Exporting From Thailand

[jaylord]

Hi all, I was looking for some advice regarding the possibilities of exporting various products from Thailand and into NZ for re-sale. This is something my gf (thai) is interested in doing as she thinks we could make a little pocket money selling jewellary, clothes etc on the internet in our spare time - so we are not talking about a large scale operation at all! Can anyone help with regards the various rules that would apply, costs, info sources etc. And if anyone has any ideas as to what product would be most profitable would be real helpful too! I am basically trying to find out if this is a feasible idea as my gf is quite keen on the idea!

Thankyou

[torrenova]

You state that you are in the UK but you want to export to NZ ?

The problems are: financing, marketing, payment method, distribution network and support service. There are other considerations but these are the main ones.

If you are thinking about exporting and carrying stock at your destination then you are likely dead in the water from day one. Unless you are shipping to the end buyer, you have to do bulk. In simple terms, you cannot send over 1000 boxes and then go to 1000 markets and try to sell them. You want to sell the 1000 boxes to someone else who then passes them on down the distribution chain. Conversely, if you ship one by one to the end buyer, you ruin yourself with distribution (postal charges mainly) costs.

In the last couple of years I have met a number of Thais who have heard the word "internet" and think it is a machine which prints money. Unfortunately, they have no concept how to get it to do so. Multi tasking and thinking outside the box are skills which Thais do not posess in large numbers.

As a starter, I'll chuck up an idea for you. Pis poor, crap jewellery.

[jaylord]

Yes I am from the UK but have lived in NZ for a number of years where my gf joined me!

Like I said we weren't talking 1000's of boxes, more like a big box full of nick nacks that we could sell as a hobby. Can we simply get someone to buy a box full of things and ship it over or are there rules for that sort of thing, as i guess this would still be classed as an enterprise of sorts?

Thanks for the feedback though - this is where the idea comes from - we see crappy jewelery for sale everyday in NZ for $20-30NZ that u can buy at victory monument for 10B!!!

[frikkiedeboer]

Yes I am from the UK but have lived in NZ for a number of years where my gf joined me!

Like I said we weren't talking 1000's of boxes, more like a big box full of nick nacks that we could sell as a hobby. Can we simply get someone to buy a box full of things and ship it over or are there rules for that sort of thing, as i guess this would still be classed as an enterprise of sorts?

Thanks for the feedback though - this is where the idea comes from - we see crappy jewelery for sale everyday in NZ for $20-30NZ that u can buy at victory monument for 10B!!!

torrenova is right. there is huge money in it if you can crack the market, but you need to find the end buyer first. you are unlikely to make any money on anything less than a containerfull at a time, but make sure you will be able to offload it all first! you are also unlikely to do anything profitable over the internet, everybody got there before you! thai suppliers are unreliable- an order can take months to fill, and unless you are in thailand organising everything yourself, you are in for a rough ride. if you do happen to find a product you have a ready demand for, you have a shot, but be aware of the pitfalls.

good luck

frikkie

[blizzard]

i bet my life that 10 baht jewels at vict mon dont go for anything like 20-30 nz! in nz. no wonder people lose so much money.

[jaylord]

i bet my life that 10 baht jewels at vict mon dont go for anything like 20-30 nz! in nz. no wonder people lose so much money.

You would be surprised Blizzard!! Either way, a box full of 10B jewelary aint gonna hurt anyones pocket! OK thanks guys I guess this ones a none starter!

[blizzard]

i am surprised. i didnt know nz dollar worth so little.