Got a business offer today

[Dom117]

Hello guys

I'm just starting my journey as an entrepreneur now after 1.5 years on this forum. :smash:
My samples are coming in next week and I already have a ecommerce site in the works.

I also work as a inside sales person at a medium sized company and visited on of our suppliers.
I was really looking forward to this meeting because I knew he was an entrepreneur and already had 20 years of experience doing business.
We literally talked for 3 hours about business and maybe 30 minute about the actual work we had to do for the company.

I was telling him about my project I'm starting in the bicycle accessory niche and how I was going to import stuff and sell online.

He then told me about a project he and a friend started, bicycle and motorbike cleaning products that they are going to sell it to local bike stores (UK and western Europe)
He offered me the exclusive right to sell his stuff online.(Fixed prices)
I really like their line of products and the idea behind it.
Sounds like a dropship kind of agreement.

The positive is that I can only focus on marketing and don't have to worry about logistics, returns, import/export. (Good for a beginner?)
The downside is I lose a big part of my control over the business and the margins will be low(er).

What's your opinion on this?
Really don't know what to do here

Thanks!

 

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[tafy]

Whats the problem? his line is different to your products right? if you sell it you make some $$ and if u dont then you lost nothing right?

 

[Roland]

You say you already have a ecommerce site underway. I suppose you didn't build it without any product in mind to sell there so I don't see what prevent you from selling the products from your "partner" even if the margin is low in addition of the products you already had in mind before. In any case, although the margin is low, it would still be money you don't have at the moment.

 

[charto911]

I wish you nothing but the best of luck but an initial worry is a 1.5 year wait time to get started. Gotta move fast in this world otherwise you will get run over.

 

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[Dom117]

Ok, thanks guys!

I know, these 1.5 years are 'lost' but I did learn a lot and have got right mentality, only the ACTION is missing.
The last 2 years I became much more positive, sleep 8h/day, always drink water/no soda, workout 2-3/week+ ride my bike a lot.
Feel really great because of these habits now. I think this is also part of being an entrepreneur, making your life better in every way you can and to not make excuses or point fingers.


The reason I was doubting about doing this is because I'm giving up a lot of control, just like drop shipping products.
I'm just going to go full power on my own product line and take the cleaning products as an extra+free marketing from their side.
Lovely how opportunities come up when focus on this stuff.

Happy to anounce that my samples arrived yesterday!

Good: Quality, packaging, not branded, 13 days from HongKong to Belgium with Fedex(payment->arrival).

Bad: Customs damaged some packaging while opening the box with their knife, ($80 shipping for $200 worth of samples),
I ordered 5x #1 1x #2 1x #3 1x #4
I got 6x #1 1x #2 1x #3 0x #4

I will contact the supplier now to report this.
Still not sure how I'm going to combine local and international selling/marketing though.

Will keep you guys updated!

 

[Dom117]

Update

Just to keep this thread updated:

Haven't heard anything from the guy who offered me the deal.
Will contact him by the end of the week.

This is my mail to the supplier of samples for my imported product:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear D.

The samples arrived on friday the 15th. (13 Days from payment to arrival)
Customs have not contacted me and haven't paid any customs or taxes.

1)
Customs cut trough the box to open it and damaged some of the gift boxes. (I have pictures as evidence)

2)
The amounts of lights recieved is not what I asked for:
In the shipment you included:
6pcs #1 (ordered 5)
0pc #2 (ordered 1)
1pc #3
1pc #4
I hope you can tell me what went wrong and offer a solution?

3)
Why is there a different XXXX for every type of XXXX?
Is it possible to get the same XXXX with every XXXX?

4)
Why are there 3 different gift boxes?
Is it possible to get the same black box on every model? (Like #1)

5)
Can you please send me a price list of all your XXXX related products?

6)
On first sight and after the first tests I like the quality of the samples.

These are my questions for now.
I hope you can offer a solution for these problems so we can do more business in the future.

Thanks, D.

Best regards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(I think this thread needs to move to progress threads???)(Which is a good thing )

 

[Bigguns50]

Supplier or manufacturer ?

I'm thinking...they screwed up my small initial order....If they can't get this order right, what happens when I order a LOT ? Red flag.

 

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[Dom117]

True, Bigguns, I'm not really happy with wat happened, might just give them another shot.
I found the company on Alibaba but I'm not 100% that they are a real manufacturer.
Is there a way to be sure?

