Chinese goods today occupy a large part of the market worldwide. In Russia, for example, this share is 80%. This is due to the fact that products from the Celestial Empire have become cheaper, varied, high-quality and functional than several decades ago. And therefore, you can build a good business on goods from China.
Even if you have never been involved in sales and do not have entrepreneurial skills, you have every chance to start a business and make a profit. Many enthusiasts have already seen this. It is enough to have a desire, interesting ideas and a little start-up capital.
Business essence
In principle, a business scheme is no different from regular sales of any product. All work will be reduced to three main points:
1. Search for the cheapest product in China.
2. Organization of its delivery.
3. Sale with a margin. Celestial products are very cheap, and you can do it tenfold cheat. From this we can conclude that the most profitable business is goods from China.
Where to start an inexperienced businessman? Eleven consecutive steps tell you what to do.
1st step - learn business models
There are several ways to sell goods. You can combine them or use only one that is more suitable for you.
1. Dropshipping. This is an option for a business without investments. The bottom line is that you become an intermediary and get a percentage of it. Buyers place an order with you, you send the application to the supplier, and he sends the package to the customer's address. Everything would be fine, but people rarely agree to make an advance payment and wait for the goods indefinitely.
2. Wholesale. You again act as an intermediary, only sell the goods in large quantities. You can find partners on free classified sites or on social networks. It is enough to make a note “in bulk”.
3. Online store. You pre-buy the goods from the supplier and create your catalog. You can post it on a specially created site or in your groups of social networks.
4. Retail sales. In this case, the trade will be carried out offline on the leased area or the territory of their housing. The last option even has a beautiful name "show room".
2nd step - identify your resources
Before you start a business with goods from China, you need to understand how much you can and are willing to spend. The choice of a sales model directly depends on the amount of money available. If you do not have them or there are very few, then it is better to start with dropshipping. It minimizes the cost of goods and eliminates the "burnout" of the business.
If you have at least several tens of thousands of rubles, and you are ready to take a chance, then you can purchase the goods in advance. Start with popular bulletin boards and social media groups. An online store, subject to good promotion, will significantly increase profits, and with it the volume of work. With a significant starting capital, you can engage in wholesale sales or even open your own outlet.
3rd step - find your niche and evaluate the prospects of the product
Many entrepreneurs choose products from China as a business idea. But what exactly can you sell? As practice shows, anything from stationery to large electronics. The main thing is to love the goods sold, and ideally, to understand them well.
Also of great importance is the popularity, customer demand. You can check it according to the statistics of the Yandex service - Wordstat. At the same time, the market should not be oversaturated with these products, otherwise competition will ruin the entire business.
Most often, people are interested in certain products from China.Small business or large trade can be built on the following categories:
- Clothing and shoes. They can be for the whole family, or for a certain category: women, men or children.
- Accessories: bags, watches, belts, umbrellas, jewelry and more.
- Mobile devices.
- Cases and accessories for smartphones.
- Laptops, tablet computers, e-books.
- Appliances.
- Devices for cars: navigators, DVRs, floor mats, phone holders and more.
- Household items: hygiene products, kitchen utensils, interesting household goods.
- Children's toys and designers.
- Long-term storage products: teas, nuts, dried fruits, beer snacks.
Of course, this is not a complete list of popular and popular goods, but first you can stop on it.
4th step - find products and suppliers in China
Once you have decided on the type of product, you can proceed to the search for suppliers. If you are planning a large business - an online store of goods from China, that is, your goal will be wholesale, then you definitely need to go to direct manufacturers or distributors. So the goods can be bought much cheaper. To do this, you will have to go to the Celestial Empire to visit the warehouses and agree on a deal.
If you want to focus only on small business, then the sphere of your interests is intermediary sites. Thanks to them, you can not go anywhere, and order products directly on the Internet without leaving your home. Such sites include: Alibaba, Aliexpress, Taobao, Dinodirect, Tmart and others. These are the most popular sites, and they will be enough for the first time. To complete transactions, you will have to register on the selected resource and get acquainted with the terms of the order. To communicate with sellers it is useful to use online translators if you do not speak Chinese or English.
