When starting an online sales business, many entrepreneurs thoroughly research the market until they conclude that working with imported goods can be a great differentiator. However, you need to learn how to import products to sell.
With the low values of imported goods compared to those purchased on the national market, even those products that are subject to taxation can generate a significant profit upon each sale. And the high profitability of the option is justified by the small number of entrepreneurs who take risks in this business model. The best part is that the risks are minimized when the strategy is properly developed!
Next, we will explain how to import products to sell over the internet, considering some steps that must be evaluated by the shopkeeper before starting this venture. Ready to get to know the basics of the import process and get as much information as possible about them? Then follow the next topics!
1. Search for quality suppliers
Initially, the entrepreneur must dedicate himself to defining the niche in which he intends to operate, identifying characteristics and demands of his target audience. Thus, the merchant gets to know what exactly to import to compose the product catalog of his virtual store.
Having defined what will be imported, another phase of research begins: where to import from? If you are interested in reselling original clothing from famous brands, you will probably find better suppliers in the United States, for example. If you choose to sell different products from home, choosing a supplier from China can offer better prices and more competitive advantage.
Regardless of the country from which the products will be imported, it is essential that the merchant chooses quality suppliers. And if you find much better deals from unknown companies, be wary. Do research before closing deal! With this initial care in choosing suppliers, the shopkeeper minimizes problems related to fraud, delivery delays or payment setbacks.
2. Research about import regulations
In Brazil, the importation of products above 50 dollars can have a tax of up to 60% of the value of the goods. And, oddly enough, even with these high import tax values, it is still possible to make a profit by selling imported items. After all, in many cases, the value for which the merchandise is sold from abroad is worth the practice.
In addition, there are certain import strategies that release the payment of such taxes while ensuring that the buyer is within the law to carry out their negotiations.
3. Choose a trusted intermediary
One of the possibilities to reduce the amount paid in taxes in the import process involves intermediaries. In this case, when placing the order in the foreign store, the buyer, instead of providing his own address, forwards the purchases to an intermediary located in the country of origin.
As the purchase volume is usually very high in these cases, when importing the items, the intermediaries pay lower taxes, which makes the purchase even more advantageous for e-commerce.
4. Take care of issuing invoices
Regardless of the type of import carried out, for the virtual store to operate within the law, it is essential that it issues invoices for all products imported with the CPF of the person in charge or the company’s CNPJ.
Understand now: the attempt to circumvent the invoice issuing step to reduce the tax burden is a risk for the enterprise. Therefore, when working with online sales, always ensure the proper issuance of notes, both for the supplier companies, in the currency of the purchase, and for the customers, with the sale value.
5. Define a payment method
One of the main challenges for companies and entrepreneurs who want to work with imported products is to choose the most advantageous payment method. As much as many foreign businesses operate with the international credit card, it is necessary to evaluate the counterparties requested by the bank for this type of transaction. Another detail that the merchant should be aware of in the case of an international credit card is that the dollar exchange rate refers to the day the invoice is closed and not the day the purchase is made.
And it is okay that there are other stores that accept boleto bancário, but, currently, the most common is payment via gateways or intermediaries, safe and well-known retail options.
6. Price products properly
Pricing of imported products is a fundamental step for e-commerce to make a profit. In this regard, in addition to the amount actually paid for the goods, the final price must take into account the amounts of taxes charged on imports, as well as a profit margin for the shopkeeper.
It is indicated that the person responsible for pricing carries out market research that provides information regarding the amount that has been charged by the national competition that also works with imported goods. It is common for the profit margin per item to be higher in the case of imported products, but the brand must establish a competitive price to ensure its financial health.
7. Assess the logistics that will be used
When working with a virtual store, the logistical issue is essential. And this point is even more important in the case of stores that operate with imported products! Choosing this type of trade, the entrepreneur must assess whether he will have a large stock of his own, reselling from the items available. This path reduces delivery time to the end customer and adds value to the purchase.
Another option is that some orders are only placed in foreign stores when customers order products here. In this case, the delivery time must be in accordance. And be careful: this type of model is only suitable for products with low output, a situation that makes the maintenance of a stock by the shopkeeper not compensate. In addition to these alternatives, when working with intermediary companies, it is still possible to request that the delivery be carried out directly at the customer’s residence, in the dropshipping model.
