      I advise you to wholesale items by express.
      You can save much time.

      And, if you are interested in getting help of sourcing, I can help you.
      Good relationship is everything.

      Roger.

      Hello,

      Thank you for stopping by in this thread.

      How can you help? Express? Tell me more about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author haero
    Good luck bud! Thanks for sharing your new internet business ideas.
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  • UPDATE:

    I think this is the right time for me to post an update.

    I reinvested my $90 (original investment was $50 + $40 profit for the first investment). I got my items in the post office last 2 days ago. All of the items were actually presold. I already got orders before all of them arrived. Now, I have $190 with $100 profit now.

    NEW FOUND OPPORTUNITY (An angel sent from heaven?)

    If you're going to take a look at the thread posts. Somebody, (chenyanroger), he offered to source my items.

    I was hesitant to contact him because there are a lot of scammers on the internet nowadays but I contacted him and I said to myself "maybe I can take a little money at risk. Well, businesses have risks and it's better to try than do nothing".

    We chatted in Skype and I found out that Roger (his real name) is a very professional small business owner in China and he is very kind. He said that he likes my ideas and he wants to help me. And he offered something really great (cooperation and partnership for long term basis). We agreed on something which I won't provide the details to make the story short.

    He sourced for me. We chatted for long hours which is healthy for both of us to get the business going and to make it grow. I shared my plans and he shared his. Our plans jive and we agreed to make it big. He sourced every product that I had on my list.

    I actually listed 15 products which I found to be profitable and hot selling in my country. I purchased my number 1 from a trader website since I only had $50. Now, he purchased almost all in my list which is pretty awesome. We decided to purchase just small quantity to verify my research. Now, all the items are on its way to his office and he will ship them on Monday through Express shipping.

    I'm getting too excited.

    He did all the job of sourcing the products, and he did a very good job.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    MY TASKS:

    Roger did the sourcing stuff which he did pretty much fast and he was able to get high quality products for low prices because I purchased directly from manufacturers. He knows how to deal with them better than all of us because he is from China.

    My task is to sell the items. Now, here's what I am doing.

    1. Preselling

    I created a Facebook page where I sold some of my items I purchased from my dropshipper. Now, I'm using it to announce the items.

    RESULT -- Got orders and I know which ones are really hot items to sell based on the people who contacted me. Got 17 people contacted me after within 48 hours. The Facebook is getting more likes now.

    2. Getting the Items.

    We are split testing the shipping methods.

    a. Through EMS which will go to our post office.

    I'm gonna to pick up the items and pay the taxes in the post office.

    b. Through DHL.

    DHL will collect the taxes from me.

    We're going to check which ones better when it comes to speed, custom, etc. I'm not going to provide all the details about this. I'm going to discuss this in my next update.
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  • Profile picture of the author todawg_not
    Congratulations on taking action globalwriterdirect. You basically ahead of 95% of the people out there.

    I'll keep a eye on this post.

    I've been importing for 10yrs. I've travelled into mainland China & HK many times. Sold and imported a lot of things. Started with His & Her watch sets, perfume, toys, digital camera's, to Gym sets, trampolines, to ATV's and everything in between.

    If you have any questions about importing pm me

    Nigel
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    • Profile picture of the author chenyanroger
      Originally Posted by todawg_not View Post

      Congratulations on taking action globalwriterdirect. You basically ahead of 95% of the people out there.

      I'll keep a eye on this post.

      I've been importing for 10yrs. I've travelled into mainland China & HK many times. Sold and imported a lot of things. Started with His & Her watch sets, perfume, toys, digital camera's, to Gym sets, trampolines, to ATV's and everything in between.

      If you have any questions about importing pm me

      Nigel
      Hi, thanks for your regard. it's a very interesting project between globalwritersdirect and me.
      Waiting for some good news next week.
      All sourced items will arrive at my office tomorrow.
      The most unknown point is the way from my office to his point.
      We don't know how much we will pay for tax.
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      • Originally Posted by chenyanroger View Post

        Hi, thanks for your regard. it's a very interesting project between globalwritersdirect and me.
        Waiting for some good news next week.
        All sourced items will arrive at my office tomorrow.
        The most unknown point is the way from my office to his point.
        We don't know how much we will pay for tax.

        Yes...

        Our partnership is awesome and I'm very excited with the result.
        Signature

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    • Originally Posted by todawg_not View Post

      Congratulations on taking action globalwriterdirect. You basically ahead of 95% of the people out there.

      I'll keep a eye on this post.

