This article is written by an experienced business expert who started his business with little or no capital. He has his brand in Nigeria market today. If you’re thinking of starting with mini importation business this article is for you.
That the world is a global village is no longer a quote but a reality. Without a physical presence, a lot can take place in the global stage including trading. International trading has bonded the whole world that one can be in Aba and transact business in China without the buyers and the sellers seeing each other and most of the items are free shipping.
In a global economy, it is possible to engage in seamless importation beyond boundaries and without hassles. All that is needed is information which is articulated in this brochure. Nigeria has a population of over 160 million people as at the time this publication is made, which makes it a veritable market for any goods imported into it that is not produced here.
Online marketing has been made possible through the internet in a seamless and secure route. In this article, there would be a detailed procedure on how to engage in importation through the online market. All that is needed is to open an account with the online market place where you intend to buy items from, which can be opened on the website with your email and password.
Also, a Mastercard or Visa card is needed for the online payment which will be funded by the local bank in Nigeria or anywhere in the world. As a buyer, all you need is access to the internet and computer or a good internet-enabled phone or laptop.
This is because the whole transaction takes place on the internet, from the registration to the buyer to the shipping and the goods delivery.
After that, the buyer is now ready to buy and ship any product of their choice from the online market and ship to their destination anywhere in Nigeria via Nigerian Post Office(applicable to people all over the world). So it’s important for the buyer to locate the nearest Nigerian Post Office closest to their shipping address. Or use your office address or home address if you know your postcode.
On the website, the buyer can search for products that they want to buy ranging from household products to clothing to electronic gadgets to office equipment etc.
Virtually anything can be bought from the internet online market. All you need to do is to search, locate, evaluate and order. Some of the products are even on free shipping which means that you only pay for the products. All these looks like a mirage but it’s a tested system and has been used for exchange goods for money all over the World. Once you select a product you pay for them accordingly after choosing your quantity and colour as seen in most cases. Once you accept the product after thorough evaluation you input your MasterCard or Visa-card details and once your payment goes through your product are ready to be shipped.
- MODULE TWO – TRACKING YOUR SHIPMENTS
Once you have paid for your product, you are given a couple of days before which your products will be shipped. Once the products have been shipped you will be issued a tracking number for each product shipped at a time. A shipment takes at least 2 weeks to reach a Nigerian destination. Sometimes it’s faster than that and sometimes it’s longer than that.
Once the product arrives Nigeria it goes through the Customs who evaluates it and sends it to the nearest NIPOST office or to your shipping address. But if you use DHL to ship your products they will bring it to your doorstep anywhere in Nigeria.
Every shipment can be tracked on www.17track.com where you input the tracking number to monitor the progress of the shipment. The tracking website gives an on the spot overview of the shipping progress to your destination. The tracking website gives you an assurance that your product will get to you the buyer/importer.
- MODULE THREE – RECEIVING YOUR SHIPMENTS Once the product gets to Nigeria and if you are tracking it you should know when your product is at the NIPOST office. Most times the officials at NIPOST gives you a call to inform you that you have a parcel.
Once the product gets to Nigeria and if you are tracking it you should know when your product is at the NIPOST office. Most times the officials at NIPOST gives you a call to inform you that you have a parcel.You are expected to go to the post office with an identification card bearing the same name you used for your shipment. The ID Card could be either your voters’ card, National ID Card etc.
Upon identification, your product is registered after which you sign and collect your product. At this point, the shipment is almost complete. We say your shipment is ALMOST complete because after the receipt of your product you still have a role to fulfil. After the receipt of your product, you are expected to go and confirm that you have received the product. This is to enable the online site to pay the seller of the product.
Also if you are not satisfied with the product or it doesn’t meet the details shown to you by the seller or the product got damaged en route your destination – there is an opportunity for you to seek redress by way of a full refund of your money or that the seller sends another better product.
The online internet market via www.aliexpress.com provides avalanche opportunities that anyone could take advantage of. There are super deals on a daily basis and there is usually price slash cut on some product even up to 90%. The opportunity for free shipping is also a golden opportunity for shipping products at an extremely cheap price. The importation can be done for personal purposes and can also be used as an avenue for the importation of products for sale.
There are a whole lot of opportunities and avenues for profitability that can’t be summarized in this brochure but so far the above is a summary enough to guide the reader in these viable and untapped opportunities.
Please note, there is another website you can buy from but the above website is the one I personally use most time.
How to know what to buy –Mini importation business
One of the problems in starting a mini importation business is to identify fast-moving products. To be precise, importation is not an issue but selling has always been a challenge to some people. There are two ways you can start mini importation, the first is full time and the second is on a part-time basis. Now if you’re into the part-time, you definitely must have something else you’re doing, therefore, your first target market is your friends and colleagues at work. I started mini importation a few years ago as an employee by importing Tablet Pcs, power banks and watches with one of my colleagues and guess what? We made great sales because those products were trendy. My colleague who was interested in female fashion purchased cloths, posted them on his Facebook wall and was getting orders on a daily basis…
Someone that want to do this business on a full-time basis and sell the items within a few days of arrival or even before arrival, there is much work to do. Virtually almost everything in Nigeria market is either imported from China or the US. Therefore, before you buy any products from China or the US, you have to search for those that sell similar products you’re importing (not importers) and negotiate with them on the terms of business transactions; know the number of goods they can buy in a month, the price they’re willing to pay and terms of payment preferably upfront payment or cash and carry. Read more…
FOR MORE INQUIRIES AND ENLIGHTENMENT CLICK HERE TO CONTACT OUR EXPERTS.
Other online portals where you can buy stuff directly from the manufacturers are listed below:
1688.com
www.globalsources.com
www.alibaba.com
www.HKTDC.com
