How to operate on the Amazon platform if you are not in a coastal city
Domestic sellers have their own advantages and disadvantages, which are considered from the perspective of an individual seller. According to different regions in China, they are roughly divided into sellers in coastal cities and sellers in inland cities.
Coastal cities, such as Shenzhen in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province, are traditional foreign trade export cities and have overwhelming advantages in logistics, customs clearance, supply of goods, and talent.
However, as an inland seller, it is a bit embarrassing not to be in coastal cities. Fortunately, there are many international logistics companies like Beijing and Shanghai, but if you are in the southwest, such as Chongqing, although Chongqing has manufacturing industries advantages, but how to solve the logistics problem?
If you need to send a single package in China, you can directly contact China Post. International Department Bao can cover most European and American countries, and now Japan has also opened it; you can also contact Shenzhen , freight forwarding companies in Guangzhou area. The seller packs the product himself and sends it to the company there as soon as possible using SF Express. He can ask the salesperson of the logistics company to help label it, and they are willing to cooperate.
If you ship to Amazon’s FBA, which is an overseas warehouse, it is more troublesome. You need to label the product in China first, and then transport it to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other places through domestic logistics companies (such as Aneng, China Railway) , and finally asked the salesperson over there to help paste the outer packing list, and then the goods can be shipped normally.
The above is a logistics issue. If you are not in a coastal city, it will take more time and cost. In fact, it can be solved after you get familiar with it a few times.
Next is the issue of supply and products.
Now is the Internet era. The network is so developed that the products you want can be found online. If you have friends in the industry around you, you can get a lot of first-hand sources of goods after being introduced by them.
Most inland sellers are not located in the factory and generally look for sources of goods online, such as 1688, HC.com, 1688 International Station, etc. In the early stage, you can choose to purchase products from manufacturers with better quality and higher cooperation by mailing samples. When the products are stable in the later stage, you can go to the factory to communicate and inspect in person to increase trust.
Another very important dimension is the professionalism of the factory. It is recommended to directly choose a factory with export experience, so that you can quickly understand the popularity of the product in the destination country. Many factories only receive your order temporarily and do not understand the product. These situations can be distinguished through online communication.