Friday, January 13, 2006

What are the chances of importing bamboo products into the US market and sucseed my business? -

i want to start my own business

You certainly can do this. There are 4 ways:First is to be an importer and have others sell for you at the retail level (this is where you really make $). But you need get suppliers on-line before you do anything. That also means you have to be able buy bulk containers (those semi tractor trailer containers) from China or Indonesia. That means you need cash or credit from a bank as the containers have to be paid up front or at port. After you set up all of that (don t need any money at this point, just get everything set up). Then you have to go find retailers to buy from you (the really hard part). They will want at least 100% markup (so if retail is $10 they get it for $5 - remember they often have to sell at a discount or on sale) so you need to calculate the prices you need to make this worthwhile. I wouldn t advise this unless you had previous experience or could hire a professional who knows how to sell wholesale.The second way is to buy in USA from a wholesaler and set up a nice retail shop. This is very expensive.The third way is to buy bulk wholesale and go door to door to merchants trying to sell your items - maybe put them in shops on consignment. Again, expensive and low profit unless you get in a lot of locations.The fourth way is to make arrangements to buy wholesale and sell only through the web. Have the supplier direct ship for you so you don t handle any merchandise at all. You make less money because they do all the work, but you also have low start up costs. Over time, you can see what sells and maybe graduate into one of the other sales arenas.Bamboo is a sustainable resource (there are different kinds of bamboo and the Pandas eat a special species not used for making products). The more things made from bamboo the better! I certainly encourage bamboo industries! I also encourge small business and I think you have selected a timely product. But like most things, it will take some investment on your part. I hope you are able to get something going!

I see in walmart bamboo salad bowls and serving dishes and they look very nice. The problem I hear about bamboo is when people talk about china s bears, that the bears may go extinct because of the lack of bamboo for food. So I d be concerned that at some point you d have problem finding materials to make your product or lack of it being sold. But while there are already products made, you can of course sell those. You might wish to diversify.

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