Exporting Thai Goods, For A Quick Buck

[StickKettleOn]

I have this overwhelming bug to spend a few quid on.... well, whatever, with the idea of sending back to the UK and get one of my nephews to sell at weekend markets.

I have had this bug for years - usualy when i am walking around markets here in Thailand i cant help but look at some of the stuff for sale and think what a hefty margin could be placed on goods if sold back home.

For example; walking around the various Pratunam markets. Early in the morning from 7-9am you can pick up some amazing wholesale deals. Womens shoes for 150B. Purses for 100B. Bags for 200B.

Jeans in paricular - there are one or two places at the City Complex in Pratunam that sell real knockout quality jeans for a few hundred baht. They have piles and piles of packaged bags full of jeans ready for export - so someone must be knocking them out back home. I know for a fact a pair of jeans at a sunday market in England would go for 8/900 Baht. Im sure you could arive at a 500B mark up per pair and if you sold 50 pairs in one day, thats 25,000 baht profit.

I see the odd ferang walking around Pratunam with bags of clothes - all the same style - so they must be doing it?

Or what about Sam Peng (spelling) in China Town? Loads of stuff there that you can buy for silly money. Real nice soap for example - all herbal stuff, packaged nicely - for like 20B a bar. Im convinced one bar would sell for a couple hundred Baht back home.

Jewelry is another. Cheap tacky jewelry. Watches - cheap but nice looking watches that would fly out at a sunday market for like, 80B.

Is it as easy as this? I just can help but look at it and think of a quick buck.

Summer is aproaching in England and the weekend markets liven up. I seriously have this bug to spend a few quid, send back to UK and get my Nephew to rent a stall for the day at a market each weekend.

Any suggestions?

[mikethevigoman]

I have this overwhelming bug to spend a few quid on.... well, whatever, with the idea of sending back to the UK and get one of my nephews to sell at weekend markets.

I have had this bug for years - usualy when i am walking around markets here in Thailand i cant help but look at some of the stuff for sale and think what a hefty margin could be placed on goods if sold back home.

For example; walking around the various Pratunam markets. Early in the morning from 7-9am you can pick up some amazing wholesale deals. Womens shoes for 150B. Purses for 100B. Bags for 200B.

Jeans in paricular - there are one or two places at the City Complex in Pratunam that sell real knockout quality jeans for a few hundred baht. They have piles and piles of packaged bags full of jeans ready for export - so someone must be knocking them out back home. I know for a fact a pair of jeans at a sunday market in England would go for 8/900 Baht. Im sure you could arive at a 500B mark up per pair and if you sold 50 pairs in one day, thats 25,000 baht profit.

I see the odd ferang walking around Pratunam with bags of clothes - all the same style - so they must be doing it?

Or what about Sam Peng (spelling) in China Town? Loads of stuff there that you can buy for silly money. Real nice soap for example - all herbal stuff, packaged nicely - for like 20B a bar. Im convinced one bar would sell for a couple hundred Baht back home.

Jewelry is another. Cheap tacky jewelry. Watches - cheap but nice looking watches that would fly out at a sunday market for like, 80B.

Is it as easy as this? I just can help but look at it and think of a quick buck.

Summer is aproaching in England and the weekend markets liven up. I seriously have this bug to spend a few quid, send back to UK and get my Nephew to rent a stall for the day at a market each weekend.

Any suggestions?

There is loads of scope, dont do copy, it will end in tears,. depends what scale you want to do it on, there are hundreds of containers on the water heading for the uk from here so that will tell you something, if you are talking a small amount try silver, dosent take up much room ,unlike 40 pairs of jeans ,heavy also,..

[ColPyat]

Any suggestions?

People have been doing this since decades.

The successful ones (the minority) know their markets, and which products they sell when where and for how much. They have started small, did their home work and mistakes, and stuck through.

Nobody though who is in this business, and successful, will tell you anything. They are not going to create their own competition.

[mikethevigoman]

Easy to buy,

Any suggestions?

People have been doing this since decades.

The successful ones (the minority) know their markets, and which products they sell when where and for how much. They have started small, did their home work and mistakes, and stuck through.

Nobody though who is in this business, and successful, will tell you anything. They are not going to create their own competition.

Easy to buy, having the outlet /contacts for resale is the tricky bit

[PaulUSA302]

At our weekend markets here in the Delaware/New Jersey area of the USA. I found that the same things sold here and in Thailand cost less here in the USA. I imagine the large wood items could be sold here at profit but you would probably do better to learn and hone your own skill at woodworking and go back and make and sell them yourself.

Ebay is full of people selling Thai goods but the art of business is doing something better than others... Maybe you have a better idea that may make you some real bucks!

I wish you the best of luck!

[StickKettleOn]

Thanks for the replies.

Just to qualify; I have no illusions of earning big money here. I am talking about success on an initial basic level. Amateur stuff. If I can make 20/30/40,000B month 'knocking out' stuff back home, I would consider that a huge success considering I have never exported anything before. Huge.

