China Wholesale Secret

Copyright © 2006 by Early to RiseAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

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China Wholesale Secret Program Start Your Own Internet Import/Export Business

OVERVIEWChapter 1: The Multi-Trillion Dollar Import/Export Market ..................................................................1

Chapter 2: Benefits of an Internet Import/Export Business ..............................................................4

Chapter 3: Hot New Rising Trends ........................................................................................................6

Chapter 4: The Most Powerful Import/Export Website on the Internet for Entrepreneurs ....12

Chapter 5: Google and other Monster Traffic Generators..............................................................17

NUTS AND BOLTSChapter 6: Nuts and Bolts of an Online Import/Export Business ................................................30

Chapter 7: How to Determine Which Products to Import/Export ................................................35

Chapter 8: Obtaining Products from Overseas Manufacturers for the Wholesale Market ....37

Chapter 9: Reselling Products on the Internet ..................................................................................41

Chapter 10: Wholesaling Products to Retailers................................................................................46

Chapter 11: How to Become an Import/Export Middleman ..........................................................50

MARKETINGChapter 12: Dominating Internet Search Engines and Directories ..............................................53

Chapter 13: Powerful Linking Strategies ............................................................................................58

Chapter 14: Buying Keywords and Phrases on Search Engines..................................................62

Chapter 15: The Secrets of Effective Online Advertising ..............................................................67

Chapter 16: Reselling Imported Products with Online Classified Ads........................................71

Chapter 17: How to Build and Market eStores “On Demand” ......................................................74

ACTION PLANChapter 18: Fast Start Strategy — Completing Your First Deal ....................................................78

Chapter 19: Growing Your Business for Even Bigger Profits........................................................86

Chapter 20: Importing and Exporting Billionaires ............................................................................90

Chapter 21: Focus on One Product at a Time ..................................................................................93

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESChapter 22: Trade Resources................................................................................................................98

Chapter 23: Forms, Contracts and Agreements ............................................................................105

Terminology ............................................................................................................................................120

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Dear Entrepreneurs:

We’re pleased to present to you this comprehensive import/export business kit.

Congratulations for making the decision to learn about and launch this fascinating business.

Rest assured — you’ve made the right decision!

This business is NOT a passing trend that will be obsolete in a couple of years from now.

The import export market is a multi-trillion dollar market — and it’s growing by leaps andbounds every day.

On top of that, there has never been a better time to get into this business — what is more, theInternet has made it easier than ever.

Just imagine what the great importing tycoons of times past could have done with the Internet.My guess is they would have been thrilled!

This kit is packed with up-to-date information to help you get started quickly and easily.

More important, this kit is designed to enable you to start making money immediately!

There will be a tendency to skip through the kit and grab only the information that appeals toyou at the moment.

I know you want to start importing and exporting products as soon as possible. And we’vedesigned this kit so you can get started making money quickly.

But please take the time to read, study and review this information with as much focus as ishumanly possible.

The benefits for doing that will manifest itself for months, years and decades down the road.

We’ve also designed this import/export business kit much like the Egyptians did when they builtthe great pyramids.

We’ve laid a strong foundation so you can build your import/export business as large or as smallas you want.

But regardless of the size and scope of your venture you will have a firm foundation on which to build.

By the way, you could search the Internet for a lifetime and you would never find all of thisinformation in one place.

In addition, we’ve consulted with many of the greatest business minds, entrepreneurs and

import/export gurus on the planet with a view toward developing THE BEST IMPORT/EXPORTBUSINESS KIT THAT MONEY CAN BUY.

We spared no expense in showing you all of the pitfalls that beset most entrepreneurs that getinvolved in the import/export market.

The hardest part of an import/export business is finding products that have the greatest demand. But we’ve made it easy for you. This kit contains all of the hottest products and markets onthe market today.

What’s more, we’ll show you HOW to identify and contact hundreds of companies that needproducts immediately!

Importing and exporting is the largest marketplace in the world today.

Imports to China will be more than $1.5 trillion in 2006 — that’s trillion.

More important, the Chinese import market is still in its infancy.

And China isn’t the only show in town… There are more than 195 countries in the world today,many looking for products that you can provide.

Granted, boarders change on a daily basis. But there are a lot of countries that NEED productsand are willing to pay for them.

For example:

Japan’s imports from the U.S. increased to more than $12 billion in 2005.

U.K.’s imports were more than $4 billion.

Brazil’s imports were more than $1.5 billion.

If you think that’s great — then you’ll love this:

You can import products and sell them on the Internet… all from your own home.

This kit shows you all of the “nuts and bolts” of importing products and reselling them on the Internet.

Your importing or exporting business can be up and running in a matter of hours.

You don’t even need a website or ecommerce to make it work!

In addition, this kit includes a section on Internet search engines, keywords and linking strategies.

The import export market is a 24-hour windfall of cashYou’ll learn about the hottest import export website on the Internet. They boast more than

1.7 million active members — most of whom are entrepreneurs just like you.

The benefits of importing and exporting are too numerous to mention here.

But know this — this is one of the great liberating businesses of the 21st century!

INTRODUCTION

You can run your import export business from anywhere in the world.

You can build it as small or as large as you want.

You can specialize in products or industries that you’re most knowledgeable about or youcan delve into new markets.

Everything you need to be successful is right here in this import/export business kit.

So take your time and focus on all of the material that we’ve assembled for your benefit.

You won’t be disappointed.

Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Marc CharlesEarly To Rise

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

The Multi-Trillion Dollar Import/Export MarketThe worldwide import/export market is a multi-trillion dollar windfall of cash!

A hundred years ago it was almost impossible for small entrepreneurs to break into this marketbecause one needed significant capital, contacts and a lot of expertise in international law and contracts.

All that has changed.

