First time importer

[Jambla]

My first ever sea shipment arrived yesterday, one pallet. Lots of packing to do this weekend
Another 400 units. I do regret ordering this amount. The plan was to hit PPC hard and get up the rankings but since my first batch PPC costs have increased, i cant use PPC and make a profit anymore. I was looking at some data for previous older campaigns and it was costing me on average £0.6 per click and due to increased competition the cost has gone up to £1.80 this week. I will be looking at other platforms to sell these as well.

I have spent quite a bit on PPC but it has brought up another product idea that looks a lot less competition and PPC click is cheap. This will be my next product.

In another exciting news, I was talking to my sister in law toady and she has started a new job. She works for a guy that does ecommerce and is turning over millions, selling on loads of different platforms. Its funny because she was telling me she is learning Amazon at the moment, basically what I am doing. No doubt she will be able to give me advice as she is managing Amazon on a much larger scale. Her boss could be a very good contact as well!

 

[Walter Hay]

If your 30% deposit was less than $1,000 you are not covered by Alibaba's Trade Assurance scheme, even if you requested it and the seller agreed. If you pay the balance before shipment, as suppliers almost invariably require, that balance is not covered.

If you raise a dispute, you will be required to have another intersection done before shipment. Alibaba specify that you must use SGS, and that will cost you several times as much as you paid for your partial quality inspection.

I have posted in detail on the subject of Trade Assurance. See here: Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist. and you might like to search for my other posts on the subject also. For the benefit of others who might read this thread, I would like you all to know that Trade Assurance is full of loopholes, and at the very least you should look at the explanation that I have posted on my AMA,

Regarding your quality issue, I don't know what product you are buying, but there are many types of product in which stitching or embroidery leave loose threads, and if you don't want them left on the item, you should specify that with your order. It is standard practice for manufacturers to charge extra for that very labor intensive service.

Walter

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter thanks for dropping in. Yes trade assurance isn't without its flaws but it seemed like the safest way of paying for my first shipment on Alibaba. Regarding the $1000 minimum covered amount, this was removed and there is no minimum amount anymore. The pre shipment inspector took photos of all my units with branding on, so I am hopeful they will be sent!

The loose threads is something I wasn't expecting but may well be an industry standard as you suggested. At least I know now and can stipulate this in my next order.

I think I will purchase your book shortly, no doubt it will be a gold mine of information with experience you have!

Thanks for pointing out the change regarding minimum order value to qualify for Trade Assurance.

Alibaba are constantly changing the rules, and it is hard to keep up with all those changes. They have even changed the name of the document. It was previously Trade Assurance Terms and Conditions, but is now Trade Assurance Rules. As before, it is very complicated, and is not well presented, containing ambiguities, contradictions, and even basic typographical mistakes.

One amusing mistake relates to penalties imposed on sellers who breach the rules. If they do it once in a year, the penalty is a warning. If they do it "Twice or less" the penalty is that the seller will be barred from the Trade Assurance scheme for 90 days.

One of the most important rules to keep in mind is that your pre-shipment inspection is not good enough to substantiate a claim. You will be compelled to pay for an inspection by a service nominated by Alibaba. Closely connected to this issue is the specifications you include in your order. You must provided detailed specifications, otherwise Alibaba's nominated inspection company will only judge the quality based on "relevant industry standards", and those standards might not be what you would regard as good quality.

Another important thing to note is that you can choose between Trade Assurance up to Shipment Date and Extended Trade Assurance until Arrival at Port/Place of Destination. The former only covers your deposit (assumimg it does not exceed the seller's available amount) but the latter covers the full amount, if within the seller's Trade Assurance limit.

If you lodge a dispute, beware of the seller appearing cooperative, but procrastinating with promises until your dispute deadline expires.

Finally, for those who like the comfortable feeling of paying with a credit card, bear in mind that there is a fee of 2.8% for that privilege. Depending on the amount, escrow.com would charge less.

