Set up import/export business online?

[mja1906]

Hi all, I know this has probably been asked before, but I've been in CM a few years already and looking to generate extra side income for the long term.

Import/export business seems to be a good bet in CM. I like the idea of exporting handicrafts, although not sure how to break into the market or find buyers ? I know this has been a popular business option for foreigners here, wonder if the market is still good for this?

Anybody have any tips/experience in doing this? I'd also consider buying a small business that was already established.

[recycler]

I tried this about 6 to 7 years ago with handycrafts and silk, had Thai contacts not only in CM, but also other areas, a website with shop and a sales channel in Europe.

The problem than already was that your buying price here is too high, the Thai vendors already adept their price to foreign buyers, adding the delivery cost either by mail, courier or in some cases container shipping kills your business. You loose from retailers that buy big volume of often low quality or fake goods in lower price countries like China, Vietnam, India, etc. Prices in Thailand have gone up a lot since and Europe has less money to spend and the prices in Europe and the US have not gone up as much as here.

Only if you can find a real niche market and can reach your customers with a good outlet you may be able to make some, but it won't be easy.

[worgeordie]

Lots of the bigger exporters in this line have already

gone out of business,you could try it ,as long as you

don't invest too much into it,just make sure you get paid

upfront and do the quality control yourself.

If you do find any niche market,milk it for all its worth,as

you will soon find you have competition for the same product.

regards worgeordie

[anonymouse]

When the baht wasn't so strong a few years back this was a viable way of making money but a lot more difficult now.

Personally I would look at E-Commerce from your own country and dropship - cheaper start up costs and less headache once you are set up.

[Oscar2]

I tried this about 6 to 7 years ago with handycrafts and silk, had Thai contacts not only in CM, but also other areas, a website with shop and a sales channel in Europe.

The problem than already was that your buying price here is too high, the Thai vendors already adept their price to foreign buyers, adding the delivery cost either by mail, courier or in some cases container shipping kills your business. You loose from retailers that buy big volume of often low quality or fake goods in lower price countries like China, Vietnam, India, etc. Prices in Thailand have gone up a lot since and Europe has less money to spend and the prices in Europe and the US have not gone up as much as here.

Only if you can find a real niche market and can reach your customers with a good outlet you may be able to make some, but it won't be easy.

spot on. about 5 years too late in the economic cycle for this to work. the wife has a number of websites and the oldest and most profitable site was exporting handicrafts and silk, etc. to Europe, Australia, etc. but prices have soared so high in Thailand in recent years, and Europeans don't have the spare cash to spend that they once had. for 9 years she had regular customers in France, Germany, Poland, etc. buying 100 pc. lots from her on a regular basis. she would buy in quantities of 1000-2000 pcs. each and get a good price up until about 2 years ago when suppliers began raising prices significantly. and of course shipping costs, packing supplies, etc. soared too. European and Australian customers of many years all but disappeared. she shut that website down about 8 months ago. sadly a lot of her stock sitting in boxes for a year or more mildewed and had to be thrown away. now her cousin loads up a truck once a month and sells the goods for whatever she can get for them at San Kamphaeng, Sansai night markets, etc.

now 90% of her imports/exports are goods from China which can be bought cheap and often she pitches in with 2 other ladies and has a container come. much better profits... she started another business recently "pre-order" where re-sellers buy lots paying 50% deposit up front and when the goods arrive in Bangkok, they quickly change hands.

the internet is filled with sellers who can't unload huge quantities of Thai handicrafts unless they give the stuff away.

[laobali]

Agree with above. Five years ago is very different from today earning extra income online, especially for someone starting now.

[mike324]

I tried this about 6 to 7 years ago with handycrafts and silk, had Thai contacts not only in CM, but also other areas, a website with shop and a sales channel in Europe.