Today entrepreneurs can start an import/export business from the comfort of their own homewith just with a computer, phone line, Internet access and a bank account.

On top of that, there are hundreds of websites and resources available to entrepreneurs todaythat didn’t exist ten years or even five years ago.

For instance, the website Alibaba.com is the largest and most successful import/export site forentrepreneurs in the world.

Alibaba.com boasts of more than 18 million members in 200 countries!

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg!

Although Alibaba.com facilitates more than $5 billion in import/export transactions each year —that still leaves trillions of dollars in business on the table.

The international import/export business is the new frontier of the 21st century for both aspiringand established entrepreneurs… this is where opportunity awaits.

Here are some recent testimonials from a few of theimport/export entrepreneurs on Alibaba.com:

Mr. Wai Khean Wong (Malaysia/Home & Office Furniture)“Our first order was valued at close to $160,000 USD!”

Mr. Jason Yee (Singapore/Refurbished Notebooks)“Ten deals and all stocks sold out!”

Mr. Choi Jin-Woo (South Korea/Health and Beauty Products)“Within one month, we received dozens of inquiries from buyers in more than 50 countries.”

Mr. Chester Chou (Taiwan/Sports Products)“Ten purchase orders for $100,000 USD in first year on Alibaba.”

Ms. Diana De Avila (USA/Clothes)“Alibaba.com is our competitive edge. We receive more than 250 inquires a month!”

Start Your Own Internet Import/Export Business 1

CHAPTER 1: The Multi-Trillion Dollar Import/Export Market

Mr. Kan Sen Leon (Peru/Clothes-Apparel) “When I signed up for TrustPass, the demand for my products skyrocketed.”

Cai Xia (China/Interactive Toys, Arts & Crafts)“For 3 months, on average we received about 10-20 inquiries a week from overseas buyers. A great result!”

Mr. Henry Stewart (USA/General Merchandise)“It is the best website to source from in the world!”

The sky is the limit with an import/export business!

What’s more, businesses in practically every country of the world need thousands of differentproducts in hundreds of categories.

This is a ground floor opportunity in every sense of the word.

Look at these recent import/export statistics:

China imports are estimated to be more than $1.5 trillion by 2007!

Japan imports from the US are expected to exceed $12 billion by 2007

UK imports from US - $4 billion by 2007

Brazil imports from US $1.5 billion by 2007

New Zealand imports from US should exceed $170 million — by 2007

US exports to Canada should exceed $28 billion by 2007!

US exports to Mexico $17 billion by 2007

US exports to France $2 billion by 2007

US exports to Hong Kong $2 billion by 2007

The leading import countries in 2004 are (in order):

United States $1.6 trillion

Germany $716 billion

China $561 billion

France $470 billion

UK $467 billion

Japan $454 billion

Italy $355 billion

Netherlands $319 billion

Canada $280 billion

Belgium $278 billion

The leading export countries in 2004 are (in order):

Germany $910 billion

United States $818 billion

China $593 billion

Japan $566 billion

2 China Wholesale Secret Program


France $452 billion

Netherlands $357 billion

Italy $354 billion

UK $347 billion

Canada $317 billion

The total world import/export market will exceed $10 trillion dollars by 2010!

This is the largest marketplace in the world or on the Internet.

There are unlimited opportunities for entrepreneurs of every background and level.

We’ll show you in plain, everyday language, HOW to tap into this trillion-dollar marketplace fromthe comfort of your home so you can start generating major profits too.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

Hot New Rising Trends

The Most Powerful Import/Export Website on the Internet for Entrepreneurs

The Benefits of an Internet Import/Export Business

The Truth About Internet and Email Marketing

How to Determine Which Products to Import/Export

How to Obtain Products from Overseas Manufacturers for the Wholesale Market

How to Resell Products on the Internet

How to Wholesale Products to Retailers

How to Become an Import/Export Middleman

Plus! How to Dominate Internet Search Engines and Directories

How to Utilize Powerful Linking Strategies

How to Buy Keywords and Phrases on Search Engines (in order to sell products)

The Secrets of Effective Online Advertising

How to Resell Imported Products with Online Classified Ads

How to Attract Customers with Monster Prospect Machines

How to Build and Market eStores “On Demand”

You can scour the Internet, Google, Research Libraries, the Public Domain and Business Collegesa LIFETIME — but you will never find all of this information in one, easy-to-read report.

Until Now!




CHAPTER 2: Benefits of an Internet Import/Export Business

CHAPTER 2

Benefits of an Internet Import/Export Business

The benefits of owning your own Internet Import/Export business are too numerous to list, buthere are just some of the benefits that you can enjoy:

Be your own bossOne of the greatest freedoms in the world is working for yourself and calling all of the shots.If you have a hunch you can act on it without having to go through middle managers andpeople who don’t have the same passion and excitement for your business as you do.

Work your own hoursImagine working when you feel like it. Maybe you prefer to work late at night when the kids are in bed. Or maybe you are an early riser and prefer to get everything done before 10 o’clock. You can set and work your own hours. The problem is you’ll enjoy thisbusiness so much you’ll want to work all the time!

Unlimited profit potentialThere are very few businesses in the world that offer unlimited profit potential. Most retailbusinesses are dependant on foot traffic. Other businesses may have huge profit potentialbut also require you to have a substantial net worth. An import/export business hasunlimited profit potential. One of the great import/export entrepreneurs of all time wasAristotle Onassis — he became a billionaire in this business.

Portability — work from anywhere in the worldHow many businesses can you think of that could be packed up in a laptop computer,moved around the world, and be started again with very little effort? This business enablesyou to work from anywhere in the world — and when it’s time to move on just pack up andtake your business with you.

Simple learning curveAn import/export business is incredibly easy to learn. You simply identify someone or acompany that needs a product. You locate that product for them in the quantity they desire,arrange for payment, ship the products (the company with the product typically takes careof the details) and you are done. It’s that simple.