Walter

 

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[Walter Hay]

@Jambla I'd start looking for products that have some more meat on the bone. Those are some pretty slim margins and you are going to have to be doing a lot of volume to make it worth it. I'd also start hitting up more suppliers to make sure you are getting the best price and try to push to get direct to the factories that produce your goods. Also you'll never be able to compete with the Chinese on price so best to solve a problem with your product, take amazing photography, write amazing copy, and be aggressive with PPC. In order to hit PPC hard though you need enough margin to make it work.

You're right about the need to work on big margins. And yes, they can be achieved by going direct to the real manufacturers. Most people believe what they read on sites such as Alibaba, but they are living in fairyland.

Going direct will be a big help, but there is a better way, and that is to find products for which there is very little or no competition. Most sellers seem to be too timid to look at a product that is not already selling well by their competitors. If a product is being made and is being used successfully somewhere, but not in your home market, why not find such potential users in your market region and sell to them?

In my first business I found a product that only had one competitor worldwide and their product was near useless. I produced a product that worked and obtained so close to a monopoly that I was laughing all the way to the bank. I outsold my huge multinational competitor in every country where I exported the product.

Be bold. Test the market with something new if you can find it, even if it needs improvement first. In fact, if it does, that's even better.

When running my importing business (2nd business) I never let my suppliers know the real business name. I used a different business name for importing, so they could never find where I was selling, or to whom. Even when making inquiries, when asked, I described a different end use to the one I had in mind. (Not possible with something like a garlic press!) All this greatly reduced the risk of suppliers offering the product to others.

Walter

 

[Jambla]

Thanks Tapp001 If I can share my journey with the forum then perhaps I can repay back some of the value I have extracted here. I’ll explain in a bit more detail what I am doing

I found a category on Amazon that sells quite a lot of units and has a decent amount of traffic. I know this because I tracked a few products sales. It’s as easy as putting 999 in your basket and Amazon will tell you how many the seller has left in stock, providing they don’t have more than 999 units in stock. Using that method you can track sales over days. I also did keyword research on google to understand how many people are searching for this type of product and I could see the market had potential. Assessing the competition on the first page of amazon I felt there was scope for me to make it on there.

My product is a fitness product and I am differentiating from the competition by adding components that other sellers don’t. I had my girlfriend take pictures of me modelling the product and I used a freelancer to cut the background out of 40 pictures. The pictures look professional and I am using them for my listing and instructions manual. The instructions manual that comes with product is dreadful. I created my instruction manual in adobe InDesign and paid a printing company to print them.

I feel that the images for the listing are very important. I have spent a lot of time on these images and I am very happy with them. I used Photoshop to create my images.

While waiting for my product to be made I setup a Facebook page aimed at my target audience and got 3,500 likes. My advert for likes went very well and I was getting a like for $0.04. I am not really sure how valuable a Facebook page is worth as your post as when you create a post it doesn’t reach all your members. I also ran a lead generation campaign on Facebook to capture emails advertising my product, costing me $0.61 an email address.

 

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[Jambla]

Found a product, found a supplier with good prices, communication and sample. Paid a 30% deposit for 200 units via Alibaba Trade Assurance. Supplier told me that I should pay 100% upfront as Trade Assurance holds the money until goods are shipped. I doubled checked this and its as not the case, I only paid 30% deposit, any funds sent via Trade Assurance are released to the supplier straight away not like an Escrow Service.

Units were made within 15 days. I arranged an inspection company for $108 to inspect my units, it took a few days for it to happen and they told me they could only test 150 units for that price. I have received a detail report with 24 minor defects and 1 major. The minor defects are loose thread, I cannot send products with loose thread to a customer.

My supplier said "There are not any quality issues because there is a normal phenomenon"

I told the supplier I need the thread to be tidy and if its not then its a quality issue.

He said "If you want the thread to be tidy then a co worker will have to cut it and this will be an extra cost. And you haven't tell me that the goods need to be checked"

I then asked him "Can you produce product in the future without this defect?"

