Iphone accessories

[Aval]

Hello fellow Fastlaners

Can anyone point me in the right direction to get Iphone accessories manufactured from China? I have been exploring Alibaba but no clues where to start and what not to do!

If anyone has done it in the past and can share some tips, it will be extremely helpful. I am brand new to getting something designed and sourced from there. I am looking for understand how to find a reliable supplier - where/how do I start and what do I need to consider? I have been noticing some suppliers will tell you what your expected selling price is. Not sure what they base this on and how accurate it is.

 

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[ddzc]

Enjoy: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ort-import-product-sourcing-specialist.55062/

 

[Walter Hay]

Hello fellow Fastlaners

Can anyone point me in the right direction to get Iphone accessories manufactured from China? I have been exploring Alibaba but no clues where to start and what not to do!

If anyone has done it in the past and can share some tips, it will be extremely helpful. I am brand new to getting something designed and sourced from there. I am looking for understand how to find a reliable supplier - where/how do I start and what do I need to consider? I have been noticing some suppliers will tell you what your expected selling price is. Not sure what they base this on and how accurate it is.

If you are thinking about electronic accessories, my advice is don't.

For other accessories you will find masses of generic products so unless you have something very special to have made you will find yourself in an intensely competitive market.

You can take the suppliers' "expected selling price" with a grain of salt. You need to do your own research on that.

As for your question, I suggest that you need to learn the basics of sourcing and importing, and for help in that regard you could read through my AMA.

Walter

 

[Aval]

If you are thinking about electronic accessories, my advice is don't.

For other accessories you will find masses of generic products so unless you have something very special to have made you will find yourself in an intensely competitive market.

You can take the suppliers' "expected selling price" with a grain of salt. You need to do your own research on that.

As for your question, I suggest that you need to learn the basics of sourcing and importing, and for help in that regard you could read through my AMA.

Walter

Hi Walter,

Thanks for your input. I haven't created anything yet, but I am already going through your AMA! Lots to read and I am evaluating what's something special I could offer. Do you think sourcing a one off product to start off from China could drive some success in the short term? Or should I rather consider this a full fledged long term haul?

 

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[Walter Hay]

Lots of people have started off very small, with a single product and plowed the profits back into expansion. It can be a slow process but it does give practical experience as well as building up your finances for expansion. To succeed at that you need

I wouldn't rush it though. Learn what you need to know first. I suggest you have a look first at this post: Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

Walter

 

[Guest34764]

From what I understand and hear, phone accessories has a ton of competition and people compete on the cent.I'm not trying to dissuade you, but other areas might pull in much higher margins.Just something to consider when you do your research.

 

[jesset17]

I agree that iPhone accessories is a competitive market but it is also loaded with consumers and there is definitely money to be made. I wouldn't plan on this replacing my salary or be my main source of Fastlane business, but with a good drop ship site, marketing, and organic traffic domain name; do you still think the effort put in for maybe hundreds to a couple thousand a month is not worth it?

Anyone have bad/good experience with phone accessories?

 

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[Scot]

There was a user here a month or so ago who was making really nice skins for iPhones, but he up and disappeared. So I'm assuming it didn't go anywhere.

Phone accessories are so incredibly commodotized. Any accessory you can buy for $30, you can buy a cheap knock off for $5 at the gas station. Do you live in or near a big city, preferably one with a China Town? Take New York for example, I was in china town a few years back, wandered into one of the many "stores" selling phone accessories. At the time I worked for Verizon, so comparison was easy. $80 branded phone battery pack? $15 in China town. $50 otter box? $10 knock off in China town. $20 iPhone charging cable? $2 in China town.

I'm not saying China town is your competition, but an easy look on Amazon will dissuade you. Google "iPhone case".

Like Walter said, wouldn't consider it unless you have a new novel, patentable item.

 

[amp0193]

Regarding iPhone cases, etc.

There was a high school kid on here a year ago, that got some phone cases printed up in china with his high school's logo and colors, and was selling them like hotcakes to his friends, and then I think the PTA picked them up from him and started selling them at football games.

With any product, you have to have a plan on how you're going to sell it. No, you're not going to get any traction as "iphone case". But if you niche down and sell high school branded iphone cases, and network locally, you could have success. That's just one example.

Look at the big market, and find a niche within that market that is untapped.

 

[jesset17]

Thanks for the input. I do have a product innovation that I want to look to patent but I haven't even started prototyping yet (side project). Anyways, I'm not currently working on anything in the phone accessory business but if the opportunity comes up I will keep in mind your advice before commiting.