Very little start up capital requiredFifty years ago it would have been almost impossible to start an import/export business

without a significant bankroll (and contacts). But today — with the Internet — havingcapital is not that important.

More Benefits!Develop rich, fulfilling relationships with likeminded entrepreneurs in practically every country

of the world

Tax benefits (consult your tax professional for specifics)

Respect from the business community

Instantaneous money exchanges

No billing

No face-to-face selling (unless you want to)

Be a part of the global community

Gain a deeper understanding of other cultures

Travel abroad at deep discounts

Work anonymously (if so desired)

Enjoy the dynamics of an industry that is constantly changing

Prestige — Become a renowned expert and sought after speaker

No language barriers (translators are available when needed)

No employees (unless you want them)

No physical buildings, offices or storefronts required

No understanding of currency markets required (but it’s a good thing to know)

I’ve only just touched upon the many benefits of this exciting business. Being your own boss,having unlimited profit potential and low start-up capital requirements are perhaps the mostattractive benefits for most entrepreneurs. In the next chapter we’ll show you the hottest, new risingtrends in the import/export market and how you can position yourself to benefit from these trends.


CHAPTER 2: Benefits of an Internet Import/Export Business


CHAPTER 3: Hot New Rising Trends

CHAPTER 3

Hot New Rising Trends There are hot new trends to be found emerging in the import/export market. Your business will

be in a position to benefit from these trends.

One of the ways to identify emerging trends is to watch population shifts and growth. As thepopulation in a particular area expands so does the demand for hundreds of different products and services.

Another way to identify hot new trends is by watching the growth of per capita income in specificareas. When income levels rise so does the desire to spend it!

Countries like China, India, Thailand, Croatia, Brazil and Russia are importing products from theU.S., Canada, Europe and South America in droves!

In fact, imports to China from the USA increased by more than 28% in 2004 according to the U.S.Commerce Department.

So what does this mean for your Internet Import/Export Business?

Everything. The demand for products has never been greater — and the trend is growing at aphenomenal rate.

There has never been abetter time to profit from anInternet-based Import/Export business.

Here is just a smallsample of the products thatpeople and businesses need— and they’re willing to pay apremium to get them:

ChinaThe price that people

and companies are willing topay for these items will varydepending on the quantities,frequency, quality, shipping

Iron and Steel

+27%

Ores and Minerals

+23%

Fuels+22%

Chemicals+20%

Ag Products

+20%

Consumer Goods+19%

AutomotiveProducts 15%

Clothing 12%

Office and TelecomEquipment 10%

Textiles 11%

Here are the fastest growing categories according to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005:



and other factors. But you will find that people will be eager to work with you because of the demand and potential for profit.

Plastic strapping / Black plastic strapping

Soybeans / 50,000mt per month x 12

Cigarettes / Mild Seven SE555 (new packing) or brand cigarettes

Oats / Instant rolled oats, oat bran, breakfast cereals and organic cereals.

Palm Oil / crude palm oil 55 gal

Feathers / original American turkey feathers

Horse Hair / Horse tail hair, yak hair and goat hair for yarns and textiles

Cashews / 3000mt cashew and 15000mt sesame seeds

Garlic / need garlic urgently 6.0cm+, loose, 9kg cartons

American Rice / 2000 MT x 12 months

Sesame seed oil / any quantity

Apples / all kinds of fruits including apple, pear and more

Garden Equipment / Garden tools & wooden garden tools & equipments

Dried Rosehips / Any quantity

Gas-powered trimmers / All sizes / crates of 6

Also, business equipment, toys, automobiles, DVDs, jeans, tee shirts, beer, gold, designerclothes and handbags, safety vests, security equipment, toiletries, herbs, ginseng, zirconsand, quartz watches, polyester resin, glycerin, sulphur, playing cards, PS2 parts, andthousands more!

India Soybeans / 50,000mt per month

Cigarettes / generic

Garlic / 9kg cartons

American Rice / 5000 MT

Raw wool / 40Ft Container C. I. F at any port at New Mumbai, India

Apples / Will negotiate quantity

Garden Equipment / garden tools

PVC resins / bulk

Iron Ore / 63.5% iron ore fines - Quantity 60,000 lbs x 12 months

Nokia Mobile Phone accessories / Nokia & Sony models of Mobiles

Dried Rosehips / All quantities

Gas-powered trimmers / all sizes

Bricks / Kiln Inlet ISO Shape Bricks 620

Bicycles / BMX, children & MTB models

Rechargeable batteries / Lithium Ion Rechargeable battery PP29E11146, 3.7 V 1400mAh no.1CR17670

Titanium wire / All gauges

Turbine engines / 2 to 3 MW steam turbine, 480 V, 60 hz, 3ph Inlet steam 250 psi@500 deg F,non condensing type.

Pen torch / Need to buy blinking torch – 30000pcs

Cable TV Receivers / Cable TV receiver with pvr has HDD (40gb/60gb/80gb)

Antennas

LED Torches / 300 to 500 pieces of small white LED lamp Key chains having 10,000 MCD

Bamboo fiber / Regular bamboo fibers

Blankets / Acrylic mink blankets in size 220 cms x 240 cms weight 4kgs

Herbal tea / High quality teas, green tea, black tea, ice tea, ginger tea, lemon tea, herbal teaand slimming tea

Raw tobacco / Raw tobacco and processed tobacco

Also, business equipment, jeans, tee shirts, beer, gold, designer clothes, toiletries, herbs,ginseng, polyester resin, glycerin, computer parts, and thousands more!

