International E-Commerce: How to Order Customized Products Overseas to Sell Online

By Scott Bartnick

Today’s economy is ripe for new entrepreneurs to jump into the pool and test the online-selling waters. Brick-and-mortar stores have declined for several years, making e-commerce businesses a safer choice for startups.

So why not dive right in? While the market is primed, many people lack the basic knowledge to jump-start their online sales. Let’s demystify the process, so you can stop wasting valuable selling time and start maximizing on lucrative sales opportunities.

Here we will illustrate a popular first stepping stone for e-commerce beginners: ordering products overseas to sell on your website.

7 steps to ordering customized products overseas

Step #1: Know your market and choose your product carefully

Identifying your market and finding the right product for that audience is a crucial first step. You need to find a market that has a hole and then figure out a way to fill it.

After you have decided on a product for your target audience, it’s time to do some market research. Research is easy these days with the help of Google and Amazon to let you know which keywords are trending.

To illustrate this entire process, let’s say you want to create a product to sell at music festivals. These festivals are held during the grueling summer months and festivalgoers get hot and sweaty. You decide you want to sell handheld souvenir fans.

This product fits all the starting process criteria: you know your market, and you have a useful item.

Step #2: Understand white labeling

For your first crack at e-commerce selling, you will probably want to follow a process called white labeling. White labeling is where you take a preexisting design and modify it slightly to make it your own. This route is usually good for beginners because it is the cheapest way to manufacture products.

Back to the concert fan example. Once you find a fan with a design and quality that you like, you can figure out changes you can make to the fan make it your own and make it stand out.

Step #3: Customize your product

Now start thinking about the details of your product. If your product is not entirely original for your target audience, it needs to be unique enough to not only compete with the competition but to stand out.

Now think about your fans. If other vendors at the festival are also selling fans, why should people buy your fans instead? Ask yourself, “How can I make my item unique, and how can I make it custom?” This is your hook—providing something useful for your target audience and making it custom and unique.

When you first order customized products overseas, don’t start too big. Keep your focus simple at first. You don’t need a home run on your first attempt. You just need something small-scale and inexpensive to get started. Remember, you are testing the waters for bigger and better things to come.

Step #4: Send out your design for manufacturing

Next, you want to reach out to sites such as Alibaba, AliExpress, or Global Sources that produce and sell inexpensive products. When you decide on the company that will create your product, send them the design, letting them know exactly what you want, from design specifics to quality.

In most cases, you can also show manufacturers the initial product your patterned yours off of and note the changes you want to make. Then, let them create your product.

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

• Is Amazon the Right Place to Sell My Products?
• Business Service Companies: Learn from Starbucks How to Treat Customers
• 8 Basic Things U.S. Companies Must Know When Sourcing Goods and Suppliers in China
• 9 Optimization Hacks to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment on Your WooCommerce Checkout Page
• 4 Steps to Kick-Start Your Online Business

Step #5: Order a small sample

Before you place a large order, it's crucial that you get a small sample order of 300 to 500 units or less to make any changes. At this part of the process, make sure you are satisfied with your product’s quality and total outcome.

For example, if your fans are too small or some don’t open right, let the manufacturer know. Work with them to see if they can correct the issue and be diligent in letting them know all the details that do not meet your expectations. Remember, you plan eventually to make a larger order. You need to be confident that any issues will be resolved.

Step #6: Perform a final quality inspection before placing your larger order

Once you have placed an actual order, make sure you do a final quality inspection before the product ships to the United States. A quality inspection is a critical part of ensuring you will be getting what you expect from the larger shipment. While mix-ups may be rare and manufacturers are generally honest, mistakes can happen and dirty practices do occur. A quality inspection ensures that you are not the occasional victim who gets stuck with a whole bunch of junk even though your samples were good.

Step #7: Decide on logistics of freight

Next, you have to figure out the logistics of freight. For your small order, you can probably do a simple air shipment with carriers such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. For larger orders, the most cost-effective option is usually freight overseas. Once your shipment comes to the United States, it will most likely be held in customs until you pay taxes and duties on the product.

It is probably a good idea to research the cost of these taxes and fees before placing an order. High prices can definitely cut into your profitability. After paying your expenses, you can ship your products to your home or warehouse and start selling them from your website.

After ordering customized products overseas, you must market them

Of course, there is marketing. Your marketing strategy will depend on many variables, such as your target audience, your product, a corresponding event, etc.

Also, once you've completed the sample process and figured out the details, you can expand on that by either upgrading your original product or branching out with something new to grow your e-commerce business.

Just remember to learn something from each step of the process. By starting out relatively small, you will incur minimum risk and gain valuable experience to grow your online presence.

RELATED: Boost E-Commerce Sales by Understanding How Customers Think