Dear ozbargainers,
Firstly, thank you all for wonderful suggestions & deals.
I have been following it since few months but got registered just now
Well, I want to start toy business by importing from other country. Will anyone guide me how to start, requirements, budget, document required etc I am a permanent resident.
Financially not sound, no job, mom of two kids, planning to take loan and start online business. Is it possible plz help me
Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance
OP is about 15 years too late to the game.
On the flipside, since there's nothing to begin with, declaring bankruptcy in the highly likely event of going tits up wouldn't hurt them too much.
Oh and OP put some money in the piggy bank when ACCC forcing you to do a recall over the most petty reason, running those ads in the newspaper isn't a cheap exercise not to mention collection and evidence of the recalled items being destroyed. Insurance, can't stress this enough as importers assume ALL risks. You're better off paying a slight premium to purchase them locally just to distant yourself from these headaches.
If you import toys from overseas you have to make sure that they are actually safe and not hazardous and meet with Australian regulations.
As you'll probably start this as a small business with an ABN you can be held liable if a toy injures a child, which means that you and your assets can be used for compensation.
Small business is by no means a solution to financial debt, and in the first few years can put further strain on your finances.
My partner and I have a small home based online retail business (vintage electronics and computers mainly) which was born out of necessity to help clear the clutter from my father's hoarding habits before he had a stroke. After he had a stroke we started cleaning up and selling online, applied for an ABN but was knocked back by the ATO because apparently it was a 'hobby' not a business, only to be audited two years later when we started actively looking for stuff for our store and making a reasonable amount of money and was forced to apply for an ABN. It was another two years after that it was sustainable enough to quite my day job and start doing it full time.
It still has its slow weeks though..
Thank you Tal_Shair & Bonsaichop
Is this for real?
Well, I want to start toy business by importing from other country. Will anyone guide me how to start, requirements, budget, document required etc I am a permanent resident.
Budget: Find what you want on www.alibaba.com, tradekey, ec21 and get a quote. Some of them can send you a free sample before your purchase.
Requirements: Look for a shipping company that handles imports, they have usually done something similar and can tell you what you have to pay, sign.
Start out as a sole trader, people always charge more when you mention to them that you're a company/business.
And if you have no money, go to www.pozible.com or similar sites and ask people to give you some. I've seen some things in crowd funding sites where people send in their donations and for nothing or little in return. And afterwards they can still go off and ask real investors who invest in their project for their earnings in return.
Some good resources here for you to start off with (site run by ANZ) https://thesbhub.com.au/tools-and-templates.html#.VS4xTZPe4_…
Would suggest starting with a business plan and cash flow forecast to see if it's even viable for you. Have a think about where you are going to source your customers from. Ebay as someone else mentioned is a good start despite their high fees - would enable you to start a bit smaller and test the market out there.
Be aware that by law, the importer of goods are also responsible for warranty if the manufacturer of the goods does not do business in Australia themselves.
The first thing you need to do is familiarise yourself with the Australian standards, and make sure BEFORE you buy anything that it complies. There's a fair chance that you're going to have to have some testing done to ensure this at times.
Then before you sell a single item you need insurance, and for toys and children's items this is going to cost you an absolute PACKET. No matter where you sell, whether it be a B&M store or online, you MUST have it. If you're financially unsound, with no job, it's highly unlikely you could afford it up front, and no bank is going to lend you money for such a business without it.
Thank you all for your valuable suggestions.
Will consider them.
Sorry to be blunt, but you shouldn't take out of a loan to start something you're not experienced in when you aren't financially sound…
What I would recommend you do if you really are passionate about this idea is to start an eBay account specifically for this business you want to start, where you can limit your costs depending on what you sell and maybe use that as a starting step or see if it will take off or not…. Also, Buy, Swap and Sell pages on Facebook might be a good option to… best of luck if you proceeed!