South Korea Egg powder (animal feed) / All quantities

Olive oil / 500 MT

Yellow Corn / 5000 bsh x 12

Mushrooms / All varieties

Yucca / 5 kilo containers

Cosmetics / Top brand cosmetic sample as sk2, Lancome, Dior, Estee Lauder, Mac, etc

Nose trimmers / all types

Plywood / 4x8 / pallets

Granite / Top grade unpolished India black slabs

Wallpaper / wallpaper made from natural resource

Low density F-board / odd sizes like 22 x 28, 23 x 36, 25 x 40,

Nokia handsets / small quantities

iPod batteries / all quantities

Wi-Fi light switches / high grade

Bluetooth headsets / new only

Used cellphones / 100 bx

Frozen seafood / All types, packaging and quantities

Organic fruit juice / not frozen

Dairy products / All types

Chicken meat / cleaned and processed only. Must pass inspection

White sugar / All grades and quantities

Wine / All varieties





Beer in cans / American only

Canned tomatoes / All types, packaging and quantities

Dried squid / fresh and frozen / all quantities

Also, business equipment, jeans, tee shirts, computer parts, printing equipment, paper,lumber, cable, floating glass, toys, noodles, urchins and thousands more!

Thailand Wire mesh / Black annealed wire Bwg 18 = 50 KG/coil = 8 containers @ 25 tons each

Insulation / All type of heat shrinkable tubes and insulation material

Rainwear / All types like gents black, ladies misc design and prints, children’s umbrella,fancy umbrella, rainwear of all types and uses

Hair clips / All shapes, colors, sizes and quantities

Footballs / football ball number 4-5 and basketball ball number 7 - 20 containers

Platinum / High quality high fashion products

Palm oil / crude palm oil

Herbs / All types especially organic

Zinc ingots / zinc bromide byproduct to manufacture zinc bromide

Computers / All brands and makes

Mobile phone parts / All brands and makes (only new)

Shortening / Organic Shortening

Also, business equipment, paper, lumber, cable, toys, noodles, urchins, fresh fish, crabmeatand thousands more!

Europe BAT Cigarettes / Marlbro red and Marlbro light in big quantity

Cocao nibs / All quanities

Frozen broccoli / IQF (frozen) vegetables

Wheat Milling Machine

Almond kernels / Large quantities

Used tractors / All makes, models, brands and year

Palm Oil / Large quantities

Barley (for animal feed) / USA grains

Soya / Soya bean milk quantity:5 FCL In bulk

Fishmeal / All quantities

Hydroponics grow lamps

Soy oil / All types and quantities

Tea / Fresh and organic

Herbs / gymnema sylvsetre leaves

Peanuts / red skin peanuts

Basmati rice / All types – bulk

Gooseberry extracts / 1 liter containers

Chick Peas / all shapes, sizes and grades

Olives / All kinds of olives and olive oils

Sunflower meal / Refined sunflower oil, 500 ton

Razors / Razors & shaving products

Cosmetics, perfume / All brands

Sauna belts / top quality only

Medical supplies / All

Household items / All

Colored contact lenses / Assorted sizes, colors and shapes

Blood pressure monitors / Medical grade

Toothbrushes / especially kids

Also, business equipment, toys, gold, ginseng, glycerin, and thousands more!

This is only a brief sampling of the products that are needed!The best part is you won’t need to know a lot about these products to import or export them.

You will simply need to know where to find them and be able to strike a deal in order to get them tothe end user.

Developing third world countries have an insatiable appetitefor thousands of different products and services.

But your business won’t be limited to doing business with these countries.

There are hundreds of companies in dozens of countries that need high-end luxury items, too!

Here are of some of the high-end luxury products are needed:

Kuwait – caviar, exotic woods, jewelry, cell phones, smart cards

United Arab Emirates – fresh crabmeat, fish, lobster, diamonds, gold bullion

Switzerland – premium garlic, silver, platinum, organic beef, automobiles

Brazil – cognac, premium wine, fur, diamonds, cell phones, DVD players

Panama – digital cameras, smart cards, blank media, laptops

It is simply a matter of understanding what people and companies need and getting it to them.

If you have specialized knowledge about some of these products that’s even better. The learningcurve will be less.

But know this — there is a website on the Internet that is the fastest growing import/export portalin the world.

In fact, this website has been in the Top 10 of total Internet traffic for two years in a row.



Forbes magazine awarded this website Best of the Web four years in a row!

On top of that, the site is devoted to helping importers and exporters make money and build relationships.

The website I refer to is Alibaba.com.

In the next chapter we will show you this spectacular website in detail. You’ll understand why ithas become the number one import-export portal in the world and on the Internet!

You’ll quickly see why entrepreneurs everywhere are raving about Alibaba.com!




CHAPTER 4: The Most Powerful Import/Export Website on the Internet for Entrepreneurs

CHAPTER 4

The Most Powerful Import/Export Website on the Internet for Entrepreneurs

The playing field for entrepreneurs has changed — especially when it comes to entrepreneurs inan importing and exporting business.

Trillions of dollars of products are purchased, imported and exported every year.

Ten years ago, almost every import and export deal was done over the phone or by snail mail.

In some cases entrepreneurs would have to travel to countries by air, boat or rail to meet withtheir importing or exporting clients.

Granted, some of that is still done today.

But in 1999 Jack Ma and a small group of entrepreneurs in Hangzhou, China had a vision formaking the process of importing and exporting products much easier.

On top of that, they understood the Internet would have to be the central focus in getting this done.

They launched a website called Alibaba.com.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Alibaba.com has become much bigger than anyone ever expected.

Alibaba.com has become the most powerful and efficient website in existence for import andexport entrepreneurs.

Here are just a few of the current statistics for this incredible website and portal.

Alibaba.com Facts

Employee Headcount 2,400

2004 Financials Non-GAAP Revenue: US$68 million

Free cash flow: US$25 million

Alibaba International (www.alibaba.com) is Alibaba’s business-to-business marketplace for global trade.

