What if I decide to travel and bring with me along? (1 Viewer)

[prabha_friend]

Hi,
I am Prabhakaran from India. I recently found a website which charges 10000 indian bucks as an annual pro membership fee which includes free shipping from the below three countries: UK, USA and Dubai. But the products itself are very high in rates usually as the sellers are based on different countries.

My Question is what If I decide to travel that country and bring those products along with me or arranging a bulk import through cargo through ships all arranged by myself? Would that be an advantage? Advice needed. Thanks.

P.S:
Nothing great things I import but silly things like soups, scents, air fresheners and all other small small more varied items only. I heard there is a concept called 'Half cargo' is in prevailaince. Please reply and share your views. Thanks. 10000 INR is a bit costly for me to just be a member of any site.

 

[Pat Hartman]

My Question is what If I decide to travel that country and bring those products along with me or arranging a bulk import through cargo through ships all arranged by myself? Would that be an advantage? Advice needed. Thanks.

You're asking the wrong people. To find out if there is an advantage, you need to investigate import/export duties for both countries. You need to understand India's tax laws where you will sell the items. You need to negotiate bulk prices. You need to get quotes on shipping rates and times. This is not a task for the feint of heart. But, my father did it. His wife was from Nevis and 20 years ago they wanted to build a new house down there (their primary home was in southern Florida) and he investigated local sourcing and decided that he would import the "finishes" from the US. That involved tile, cabinets, lighting and plumbing fixtures, appliances, etc. Then he had to coordinate the arrival of the goods at the port so they could all be loaded into the same shipping container. He was ~ 75 when he pulled all this together. Sadly, he died a few years ago at 94 or I would put you in touch with him, not that he could tell you anything about India but he could give you some sense of the coordination problem you are facing.

 

[Isaac]

I tend to agree with Pat. Don't think people don't want to answer your posts, it's might be more that we lack the requisite experience.

Maybe you would get more helpful revelations from other people in India who have wanted to import the same types of things - they might know better which websites or vendors have worked well for them in the past. All I can do is imagine what it might be like to live in India. (And frankly, I can't even do that very well. Is it more Slumdog Millionaire and rivers of sewage, or is it more beautiful bollywood girls dancing with their Romeos? I have no idea).