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If you have ever thought about sourcing a product from overseas and then selling it locally and online, or you have an idea for a physical product you want to have created in a country like China, where costs are lower, this is the interview to listen to.
Craig Ford has spent virtually his entire working life in different companies related to importing and exporting of goods.
He’s done things on the small scale, for example finding unique jewellery in India while backpacking in his twenties, which he then sold in Australia, to much larger scale projects, like supplying Australian mining technology to companies in Asia.
As you will hear in this interview, Craig knows a lot, and there’s a lot to know about importing and exporting.
He covers everything, including –
- What website to use to find suppliers
- What pitfalls to look out for and avoid when you begin negotiating a deal
- How to spot fraudsters
- What to do if you want to get some kind of technology developed
- If you want to get clothing made, how to make sure it is of high quality
- A step you can take to make sure your supplier is not exploiting child labour and his paying fair wages
- When is it necessary to hop on a plane and visit factories
- What kind of research you should do before engaging with a supplier
- and so much more
As is tradition on my podcast, Craig also explains his backstory, revealing how he became good at what he does and what he learned along the way.
If you have ever thought about getting into the physical product world, this is must-listen to stuff.
Make sure you also stop by Craig’s site, MyImportLabel.com.au, as he has some great training resources to guide you in the right direction.
Enjoy the episode,
Yaro
Relevant Links
Where to Find Craig Online
- Craig Ford Twitter Account
- Craig Ford’s LinkedIn Profile Account
- Craig Ford on Google+
- Craig Ford on Facebook
[ Download MP3 | Transcript | iTunes | Soundcloud | Raw RSS ]
As someone who has been sourcing and importing musical products from China for nearly a decade, this was a great listen.
Thank you Yaro and Craig!
While I’m always looking to get involved in new money-making ventures, China certainly has issues with too much lead in their products. How do you rectify that problem and are entrepreneurs required to assume more insurance requirements because of that?
Sorry about this, but am I the only who notice that Craig looks a lot like Gerard Butler from 300?
Honest business transaction with no expoitation and overall no child labour involved can lead to many great opportunities and show to the world that fair business trading is possible.
Nowadays a lot of offering came from China, electronics, goods, etc. It is interesting to learn about importing such things, and sell it in my country. Thanks for useful resources.
It’s quite revealing and interesting. There was a seminar I missed last month on this same importation stuff from China because of my engagement and the organizer when I put a call to her, she said she actually doesn’t know when to conduct the training again. However, I think this information is enough ground to pick up my research research.
Thank you, Yaro and Craig!
I’m guessing that even though his website focuses on importing to Australia, that his tactics would work for importing to any other country?
I’ve considered importing in the past, but I’ve shied away from it in fear of being scammed on alibaba.
Yep, it’s more about where you source from than where you are importing to. China, Malaysia, Indonesia…take your pick.