How does retail trade make money?

A few years ago, I was a senior web designer in Shenzhen. Once in a forum post was inspired, spare time to start retail trade.

First of all, simply say what is retail foreign trade (also said personal foreign trade, foreign trade Soho, I think the most appropriate retail trade), retail trade is you open an English (Japan, Korea, etc.) shop, your products directly to foreign buyers. Collection with PayPal or Visa Credit card, transportation with EMS or dhl,ups. Retail foreign trade has easy to get started, do not understand the actual foreign trade import and export business, high profits, operating a wide range of products can be part-time and so on. The only drawback is not to rely on this overnight wealth, this is a need to get rich industry. Retail trade efforts to do thousands of to tens of thousands of of the monthly profit is achievable.

In recent years, the depreciation of the dollar is too strong, in the exchange rate risk environment, formal foreign trade more and more difficult to do, and retail foreign trade highlighted the flexibility and high profits and other characteristics.

You can start with an English ebay (not recommended!). Later I will write the reason, can also directly build their own English foreign trade shop. Do foreign trade shop is how to make money? I will write my own shop as a case here.

At the beginning of 2005, I first tried the "zero inventory of foreign trade."

Simply said "Zero inventory of foreign trade" is that I do not invest in the purchase. I picked up Taobao can be sold to foreigners of goods, updated in my online shop, foreigners under orders to pay the purchase price, I bought from Taobao to direct shipments to foreign buyers.

Zero inventory of foreign trade is compelled to operate, because at that time is a tentative, do not want to invest in it, but also part-time to do this. First I made an English shop, rented the United States server space, applied for an international domain name, product selection of a broader range of the price of national culture and arts and crafts, my idea is to do these goods, price floating space is very large, after all, art priceless, foreigners do not understand. I found several diamond-level sellers from Taobao, and translated them into English into my online shop. Then I registered PayPal account to collect, contact EMS,DHL and other international express agent, got the discount price list. Website design, promotion, development I can do it myself, so shop opened.

Less than 2 months, I have a single, now I remember clearly, is a box shuttlecock. This single earn not much, from the freight cost, net profit only less than 300 yuan, even so I still have a strong sense of joy. The first experience told me that the freight calculation to be accurate, can only be overcharged! Fear of extrusion products more attention!

I put up a picture first, this picture is a very typical order of my shop.

Above figure I this single total income $196.7 US dollar, PayPal deduction fee $7.95, actual income $188.22 dollar. The revenue also includes EMS freight charges.

And my cost is:

Flute + Taiji fan + kungfu shoes ￥80+￥60+￥130=￥270 yuan.

$188.22-￥270= my net profit.

Even at the current rate, I earned at least 1000 yuan.

My first foreign trade shop is still operating, English is called Chinamanner, now belongs to my sohopay.

Because Chinamanner sales are priced very high, there are few orders. Chianmanner orders on average twenty or thirty a month, the off-season sometimes less than 10 a month, and before Christmas orders will be much more. Another advantage of high pricing is that the dollar will not lose money on how it is devalued. According to the average profit of 2007, the conservative point is that the monthly income of seven thousand or eight thousand yuan per month.     For a company this income is ridiculed, but for individual sellers is a certain appeal! If you sacrifice high profits, walking up, although hard, but certainly more than my performance in this shop much better.

Of course, I have not only done this a zero inventory of foreign trade shop, I now introduced a very good number of goods, registered foreign trade companies in Japan and South Korea do import and export trade. However, I really like the mode of retail trade, and I think the development will be more and more broad.

This careful friend will see no shipping charges.

The actual flute, Taiji fan, Kungfu shoes price includes the delivery to the Beijing EMS Agent Company's domestic express freight.
And $188.22 includes the EMS freight that the foreigner pays.

Which I forgot to join the Beijing EMS Express Agent company shipped to France freight, that is, my profits minus this cost, it seems to be more than 200 yuan.

I withdrew Dalian from Shenzhen in 2006.

Big changes like me, still won't affect my business of foreign trade shop. Dalian is a good place, there are many opportunities for import and export trade between Japan and Korea, and translators are easy to find. My friend and I got into a technology company and a foreign trade company and decided to do it for the rest of my life. I know, a person in a lifetime to do only one thing, will succeed. We divided into two development lines, an import and export of foreign trade Development routes, a foreign trade Soho one-stop service route. My nature is to like design and technology, I stand on the development of foreign trade service routes.

