Need help importing from China to UK

[Paul the IFA]

Hey all,

This is my first post so please be kind. I've read through a lot of the China posts on the forum but I can't seem to find an answer for my question.

Situation - My Brother is in China, he has been teaching English for the last 2 years. He planned to stay for a few years, but, he has found himself in a relationship with a local girl. They are now married and expecting their first child next week.

We would like to try and make some money using my brothers geographical position (Dongguan) to buy some cheap goods to send back to Scotland for me to sell on. We are not looking at importing any great value of goods, maybe a a few hundred poiunds worth to start with and see how we get on.

We are not in the business of selling or buying goods at all so are starting from scratch. I am an Independent Finacial Advisor so am 'usually' ok with figures.

SO - Costs
1, Initial Cost of goods
2, Shipping / packaging
3, Selling costs (be it e-bay or wherever) ....
4, Taxation... (importing and business tax)
(have I missed any)

And point 4, taxation is where we are really stuck. Do we have to pay import vat based on the purchase value of any goods we ship or is it based on another figure such as actual value?

If we just sent a few things at a time, do small packages get 'examined' for importing goods? - EG, 2 or 3 bits of Jewellery? (Correct - this might be a thinly veiled question about avoiding tax)

So - could someone point me in the right direction to find out these answers of perhaps help me out themselves?

and

Is it still worth trying to do things like this? Are the pricing structures between the UK and China becoming closer to make generating a profit more and more difficult?

and

Would it be better with my brother buying some goods directly and shipping them himself or leaving it with a supplier to do?

Short to medium term plan is to make an extra few £100 a month to help him pay for his new baby! (and a little for me of course).

Thanks for taking the time to read this. And if you help out, even more thanks. I just found these forums and I will have a good read through them. Maybe I will even be able to offer other help and advice (Key Man insurance, commercial mortgages, pensions etc..)

 

[PowerForwarding]

For the amount of money you are looking to spend i'm not sure you'll find any profit, you generally need to order in bulk to make any money when importing. You'll probably find the same items for cheaper here when you account the imports costs.

In regards to the import VAT this is based on the actual value you paid for the cargo but if customs do think it's undervalued they will amend it to a realistic market value to charge the taxes on. Also the VAT is not just based on the value of the goods but is also on insurance, duty, freight and import charges.

If you do need costs for the shipping please email me on robert@powerforwarding with weights and sizes and i'll let you know the price.

 

[MOIC]

Hi Paul

If you are buying just a few hundred pounds at a time, you can forget cost No 4
My advice is to send by EMS / Parcelforce to avoid any problems with Import Duty or VAT.
I am based in Guangzhou, if you need any help sourcing or shipping, or just advice as to what is selling in the UK at the moment, please send me a PM.

If your business takes off and you start importing and selling over the VAT threshold limit, then at some point, you would need to register for VAT.

Don't worry about this for the time being, and concentrate on finding the right product to make your business work.

My help is free.

Kind regards

Ron
MYOFFICEINCHINA

 

[Paul the IFA]

Ron,

Thanks for that.. My Parents are flying to china on Monday for 2 weeks.. It think I will get them to have a scout around and see what is available (and will sell here)..

I'll give you a PM if thats ok..

Paul

 

[Amazin]

where can i findout what products are popular in the uk?

 

[GraemeL]

where can i findout what products are popular in the uk?

This has zero relevance to the thread.

 

[Be back]

yes ,i agree the advice by the NO3,just send by EMS / Parcelforce to avoid any problems with Import Duty or VAT.Otherwise you can save much time,

 

[Levy]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']I am curious what products you will plan to import. As a matter of fact, the pricing structure for many products are the similar between UK and China, especially in the field of Electrical and furniture. Electronic goods and clothing will be the best option for your start I believe based on your initial budget. You can get a big profit on such goods, I think. I am not sure if you have your own stores or related local selling channels. If you want to buy some goods as cheap from China, and then sell them on E-Bay, it is not easy, because lots of Chinese sellers on Ebay, you will have to face a big competition. If you have your business, it will be easy to start this business. [/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']As for shipping, the most simply way is to commit DHL or EMS to arrange the delivery, door to door service. Customer declaration is much more complicated if you do that on your own. [/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Anyway, it is a good beginning for importing from China. After all, people I know about who deal with Chinese goods importing to UK have earned lots of profit.[/FONT]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Hope you will make a big success.[/FONT]

 

[Paul the IFA]

Thank you to everyone who has made a response.

I am not really setting up a Business, I just wanted to buy a few things that are a lot cheaper in China and make a few £££ on the side. Who knows, one day if it works well I could run it as a business.

I was planning on Using places like GumTree and E-Bay to sell them on as well as through friends / family. I know a lot of people who are teachers and nurses and have access to lots of people.

The idea of Parcelforce and DHL seems like the advice everyone has given me.

Products -

I was going to look at Jewellery to start with. This is due to the size and therefore the ease of Postage. It could also provide a good mark up. However there are 3 of my Family in China right now having a little look for me so between us we might find something.

Again - Thanks for all the suggestions and help - if you think of anything else please let me know.

Also - my Twitter is scotlandifa and if anyone wants info about Pensions / Mortgages / Investments - please feel free to ask me there!

 

[tony84]

I think if you were posting a couple through - 2 or 3 items you could label it as testers in which case i dont think you have to pay tax on it.

Double check that though.

 

[Paul the IFA]

I think if you were posting a couple through - 2 or 3 items you could label it as testers in which case i dont think you have to pay tax on it.

Double check that though.

lol.. I think the idea was that if it is a small package it is less likely to be searched for tax..

But I will look at your suggestion. - Thanks

 

[MOIC]

Hi Paul

If you need any help sourcing the wholesale jewelery markets, please send me a PM.

I will also advise the easiest way to send.

Good luck
Ron
MYOFFICEINCHINA

 

[bsbcw]

Hi.
I have an online store in brazil and I sell imports from China,
next year I'm moving to London and i would like to keep
my store importing from China to UK.

I lived in london before, for 2 years but I dont know nothing about how do I open a business in UK and I really would like some information about
import taxes, and fees.
Importing from china to re-sell in Uk is legal?
What kind of documens I need to have?
I have a small clothes store, I import around $1.000 dollars month.

Please if you can clear some of my questions will be nice

Thank you

 

[Maple Sourcing]

PM me if you need help to source some electronics or usuall products, I live in Shenzhen, 1 hour drive away from Dongguan, and I have lots of factory connections.

 

[you come]

hi paul, do you know China online store-taobao website? It is very popular in China for cheap price and fast reliable shipping,and now people around the world like to shop on taobao web. you can easy buy items in your home from your home.
my late reply,hope not bother you.