Is importing fastlane?

[Neeraj]

Would you consider the act of importing certain goods for the purposes of resale, "fastlane"? If so, why? Please elaborate.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Neeraj

 

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[tafy]

Your abviously new here, so welcome

Lots of people get annoyed with these "Is X Y or Z fastlane?" posts, obviously it can be fastlane and there are members here that do very well from importing.

Why is it fastlane?

Well I will tell you how it can be

I import a container of Widgets for 20k
Put them all into the Amazon Storage Facility
List the products for sale on Amazon
Sit back while Amazon does the customer service, returns and the delivery

I have simplified it a lot but thats the gist of it.

 

[GuestUser113]

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/importing-wholesaling-for-resale-on-ebay.51843/

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/ask-me-about-ecommerce.38312/

 

[Neeraj]

Your obviously new here, so welcome

Lots of people get annoyed with these "Is X Y or Z fastlane?" posts, obviously it can be fastlane and there are members here that do very well from importing.

Thank you for your reply. Yes. I'm yet the grasp the ability to ask the right questions.
However, I read somebody's post on this forum about calling importing fastlane and I just wanted to validate that idea.

 

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[Formless]

Welcome. I think a very good lesson you learn on TFF is to ask the right questions, because 1 correct question can give you 10 correct answers. And it gives you a framework for working things out alone.

Here are some questions to ask.

CAN you make importing meet:

The commandment of NEED (E.G. Your target market wants your product).

The commandment of ENTRY (How easy is it to copy you? The more difficult, the better.)

The commandment of CONTROL (You control as much of your business as possible. Suppliers? Amazon?)

The commandment of SCALE (Can this grow significantly?)

The commandment of TIME (Can this business eventually be automated?)

If you have not done so yet, read The Millionaire Fastlane .

 

[Luke1213]

Yes importing can be a fastlane if done correctly. It can be scaled numerous times with thousands of different products.

 

[Neeraj]

Welcome. I think a very good lesson you learn on TFF is to ask the right questions,

CAN you make importing meet:

The commandment of NEED (E.G. Your target market wants your product).

The commandment of ENTRY (How easy is it to copy you? The more difficult, the better.)

The commandment of CONTROL (You control as much of your business as possible. Suppliers? Amazon?)

The commandment of SCALE (Can this grow significantly?)

The commandment of TIME (Can this business eventually be automated?)

If you have not done so yet, read The Millionaire Fastlane .

Thanks! You are right. I'll learn quick about questions to be asked. The questions you've raised a extremely relevant and I suppose, differ with every different importer / reseller / product.

 

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[Walter Hay]

Welcome. I think a very good lesson you learn on TFF is to ask the right questions, because 1 correct question can give you 10 correct answers. And it gives you a framework for working things out alone.

Here are some questions to ask.

CAN you make importing meet:

The commandment of NEED (E.G. Your target market wants your product).

The commandment of ENTRY (How easy is it to copy you? The more difficult, the better.)

The commandment of CONTROL (You control as much of your business as possible. Suppliers? Amazon?)

The commandment of SCALE (Can this grow significantly?)

The commandment of TIME (Can this business eventually be automated?)

If you have not done so yet, read The Millionaire Fastlane .

As one who teaches safe sourcing and easy importing, I believe I am qualified to comment. I will deal with each commandment:

NEED. Provided the new importer has done appropriate research he/she will know what product can be successfully sold, how to sell it, and what price it can be sold for. If those criteria are not met, the project is at high risk of failure.

ENTRY. This is the weakest part of the system. Successful online sellers of physical products often sell via public platforms such as eBay and Amazon where their successful sales become evident and this can render them prone to copying. Amazon have been known to copy successful sellers and put them out of business. Those who sell on their own eCommerce sites are much less at risk of copying, and those who sell B2B are even more secure. A key to minimizing the risk is buying right. I contend that profits begin with the buying process and are consummated in the selling, so I teach how to buy from the best price sources (manufacturers) and methods to make sure that prices paid are as low as reasonably possible.

CONTROL. Secure supply lines can be established by importing provided appropriate measures are taken to develop good relationships with the manufacturers chosen and also by avoiding having all your eggs in one basket. If back up suppliers cannot be found, the product chosen should not be pursued. Control when selling via Amazon or eBay is tenuous. Both have been known to terminate a seller's account for what many regard as trivial reasons. Control when selling on one's own eCommerce site or B2B is far more certain.

SCALE. The sky is the limit. I had one student import for his own flea market stall and rapidly become a wholesaler for stall holders nationwide. Expansion of an importing business is mostly dependent upon sales and marketing. The sourcing and importing part is easy.

TIME. Automation by the use of fulfillment services (not necessarily Amazon FBA) is possible even at an early stage. High profit margins available through buying direct from overseas manufacturers make fulfillment charges manageable and still allow excellent net profits.

Walter