Here's the answer I got. (They always respond <24h) :

Dear Mr. XX,

Good day!
Sorry to make a troble for you.
1. sometimes the customs are impolite and throw the package, we will provide same black box like #1.
2. I have asked our production department to check, they said provided 5pcs #1 and 1pc #2, could you help to provide the pictures? thank you.
3. different XX with different XX, Yes, it is ok to provide same XX if you want.
4. It is ok to provide same black box like #1.
5. attached all of our XX price list for your reference.

We take you a very good customer.
Our company is a responsible company.
Our principle is working with customer for a long time, not for one time or two times.
Please rest assured, we promise give you a satisfactory answer.

Waiting for your reply.
Best regards
D.


What do you guys think, ditch the company and find a new one, or try one more time?
Their prices are ok and the response is good.

Thanks !

 

[Mr Sprezzatura]

I would do due diligence on finding a good and legit supplier in HK/China. There is ton of information about that. After getting that knowledge I would message several different suppliers and check their response rates, how they respond, do they communicate well and I would search for reviews of those suppliers. By the way, I've send you a PM.

 

[Bigguns50]

Dom...

"Trying to chase down a product today that we are interested in. I got to a company that represented themselves as the manufacturer of the product I am looking for. However, I assume I am dealing with a middle man and not the manufacturer. Why?

1. Price is about 25% more than I thought it would be
2. I know in the UK, there are several colors of this available. However, this factory is only offering me 1 color
3. They want $50 for a sample. Sample should be just a few dollars + UPS shipping. That means they don't have 1 unit to ship... they have to go get it
4. They want a minimum order quantity of 2,000 units. If they are the factory... they wouldn't need 2k units when I offered a test quantity of a few hundred units. For a middle man, a few hundred units is not worth their time

So... we keep shopping."

From V's Addicted to Passive Income thread.

This is just one quote. There are more that tell you how to know who you're dealing with...supplier / manufacturer. Take a look. I know it's long. I feel like when I'm ready to import, I'll have a lot of knowledge in my head because I've gone back to that thread a hundred times.

 

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[Dom117]

Thanks for the responses guys !

So I will reread the "passive income" thread again to make sure I don't miss out on valuable information.

1. Prices are ok
2. For a specific model they have multiple colours available
3. sample prices and shipping are normal
4. MOQ was 1-5
So far so good I guess, he evens sends photo's from his team but still I not 100% sure.


UPDATE:

1)
Got an awesome brand name, unfortunatly the .com has already been taken for a personal blog type site. :nonod:
Not sure how I'm going to handle this.

TIP: To look for brand names I just used this site to find associative words to some words that describe my products. After googling 20 or so words I finally found one that I liked and was not taken by another company in my market. http://wordassociations.net/

2)
Got a new theme "Bazar Shop" for my website so starting almost from scratch.
Added social buttons for youtube, mail and facebook.
Added some more products (information and pictures)
Added a "Free Shipping" BannerWidget for european customers
Created a footer with accepted payment methods, popular posts and featured products.

3)
Ordered shipping labels, €68 for 10 packages delivered within 24h national with autograph an tracking.

4)
Working on a logo but can't seem to get it right. Thinking about outsourcing this task.

5)
Looking for a place that can print transparant stickers so I can 'brand' my neutral black boxes.

6)
Typing adds for a national 'ebay/craigslist'

7)
Constructing a photo booth to get some awesome products pictures.
My 8mp Galaxy S2 PLUS camera should be enough, if not I still have a Sony Alpha 100 camera lying around here somewhere.
I think it's more about lighting/reflection than about camera quality. Camera's on phones are awesome anyway these days.

8)
Got a bill from fedex: €5.4 import fees, €43.16 taxes (21%) and €10.5 customs fee :bgh: .

If I add up all the costs (not website/marketing related) and my cheapest product should still yeald a €20 profit (with my current prices = doesn't represent much).

9)
Really want to learn how to make good products videos but have to do the rest of the work first. The only camera I have I right now is my phone which is good for unboxing/review type vids but I need something to create some action vids too.

I guess that's it for today's update !
I know progress is not super but I figure if I keep building every day I will have something eventually. (Like working out)
I use music and youtube clips to motivate me. (Kevin O'Leary!)
Some days it just flows and I get shit done, other days it's a strugle, it's all good!
Overall I'm enjoying myself and learning a lot !

Questions and tips always welcome !