How to Import from India

With its rapidly booming economy and huge population of over 1 billion people, it’s no wonder that India is the new darling of wholesale importing. If you are keen to expand your product range and take advantage of this expanding market, keep reading!

Why Import from India?  

Like China, India’s economy is in a growth period, so costs of manufacturing are very low compared to elsewhere in the world. As a seller, this presents you with an opportunity to buy very cheap products directly from Indian manufacturers and sell them to make a very nice profit in your own country.

What to Import

India manufactures just about everything – but the top exports that interest us sellers are leather products (shoes and clothing), electronic goods, plastic consumables, ready-made garments, gemstones, jewelry, handicrafts and fabrics.  

Indian-style costume and gem jewelry is an emerging sector of the Indian economy and a leading foreign exchange earner. Fine jewelry is a relatively new market for India, but they have done a great job of catching up on using the latest technology to form modern cuts and styles.

Indian ready-made garments have taken big strides in the past few decades, with the sector accounting for around 30% of their total exports, and employing a whopping 35 million people! Suppliers will stock all the usual stuff like jeans, shirts, suits and T shirts, and also some unique items like Indian saris and sequined garments. The best part is you can get some of these items for as little as a couple of bucks.  

Fabrics and tapestries from India are hugely popular in the west. A recent emergence in ethnic trends for home décor means that now is a great time to look into importing some unique Indian textiles. Bed and floor coverings are the most popular exports, with curtains following not too far behind. It’s essential to get samples from any potential suppliers before ordering textiles from India as quality will vary greatly.

Indian SaleHoo Suppliers

Fabric India Great for: Fabrics and home furnishings

Heritage Overseas Great for: Fashion accessories, gift items and body decorations

Chatterjee Fashions Great for: Fashion, costume and bridal jewellery

Varun Industries Ltd. Great for: Homeware, cookware and stainless steel kitchenware.

Shaurya International Great for: Sterling silver and 92.5 silver jewellery

Shyam Gems Trading Corporation Great for: Silver and gemstones.

SeemaLeguardWorks: Great for: Sporting equipment including boxing gloves and equipment for cricket, hockey, soccer, and rugby.

If you are up for an adventure and looking at investing some serious cash, consider travelling to India. It’s a great way to build a relationship with a supplier, negotiate the best price possible and check for quality. For more information on travelling to India, check out Lonely Planet’s introduction to India, and for up-to-date, no nonsense reviews on hotels, restaurants and information on overland travel and local customs, checkout the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forums on India  

How to Import from India

When importing from India to your country, all the usual rules will apply. Local regulations will vary but generally you will need to fill in all the correct documentation, arrange shipping, clear Customs and pay the relevant duties. In the US, documentation usually consists of a commercial invoice detailing the product amounts, an arrival notice, an ocean or airway bill, a packing list and Customs forms 3461 and 7501.

To find out more about importing goods into your country, check out our Importing and Shipping section in our Learning and Training Center. Inside you’ll find country-specific information on everything you need to do when importing from abroad.

Beware of corrupt suppliers and con-artists

Unfortunately, India has a bit of a reputation for shady business practices. Caution is required when dealing with any new supplier, but when dealing with overseas suppliers, you should be extra vigilant. We always recommend that our members take steps to help ensure a buyer is legitimate. Start by communicating with them as much as possible; give them a call if you can, and always ask for product samples – a phony supplier will get shifty when you ask them for a sample they don’t have. Another tip is to search our Member’s Forums and see if anything comes up when you enter their business name. If in doubt, just ask our friendly staff in the forums who are pretty well versed at sussing out illegitimate suppliers.

What is a Customs broker?

A Customs broker works on behalf of importers and exporters to help them deal with the logistics and legalities of importing and exporting goods. To become a Customs broker, they must first take and pass a heavy duty Customs Broker License Examination.

What do they do?

Importing from abroad isn’t easy. There is a lot to cover, but Customs brokers make importing easier for retailers by:

• Preparing documents such as customs declarations

• Facilitating communication between the importer and relevant government authorities such as the Department of Agriculture

• Calculating Customs duties

• Assisting with getting clearance from government agencies

• Arranging shipment from ports to your storage unit

What are they useful for?