      I've been importing for 10yrs. I've travelled into mainland China & HK many times. Sold and imported a lot of things. Started with His & Her watch sets, perfume, toys, digital camera's, to Gym sets, trampolines, to ATV's and everything in between.

      If you have any questions about importing pm me

      Nigel

      Nigel,

      Thank you very much for stopping by. Where are you located at? I'm pretty sure we have different importing rules because I'm from the Philippines.
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    • Profile picture of the author juluis
      Thanks for sharing kabayan... I'll watch this thread too.


      Regards
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      • Originally Posted by juluis View Post

        Thanks for sharing kabayan... I'll watch this thread too.


        Regards
        Thank you for stopping by KABAYAN.

        How about you? What's your online business?
        Signature

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        • Profile picture of the author juluis
          Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

          Thank you for stopping by KABAYAN.

          How about you? What's your online business?
          I start doing my own classified ads site, planning to have my online store too.

          Currently I am working here in saudi arabia.

          Can i pm you? Need to discuss something...

          Regards
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          • Originally Posted by juluis View Post

            I start doing my own classified ads site, planning to have my online store too.

            Currently I am working here in saudi arabia.

            Can i pm you? Need to discuss something...

            Regards
            Yes sure. PM me. I'm online everyday.
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    • Profile picture of the author BigSistah16
      Hi Nigel,

      I'm new to the Warrior forum and would love to find out more about importing?

      Bigsistah

      Originally Posted by todawg_not View Post

      Congratulations on taking action globalwriterdirect. You basically ahead of 95% of the people out there.

      I'll keep a eye on this post.

      I've been importing for 10yrs. I've travelled into mainland China & HK many times. Sold and imported a lot of things. Started with His & Her watch sets, perfume, toys, digital camera's, to Gym sets, trampolines, to ATV's and everything in between.

      If you have any questions about importing pm me

      Nigel
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      • Profile picture of the author Importexport
        Originally Posted by BigSistah16 View Post

        Hi Nigel,

        I'm new to the Warrior forum and would love to find out more about importing?

        Bigsistah
        Hi Bigsistah,

        Importing direct from the manufacturer is easy and beats the low profit dropshipping model by miles.

        Buying from wholesalers only feeds their bank accounts at your expense. Buying from dropshippers and trying to sell on eBay only feeds eBay's bank account.

        Buying from manufacturers puts money into your bank account. Profits are made by buying right. If you buy at a price that allows you to cover all your selling costs and still make profits of 100% or 500% why would you settle for 5% or 10%?

        Don't worry about the old story that manufacturers require huge orders. They will all ask for big minimum orders (MOQ), wouldn't you? The good news is that if you approach them the right way they will supply small orders.

        I ran an importing business for 22 years before retiring, and most orders were below $500, and quite often shipments valued at about $100 came in. Profit margins were massive. Until you get quotes from the factories you could not imagine how low the cost of some products can be.
        Signature
        Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    Have you tried ebay alternatives, CG etc?
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    • Originally Posted by WeavingThoughts View Post

      Have you tried ebay alternatives, CG etc?
      I don't know if we have craiglist in the Philippines.

      Yes, eBay is just one of the places where I sell the items.
      Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author chenyanroger
    updated:all sourced items arrived at my office.
    They will be shippped by 1 DHL package and 2 or 3 EMS packages.

    ---------------------------------------------
    all items were collected by express.
    2 EMS packages, 1 dhl package.

    DHL asked me to pay extra 30 usd for remote area
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    • Originally Posted by chenyanroger View Post

      updated:all sourced items arrived at my office.
      They will be shippped by 1 DHL package and 2 or 3 EMS packages.

      ---------------------------------------------
      all items were collected by express.
      2 EMS packages, 1 dhl package.

      DHL asked me to pay extra 30 usd for remote area
      Yes,

      EMS tracking is already showing that it's on its way now. Too excited to see the packages. It's my first to get such quantity.

      Roger and I decided to send in different packages to test it. We don't want to put all our products in one package just to make sure that we won't lose a lot of custom or anything becomes crazy.

      We are still in the testing phase so I will keep this thread updated. This should also provide all Philippines based businessmen who want to get started with importing a little guide on how they can get started. I think I'll be creating my own WSO soon for Filipino Businessmen.

      Roger really is very helpful in making this into a reality.
      Signature

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  • I've been away for quite some time because I was too busy marketing the items that Roger sourced for me.

    Now, I'm back to give the update.

    UPDATE:

    The two EMS packages arrived safely and I paid a reasonable amount for the tax. All items almost sold out but there are some items which are damaged. It could be caused by the transit or factory defects. I don't know.