 

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[caezlar]

there are tens of thousands of Iphone accessories manufacturers in China....!!!

 

[G2TS-Man]

Hi !!!! What a good subject.. I have a little experience... in 2011, I created a micro-society and a e-commerce website where I sold phones accessories like cases cables etc.... so I can confirm there is a very competitive market !! But is possible... I'v managed to realize aproximatively 3€ by Case of margin for 9€ prize so it's possible. Sorry for my english... I had many suppliers in china and England. So the subject interest me, because Today I'd like to create a new business about Phones accessories but as others say, It's very competitive and need to be different to success. So I think I will create a concept of subscription box (like beauty box !!!) for a recurrent revenue... what do you think ???

 

[JasonR]

I agree that iPhone accessories is a competitive market but it is also loaded with consumers and there is definitely money to be made. I wouldn't plan on this replacing my salary or be my main source of Fastlane business, but with a good drop ship site, marketing, and organic traffic domain name; do you still think the effort put in for maybe hundreds to a couple thousand a month is not worth it?

No, no, NO! Why would you ever start a business with this goal?

You are basically saying, my goal is to make very little money.

What!?

 

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[jesset17]

My goal in creating a business like this would be to grow it to be profitable, determine if there is enough potential profit for me to invest more time into it. And if not, sell the business where it stands. I do believe that there is benefit in putting time into starting something small with realistic expectations that it may not be the homerun, million dollar business. Most people aren't going to find that homerun business at the beginning, and if they do, they might not be able to fund it, destroy it or be overwhelmed from lack of experience. That's where I think taking action into even the smallest business ideas is beneficial; gain capital and experience (trial by fire) without risking too much.

With that being said, I'm getting the impression that the phone accessory path is not worth the effort; pretty obvious when I stop to think about it. Where I'm headed right now is far from electronics and technology.

 

[G2TS-Man]

Yes I'm agree with you, they are all the same in the market, just different quality so I can be wrong but my advice is to create a real experience of pleasure for your future customers so you should do a susbriction box model.... If I start it in France, I will give you a background as soon as possible. About the strategy ? My idea is to launch it fast, try to make this business my main revenue in automatical work, quit my actual job, live only kn the revenue of this "little business"and use the time I will have to create a Bigger business !!!!

My goal in creating a business like this would be to grow it to be profitable, determine if there is enough potential profit for me to invest more time into it. And if not, sell the business where it stands. I do believe that there is benefit in putting time into starting something small with realistic expectations that it may not be the homerun, million dollar business. Most people aren't going to find that homerun business at the beginning, and if they do, they might not be able to fund it, destroy it or be overwhelmed from lack of experience. That's where I think taking action into even the smallest business ideas is beneficial; gain capital and experience (trial by fire) without risking too much.

With that being said, I'm getting the impression that the phone accessory path is not worth the effort; pretty obvious when I stop to think about it. Where I'm headed right now is far from electronics and technology.

 

[Alex H]

My goal in creating a business like this would be to grow it to be profitable, determine if there is enough potential profit for me to invest more time into it. And if not, sell the business where it stands. I do believe that there is benefit in putting time into starting something small with realistic expectations that it may not be the homerun, million dollar business. Most people aren't going to find that homerun business at the beginning, and if they do, they might not be able to fund it, destroy it or be overwhelmed from lack of experience. That's where I think taking action into even the smallest business ideas is beneficial; gain capital and experience (trial by fire) without risking too much.

With that being said, I'm getting the impression that the phone accessory path is not worth the effort; pretty obvious when I stop to think about it. Where I'm headed right now is far from electronics and technology.

Hi I just joined, so i got no history on this forum. But I happen to be the accessories world. Been importing custom design iPhone cases for the last 5 years.

There is a lot of competition but people still can make money out there.

I am currently working with my brother who runs a Sourcing company in China. We help service several large customers in the USA. I am not doing this as a sales pitch (already got my hands full). But i could answer a lot of your questions.

1. If you were doing an iPhone accessory, does it involve using Apple MFI certification, if so there are around 200+ factories registered in China who can do this. In order to get access, you need to join the Apple developers group or go to local trade shows to find these factories.

2. I still see some really creative accessories for phones doing really well Like the "iRing" which has been an explosion of growth (But they have a big issue with counterfeits"). I also seen some other unique things like the lumiee phone case and others which have great sales.

So if your product stands out well and you protect it with IP (especially for USA market) and you have the right distribution, you can do well. Maybe well enough to fund a new project...

Just my 2 cents, this field is not a dead field, depends how you approach it.

 

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