There is a lot to think about when it comes to importing goods and even at the best of times it can be a logistical nightmare. This is why it’s best to leave it to the experts. Good Customs brokers stay up-to-date with constant law changes and are experienced in dealing with every little thing that could go wrong such as dealing with stock which arrives broken or damaged, or issues with the Department of Agriculture, and so on.  

Since 9/11, Customs have become much more stringent when it comes to inspecting imported goods, and unfortunately for the majority of us online retailers, smaller shipments such as lots from shared container loads are often gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Customs brokers can help by telling you exactly what information needs to be declared by your supplier to really maximize your chances of having a hassle-free encounter with Customs.

What Should I look for in a Customs broker?

Hiring the wrong Customs broker could mean costly delays in getting your stock, having clearance documents faxed to someone else, or failing to let you know when your shipment has cleared. These are just some of the horror stories we have come across. Although these stories are generally the exception, rather than the rule, it’s always best to take the time to find the best broker possible. Follow our list below of things to keep in mind when looking for a Customs broker to help you get tip-top help with importing:

Lower Work Loads

Most of the time, problems arise and errors occur because many brokers are dealing with up to 100 shipments per week, so really, it’s no wonder that they get it wrong sometimes. For this reason, one of the first things you should be asking your broker is how many cases they are currently managing.

Exceptional Communication

Just like when you are finding a new product supplier, you should always look for a broker who values strong communication because if things turn bad, there is nothing worse than a broker who won’t return your calls! A good broker will understand that you are anxious to get your shipment as soon as possible and should be keeping you up-to-date at every step of the process.

Experience in importing similar items

With so many different laws in place for the importation of different items, it’s important to use someone with experience in importing similar goods, as they will understand all the related rules and regulations.

Where can I find one?

To find a Customs broker, you can try Googling ‘Custom’s broker + you area’ or check out The National Customs and Forwarders Association of America for a list of brokers.

Ever wondered how PowerSellers can possibly make tens of thousands of dollars every month? It will come as no surprise to learn that one of the reasons PowerSellers make more sales is because they hold the secrets to making great eBay listings. So today we are talking you through the tips that really put the ‘pow’ in PowerSeller!

PowerSellers know that to make sales, you have to perfect two key aspects of a listing:

1. The item title

2. The listing description

Read on as we unleash the secrets of writing fabulous item titles and informative listing descriptions.

Unlocking the door to more sales with great keywords

An item title is so important to your selling success because it is the first ever glimpse buyers will get of you and your listing, which means writing perfect item titles is key to making you sell like a PowerSeller.

A great listing title will: rank highly in search results, evoke interest in buyers, tell buyers important information about the item being sold, and most importantly, get buyers to click the link to enter your listing. This is without a doubt, the most important step in making a sale! Once you get the buyer inside your auction, you have done 60% of the work.

Write like a PowerSeller: Tapping into the buyer’s psyche

So how do PowerSellers decide what to put in their item titles? Well they start out by asking themselves "what would I search for if I were a buyer looking for the item I’m selling?" For example, if I was selling a pair of hiking boots, I would consider what a buyer would search for when they hit the eBay home page. I would probably start by searching for "womens hiking boots size 8". For these keywords, I am given over 100 results, therefore I really need to refine what I am looking for, so I will enter the preferred brand name and condition of the boots, so my new search phrase will be "womens hiking boots size 8 HI TEC used"( don’t worry about grammar, most PowerSellers consider it a waste of characters). This narrows down my search to a much more manageable 5 listings which I can take a good look at.

So by using the above method, in less than 2 minutes I have found some of the best keywords to use in my item title and I have checked out what my competitors are using for theirs.

However, my new item title keywords only make up 39 of the 55 characters I can use, so what else should I be putting in my title? You might think that using words like "reliable" or "strong" might be a good idea. Well, you would be wrong! All PowerSellers know that adjectives (they are the ones that you use to describe something) do nothing to help you make sales. This is simply because no one ever searches for words like "super", "sexy", "great", "latest" so this sends your listing down to the bottom of eBay search results.

