Genuine suppliers

Atomised

I'm thinking of buying some merchandise to sell and would like to know 1) How can I tell if a supplier is genuine? Especially if they are based outside the UK 2) How much should I spend to test the water with? £50? £500? How do you decide?. I'm not sure if I can find a good enough product at the right price but i'd like to try once

RFW

Atomised wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying some merchandise to sell and would like to know 1) How can I tell if a supplier is genuine? Especially if they are based outside the UK 2) How much should I spend to test the water with? £50? £500? How do you decide?. I'm not sure if I can find a good enough product at the right price but i'd like to try once

If you're only considering that amount of money to spend it wouldn't be worth doing outside the UK. How much to spend depends on the product, how quick it sells, if its cheaper the more you buy. If you're investing in Wiis, £50 wouldn't get you very far!!

Not really sure what you mean by 'genuine'. You can establish how long a company has been in existence if they are a limited company.

I think I've said this before in another thread, if you are asking such basic questions, you shouldn't really be doing it!

The best place to start is with something you know about, eg if you go fishing and know the price of angling stuff do a bit more research into what sells when and for how much, then follow up with product supplier names. If you buy packets of hooks, see who makes them, contact the manufacturer, see if they supply direct or who their wholesalers are.

Once you have a basic knowledge of a product or type you should be able to find your way around and branch off into other areas. It's pointless trying to find a supplier first and then seeing what they sell.

A quick way is to have a look through the wholesale section on Ebay and see if anything there is gong through cheap, plenty of liquidation lots with no reserves and some of them mine!!!

RFW

Atomised wrote: »

Asking basic questions is a good starting point rather than going into trade without knowing the basics. I already know the products I want to sell,I wouldn't be interested in Wiis. I don't really have a budget but it's pointless spending 5k or 20k to test if it is a viable idea. By a genuine company, I mean how do you find out about their History , reputation etc and would it be harder if they are based outside the UK.

If you know what you want to sell then fair enough. What product area is it that you need to be suspicious of sellers? For the UK if it is a limited company you can get records from Companies House, registered address, all filed accounts, years established, etc. There's a small fee for that service. I know some other countries have a similar system.

It's not really possible to give advice on what to spend unless you give some idea of what you are talking about. EG If you want to sell toilet rolls, you could spend £50 and fill a market stall and see what happens. If you want to sell men's suits you can find one design in a range of sizes, spend £500 on stock and sell via a website and see what happens. There must be some research you can do as to where your markket is, who your market is, what the average buyer spends on the product, etc..

mike230652

1 - Their history doesn't matter. As long as they supply the items to you that's all it takes. Once it's in your hands and you sell it on eBay ( I assume as a private buyer ) then the responsibility is with you as the seller, I'd imagine.

2- The easy way to work out how much to invest is ask yourself " How much can I afford to lose if the product doesn't sell"

3 - How much to spend obviously depends on the cost price. If it's a widget at 10pence each then £50 will get you loads of widgets. If it's an MP3 player at £100 the £500 gets you very little to sell.

Probably best to test the water first...i.e. buy a small amount/quantity and see how the marker reacts.

Obviously you may have import costs to take into account before finalising your purchase/sales prices.

Sorry if the answer's not as exhaustive as you'd like...but you give very little info in your question.

Mike

Brooke_Daver

Atomised wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying some merchandise to sell and would like to know 1) How can I tell if a supplier is genuine? Especially if they are based outside the UK 2) How much should I spend to test the water with? £50? £500? How do you decide?. I'm not sure if I can find a good enough product at the right price but i'd like to try once

Don't forget to factor shipping, duty and VAT into it all.

Hintza

The question is how much you can afford to risk?

If I was serious about it I would be on the plane to China to find a supplier and also an agent.

If I was just interested in small scale extra income then I would be looking to buy maybe 5-10 of each size and colour which I would then test market. But that raises the problem of clothing you have so many variables of size and colour this could get quite expensive.

You will also have customs etc to contend with.

If you are not in the trade the learning curve could be steep and expensive.

At the end of the day if you want a punt you must set aside money that you are prepared to lose. For me it would be about £500-£1000 with someone I don't know. But might be less for yourself.

It will not be easy money there are may pitfalls to overcome one being quality control which can be a big issue especially if margins are tight. So if you are importing from China say and you are not making at least 100% gross then you have to ask is it worth the effort.

ormus

importing clothing from china should be making more like 300/1000% gross!
(at retail prices)
the chinese embassy london, will have a useful trade section. contact them for more info.
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/cigf2006/index.htm