The problem than already was that your buying price here is too high, the Thai vendors already adept their price to foreign buyers, adding the delivery cost either by mail, courier or in some cases container shipping kills your business. You loose from retailers that buy big volume of often low quality or fake goods in lower price countries like China, Vietnam, India, etc. Prices in Thailand have gone up a lot since and Europe has less money to spend and the prices in Europe and the US have not gone up as much as here.

Only if you can find a real niche market and can reach your customers with a good outlet you may be able to make some, but it won't be easy.

Well said, to add to that if you have no idea how to start the business or even find the buyer, I would suggest you avoid it, its not that simple. It may be a popular option, but I think if you do not have your own design for handicrafts, its not a viable and over saturated business.

[laobali]

And marketing online goes way beyond sourcing a product, selling, being paid and delivering it - even if it's someone else's product or service (affiliate marketing); that's the easy part. Online 'presence' is the secret. Getting your site or blog listed (or ad posted) on the first page of the search engines (SEO) is the difficult part. And choosing to promote something that a sizable number of people want. Takes a lot of effort and time.

[mania]

For me what really killed it was postal rates

I had no problem with local prices here for goods as most were imports from China...Motorcycle accessories

Mainly when doing single sales orders postage was just too high

Even using plain/Economy airmail the price was just too high

http://www.thai-info.net/info/postalrates.htm

700 baht a kg to USA for instance

1900 baht or $60usd for 5kg

When you look on places like Ebay at things selling from Thailand it is amazing they break even

But they also use the slow boat mail which can take quite sometime

But still not cheap

550 baht 1kg

1110 baht 5kg.....& this is surface mail

Lastly Paypal which many use to pay you have recently changed their policies...again

I am all for buyer protection but 180 days? I think that means also folks for what ever reason later feel dissatisfied/Item not as described

can throw a wrench into your account so need to be a bit wary there too.

And last but not least, you'll see some updates to our User Agreement that go into effect November 18, 2014. If you're interested in all the details, take a look at our Policy Updates Page. Here are the highlights:

• We're increasing the time for buyers to file merchandise disputes (Item Not Received and Significantly Not as Described) from 45 days to 180 days.
• We're extending buyer protection to include item not received claims for custom made products.
• Because PayPal Seller Protection and Buyer Protection policies may vary from country to country, we're adding language to clarify which country's policy applies when a seller makes a sale to a buyer outside of the U.S.

If you use PayPal after the date these changes become effective, we will take that usage as your consent to the changed terms.

Edited October 16, 2014 by mania

[jamiesilver]

have to agree!

10 years ago it was easy - now i dont see many benefits or profits to selling from Thailand.
Everyone jumped on the bandwagon of ebay years ago, it worked and worked well but then it got nasty, paypal were freezing accounts for no reason, ebay was raising its fees and the Thais soon learned how to open ebay accounts and undercut the foreign competition.
Then China opened its doors and pretty much dominate the whole ebay market now.
Thailand doesnt have that much to export anymore, apart from silk and some crap souvenirs made to look exotic, fake goods and t shirts, gems.
Everyone has already been there and done that to death.
Ofcourse there is the food market but that requires a lod of red tape and skill.
Its find a niche and milk it or get ready for small returns and hard work.

Edited October 16, 2014 by jamiesilver

[Jaggg88]

I tried this about 6 to 7 years ago with handycrafts and silk, had Thai contacts not only in CM, but also other areas, a website with shop and a sales channel in Europe.

The problem than already was that your buying price here is too high, the Thai vendors already adept their price to foreign buyers, adding the delivery cost either by mail, courier or in some cases container shipping kills your business. You loose from retailers that buy big volume of often low quality or fake goods in lower price countries like China, Vietnam, India, etc. Prices in Thailand have gone up a lot since and Europe has less money to spend and the prices in Europe and the US have not gone up as much as here.

Only if you can find a real niche market and can reach your customers with a good outlet you may be able to make some, but it won't be easy.

That's it in a nutshell - Thailand is too expensive.

[SeaVisionBurma]

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