He then said "Yes I can"

Obviously not very happy with that response. This is my first order and I am told that loose thread is not a quality issue and it will cost me get it rectified. Not only that he is saying that he didn't realize I was going to arrange an inspection, why should that matter? To top it all off he says he can produce product without this defect, so why is he palming off shit quality on to me?

I have agreed I will sort the loose thread out at my end. I will have to assess the future of this supplier, but I don't like the way he has dealt with our first issue. Being inexperienced with dealing with Chinese suppliers I have no idea how this compares to others? I am now awaiting delivery of my first 200 units.

 

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[Jambla]

My goods arrived into the UK and were released once I paid my import taxes upfront. I phoned FedEx twice and stated that I will collect my boxes from the depot and do not deliver to my address. Despite this my consignment was attempted to be delivered while I was at work and the driver left 7 boxes weighing 20kgs each at my neighbour’s house. Not good enough really but it saved me a trip to the depot and worked out ok in the end.

I didn’t appreciate how long it would take to quality check all the stock and it’s taken me hours just to check 20%. The results have not been good, from the 40 checked, 6 are missing components that make up the kit. Not a good start at all, it makes me wonder if the pre inspection company really did check 150 units. It also give me serious doubts about using this supplier again.

I can’t wait to get all these boxes out of my living room and to Amazon FBA to start selling them. Which reminds me, ironically I live a few miles from the FBA centre but it seems like I will have to pay for a courier to send my goods to FBA!

 

[Jambla]

@Jean-Pierre . I agree. But being a first a timer I am not sure if that is just the way Chinese suppliers are! In the end there were 6 kits missing parts and they just happened to be in the first batch I checked. Regarding the stock mix up - I really didn't want to recall my whole stock, that is what Amazon suggested. I have sold quite a few units since and the problem hasn't cropped up again.

I have sold exactly 3 units a day for the last 5 days. I have turned on PPC and started to collect data, my daily budget is relativity low. I know that my listing is converting around 12%. I have 138 units left and I am thinking about my next order. This time is going to have to by sea, I spent way too much on Air Courier. I am considering borrowing some money to buy 600 units, need to get a move on as it will probably take 60 days to get to me from the moment I order.

 

[Jambla]

Hi Walter thanks for dropping in. Yes trade assurance isn't without its flaws but it seemed like the safest way of paying for my first shipment on Alibaba. Regarding the $1000 minimum covered amount, this was removed and there is no minimum amount anymore. The pre shipment inspector took photos of all my units with branding on, so I am hopeful they will be sent!

The loose threads is something I wasn't expecting but may well be an industry standard as you suggested. At least I know now and can stipulate this in my next order.

I think I will purchase your book shortly, no doubt it will be a gold mine of information with experience you have!

 

[InspireHD]

Just curious, how are people receiving the wrong item?

 

[Jambla]

I have started to make sales. I gave away 10 units at discount on and that boosted me up the rankings.

I have had 22 sales in 18 days , 4 from PPC. Now up to 11 reviews on my product. After playing with PPC I think my profit margins are too low for PPC to work on a tight budget. On my product at the moment after all fees I am only getting 10% profit on my £19.99 product. I have 150 units left. I was thinking about ordering my next batch via sea where I feel I could achieve 30%. I feel that the key to me ranking higher is PPC and at the moment its too expensive on my profit margin, granted my PPC is not optimized yet but its my gut feeling. I think i may start to research a more profitable product in my niche and change direction.

 

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[Jambla]

Its been a while. I sold my first 200 units, after giving away units for reviews and experimenting with PPC i broke even. I took my foot off the gas as I got married in the summer and had to organise the wedding and honeymoon. I ran out of units for about 3 weeks.

I lost my sales momentum but its slowly building back up. Any one that thinks its easy to import your own product, brand it and sling it on Amazon is wrong. It takes a lot of work. What I am finding difficult now is that my niche is even more competitive, the main keyword i use for PPC has doubled in cost meaning its eating up my most of profits if I i use that keyword.

I have changed my focus onto getting my conversion rate up. I re did all my product images, my images were to an ok standard but this time I spent a long take making them look 100% professional. I wasn't too bad with Photoshop before but I am a lot better now. In the last few days after changing my images my conversion has gone up noticeably.

