Pitfalls for Importers To Avoid When Choosing Products
by Abdul Aziz Mondal Business 14 December 2022
The import business is thriving, especially with the increase in online shopping over the past few years. People want to buy the newest and best products as soon as they hit the market, and importers play a major role in meeting that demand.
But, not every importer makes it past their first ISF filing before they’re out of business because they don’t choose the right products to import. These pitfalls will help you avoid becoming a statistic.
Don’t Buy In Bulk Without Getting Samples First
Most suppliers will send you samples of their products for a small fee so you can determine the quality of their items and make sure they’re what you want to sell.
If a supplier won’t send you a sample and only sells in bulk, skip that supplier and move on to one that will.
You absolutely must know what your customers are receiving because if you import a bulk quantity of a poor-quality product, you are stuck trying to sell a poor-quality product, which will leave you with a lot of dead stock or with a terrible reputation.
Consider Reading: Supplier Selection – 5 Important Selection Criteria All Your Suppliers Should Meet
Don’t Take Risks With Your Payments To Suppliers
During the first few months of a relationship between you and a supplier, use a payment method that offers payment protection. Companies like PayPal and Trade Assurance fully protect your payment to vendors so that you can get a refund if you don’t receive the products or the products you do receive are not what was advertised.
You probably don’t have a lot of capital to risk and you can’t always know for sure if you’re dealing with a scrupulous supplier. After your relationship has been established for several order cycles, you can consider other payment methods.
Don’t Buy A Lot Of Inventory At First
The downfall of many suppliers is that they get excited about selling a specific product before they really know how well it will sell.
They purchase an item in bulk and end up not being able to sell all of it or they have to sell it at a huge loss just to get rid of it.
Until you know how well an item is going to sell, purchase the smallest unit possible from your supplier. You can always order more, but you can’t always return unsold products.
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