If over time, I could build on this, great! But if not, no worries. I have a good job that pays well. I am not hanging anything on this. I just have an eye for a deal and an itch to scratch. I love this sort of thing and cash is king.

Some of you have mentioned 'knowing your market' and having 'contacts' back home. These are sound points but again, at this stage I am talking about punting a few things on a weekend market back home - no grand connections or market strategy needed for sending my nephew to a Sunday market, with a van full of jeans, a cheesy smile and the gift of the gab.

On a higher scale - ill concede there are way, way deeper itches that need scratching. For example, my family are in the furniture biz back in England. They are agents, who sell furniture for UK manufacturers to UK retailers. There is probably not one single furniture store in the entire UK that my family has not done business with at some point. I look at the furniture here in LOS, and (knowing the margins) can’t help but kick myself at the potential for exporting this stuff. But hey... we are talking big money to set this up. And I can’t afford it. And I am getting way ahead of myself here. This aint gonna happen, though I would love it to.

And so, I have to scratch this itch somehow. I love a gamble and love a punt. I am happy to spend, I dunno... 50,000B on 'good's' that have market appeal (in the literal sense, Sunday markets) back in UK.

So far, I’m thinking denim jeans, and soap.

Any other suggestions?

[mikethevigoman]

Thanks for the replies.

Just to qualify; I have no illusions of earning big money here. I am talking about success on an initial basic level. Amateur stuff. If I can make 20/30/40,000B month 'knocking out' stuff back home, I would consider that a huge success considering I have never exported anything before. Huge.

If over time, I could build on this, great! But if not, no worries. I have a good job that pays well. I am not hanging anything on this. I just have an eye for a deal and an itch to scratch. I love this sort of thing and cash is king.

Some of you have mentioned 'knowing your market' and having 'contacts' back home. These are sound points but again, at this stage I am talking about punting a few things on a weekend market back home - no grand connections or market strategy needed for sending my nephew to a Sunday market, with a van full of jeans, a cheesy smile and the gift of the gab.

On a higher scale - ill concede there are way, way deeper itches that need scratching. For example, my family are in the furniture biz back in England. They are agents, who sell furniture for UK manufacturers to UK retailers. There is probably not one single furniture store in the entire UK that my family has not done business with at some point. I look at the furniture here in LOS, and (knowing the margins) can't help but kick myself at the potential for exporting this stuff. But hey... we are talking big money to set this up. And I can't afford it. And I am getting way ahead of myself here. This aint gonna happen, though I would love it to.

And so, I have to scratch this itch somehow. I love a gamble and love a punt. I am happy to spend, I dunno... 50,000B on 'good's' that have market appeal (in the literal sense, Sunday markets) back in UK.

So far, I'm thinking denim jeans, and soap.

Any other suggestions?

just do your homework,. because people/companies are doing things in bulk youll find these items you mention are cheap back home as they have been brought in in bulk and as such the shipping has been cheap,. if you are a saleman and you have an idea you can do it, ! good luck

[StickKettleOn]

Thanks for the kind good luck wish Mike - ill certainly give it a bash. I would hate to loose 50,000B and Its not like i can afford it too much - but at the end of the day, it is only 50,000B. Not a huge gamble.

[OlRedEyes]

At our weekend markets here in the Delaware/New Jersey area of the USA. I found that the same things sold here and in Thailand cost less here in the USA.

Ya well, you don't have to pay farang price there

[goldencrunchie]

Try sunglasses, a fews years ago i bought 100 pairs of copy oakley sunnys for 30 baht a pair and sold them back in oz for 50 dollars a pair. It was a good money maker but i nearly got caught by customs back in australia.I told them they were for my friends and relatives, not sure if they believed me or not but i was let through anyhow

[cleggit]

Good luck with your venture ! Keep us informed how you do.

I too have often wondered about such a venture. However, knowing nothing of importing/exporting or even retailing (other than spending ) have never given it much more than a second thought. My gut reactions on this though are that although Thailand is cheap it is not cheap enough when compared to the likes of China, Indonesia or even Vietnam (i also beleive some of the stuff is imported into LOS) so by the time you add shipping costs etc etc the products would be too expensive back in the UK. Perhaps someone in the business could say more on this without giving the game away.

[ZZZ]

Check with customs before buying. Some countries have quota deals with Thailand on certain items, you may need a quota license for things like clothing. Your embassy in BKK will have all the info on what can be imported and what the duty will be.

[lordsux]

Find a Thai person that you trust to buy the goods, because even if you believe that you are getting local price you most probably aren't !

Good luck!

[ronw]

Find a Thai person that you trust to buy the goods, because even if you believe that you are getting local price you most probably aren't !

Good luck!

Better still.....do some research...find the manufacturer....and buy directly from them....eliminate the middleman...!!!!