Registered members: 1.7 million

Member geographic distribution: 200+ countries and territories

Estimated 2004 transaction volume: US$1.5 billion

Number of site listings: 1.4 million

Alexa.com worldwide website traffic ranking: No. 28

• Alibaba.com has been ranked No.1 as the “Most Popular in International Businessand Trade” on Alexa.com, a subsidiary of Amazon.com which provides independentwebsite tracking data.

Alibaba China (www.china.alibaba.com) is a Chinese-language online marketplace for the domestic China

business-to-business trade.


Estimated 2004 transaction volume: US$3 billion


Taobao.com (www.taobao.com) is China’s top ranked consumer marketplace.


Q2 2005 transaction volume (Gross Merchandise Volume or GMV): US$200 million


Alexa.com worldwide website traffic ranking: No. 26 in the world / No. 9 in China overall



http://www.alibaba.com

http://www.china.alibaba.com

http://www.taobao.com

AliPay (www.alipay.com) is China’s leading online payment system.

Paid Customers & National Sales Network

Alibaba.com: Currently, more than 100,000 businesses in China pay between US$250-US$10,000 per year for Alibaba.com’s online marketing services. Most are small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s)

Taobao and AliPay: Taobao and AliPay services are currently free to all users

Sales force: In China, Alibaba.com maintains a national direct sales force of more than 1,000 sales and service specialists, serving and training China’s exporters and domestictraders in e-commerce

Taobao.com (a subsidiary) is China’s top ranked consumer marketplace with 9.1 millionmembers! That is huge!

But if you think that’s great just keep in mind that Alibaba.com is just a babe. Alibaba.com hasonly been live for three years.

Yahoo! recently entered into a long-term relationship with Alibaba.com to join forces in China.

Alibaba.com is here to stay!Jack Ma, Alibaba.com founder and CEO, was asked recently what he thought about eBay:

“eBay thrives elsewhere but may falter in China. eBay may be a shark in the ocean, but I am acrocodile in the Yangtze River. If we fight in the ocean, we lose - but if we fight in the river, we win.”

Where eBay is more focused on consumer auctions, Alibaba is more focused on entrepreneurs,and importers/exporters in particular.

But eBay and Alibaba.com members are not at each other’s throats as it may appear.

In fact, Alibaba.com participated in “eBay Live 2005” in San Jose, California last year.

Thousands of eBay members are also Alibaba.com members.

What’s more, entrepreneurs like Steve Gibson (CEO/Skyabove) are using Alibaba.com on a dailybasis for their sourcing needs.

Here is what Steve said about his relationship with eBay and Alibaba.com

“We sell jewelry and consumer electronics products in our eBay store. Running an eBay businessis time consuming. We spend the majority of our time looking for new products to sell. Alibaba hasbeen like godsend. So far we haven’t had an incident that we cannot find products that we look for onAlibaba.com. Alibaba is perfect for us!”

And there’s more…



http://www.alipay.com

Alibaba.com Awards and HonorsAlibaba.com is the only import-export marketplace named “Best of the Web” four years in a row

by Forbes Magazine . The site has also been selected as a “Top Website for Entrepreneurs” by U.S.-based Entrepreneur magazine and the most popular B2B website by readers of the Far EasternEconomic Review, a leading financial weekly magazine published by Dow Jones in Asia.

Amazon.com subsidiary Alexa (www.alexa.com) ranks Alibaba the world’s most popular site inthe categories of Import-Export and International Business and Trade. Alexa also ranks Taobao.comas China’s most visited auction marketplace and one of the top 30 websites in the world, ahead of allother e-commerce sites in China.

Jack Ma, Founder, founder and CEO of Alibaba.com was named a Young Global Leader by theWorld Economic Forum in 2005.

Alibaba.com Investors SOFTBANK Corporation

SOFTBANK Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 9984) is one of the world’s Internetleaders. Through its ownership positions in more than 300 Internet companies and itsunique, global approach to building Internet enterprises, it is able to realizeunprecedented synergies among its group of companies.

Fidelity Capital

As the leading global money management firm with over $900 billion undermanagement, Fidelity Investments goes to great lengths to understand the companiesin which they invest our clients’ money.

Fidelity’s entrepreneurial team of professionals is able to reach investment decisionsquickly while preserving the independent, personal nature of the venture process.

Granite Global Ventures

Granite Global Ventures is a technology-focused investor sponsored by VenrockAssociates, TIF Ventures of Singapore, and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. It invests inexpansion stage companies in the software, communications, and healthcareindustries. Through offices in Menlo Park, California; Singapore; and Shanghai, GraniteGlobal Ventures and its affiliates are well positioned to assist portfolio companies togenerate business opportunities in the U.S. and Asia. For more information, visit theGranite Global Ventures Web site at http://www.ggvc.com.

Venture TDF Pte Ltd. of Singapore

Venture TDF is a venture capital fund management company in Singapore, which wasfounded in October 1995. It currently has approximately US$400 million under directand indirect management, investing exclusively in technology companies. VentureTDF’s goal is to assist talented entrepreneurs build world-class technology companies.



http://www.alexa.com

http://www.ggvc.com

Transpac Capital

Transpac Capital is one of the oldest, largest and most prominent private equityinvestment firms in Asia. Transpac Capital has invested in over 190 companies in EastAsia and the United States. The company is headquartered in Singapore and has officesin China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, Taiwan, Thailand and theUnited States.

Alibaba.com is a solid company with a bright future. More important, there is still time to get inon the action and make a lot of money fast.

Entrepreneurs are joining in droves because it’s so easy to get into the import/export businesswith a portal like Alibaba.com.

More than 300,000 people visit the site every day. Most of the people who come to the site areglobal buyers and importers looking to find and trade with sellers in other countries.