    I already informed Roger about the damages. He is very professional in handling my frustration. He apologized even if it's not his fault. I like this man.

    PROBLEM:

    While the two items arrived to my address without any problems, the other parcel which was sent via DHL was held by custom. They are looking for a lot of legal papers like NTC clearance, import license, etc and custom said that they want to see the billing proof because the value is too low for the items.

    I contacted DHL regarding the matter. I don't have any NTC clearance and import license so they advised me to get an affidavit of ownership and get it signed by a lawyer. I did and spent some money for it. And I am preparing for the expensive custom fees and DHL warehouse fees and delay fees.

    I HATE DHL and I will never use them again! All people should avoid them!

    I'm currently waiting for DHL to provide me with the update. The parcel has been on hold for 2 weeks now. I hope to get this fixed and move on. I won't make the same mistake again!
    Signature

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    • Profile picture of the author jimmterry
      Hi there,

      I just started reading your thread. You gave me inspiration. I keep an eye on this. Thanks for your posts
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    • Profile picture of the author chenyanroger
      Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

      I've been away for quite some time because I was too busy marketing the items that Roger sourced for me.

      Now, I'm back to give the update.

      UPDATE:

      The two EMS packages arrived safely and I paid a reasonable amount for the tax. All items almost sold out but there are some items which are damaged. It could be caused by the transit or factory defects. I don't know.

      I already informed Roger about the damages. He is very professional in handling my frustration. He apologized even if it's not his fault. I like this man.

      PROBLEM:

      While the two items arrived to my address without any problems, the other parcel which was sent via DHL was held by custom. They are looking for a lot of legal papers like NTC clearance, import license, etc and custom said that they want to see the billing proof because the value is too low for the items.

      I contacted DHL regarding the matter. I don't have any NTC clearance and import license so they advised me to get an affidavit of ownership and get it signed by a lawyer. I did and spent some money for it. And I am preparing for the expensive custom fees and DHL warehouse fees and delay fees.

      I HATE DHL and I will never use them again! All people should avoid them!

      I'm currently waiting for DHL to provide me with the update. The parcel has been on hold for 2 weeks now. I hope to get this fixed and move on. I won't make the same mistake again!
      I think it is not DHL's fault. They must obey your laws and rules.
      Because the customs check it carefully.

      I guess there will be more problems between Philippine and China soon.
      Because a conflict happened.
      Why do we must bear the loss for political problem ?
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      • Profile picture of the author todawg_not
        Originally Posted by chenyanroger View Post

        I think it is not DHL's fault. They must obey your laws and rules.
        Because the customs check it carefully.

        I guess there will be more problems between Philippine and China soon.
        Because a conflict happened.
        Why do we must bear the loss for political problem ?
        You must always have the invoice of the goods of sale either on the parcel or inside the parcel no questions asked.

        Customs are looking to establish the value of the goods your importing so you pay duties on it. It needs to be decarled everytime so no doggyness is going on.

        This has nothing to do with DHL. It's Customs enforcing this law on the carrier DHL.

        I would co-operate with Customs as much as you can because next time you import anything they can make life hard for you if they want too.

        Take it as a lesson learnt. Move on to the next product and make some coin.
        Signature

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        • Originally Posted by todawg_not View Post

          You must always have the invoice of the goods of sale either on the parcel or inside the parcel no questions asked.

          Customs are looking to establish the value of the goods your importing so you pay duties on it. It needs to be decarled everytime so no doggyness is going on.

          This has nothing to do with DHL. It's Customs enforcing this law on the carrier DHL.

          I would co-operate with Customs as much as you can because next time you import anything they can make life hard for you if they want too.

          Take it as a lesson learnt. Move on to the next product and make some coin.
          Thank you. I will keep that in mind.
          Signature

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        • Profile picture of the author chenyanroger
          Originally Posted by todawg_not View Post

          You must always have the invoice of the goods of sale either on the parcel or inside the parcel no questions asked.

          Customs are looking to establish the value of the goods your importing so you pay duties on it. It needs to be decarled everytime so no doggyness is going on.

          This has nothing to do with DHL. It's Customs enforcing this law on the carrier DHL.

          I would co-operate with Customs as much as you can because next time you import anything they can make life hard for you if they want too.

          Take it as a lesson learnt. Move on to the next product and make some coin.
          PI was sent with the package.
          We put a low price on the PI.
          So, the problem came.

          Sure, we must change the suitable price to avoice the problem.
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    • Profile picture of the author ivanela33
      Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

      I've been away for quite some time because I was too busy marketing the items that Roger sourced for me.

