Selling to international customers

[UGO23]

Dear all,

We are a UK based online retailer, selling goods manufactured in China via our website and other platforms to UK customers. We have been approached by distributors in other countries who wish to stock our product.

Has anyone has experience of this process, and how did you go about navigating this? Do you ship directly from your supplier to the customer or go via an intermediary?

I am wary that shipping direct does reveal all the information of my manufacturers in China to my customers.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thank you!

 

[DontAsk]

I ship myself.

 

[thetiger2015]

Depends on the volume but we ship everything ourselves from one UK warehouse. I'm sure the supplier could send direct but then you've got the complexities of what if a shipment doesn't arrive/damages in transit, who's responsible, taxes and import duties, if they put the incorrect customs information on etc.

Much easier to ship from your own warehouse where you hold the stock and your China based supplier has one address, one set of shipping etc.

 

[NickZ]

Dear all,

We are a UK based online retailer, selling goods manufactured in China via our website and other platforms to UK customers. We have been approached by distributors in other countries who wish to stock our product.

Great they pay the merchandise they wish to stock?
Then there is no problem. Do they wish to get over invoice, you need an insurance. Hermes does that.

 

[UGO23]

I ship myself.

Thanks for the reply. You ship from the supplier to you and then to the customer? Do you find that it still makes financial sense when factoring in the additional shipping costs?

 

[UGO23]

Depends on the volume but we ship everything ourselves from one UK warehouse. I'm sure the supplier could send direct but then you've got the complexities of what if a shipment doesn't arrive/damages in transit, who's responsible, taxes and import duties, if they put the incorrect customs information on etc.

Much easier to ship from your own warehouse where you hold the stock and your China based supplier has one address, one set of shipping etc.

That is a good point. At the moment, I was thinking about using my freight forwarder to sort out the logistics of sending the goods, so that stuff should hopefully be okay. But the issue regarding exposing my manufacturers direct to customers still remains.

Whilst sending to me and then I send to the customers directly would be the best solution, financially it doesn't make sense given the additional shipping costs.

 

[japancool]

That is a good point. At the moment, I was thinking about using my freight forwarder to sort out the logistics of sending the goods, so that stuff should hopefully be okay. But the issue regarding exposing my manufacturers direct to customers still remains.

Whilst sending to me and then I send to the customers directly would be the best solution, financially it doesn't make sense given the additional shipping costs.

I know what I would do if I found out who the manufacturer was, if the products sell well.

 

[DontAsk]

Thanks for the reply. You ship from the supplier to you and then to the customer? Do you find that it still makes financial sense when factoring in the additional shipping costs?

Yes.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

What kind of products are these? And why are people wishing to buy them - are they unique products that you've tooled? Or is it a generic product but it's your specific brand they're after?