Importing and exporting is the fastest growing business sector in the world… and you can be apart of it!




CHAPTER 5: Google and other Monster Traffic Generators

CHAPTER 5

Google and other Monster Traffic GeneratorsOne of the keys to selling imported or exported products on an Internet website is targeted traffic.

If you can drive qualified traffic to your website without a huge expense – you have a literalgoldmine at your fingertips. This is especially true when it comes to reselling imported or exportedproducts on a website.

This section is devoted to the search engine Google — and for good reason.

Google generates massive targeted searches everyday. We will show you Google in all its glory,and what this means for you and your business.

We will also cover some of the other monster traffic generators like Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon.com,MSN, AOL and more!

When you gain a deeper understanding of how Google works and how it can deliver unfathomabletargeted traffic to your site and ventures — it will mean astronomical profit opportunities.

We are confident this information will help your online business and bring big bucks to yourpockets for years to come.

All About Google

What does “Google” mean? The name “Google” is derived from the word “googol”. The word googol was coined by Milton

Sirotta. Milton was anephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner.

According to Wikipedia a googol is a number represented by a 1 followed by 100 zeros. A googol isa very large number. There isn’t a googol of anything in the universe — not stars, not dust particles,not even atoms!

Google’s use of the term reflects their mission to organize the world’s immense information pooland make it universally accessible and useful.

Google Facts Google.com is one of the 5 most popular sites on the Internet and is used around the world

by millions of people

Google is the #1 search engine in the Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.(Nielsen/NetRatings 6/05, based on total number of unique visitors)



Global unique users per month: 380 million (Nielsen/NetRatings 4/06)

112 international domains

Global audience: More than 50 percent of Google.com traffic is from outside the U.S.

More than 1.6 billion web pages indexed

255 million unique searches per day

Business ModelGoogle generates revenue primarily through two programs: highly targeted advertising and

online search services.

1) Google AdWords for AdvertisersGoogle offers a highly effective advertising program that is widely recognized as one of the Web’s

most efficient advertising vehicles.

Pricing – Auction based pricing based on the value (cost-per-click or CPC) an advertiserassigns to particular keywords. An ad’s position on the page is determined by a combinationof the CPC and the click-through rate (number of times the ad is clicked on by users) so thatthe most relevant ads are displayed more prominently. The cost of creating an account is $5and there is no minimum ad spend required.

Technology – Prices for some clicks are adjusted based on their expected value to helpensure better performance for advertisers. An automated discounter keeps the cost of eachclick at the lowest amount possible in order to hold its position above a competitor’s ad.Other options include ad targeting by location and numerous tools for optimizing accounts,including a keyword suggestion tool and daily budget management.

Format – Messages appear adjacent to web search results on Google.com and partner sites.Labeled as “sponsored links,” they may appear on targeted content pages across the web.

Targeting – Based on advertiser selected keywords or sophisticated content analysisalgorithms, so ads always appear in context with other information on the page.

Support – Two options: Advertisers sign up online and manage their own accounts, whichare activated with a credit card. For larger advertisers, a full service account team sets upaccounts, designs campaigns based on the advertiser’s defined metrics and then monitorscreative and click-through rates to continuously optimize those campaigns.

Customers – Recent advertisers include: Sony, Cisco, Alamo Car Rental, Ameritrade,Amazon.com, Canon, Disney, General Motors, L.L. Bean, Nordstrom, Sears, Smith &Hawken, Sprint, Volvo and Xerox.

2) Google AdSense and Web Site ServicesThe objective of Google’s AdSense program is to serve relevant ads on search result and content pages.

Technology – Innovations include the ability to target relevant advertising based onkeywords provided by a searcher or to dynamically analyze content and select relevant adsto display on a page.

Support – Two options: (1) Publishers can manage their own accounts, which are activatedthrough an online application process and implemented by simply cutting and pastingsome HTML onto their web pages. (2) A dedicated sales team customizes programs for sitesreceiving more than 20 million page views per month.

Customers – USATODAY.com, ABC.com, Forbes.com and 60% of the comScore MediaMetrix top 100 sites, as well as thousands of other specialty content sites.

Google Search Services enable publishers to search the content on their website — this is usefulto a publisher’s audience, readership and subscriber base because it allows people to search a targetedpool of content. The search results can also be used to generate revenue with the AdSense program.

Technology – Google search is based on a continuously evolving set of technologies thatoffer innovations in every aspect of information retrieval and provide users with the mostrelevant results.

Support – Hosted by Google, with results customized to customer’s specifications. Resultsavailable via HTTP and can be formatted in XML or Google’s proprietary protocol.

Updates – Conducted on a regular basis to ensure fresh content.

Reporting – Reports on daily number of traffic, top queries, top keywords searched, andother information.

Indexing – Billions of pages, the largest index on the web.

Features – Searches can be narrowed to a specific domain/subdomain or a specificlanguage. Google also supports OR operators, keyword exclusion and phrase searching ifquotation marks are used.

Customers – Washingtonpost.com, AOL/Netscape, Palm, Fujitsu NIFTY (Japan), NECBIGLOBE (Japan), NetEase (China),Yam.com (Taiwan), Vodafone Global Platform andInternet Services Group (U.K.), Retivision (Spain), Sapo (Portugal), and Virgilio (Italy).

The Google Search Appliance is a scalable device that provides searches across individualwebsites and/or company intranets.

Technology – Google search is based on a continuously evolving set of technologies thatoffers innovations in every aspect of information retrieval and provide users with the mostrelevant results.

Delivery – Hosted at the customer’s location on the Google Search Appliance, with resultscustomized to customer’s specifications. Three models offer search across any sizecollection up to 15 million documents.

Updates – Crawls available on a schedule set by the customer. Password protected or securepages can be indexed in most cases. Google’s caching technology makes it possible for usersto access pages even if the hosting server is busy or down.

