Thinking of importing clothing from china,need help~~

ideallife · #1 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

tired of the current job, and thinking of start my own business by importing some clothing from China.

Heard and checked that there is under $1000 tax&GST free thing, but wondering is $1000 only the goods value (invoice, i mean) or it has to include all freight and other charges? And do i need a broker to help me do the clearance or can i do by myself (i mean, under$1000) or i can do it myself?

And one more question, as to the label, I am not going to register my own brand, can I just import overseas brands (not those big brands, of course) or have to leave it blank?

thank you for helping me, really have not much idea how to start with it ~~
cheers

Tim Davies · #2 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ideallife

tired of the current job, and thinking of start my own business by importing some clothing from China.

Heard and checked that there is under $1000 tax&GST free thing, but wondering is $1000 only the goods value (invoice, i mean) or it has to include all freight and other charges? And do i need a broker to help me do the clearance or can i do by myself (i mean, under$1000) or i can do it myself?

And one more question, as to the label, I am not going to register my own brand, can I just import overseas brands (not those big brands, of course) or have to leave it blank?

thank you for helping me, really have not much idea how to start with it ~~
cheers

Hi, yes $1000 will be the value of the goods from the factory. You wont need a broker to do the clearance if you use a courier company to bring the goods in. If you bring them in by sea freight, you will need a freight forwarder to help and do the clearance. Im guessing though, if its less than $1000 in goods you're considering purchasing it'll be a small box or a couple of boxes which wont make sense to sea freight in.

Im not sure where you'll be able to purchase less than $1000 in goods from a supplier in China and still be able to get a wide enough ranges of styles/sizes though. MOQs from China are far higher than that, and if you do look for an oppotunity at super low MOQs there are a lot of unscrupulous people presenting as suppliers to catch people looking at advanatgeous volumes online. With that sort of opening order I'd consider a different option than China. China would become viable if you were looking at 3-5-7 k at least. The freight alone for the $1000 of stock you're thinking about would be at least $300 even if you go with a cheapish courier.

On the label issues, yes id be very careful to stay away from anyone claiming they can sell you any brand you already know. This simply wont be true. You're best to go for something unbranded, but there should be heaps of that around. Like i said, im not sure about the volumes you're interested in though. You'd probably also want to see a sample of at least one item before ordering a range of stuff, just to qualify the sizing as well.

Fire away if you have any other questions.
Good luck.

ideallife · #3 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

Thank you, Tim
It helps me lot. The reason I will go for under $1000 first is I might just do a test selling at this stage and to see whether it goes well.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Just got one more question, if I import above $1000, understand I need to pay import tax and GST. What about I only have ABN number but not registered GST, how can I claim the GST I paid to cutoms back?

thanks for anyone helping me

)

Tim Davies · #4 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ideallife

Thank you, Tim
It helps me lot. The reason I will go for under $1000 first is I might just do a test selling at this stage and to see whether it goes well.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Just got one more question, if I import above $1000, understand I need to pay import tax and GST. What about I only have ABN number but not registered GST, how can I claim the GST I paid to cutoms back?

thanks for anyone helping me

)

* Import Duty and GST not import tax, thats the GST.
If youre not registered for GST you can't claim it back, simple as that. If you're just looking at those small volumes, there wouldnt be any point registering for GST at this stage, so you'd just have to cop it.

bridiej · #5 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

Not sure what sort of clothing you're thinking about but there is a definite gap in the market for licensed kid's clothes.

My daughter was very into The Night Garden and it took Australian shops a long time to catch up with what was on offer in the UK, plus they cost a lot more here. Might be worth keeping an eye on the latest kid's TV crazes - even selling some of her stuff second hand on ebay I got good prices as they weren't available over here.

Just a thought...

Snow · #6 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

good idea to ring Australian customs as im pretty sure your freight is included in that $1000.00 also factor in exchange rates and fees.

Sometimes the AU dollar is trading at x amount then a few days later when your goods are ready the dollar has dropped and suddenly your over the $1000.00

I would be looking at staying round the $850.00 including freight then when the unexpected happens and the freight is suddenly another $50.00 and the transfer fee for currency exchange is $35.00 you dont have to start fretting. cheers

heres some reading for you
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4368.asp

MaxFong · #7 (**Link to this post**) 07-09-10

Just one word of advice with importing from China without a procurement team based locally:

"what you see may not be what you get"

From my experience, things still can go wrong with a local procurement team.

FS Concierge · #8 (**Link to this post**) 08-09-10

Hi Max,

Wise words!

For anyone just getting started, I also recommend checking out this article from Matt Edwards: http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/startup...where-to-start

Thanks for joining the Flying Solo gang, by the way Max. It would be great if you could pop over to the http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/forums/...duce-yourself/ section of the boards and share a little about yourself and your business so that we know who we're chatting with

Thanks - have a great day,
Jayne

ideallife · #9 (**Link to this post**) 10-09-10

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridiej

Not sure what sort of clothing you're thinking about but there is a definite gap in the market for licensed kid's clothes.

My daughter was very into The Night Garden and it took Australian shops a long time to catch up with what was on offer in the UK, plus they cost a lot more here. Might be worth keeping an eye on the latest kid's TV crazes - even selling some of her stuff second hand on ebay I got good prices as they weren't available over here.

Just a thought...

Thanks for the hint,bridiej.

)

StellarScott · #10 (**Link to this post**) 10-09-10

Hi ideal

Not sure where your based but if your in Sysney this could be a place to get some ideas

http://www.becsmallbiz.com.au/china-...oom/china.html

Login

Thinking of importing clothing from china,need help~~