Import Tax (to sell on ebay)

llol_slim

Hello all,
Believe it or not, I think I have found a product i can sell on ebay and make a pretty profit on each sale.

It would result in buying from one person in China and selling on ebay.

Now i want to do this legitimitely so would I have to set myself up as a business, declare the tax etc.?

Sorry if this is confusing, obviously I don't want to give details of the product away

I don't know where to begin.
Thanks loads in advance

Hintza

I would take things one step at a time.

Is your supplier/maufacturer reliable?
How are you going to deal with faulty items (if that is an issue)?
How many do you have to buy at a time?
What is your lead time?


If I were you i would get a small order in pay duty and VAT on it and then get your friends and family to test that item, sell a few on EBay and get some feedback from customers.

If that all works out OK then you might want to turn it into a business.

But don't assume that it will make you money, half the items might be duff etc!

Start slowly and build up.

One other point does the item confirm to EU conformity laws? Evem Matell got caught out on that, can you afford to recall all your product?

llol_slim

appreciate the input, thank you.
I will order an item myself to test quality.
I dont think there would be any problems with faulty items, to the degree I would offer a refund or exchange.
I can buy one item at a time or up to how ever many.
I am looking at around 5/6 days to get the item, I would only sell them once the item is in my hand. There would be nothing to do other than package it up and post it.

I have been offered a dropshipping service, but as i understand it, that is not allowed on ebay.

So would I need to be registered as a business? How would I work out how much duty and tax would be?

sorry for all the questions and thank you!

Hintza

You will need to go onto the Customs and excise site and get the import codes. Have a loom here for starters. You will also have VAT to pay.

You will need to register as a business with the taxman and probably with EBay but I wouldn't rush into this.

Be very aware that if you buy one item to test it will be immaculate and fully tested before it reaches you. Will they do the same on all orders.

You say you will offer refund or replacement. How are you going to get refund or replacement? What will the failure rate be? Can you afford to send them back to China? Is your purchase price low enough to cover a certain percentage of returns so you don't have to bother sending the odd one back.

ormus

products never go back to china. you either get a credit or you dump them and take the hit. the profit is so good that its not usually a problem.
beware the duty can be expensive on some items. check the codes at the local customs house/office.