After learning how to import products to sell online, the online store can now start in this segment! And if you want to receive more informative content on how to increase e-commerce sales, follow our pages on social networks!
7 tips you should consider when importing products for resale
Importing products for resale is a great strategy for those who want to invest in their own business and have good income. However, this type of activity requires planning and some basic care , which will guarantee a successful operation, with good financial returns.
In this post, we made a list with 7 tips that can be put into practice to start activities and achieve the expected results. Keep following the reading to know what they are!
1. Search for suppliers from different regions
When looking for suppliers from different regions, you can do a price mapping and find out which products have the most affordable offer. This helps a lot when making the comparison and identifying which proposal has the best cost-benefit ratio for your business.
There are situations in which the difference in the currency of the country of origin is enough to generate a big difference in the cost of the same product. Thus, this simple analysis can help to reduce your operating costs and increase your profit margin – or offer even more attractive prices to your customers.
2. Choose suppliers that convey confidence
The possibility of making purchases over the internet has gained more and more space, mainly due to the practicality that this modality offers. However, when it comes to choosing a supplier in another country, without the possibility of personally evaluating the products, extra care must be taken.
Therefore, look for companies that convey security in relation to what is being purchased and the delivery of these items on time. It is worth doing research on the internet to identify the reputation and possible complaints regarding the goods and the service offered.
Give preference to those who have good recommendations, even if it means paying a little more – this helps to avoid problems and the infamous situation in which the cheap ends up being more expensive.
There are some companies on the market that are already consolidated and well known to the general public. This is the case with AliExpress, Wish, Ebay and GearBest. In the case of marketplaces, care should be taken to research the vendor’s evaluation, in order to identify its reputation – similar to what occurs in Mercado Livre, which helps to have an idea of the supplier’s degree of reliability.
3. Make a price comparison
With some research on the internet, you can make several quotes for the same product, with several different suppliers. From there, it’s easier to find the best offer (which can be based on price or cost-effectiveness) for what you need.
Also check the possibility of getting discounts or some other special condition for larger volumes. With a good deal, it may be possible to lower operating costs and increase profits when reselling.
Ideally, at least 3 quotes are made for each purchase. Depending on the type of relationship that is established with the suppliers, this helps to increase the bargaining power and makes it possible to obtain even more attractive values than those that were initially passed on.
4. Look for the best (and safest) forms of payment
Generally, payments for import operations are made using an international credit card. Although the boleto is also a possibility, it is less secure, since payment is made in full and, in case of default, it is impossible to get a refund.
In addition to the extra security, paying with a card also helps to ensure that the amount disbursed will be paid on the currency in question at the time of purchase. This considerably decreases the chances of receiving a more expensive bill (unexpectedly) as a result of an increase that occurred in the process.
5. Calculate final product costs in advance
It is necessary to be very careful when calculating the final costs of products in advance, since this directly influences the pricing of items for resale.
To do this, you must make the appropriate currency conversions with the updated quote, in addition to remembering to include the amount paid in freight in the final cost. Any inattention can hurt your profit later – if the difference is not passed on to customers.
Therefore, knowing costs allows more effective pricing strategies to be adopted, contributing to the fact that variations do not affect sales volume as much as a result of a sudden increase in the value of products.
6. Assess which is the most viable logistics model
The logistic strategy also has a great weight in the operations of a virtual store. In this sense, it is necessary to define which inventory model will be adopted, which may include:
- own stock
- dropshipping
- cross-docking
It is necessary to evaluate the pros and cons of each modality, since the own stock can raise operating costs, while dropshipping and cross docking can make delivery times longer – since they depend on the suppliers’ delivery times -, for example. example.
7. Consider partnering with order redirectors
There are some international suppliers that do not ship directly to Brazil. In practice, this means that if you made a purchase in the United States, you need to provide an address there to receive the order.
This is where order redirection companies come in. They offer a specialized service, in which they receive the products and, later, send the shipments to Brazil.
The great advantage of this is that this partnership makes it possible to send any acquisition made abroad . However, on the other hand, it must be borne in mind that this expense needs to be incorporated into the total cost of the product – which can make it more expensive or decrease your profit margin, depending on the strategy adopted.
Importing products for resale is an activity that can bring good financial returns, even if the currency of the country of origin is higher. However, this is only possible with enough analysis and decisions based on effective planning.
Did you like the tips presented above? Share this article on your social networks and let more people know how to start the job of reselling imported products!
