At first I believed the import/export business could work. I'd buy stuff cheap from Alibaba and try to sell on Amazon or Ebay.
It was frustrating trying work with distributors who didn't speak english. I got a couple items the quality wasn't what I expected.
Let me just go through some analysis of that import/export thing. Just as an example of the sort of thing that you need to consider when setting up a business.
For generic buying and selling "stuff", you are basically anonymous as a supplier on Amazon or eBay. Nobody will say to their friends "hey I got this awesome thing from Gander", they'll say "I got it off Amazon/eBay". You get no brand recognition, no referred customers, few return customers.
Amazon/eBay are *very* competitive and price-sensitive, and generally lowest price wins. People like you who buy small quantities and try to sell them on are at a disadvantage against specialists who buy in bulk and get bulk discounts.
The people I know who succeed at this do so because they specialise heavily in something that they know well. One guy who sells only flashguns, one who sells wood veneers, one who sells brass instruments ... They succeed because they specialise, because they know their own market well and can advise their suppliers when things don't sell, because they're buying enough from each supplier to get big discounts, because they get known for selling only good stuff. And also, because they know their field, they know where to advertise.
Because of this, you're talking low-margin and high risk. It might only take one bad delivery from a supplier or getting stiffed by one customer to wipe out a months profit. And there's a huge risk you'll end up with unsold stock.
If you're going to do this, you need to specialise, and you need to find one or two reliable suppliers to buy from so you can build up trust.
Now, I import a lot. Nearly everything I sell comes from abroad. But I only have three main suppliers, I specialise heavily, I buy half a ton or a ton of beads at a time and get discounted prices *and* I'm selling in a brick'n'mortar store. That last thing means (a) that I get lots of customer feedback, including what people are looking for but I haven't got yet (b) it's not as price-sensitive - so long as I'm not outrageously expensive people would buy from me on the spot rather than search for a better deal (c) unsold stock still has some value in making the shop look full, (d) people tell their friends. (I'm also
mostly cheaper than Amazon and eBay - which pleases my customers immensely - but I don't sell there, because it is way too much hassle for not enough return, postage costs are a killer.)
.
