Starting import export business, landed costs and trade leads
There is a lot more to starting import export business than deciding on the product to import and market. For now let’s say that deciding on the country to import from is the most import factor to you.
There may be two reasons why a particular country would figure prominently in your list of priorities. You may have ties to that country already, you are from there, your family is there or you love to visit there or you’d like to go there.
Second, may be you have seen the product that originates from that country, and may have already found many trade leads for that product and that’s why you want to start importing it from there.
Both of the reasons above are valid enough reasons but are not the only reasons to decision where you want to import from.
Frankly, the key to deciding what product to import from where is secondary to analyzing the landed cost of that product, meaning what will the product cost once you have cleared United States Customs, paid shipping, duty and customs broker charges.
Armed with that kind of analysis you can then start your search for where you can actually have the product made just as well but cheaper. Remember, these days you usually do not sell the fact where the product was made but you sell the design!