Now i need to find some creative ways of getting cheaper traffic to my listing.

 

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[minirich]

the main keyword i use for PPC has doubled in cost meaning its eating up my most of profits if I i use that keyword.

Can you come up with other keywords (long tail) which together get the same volume, but the cost is lower?
Try to get diversified with your keywords, this will not give you that big a hit if a price hike occurse (as you have already seen).

 

[minirich]

Im about break even on Amazon sales. Currently paying £1.50 ($1.90) per click, its wiping out all my profit but at least I am shifting my stock. I am struggling to find a cheaper way to advertise in a very competitive niche.

1.5/1.90 that is a pretty slim margin, especially if it is eaten by marketing costs.
Can you do something on the price you are paying for the product. Different vendor/producer, higher volume discount,...?
Sometimes chinese sellers pose as producers, and in reality they are just a man in the middle.
If you have someone locally who you trust, try to arrange that he could visit the factory.
If your seller refuses, he is probably just another vendor.

The worst thing i heard was that there were 3 vendors between the producer and the buyer, almost quadrupling the price.

 

[Jambla]

Dropping my price has increased my sales.. in turn this has increased my organic ranking… that has increased my sales. No PPC. I won’t get too excited, I am not making much profit. At least I know this product sells at the right price.




Keeping a close eye on keywords. I am certain the first keywords in the product title are important for keyword ranking. I have watched new competitors rank for keywords quickly. I am getting on the first page for some decent keywords now.

I have finished reading a book on copy writing. Why didnt I do this sooner? I realise how bad mine and my competitors copy is. I know I can increase conversion rates. My plan is to write super good copy on my listing and bundle in a free e book. I will then put the price up. The ebook will be related on how to use my product. The ebook is going to be very valuable to the customer. Some customers have already mentioned they wish this information was included. The most bought item with my product is a book on how to use my product.

It’s exciting because the more time I spend on this, the more ideas I come up with, the more I see. I just wish I didn’t work 10 hours a day for someone else, my day job is intense, it drains me. I still find the energy to do a few hours on my own business each night.

I currently only list 1 product. I want to list more. I think having more then one product may increase my sales organically . I have come up with an idea to test out products without waiting for Chinese imports. I will reveal that another time.

 

[Jambla]

Sales are going strong 4k in the last 30 days. Nearly ran out of units at FBA, the volume of sales caught me on the back foot. Sent some units last week but I have experienced delays. UPS simply did not collect on Thursday when they were suppose. All being well the delivery to FBA would have on Friday, but UPS not turning up cost me the weekend as delivery's are not made by UPS on weekends. Today the consignment did not leave the ups depot and I am reading stories on the the seller forum of delays. I could be out of stock for a few days.

 

[Tapp001]

Good luck @Jambla! Thank you for sharing your story with the forum. There is alot of value here, and I am following with interest!

 

[Jambla]

Things are moving slow. No sales yet, no one has found my listing.

I need to turn on PPC to get me up the rankings but I feel like I need some reviews.

My girlfriend did a review from her account from a different IP address but it was removed, I am guessing because we share the same billing address. I waited a couple of days and got my friend to do a review and that has stayed on. I am now considering asking friends and family for reviews and see if I can get it up to 15 reviews. After Amazon removing my first review I am apprehensive to have my friends review my product in a short space of time!

My other option is a giveaway but I am not sure I want to do that.

 

[Jambla]

2 of my reviewers received wrong items so far. One reviewer emailed me to say he had a faulty part. He hasn't left me bad feedback yet and I emailed him back straight away to say I will be sending him a replacement so hopefully he still gives me a good review.

I have shot up to page 3 of my keyword, it seems using a super URL for my coupon code worked. When I get my reviews and turn on PPC I think I can make it to the first page quickly.

 

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[Jambla]

How did you find the people for the discounted units you gave away?