      Now, I'm back to give the update.

      UPDATE:

      The two EMS packages arrived safely and I paid a reasonable amount for the tax. All items almost sold out but there are some items which are damaged. It could be caused by the transit or factory defects. I don't know.

      I already informed Roger about the damages. He is very professional in handling my frustration. He apologized even if it's not his fault. I like this man.

      PROBLEM:

      While the two items arrived to my address without any problems, the other parcel which was sent via DHL was held by custom. They are looking for a lot of legal papers like NTC clearance, import license, etc and custom said that they want to see the billing proof because the value is too low for the items.

      I contacted DHL regarding the matter. I don't have any NTC clearance and import license so they advised me to get an affidavit of ownership and get it signed by a lawyer. I did and spent some money for it. And I am preparing for the expensive custom fees and DHL warehouse fees and delay fees.

      I HATE DHL and I will never use them again! All people should avoid them!

      I'm currently waiting for DHL to provide me with the update. The parcel has been on hold for 2 weeks now. I hope to get this fixed and move on. I won't make the same mistake again!
      This may vary from country to country, but here is the U.S, DHL has been one of the better options to have my items shipped from China. I usually get my items in 2 days once it has left China. It's been about 3 years that I"ve used them and have only had an issue once but it wasn't their fault in that particular situation.
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      • Originally Posted by ivanela33 View Post

        This may vary from country to country, but here is the U.S, DHL has been one of the better options to have my items shipped from China. I usually get my items in 2 days once it has left China. It's been about 3 years that I"ve used them and have only had an issue once but it wasn't their fault in that particular situation.
        Yes, I think it varies from country to country. I also have read a thread in ebay where Filipinos have some problems with their packages. China, USA, UK, Canada or wherever the packages are sent from - DHL Philippines have complaints.

        I think DHL is not a best option here in our country.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kayster13
    In reading this thread, I have been inspired to think about going in this direction myself. ThanX for the encouragement.
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    • Originally Posted by Kayster13 View Post

      In reading this thread, I have been inspired to think about going in this direction myself. ThanX for the encouragement.

      I'm glad that it has inspired you.

      Before taking this same direction, be ready with problems and do your research. Do not spend much first and do not stock much inventory.

      Start small and scale up.
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  • Profile picture of the author raykey
    discussion in here is very interesting
    maybe I will try to do the same

    I will study the market in my town
    what products are more potential

    thanks for your share
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    • Profile picture of the author Knowledgepa
      Hello Global. Just stopped by to see how things are going. Hope all is well. I am steadily moving along. Now if I can just figure out this marketing thing..I should be ok. Best of Luck to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hydraman
    Sound interesting. Will look out for your update


    Originally Posted by globalwritersdirect View Post

    I started Dropshipping for a Chinese supplier to USA market through eBay. I got some good sales. While I'm getting good sales on eBay, I would like to try selling locally since I can the great potentials here.

    I love trying different ways in making some good money on the internet and I have been successful so far with all of them and I'm doing this fulltime for a year now.

    This time, I would like to branch out with selling physical products. Today I tried buying some products from my dropshipper. I know they are not the good people to buy some wholesale items from. I should buy direct from the manufacturers (which I will do later) or maybe my dropshipper is a manufacturer (not sure really). Well, I don't care about that now. What I care about is the result of this approach.

    So here's what I did:

    I ordered some sample items from a China based company because I'm thinking about buying some items to sell locally. I still need to learn how much time it will spend to get to my address and how much money (total) including custom tax will I be spending.

    Ordered 5 items for $32.65 total + $4.9 shipping and insurance (I paid for the cheapest shipping which is a registered Mail). The item is shipped today and they provide tracking. I'm going to wait for it and I'll observe how much tax will I be paying.

    TARGET MARKET: Local

    Sell the items for profit.

    PLANS:

    If this goes well, then I'll order more products and sell more and advertise on the internet.

