thinking about starting a buisness buynig from china / selling online

[elliotk1993]

Im 25 years old, working 9-5 for a number of years (I know not that long but office jobs bore me!)

I want a second income to start saving for a mortgage and so on.

for example if I did children's clothes (if I import in from china no duty / VAT applies if im correct)

Normal advertising facebook / maybe pay for a few adds here and there.

what numbers would I be looking at, I know its really rough, but say if I put £1000 in, how what would my sales per week be for the first few months?

I know its a very vague question but I mean, say 10-20 sales a week of whatever I decide to buy / sell, would that be a good starting point to aim for? or is it far to low?

Just after some advice so when I start I know what to aim for.

 

[g]

It's almost impossible to do other than guess at figures.

My advice is to buy what you can, work as smart and hard as you're able, and see what level of sales you get.

You'd be wise to also consider selling on eBay.

There's a balance to be found between volume and profit, and much to be said for initial sales being at a price low-enough to get customers who'll make further purchases... it often being easier to get repeat rather than new sales.

 

[elliotk1993]

Hi Glvr,

thanks for your input.

What would you say is a good profit margin I should be looking at?

For example if I buy something for £2 what should I sell for, £10 what should I sell for.

Do you go buy a %?

 

[g]

What would you say is a good profit margin I should be looking at?
For example if I buy something for £2 what should I sell for, £10 what should I sell for.
Do you go buy a %?

Simple answer is 'it varies, and depends'... which isn't very helpful.

Often, to get initial action, things are sold at a lower-than-desired price... which can then be progressively raised.

As you're starting as a part-time 'side activity', and presumably with no-to-low costs, margins are initially less important than turnover.

In a create-and-adjust thing, sell for what seems reasonable... relevant factors are the price at which such things are often sold, and whether you can add additional value through better service... and go from there.

At this stage, hold your ideas lightly, be flexible and adjust based on experience. It's unlikely you'll do anything terminal, and which can't be easily changed.

 

[Mr Singh]

Hi I did something similar around 2-3 years, I did kids and adults clothing, selling on facebook, gumtree and ebay it was great experience.

I would advice before you burn your hands test the water. As it all depends upon which region you are focusing on. Is it worth getting it from China?

Try buying something from wholesalers based in UK first even if it is less profit. But you'll atleast get an idea what sells in your region and what sort of demand it is.

Like one of my friend is selling toys on facebook now, he's made facebook page in Peterborough and doing really well. He's buying from Leicester from wholesaler and selling on FB.
Before that he did Track Suit and stuff as well and it didn't work well for him.

If you need any more advice you can always send me personal message.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Don't forget you are buying what your customers like and not always what you like

Many low cost fashion garments available on Alibaba are sized for small people rather than the UK size

Also the materials and accessories need to meet UK regs for health and safety and believe it or not the far east have been known to tell porkies about the standards they certify

 

[Mr D]

You may go days or weeks between sales. You may sell a dozen orders in a day.
What you want to do has a lot of competition. Hard to stand out from the crowd of people selling exactly the same items from the same source. Price can be played with but some of the sellers will be buying a LOT cheaper than you due to volume and can match or beat your price while still making a profit.
It can work, you may also want to consider offline sales - evening events, market stalls.

Oh and you WILL get returns with clothing. And you refund the buyer in full.
Plus when selling online you WILL get stuff reported lost in the post. Again full refund to buyer.
So all that has to be factored into pricing.