Good luck...you may need it!

[OneeyedJohn]

Be sure to get the stuff shipped back to UK via a direct route, with absolutely no redirects via KL, or Delhi or Bahrain etc.

[soap]

So far, I’m thinking denim jeans, and soap.

hey pal

you will be hearing from my brief if you want to export me to some sunday market

[Maizefarmer]

Oh yer! Here some tips - at least as far as whatever it is you're intending to profit from, is going to the UK:

1) If posssible send the goods and the brand name label as seperate shipments (e.g. cheapy sunglasses - stick the "brandname" on after it clears into the UK).

2) Don't ship directly to the UK (brandname or no brandname) - anything coming coming from Thailand carries a "red flag". Send to a Scandanavian country - clear EU customs in Scandanavia - then have shipped onward to UK - goods are coming into UK from EU country and will now attract almost zero customs interest (makes you think I've done this before er ..... used to - on a regular basis: Truimph bra's - genuine artical!! )

3) If counterfieted brandname goods - you may get away with it the first few times - but as an earlier forum member says - good chance "the next shipment" will end in tears - and you'll regret ever having started (because the brandname owners will do their homework Before throwing the book at you - it's called copyright law - make sure you know the diff between "copyright" and "brandname". Copyright violation is very expensive - especially if you're a farang).

Have Fun

MF

Edited April 14, 2007 by Maizefarmer

[Jockstar]

Dont buy anything that has a reconised brand name thats basically a copy. Football kits and mentioned before ie Copies of Oakley sunglasses. There is money to be made. You just gotta get the right angle. If you send loads of jeans back and make a bit of cash the first few times. What are you gonna send the next time? Only so many pairs of jeans you can sell.

Edited April 14, 2007 by Jockstar

[Farma]

Be careful with counterfeit goods.

From todays Oz news.

Weapons seized in Adelaide customs raid

Saturday Apr 14 09:21 AEST

Customs officials in Adelaide have seized one of the largest ever hauls of potentially lethal weapons and counterfeit goods.

The Chinese shipment included nunchakus, steel batons, hundreds of BB guns and more than 2,000 counterfeit items.

Continued here http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=261115

[Heng]

Sounds like we have some budding exporters here.

[rak sa_ngop]

Not so long ago I posted this info on Goji berries - miracle food!

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...255&hl=goji

Anyway the dried berries supposedly sell in the UK for 30 GBP a kilo. You can buy them in sealed 500 gm packs in Bangkok Chinatown for a lot less (about 5 GBP a kilo if memory serves me).

Maybe an opportunity there!

[jaiyenyen]

Hi all

I had a shop in UK a couple of years ago, and we sold furniture and handicrafts from Thailand. Furniture was hard work, we had some beautifull stuff but people would look at it, and say how wonderful it was,and say how well priced it was, and then <deleted> off out the shop (VERY FRUSTRATING)

But the best sellers, with the best markup were

Silk scarves

Wooden games

Wooden Chopsticks

Handmade paper cards etc

Wooden picture frames

Small boxes

Hope this helps a bit, by the way, we never sold copy stuff, and never had any problems with customs

Good luck

Jaiyenyen

[qwertz]

One of my cousins had a small shop in England selling basket ware from the Philippines. On a holiday in LOS with his wife (she's the brains of the outfit) they were taken with the quality of ceramics and lacquer ware and took back a heap of samples. They sold like hot cakes and he's now a millionaire. Important point here - they were lucky and chanced on a reliable supplier. Their best friend went the same route, importing clothes and lost his shirt on the venture. Another cousin in Oz went the reverse route, made a lot of farang contacts, people with businesses, and sells to them. He won't deal any more with local suppliers, says they're unreliable.

I had a little venture going with iron-on Formula one logos until the German customs stopped me, told me these were now on a stop list and confiscated them.

[LivinLOS]

One of my contacts in the UK is a specialist in pure essential oils.. He made a pitch for me to set up an export biz for some specific oil thats available in Thailand thats very valuable in the UK.. To be honest I am not really interested in working here.

This guy flys all over the world sorting out rare essential oils, sandalwood, pure incenses, etc etc etc.. Stuff sells for a fortune from his hippy shops.

Of course you need the outlet but this is good return stuff and non brand name as well as low weight shipping.. Pwerhaps worth looking into.

[raro]

I run a freight forwarding office in Pattaya and I have this kind of enquiry every other week.

First off: brandnames and anything copyright cannot. Even if it is an original, you still have to prove customs that the owner of the brand allows you to deal with it. Period.

Most ventures fail before they start because there is either no one in overseas that is prepared to take big enough volumes to make it worthwhile, no one who can finance such volumes and/or no one that makes the quality control prior shipping.

Another common mistake: Buying from a dealer instead from a manufacturer. With the dealer margin added you will never be competitve!

Anyways, good luck for your venture, if you need some more detailed info on the shipping side, please PM me!