Amz tracker - review club. They have a review system where you put your offer out there and people apply for the coupon. The good thing is you get to approve who you want to review your product so can check out the reviewers Amazon profile and decide if you want them to review your product.

I used the Amz Tracker 2 week free trial which was long enough for me to get my product reviewed.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

Supplier told me that I should pay 100% upfront as Trade Assurance holds the money until goods are shipped. I doubled checked this and its as not the case, I only paid 30% deposit, any funds sent via Trade Assurance are released to the supplier straight away not like an Escrow Service.

First red flag

I have received a detail report with 24 minor defects and 1 major.

Second red flag

...And you haven't tell me that the goods need to be checked

Third red flag!

And then I wasn't surprised when you said this:

The results have not been good, from the 40 checked, 6 are missing components that make up the kit.

I was hoping the manufacturer wasn't going to be a dick but looks like they were. There are so many manufacturers out there you don't need to stay with one, even if another is a little more expensive it's worth it once you factor in the units you can't sell and the time you need to spend checking.

Use your intuition and when things don't feel right then they're probably not.

Amazon FBA have mixed up my item with another, even though I pre labeled all my stock. I have no idea what is going on at Amazon but its all out my control.

This seems unlikely - If it keeps happening, I'd suggest recalling all your stock re-checking them and then sending them back in. I realise this will cost you money but if you do start selling more units because you're ranking better then more people will get the wrong product, return the item, give you a bad review and a high chance Amazon will shut down your account. Not really worth it at this stage.

 

[CSRelentless]

Found a product, found a supplier with good prices, communication and sample. Paid a 30% deposit for 200 units via Alibaba Trade Assurance. Supplier told me that I should pay 100% upfront as Trade Assurance holds the money until goods are shipped. I doubled checked this and its as not the case, I only paid 30% deposit, any funds sent via Trade Assurance are released to the supplier straight away not like an Escrow Service.

Units were made within 15 days. I arranged an inspection company for $108 to inspect my units, it took a few days for it to happen and they told me they could only test 150 units for that price. I have received a detail report with 24 minor defects and 1 major. The minor defects are loose thread, I cannot send products with loose thread to a customer.

My supplier said "There are not any quality issues because there is a normal phenomenon"

I told the supplier I need the thread to be tidy and if its not then its a quality issue.

He said "If you want the thread to be tidy then a co worker will have to cut it and this will be an extra cost. And you haven't tell me that the goods need to be checked"

I then asked him "Can you produce product in the future without this defect?"

He then said "Yes I can"

Obviously not very happy with that response. This is my first order and I am told that loose thread is not a quality issue and it will cost me get it rectified. Not only that he is saying that he didn't realize I was going to arrange an inspection, why should that matter? To top it all off he says he can produce product without this defect, so why is he palming off shit quality on to me?

I have agreed I will sort the loose thread out at my end. I will have to assess the future of this supplier, but I don't like the way he has dealt with our first issue. Being inexperienced with dealing with Chinese suppliers I have no idea how this compares to others? I am now awaiting delivery of my first 200 units.

I feel like the safest thing to do and what I am doing at the moment is getting a list of 5 or more suppliers that have the product I want then I get price quotes and check there communication, then narrow it down to 1 and get a sample order of maybe 5 pieces shipped via express shipping, usually only takes 4-5 days to receive samples and then you can check the quality, if the quality is shit then find another supplier. Is there a reason you ordered 200 units to start off with?, or did you get samples orders before, seems like a big risk to take even if the supplier has good prices, and communication etc, cause what it comes down to is the quality once you receive it, because from what I've learned the hard way alibaba, dhgate, alieexpress, ranks and reviews, gold supplier,etc.... all that bullshit doesn't matter for the most part, you just gotta take a chance but if I am going to take a chance I would rather it be a small investment so it doesn't break me, unless your loaded then F*ck it lol

 

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[mazo]

Jambla
Thanks for keeping us update on this. Have been watching your journey all the way, break even is far better than any lost.

Jesus! You've learned and done a lot in the last six months, bet if you turned and looked back you could't see your start line.

