How To Start Selling Textiles/Handicrafts Online?

[mja1906]

Hi, I live in Chiang Mai and run hill tribe tours together with my husband. I want to start selling local handicrafts/ textiles/ accessories online.

What is the best way to go about doing this ?

I know some expats have made a living through selling online (ie; via ebay, independent online shop, Etsy), I wonder if any of you have had experience doing this, and could share your experience or have any advice/tips? Is it even a profitable/viable option? Perhaps it is, but as with most businesses its about savy sales and marketing

I think I would start small scale first, nothing big like export or wholesale, just small and independent first and see how that goes first ?

Any advice much appreciated

[msg362]

I assume you are a non Thai person and do you have a work permit for the hill tribe tours? ( I think it is a prohibited occupation) and will have to sell accessories? If not you may find yourself in trouble, take care.

[Falcon]

No matter what people ask on this site, there is always one person who wants to start being a freelance immigration officer and warning people off of doing anything within the country to help themselves make a few $!

I assume you are a non Thai person and do you have a work permit for the hill tribe tours? ( I think it is a prohibited occupation) and will have to sell accessories? If not you may find yourself in trouble, take care.

[msg362]

No matter what people ask on this site, there is always one person who wants to start being a freelance immigration officer and warning people off of doing anything within the country to help themselves make a few $!

I assume you are a non Thai person and do you have a work permit for the hill tribe tours? ( I think it is a prohibited occupation) and will have to sell accessories? If not you may find yourself in trouble, take care.

I'm not trying to be anything except helpful. If she is on the wrong side of the labour laws she risks deportation. Better to know about it before it happens.If a jealous Thai competitor drops her in it, problems. If she already knows about it, nothing lost. It's called help, I'm not setting myself up as anything. Stop being such a twit. Try putting the word 'illegal' in between 'anything' and 'within' and then see how foolish you look.

Edited July 10, 2012 by msg362

[BWPattaya]

No matter what people ask on this site, there is always one person who wants to start being a freelance immigration officer and warning people off of doing anything within the country to help themselves make a few $!

I assume you are a non Thai person and do you have a work permit for the hill tribe tours? ( I think it is a prohibited occupation) and will have to sell accessories? If not you may find yourself in trouble, take care.

I'm not trying to be anything except helpful. If she is on the wrong side of the labour laws she risks deportation. Better to know about it before it happens.If a jealous Thai competitor drops her in it, problems. If she already knows about it, nothing lost. It's called help, I'm not setting myself up as anything. Stop being such a twit. Try putting the word 'illegal' in between 'anything' and 'within' and then see how foolish you look.

I have just been reading through the lists of restricted occupations for another thread. A tour guide is definitelt a restricted occupation. It can also be a problem selling online as well.

[TravelerEastWest]

"Perhaps it is, but as with most businesses its about savy sales and marketing"

You have answered your own question.

Random thoughts:

Special products made by the hill tribes that you know now

Build a brand

Sell something that you like and enjoy yourself.

Keep your costs low.

Good luck!

[Godfree]

There's a pretty extensive section on this very subject in "Making Money in Thailand". I wrote it for retirees but it obviously applies to anyone. It covers detailed stuff like free product testing, Thai Post Office Special Delivery, insurance, etc.

You can download it from Amazon ($2.99 in USA, more in Thailand, for some reason) here: http://www.amazon.com/Making-Money-Thailand-Retirement-ebook/dp/B0081W0F40

Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions that aren't answered in the book.

[Fgis]

No matter what people ask on this site, there is always one person who wants to start being a freelance immigration officer and warning people off of doing anything within the country to help themselves make a few $!

I assume you are a non Thai person and do you have a work permit for the hill tribe tours? ( I think it is a prohibited occupation) and will have to sell accessories? If not you may find yourself in trouble, take care.

I'm not trying to be anything except helpful. If she is on the wrong side of the labour laws she risks deportation. Better to know about it before it happens.If a jealous Thai competitor drops her in it, problems. If she already knows about it, nothing lost. It's called help, I'm not setting myself up as anything. Stop being such a twit. Try putting the word 'illegal' in between 'anything' and 'within' and then see how foolish you look.

Who is going ot know ?

This is stupid to talk about work permit to sell online. Maybe more than 100000 people do it without a work permit...

[msg362]

No matter what people ask on this site, there is always one person who wants to start being a freelance immigration officer and warning people off of doing anything within the country to help themselves make a few $!

I assume you are a non Thai person and do you have a work permit for the hill tribe tours? ( I think it is a prohibited occupation) and will have to sell accessories? If not you may find yourself in trouble, take care.

I'm not trying to be anything except helpful. If she is on the wrong side of the labour laws she risks deportation. Better to know about it before it happens.If a jealous Thai competitor drops her in it, problems. If she already knows about it, nothing lost. It's called help, I'm not setting myself up as anything. Stop being such a twit. Try putting the word 'illegal' in between 'anything' and 'within' and then see how foolish you look.

Who is going ot know ?

This is stupid to talk about work permit to sell online. Maybe more than 100000 people do it without a work permit...

So where does the 100,000 come from ? the top of your head or elsewhere? Are you saying there are more than 100,000 ? farangs? are selling on line in Thailand?

I agree that selling online is low risk, but if the business is high profile in trekking and comes a cropper, the whole pack of cards falls down.

So rather than being 'stupid' it's best to know about these things and take avoiding action before anything happens. ( I suspect they know already) I wish them well, but unlike you it seems, I'm only alerting them to possible risks.

You, I suppose would say' it's OK, no problems' (when in fact it is illegal and if the authorities want to get difficult they could), and walk away if anything happened.

Why don't you do something useful like water the garden