I'm not a man who earns money by conservative experience. Everyone asked me and I would tell him exactly what I knew. Next I will be the retail trade related to some simple experience and ideas to write down, I hope to understand this line of friends inspired.

It may be of no value to some experts, but I also want to see new ideas and experiences and learn to progress together.

10 Topics I have prepared:

1. Retail TRADE/personal foreign trade what things can make money, I have no products can do?

2. Is it good to go to ebay or do your own foreign trade shop?

3. What kind of foreign trade shop should be designed?

4. How to test the speed of my online shop in the United States?

5. Can't do a foreign language?

6. What is the most basic investment cost budget?

7. PayPal and Visa Credit card payment channels that have to be mentioned.

8. How to meet the SEO standards? SEO and beautiful design conflict?

9. What do I want to support wholesale at the same time?

10. The key to the promotion is to look at the number of orders, do not look at IP traffic, you do not rely on information to make money.

1, retail TRADE/personal foreign trade to sell what things can make money, I have no products can do?

According to my limited experience, as long as the International express clearance is not a problem, can be sold to foreigners to make money.

Usually you choose easy to make money, already have a lot of old sellers on ebay or own shop for many years to sell. This time do not give up, the world has how much demand, not afraid of peers more afraid not to work hard.

Physical goods, from large categories, have the following:

Arts and Crafts products, national cultural supplies, Chinese kungfu supplies, clothing shoes and hats, electronic products and accessories, jewelry, souvenirs, musical instruments, ceramics, ornaments pendants, collectibles and so on. I'm afraid there is some learning in each category. For example: calligraphy and painting can not express out, but there is his way.

The virtual goods range is small, but it's fun to do:

Software, national music, video tutorials, online games related, services and so on all the virtual and valuable things.

So, "I can do without a product?" "is two kinds of answer: zero Inventory of foreign trade (to every?) ;

Let me first say the 5th topic.

Can not be a foreign language can not do retail trade?

No foreign language can certainly not complete the normal foreign trade work, if there is really good products or services, but also can not give up do not.

1, will not foreign language can find foreign counterparts directly copy the site changes. But at least use the translation software or translation site to the description of the product and its own goods. I'm afraid I'll just have to find a secondary level of help.

2, the retail trade has a characteristics, foreign buyers a lot of understanding of the merchandise picture and description, will not ask to ask or to you, they usually directly under the order payment, and then wait for your delivery. You only need to send the order address to the background. If it goes well you don't have to talk to a foreign buyer about a word.

According to my limited experience, foreign retail buyers and sellers to communicate the order of the number of times is this: most do not communicate with you, part of the email consultation, less use of MSN and other online communication tools, directly call you very few.

If you can't speak a foreign language, you need to ask a friend to help you respond to a buyer's advice or pay for a translator. I have translators here who can provide very reasonable translation services, that is, in accordance with the actual translation of successful orders to receive a proportional translation service fee. The seller is actually sacrificing a small portion of the order to pay a translation service fee. You don't have to pay if your order doesn't work.

3, not foreign language is just the beginning of retail foreign trade start-up difficulties, your business situation opened, enough money to please a translator.

4, the last is to learn from scratch, learning is not diligent, shop also not necessarily open good.

Is it good to go to ebay or do your own foreign trade shop?

A person or team engaged in foreign trade to want long-term development, must have the full control of their own international top-level domain name and completely belong to their own foreign trade shop. I think only by joining B2C/C2C platform (such as ebay) to do retail trade, not conducive to business development.

You can sell your goods on the platform of large b2c/c2c, but large b2c/c2c canglongwohu, you have some products other people also have, perhaps better than your channel, in this platform is too dependent on price advantage, you have to fight with their own people price war, which seriously weakened the operating profit, Perhaps very hard work for a lot of orders, but still less than their own shop to do 1 single more money.

ebay has high fees, because the price war and reduce profits, buyers background complex, biased buyers and other abuses. At the same time it also has the advantages of large stores, large flow, high exposure rate of goods and other characteristics. If you don't care about the initial investment, you can also go online. is to join the ebay also built online shop, the old customers to guide their own shop. Get the flow out of ebay. But ebay's billing standards are best to look at their own data, to be psychologically prepared.

Said so much, do belong to their own shop is how important ah! Guests come to visit only to see your own goods, he will not care about the price will not go to spend energy to find other shop, also worth mentioning is. com top International domain names, their own online shop has its own international domain name, to make the brand after your. com domain name is value-added, you will benefit for life, is one of your property!

The article is excerpted from the blog: China Research Center for the Business-to-consumer.