Reporting – Reports on daily number of traffic, top queries, top keywords searched, andother information.

Indexing – Customers can elect to offer different segments of their index to different users(e.g., by language, country, etc.)



Features – Searches can be narrowed to a specific domain/subdomain or a specificlanguage. International language support enables search over documents in the followinglanguages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English,Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese,Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish,Swedish. Google also supports OR operators, keyword exclusion and phrase searching ifquotation marks are used. Partners can set a specific URL or set of URLs to be returned atthe top of a list of returned queries.

Support – 24/7 technical support

Customers – PBS, The World Bank, Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, Boeing, StanfordUniversity, Nextel and Kaiser Permanente

Google Wireless Services delivers search results to Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) wirelessphones and other mobile devices.

Google Technology OverviewGoogle is endeavoring to build the “perfect search engine”. The co-founder of Google Larry Page

defined the “perfect search engine” as something that “understands exactly what you mean and givesyou back exactly what you want.”

That’s a lofty goal — but many people believe no one does search better than Google.

Google has also developed its own serving infrastructure and the breakthrough PageRank™

technology. Combined these have changed the way searches are conducted on the Internet.

Google’s developers realized that providing the fastest, most accurate results required a differentkind of server architecture..

Most search engines use several large servers to handle searching tasks but this approach oftenslows down during peak loads. Google on the other hand — simply linked PCs to quickly find eachquery’s answer.

This innovation (linking PCs) paid off in faster response times, greater scalability and lower costs.

Other search engineshave since copied this approach, but Google is continually working on theirback-end technology to make it even more efficient.

The software behind Google’s search technology is also revolutionary. It conducts severalsimultaneous calculations requiring only a fraction of a second.

Most of the other top search engines rely on how often a word appears on a web page.

Google uses PageRank™ to examine the link structure of the web and determines which pages aremost “important”. Then the software conducts hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pagesare relevant to the specific search being conducted. It all sounds very complicated and sophisticated.But it is very logical and simplistic. By simply combining the overall importance and query-specificrelevance, Google is able to put the most relevant and reliable results first.





PageRank™ Technology PageRank™ measures the importance of web pages by solving an equation of more than 500

million variables and 2 billion terms.

But instead of counting direct links, PageRank™ interprets a link from one page to anotherpage as one vote..

PageRank™ then determines a page’s importance by the number of votes it receives. It’s asimple and logical way to determine the importance of a particular web page.

PageRank™ also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote. Web pages areconsidered to have greater value if they cast a vote, thus giving the linked page greater value.

The end result is important pages receive a higher PageRank™ and these pages appearprominently in the search result pages. Google’s technology uses the “collective intelligence”of the web to determine a page’s importance.

There is no human involvement or manipulation of the results, which is why users havecome to trust Google as a source of objective information untainted by paid placement.

Hypertext-Matching Analysis Google analyzes the actual content on a web page too.

However, instead of scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishersthrough meta-tags), Google’s technology analyzes the full content of a page and also factors in fonts,subdivisions of content and the precise location of each word. This is another reason why Google’ssearch technology is so effective.

But that’s not all — Google also analyzes the content of “neighboring web pages” to ensure theresults returned are the most relevant to a user’s query.

Google pioneered the first wireless search technology for on-the-fly translation of HTML toformats optimized for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), i-mode, J-SKY, and EZWeb.

Google provides its wireless technology to AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, Nextel, Palm, Handspring,and Vodafone, among others.

Life of a Google Query A typical Google search query usually takes less than a half a second., It involves a number of

steps that must be completed before results can be delivered to a person seeking information.

1. The web server sends the query to the indexservers. An index server is similar to the index inthe back of a book — it tells which pages containthe words that match the query.

2. The query then travels tothe doc servers, which actuallyretrieves the stored documents.Snippets are generated todescribe each search result.

3. The searchresults arereturned to the user in asplit second.

QueryGoogle Web Server

Docs Servers

GoogleUser

Index Servers

Using Google to Generate Monster Traffic to Your Website There are two main ways of utilizing Google to generate monster traffic to your Website.

1) Website URL submission into the Google indexThis may be the most overlooked aspect of tapping into the power of Google — and it’s free!You simply submit your website URL into Google’s database. If accepted (and most sites are)your website will be scheduled for a “crawling” by a Google spider. Once your site is“crawled” it will be added into the Google index database.

When a user searches Google the search results will “pick up” the “meta tag” keywords anddescription that are built in your website code (HTML, PHP, FrontPage, etc.).

For example: If some searches for “Main Street Imports” and those keywords are used inyour website meta tags — that page will appear.

That doesn’t mean this page will necessarily appear on the first search result page. Theremay be thousands of other people and companies that have used these exact keywords.

Therefore selecting the right keywords, phrases and description for your site is of the utmost importance.

2) Purchase targeted keywords and phrases with Google AdWords This is perhaps the most popular tool for generating monster traffic to your website with Google.

Google AdWords enables you to “bid” on and purchase specific, targeted keywords andphrases. The cost for each keyword or phrase varies depending on popularity and availability.

When a user searches Google utilizing one of the keywords or phrases that you havepurchased — your advertisement will appear on the right hand side of the search resultpages. You will see these listed vertically on the right hand side of the search result pages.There are typically 8-10 Google AdWord advertisements displayed on each search result page.

For example: If a user searches for “Persian rugs” and you own that phrase your AdWordadvertisement will be featured at the top of the vertical list.

You can see why thousands of entrepreneurs are bidding on tens of thousands of keywordsand phrases everyday!

A top Google AdWord advertisement could generate thousands of click thrus to your websiteeveryday — or in some cases hundreds of thousands, or even millions!

It’s important to remember that Google is searched more than 255 million times a day!