5th step - check the Chinese partner, eliminate fraud
It is in the dialogue that one can check the adequacy and professionalism of the seller. How much your business will be in reselling goods from China will largely depend on them. When choosing an intermediary, also study the reviews about him and his documents. Never work with an unreliable seller: the Chinese are very good at cheating. Be sure to check if the seller is on the scam list. This is very easy to do through reliability verification services, which are numerous on the Internet.
Pay attention to the lifetime of the supplier’s store. The longer it works, the better. Ideally, a few years. But stores created a few days or weeks ago should be avoided. Also study the contacts. If only the city is indicated, then this is an occasion to beware. But on sites like "Aliexpress" it is considered normal practice not to indicate a specific address. It is not always worth worrying about this and thinking that you will not be able to sell goods from China as a business with a specific supplier.
If the future partner didn’t push you away, you can try to get an invitation for a study tour to the warehouse of the manufacturer or supplier. But this is completely optional.
6th step - examine the conditions of delivery and order of goods
Usually, all the necessary information about the purchase and delivery is indicated on the supplier’s website, including discounts for large orders. But practice shows that everyone has a chance to choose for themselves more profitable options. To do this, just contact the seller and ask for a discount, stating that you want to order a wholesale lot and open your own business. In the delivery of goods from China, you can save in another way. Just cooperate with your friends.
Be sure to discuss sanctions in case of violation of agreements and other emergency situations. Customs may simply not miss large deliveries or impose an import duty. In such a case, it is worth breaking the parcel into smaller ones and ordering them at the addresses of relatives.
7th step - find potential buyers
Think carefully to whom and where you can profitably sell your product. If you do not take care of this in advance, then you are in great risk of sitting in your arms for a long time with a large party.
Make ads by creating different ads on Avito. The more informative they are, the better. Not everyone is ready to dial and pry out the necessary information. This site is visited daily by about 7 million people, so this is a good option for promotion. If you choose a popular product, it will be sold out in the first month.
Create groups on social networks. This is another common way to promote a business on Chinese goods. Actively use likes, the option "tell friends", sweepstakes and discounts to first customers. You can make ads in other groups, but it’s usually not free, so you’ll have to fork out.
Step 8 - Calculate Profitability
Do not rush to order goods from China: a business plan will be your next step. It doesn’t matter if you invest in a project or just the time spent.
Explore the market for similar products, see how much others sell them. Your price should not be higher, otherwise you will not be able to compete. It is better to choose the lowest possible threshold. If at the same time you can return at least 200-300% of the cost of the goods, then it will be profitable, with good profit.
If you plan to invest in a business, there should be at least 10 thousand rubles, ideally 20-30 rubles. It is with this amount that you can make good money. For example, you buy 50 T-shirts for 300 rubles (including delivery). Make a three-time mark-up on them. Do not forget about advertising costs (usually they make up 10-15%). Thus, you will receive a profit of at least 25 thousand.
9th step - test and purchase the goods
Once you study the suppliers and calculate the costs and revenues, you can proceed with the purchase. But do not immediately purchase the goods in large quantities. Be sure to take products for testing. You cannot build a good business on goods from China unless you are sure of their quality. Buyers of low-grade products quickly sweep away and do not hesitate to leave deserved negative reviews about it.
10th step - start selling
Start as an entrepreneur. Launch catalogs with beautiful photos of products on sites and in your groups of social networks. Make detailed descriptions for them, tell us in detail about the conditions of the order. Do not stop advertising to attract as many customers as possible. As soon as you start to receive a stable and good income, feel free to register your business. Of course, this can be done immediately if you are not afraid to take risks.
The 11th step is to formalize a business
Sooner or later, all entrepreneurs are registered to calmly make a profit. What do I need to do?
- Register the business as an individual entrepreneur or LLC in the tax service. It is better to choose a simplified mode. So you will give less interest to the treasury.
- Open a bank account as a legal entity.
- Get certificates of conformity for goods.
- Timely submit accounting reports.
As you can see, everything is simple. A commodity business from China can be a lucrative business if you approach it wisely.