 

[minirich]

If you can't increase your margin by lowering your costs, can you increase your sales price?

Either by setting yourself apart with your brand, or by adding value?
Like an book or video with additional information for better usage or maintenance for a longer life period?

Or a coupon or voucher for some related service. You can try to get a deal with the provider for the lead generation.

These guy have made an art out of it and a business model: http://www.appsumo.com/us/

 

[Jambla]

I changed my tactic, dropped my price to the point where I barely break even on a sale. Now I am shifting units and moving up the ranking.

The problem in this niche is Chinese sellers they are able to low ball the shit out of us. Their copy writing is crap but they still sell loads. There is this one seller who has come out of no where and now has a best seller badge. I keep an eye daily on the main keywords - he doesn't even rank for these so I wonder how he get sales. When you look at what he sells its a huge range of non related items.

I am learning copy writing which will help with sales but I am not sure I can compete with these Chinese prices. I will see if I can still sell with decent profit if I change my marketing. Long term I dont think its good to be selling products that the Chinese can undercut.

 

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[Jambla]

I plan on doing my first import soon also and I have a few questions.
I saw you mentioned Fedex. Did you use their import services?
What was the buying process like on alibaba?
What payment form do you recommend? Paypal, etc.

My supplier chose the courier. It’s really simple. In the UK customs at the airport call you when it’s arrived, you pay import tax and then it’s delivered the next day. Got my supplier to arrange my LCL sea shipment as well, again that was easy.

I have used Trade assurance through Alibaba. I pay a 30% deposit then when the goods are ready I have the order inspected and pay the remaining amount. Your deposit is protected with Trade Assurance but read the terms and condition's, I am sure there is some risk, you have to make the judgment your self.

 

[Walter Hay]

My supplier chose the courier. It’s really simple. In the UK customs at the airport call you when it’s arrived, you pay import tax and then it’s delivered the next day. Got my supplier to arrange my LCL sea shipment as well, again that was easy.

I have used Trade assurance through Alibaba. I pay a 30% deposit then when the goods are ready I have the order inspected and pay the remaining amount. Your deposit is protected with Trade Assurance but read the terms and condition's, I am sure there is some risk, you have to make the judgment your self.

Yes there definitely are risks involved in relying on Trade Assurance. You have done the right thing in having your goods inspected before shipment, but don't forget that as I pointed out in Post No. 2 in this thread, if you raise a dispute Alibaba will insist you have an inspection done by SGS. I also commented on this subject in Post No. 4 above, as well as providing a detailed explanation of Trade Assurance in my AMA.

Walter

 

[DBXI]

@Jambla I'd start looking for products that have some more meat on the bone. Those are some pretty slim margins and you are going to have to be doing a lot of volume to make it worth it. I'd also start hitting up more suppliers to make sure you are getting the best price and try to push to get direct to the factories that produce your goods. Also you'll never be able to compete with the Chinese on price so best to solve a problem with your product, take amazing photography, write amazing copy, and be aggressive with PPC. In order to hit PPC hard though you need enough margin to make it work.

 

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[Jambla]

Thanks guys. A week ago I increased my prices so I am making £3 per unit. Yesterday I sold 15 units with no PPC and I am on course to do over £3k of Amazon sales this month. It seems lowering my prices worked in boosting my listing organically. I am still making my Ebook and I haven't changed my copy so I am excited to see what that does for this listing.

I will be launching another product shortly. I found a wholesaler who I can buy the units from cheaper then my self importing from China. Im even more excited about this product because I know I can sell it a competitive price and get lots of sales.

 

[DBXI]

When running my importing business (2nd business) I never let my suppliers know the real business name. I used a different business name for importing, so they could never find where I was selling, or to whom. Even when making inquiries, when asked, I described a different end use to the one I had in mind. (Not possible with something like a garlic press!) All this greatly reduced the risk of suppliers offering the product to others.

Walter

This is gold right here. I've gotten burned with suppliers going direct to my customers or selling to a competitor a couple of times and I'm actually putting pieces in place to do exactly what you did. Thanks for the tip.

 

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