    I HOPE TO GET SOME GOOD RESULTS TOO>

    I'll keep this thread updated.
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  • Profile picture of the author islandgal
    Just came across this thread. I live in a small country and import from China. I have had incredible problems with DH HELL. Every single package through them was a disaster. They held them back, ignored the shipping costs and put on their own value, which was much, much higher, because we are charged duties on freight. They even added massive freight charges more than 50% of the purchase cost on one order where I got free shipping.. We are charged a processing fee on incoming orders and they put the processing fee on every package instead of the total order (when there were six packages). On top of that, we have to call them five or six times to deliver the goods though we pay for door to door. If we don't call, they leave it a week or two without telling us. Usually we have to go to their depot at the airport and get the goods ourselves and deal with customs personally. We've used five shipping companies and they are the only one we have problems with. I have even been harassed by them when they called many times to insist I pay duties on a parcel that wasn't even mine. They assumed it was mine, because my FIRST name was the same. I will never, ever use DH Hell again, anywhere.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by islandgal View Post

      Just came across this thread. I live in a small country and import from China. I have had incredible problems with DH HELL. Every single package through them was a disaster. They held them back, ignored the shipping costs and put on their own value, which was much, much higher, because we are charged duties on freight. They even added massive freight charges more than 50% of the purchase cost on one order where I got free shipping.. We are charged a processing fee on incoming orders and they put the processing fee on every package instead of the total order (when there were six packages). On top of that, we have to call them five or six times to deliver the goods though we pay for door to door. If we don't call, they leave it a week or two without telling us. Usually we have to go to their depot at the airport and get the goods ourselves and deal with customs personally. We've used five shipping companies and they are the only one we have problems with. I have even been harassed by them when they called many times to insist I pay duties on a parcel that wasn't even mine. They assumed it was mine, because my FIRST name was the same. I will never, ever use DH Hell again, anywhere.
      Hi islandgal,

      They have certainly given you a bad time.

      There may be a few things that you can do to make life a little easier for yourself.

      It would seem to me that you are probably receiving the goods on a "freight payable on delivery" basis. That puts you at the mercy of your local office of the international couriers and can end up costing you heaps. I always teach that you must never agree to a supplier sending shipments on that basis.

      Always require the supplier to quote you a price for the goods on a prepaid door to door basis including customs clearance charges..Before you confirm your order ask them if the courier has confirmed their rate on that basis in writing.

      Do you know if your country has a duty free threshold for small shipments? If it has, always get you supplier to send shipments of no more than that value. (It must always be a genuine value!) Also remember that values for duty purposes do include freight. If you don't know about the threshold I can tell you if you let me know which country. You can do so with a PM if you don't want to disclose it publicly.

      If you have placed an order for $1,000 worth of goods, and your duty threshold is $300, get them to send the goods in 4 parcels, but they must be at least 3 days apart otherwise they will be added together and you will not avoid duty.

      If your shipment value will always exceed any threshold, I suggest that you have the goods sent on an airport to airport basis and get a customs broker to handle the clearance for you. In this case also the freight must be prepaid by your supplier.

      Possibly a better alternative is to have the supplier quote you on an FOB basis and then you get a freight forwarder to arrange shipment and that will include customs clearance. I hope you could find a local freight forwarder that you can trust. If not here are international ones who would not tolerate a local agent treating you the way you have been treated.

      When you say you got free shipping in one case, it seems that you are probably sourcing supplies through a site such as Aliexpress or DH Gate. You can probably do a lot better if you go direct to manufacturers, even if your orders are small.

      I teach how to safely source small quantities direct from real manufacturers at genuine ex-factory prices. The massive savings that are possible on product cost are boosted by the fact that manufacturers are shipping out large volumes every day and as a result they get the very best rates from the air couriers.
      Signature
      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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      • Profile picture of the author islandgal
        Thanks for the very detailed response ImportExport!
        The order I mentioned was AliExpress. There is no duty free allowance here. It's only $100 including freight on personal products and if that comes via the postal service (taking around six weeks typically) they sometimes charge a clearance fee of around $20 anyway. Depends what they feel like on the day. I will PM you and let you know which country, I don't want to reveal that here. It's a very small place.
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        • Profile picture of the author Importexport
          Originally Posted by islandgal View Post

          Thanks for the very detailed response ImportExport!
          The order I mentioned was AliExpress. There is no duty free allowance here. It's only $100 including freight on personal products and if that comes via the postal service (taking around six weeks typically) they sometimes charge a clearance fee of around $20 anyway. Depends what they feel like on the day. I will PM you and let you know which country, I don't want to reveal that here. It's a very small place.
          Thanks for your PM islandgal. There are much bigger countries that present a similar problem.

          Without getting into the practice of bribes that many people resort to in order to solve such problems, the only successful way around it that I have seen is to set up a joint venture with a local and let them be the front.

          Best wishes.
          Signature
          Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author BoltAds
    Hello fellow warriors and gurus of import

    I just want to ask you how do you search for a market trend in your country/location for imports or other merchandise? I went to google and found nothing of relevancy. Actually, I think I'm doing this wrong. Can you guys help?

    Cheers and good luck!
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