Instead, what most PowerSellers would use their remaining characters for would be to promote buying that particular pair. The best way to do this? Free shipping! Not only does this entice buyers (after all, no one likes paying for shipping) it also helps your listing to rank better in search results. Perfect!

So now with my item title sorted: "Womens Hiking Boots Size 8 Used HI TEC Free Shipping" It’s time for me to move on to perfecting my item description.

Writing desirable descriptions

Like I mentioned earlier, by getting a buyer to take a look inside your listing, you are over the major hurdle of getting them to find your listing. Your next challenge is to give them plenty of information about the item, ’sell it’ in such a way that makes the buyer think that they need or want the item and get them to click that all important "Buy It Now"button.

Here are some key ideas to keep in mind when you write your item description:

• The goal here is to convince the buyer to buy the item, and to inform about the item as much as possible.

• Be honest in your description. If there is damage to the item or the packaging, say so. If it is 5 years old, make this clear too. Giving accurate and honest descriptions helps buyers to make informed decisions and reduces the likelihood of you receiving bad feedback or having to deal with returns when items are not as described.

• Give away as much information as possible. This means pushing the features and benefits of the item you are selling, e.g for hiking boots, a feature might be strong tread on the soles, where the benefit would be less risk of injury from slipping over. Really get into the details in your description. How strong are the laces? What color are they? What are the boots made of? Are they waterproof? Listing all this information is crucial to showing buyers the worth of your item, and will also be a big help to you as you will get less buyers asking you questions about the auction, saving you time.

• Remember you are writing for an online audience with a notoriously short attention span. This doesn’t mean that you should necessarily cut down the amount of content, it simply means you must present it in such a way that it looks like a whole lot less! You can do this by bullet pointing information, by creating a list of FAQ’s, by keeping sentences and paragraphs short and snappy, and by creating plenty of ‘white space’ in your listing. This means you will have plenty of spaces in between paragraphs, as opposed to large chunks of text which most readers will simply skim over.

Bonus PowerSeller Tip: Make the most of your eBay About Me page. An About Me page can be used to help buyers get to know you and establish trust. The best About Me pages are so fabulously charming and charismatic that buyers are convinced that you are the right person to buy from. For more tips and ideas on About Me pages, check out the eBay About Me Page Discussion Board.

While it might seem like a lot of busy work, the above tips can really help you to increase your sales. You don’t have to do it all at once, how about starting out by optimizing your key words? Then perhaps next week, you take a closer look at your item descriptions. We would love to hear the results of your changes so make sure you let us know how you get on by leaving a comment below.

MOQ is an acronym which stands for minimum order quantity, and refers to the minimum amount that can be ordered from a supplier. For example, if a supplier advertises a MOQ of 1,000 units, you must be able to purchase at least 1,000 units to be able to deal with that supplier. MOQ’s will either be quoted in dollars or in units. Sometimes MOQ is also referred to as MQO, or minimum quantity order.

Why suppliers have MOQs

Wholesale suppliers usually operate on very low profit margins which means they rely heavily on bulk-buying customers to make a profit. Although new business owners can sometimes find the large investment necessary to meet the MOQ difficult, ultimately it’s necessary to get the best wholesale prices available.

Some suppliers do not have a MOQ, which is very useful for new sellers who can only afford to buy say, 100 units; but often this means that you end up paying more per item than someone who buys 1,000 units, for example.

How MOQ’s affect online retailers

MOQ’s can affect new online retailers by preventing them from being able to deal with certain suppliers and distributors that only deal with large companies with physical stores. This may mean they have to use smaller and sometimes less economical suppliers who do not set large MOQ’s, but who have to charge a higher price per unit to make a profit themselves.

For this reason, new online retailers who are looking at using distributors with low to no MOQs should consider selling items with little to no competition. Retailers who want to sell competitive items, but can only afford to purchase small quantities at a time, will soon be drowned out by larger retailers who can afford to buy in bulk.