Using Other Monster Traffic Generators In addition to Google, there are hundreds of other top search engines, portals and websites that

can generate monster traffic to your website.

Granted, advertising on hundreds of search engines, portals and high traffic websites can be costly.

However, in most cases you can set “caps” on the amount you are willing and able to spend — if anything.

What’s more, you can “test” to see which search engines, portals and high-traffic websitesgenerate the most traffic at least expense.





Testing is a common practice of the most successful direct marketers and entrepreneurs.

Once you have identified the best search engines, portals and high-traffic websites for yourpurposes you can “roll out” very successful, and relatively inexpensive “campaigns”.

Here is a List of the 100 Top Traffic Websiteson the Internet (as of this writing):

(Courtesy of Alexa Internet)

1. Yahoo!Personalized content and search options. Chat rooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager.www.yahoo.com

2. Microsoft Network (MSN)Dialup access and content provider.www.msn.com

3. GoogleEnables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. www.google.com

4. Baidu.comhttp://www.baidu.com

5. QQ.comhttp://www.qq.com

6. MySpacehttp://www.myspace.com

7. Sina.comhttp://www.sina.com

8. Yahoo! Japanhttp://www.yahoo.co.jp

9. 163.comhttp://www.163.com

10. eBayhttp://www.ebay.com

11. Sohuhttp://www.sohu.com

12. Yahoo! Chinahttp://www.yahoo.com.cn

13. Live.comhttp://www.live.com

http://www.yahoo.com

http://www.msn.com

http://www.google.com

http://www.baidu.com

http://www.qq.com

http://www.myspace.com

http://www.sina.com

http://www.yahoo.co.jp

http://www.163.com

http://www.ebay.com

http://www.sohu.com

http://www.yahoo.com.cn

http://www.live.com

14. Microsofthttp://www.microsoft.com

15. Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com

16. YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com

17. Wikipediahttp://www.wikipedia.org

18. Passport.nethttp://www.passport.net

19. Blogger.comhttp://www.blogger.com

20. Google UKhttp://www.google.co.uk

21. Taobao.comhttp://www.taobao.com

22. Google Japanhttp://www.google.co.jp

23. BBC Newsline Tickerhttp://www.bbc.co.uk

24. Orkuthttp://www.orkut.com

25. Google Germanyhttp://www.google.de

26. Gohttp://www.go.com

27. Naver.comhttp://www.naver.com

28. CNNhttp://www.cnn.com

29. CraigsListhttp://www.craigslist.org

30. Alibaba.comhttp://www.alibaba.com



http://www.microsoft.com

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.youtube.com

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://www.passport.net

http://www.blogger.com

http://www.google.co.uk

http://www.taobao.com

http://www.google.co.jp

http://www.bbc.co.uk

http://www.orkut.com

http://www.google.de

http://www.go.com

http://www.naver.com

http://www.cnn.com

http://www.craigslist.org




31. Tom.comhttp://www.tom.com

32. Wretchhttp://www.wretch.com

33. RapidSharehttp://www.rapidshare.de

34. The Internet Movie Databasehttp://www.imdb.com

35. AOLhttp://www.aol.com

36. eBay UK http://www.ebay.co.uk

37. Mixihttp://www.mixi.jp

38. Google Espanahttp://www.google.es

39. 3721http://www.3721.com

40. Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com

41. Xangahttp://www.xanga.com

42. SOGOU.comhttp://www.sogou.com

43. Google Turkeyhttp://www.google.com.tr

44. Megauploadhttp://www.megaupload.com

45. Friendsterhttp://www.friendster.com

46. Rakutenhttp://www.rakuten.co.jp

47. Google Francehttp://www.google.fr

http://www.tom.com

http://www.wretch.com

http://www.rapidshare.de

http://www.imdb.com

http://www.aol.com

http://www.ebay.co.uk

http://www.mixi.jp

http://www.google.es

http://www.3721.com

http://www.flickr.com

http://www.xanga.com

http://www.sogou.com

http://www.google.com.tr

http://www.megaupload.com

http://www.friendster.com

http://www.rakuten.co.jp

http://www.google.fr

48. Google Canadahttp://www.google.ca

49. Mail.ruhttp://www.mail.ru

50. Yandexhttp://www.yandex.ru

51. Nate.comhttp://www.nate.com

52. Daumhttp://www.daum.com

53. Livedoorhttp://www.livedoor.com

54. Geocitieshttp://www.geocities.com

55. Hi5http://www.hi5.com

56. Google SAhttp://www.google.com.sa

57. PC Homehttp://www.pchome.com.tw

58. China Renhttp://www.chinaren.com

59. Newsgroup.lahttp://www.newsgroup.la

60. Google Indiahttp://www.google.co.in

61. LiveJournalhttp://www.livejournal.com

62. Sosohttp://www.soso.com

63. eBay Germanyhttp://www.ebay.de

64. Thefacebookhttp://www.thefacebook.com



http://www.google.ca

http://www.mail.ru

http://www.yandex.ru

http://www.nate.com

http://www.daum.com

http://www.livedoor.com

http://www.geocities.com

http://www.hi5.com

http://www.google.com.sa

http://www.pchome.com.tw

http://www.chinaren.com

http://www.newsgroup.la

http://www.google.co.in

http://www.livejournal.com

http://www.soso.com

http://www.ebay.de

http://www.thefacebook.com

65. Apple Computerhttp://www.apple.com

66. Rediff.comhttp://www.rediff.com

67. Zhongsouhttp://www.zhongsou.com

68. Comcast.nethttp://www.comcast.net

69. Discuss.comhttp://www.discuss.com.hk

70. Google Mexicohttp://www.google.com.mx

71. Photo Buckethttp://www.photobucket.com

72. ImageShackhttp://www.imageshack.com

73. The New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com

74. eBay Chinahttp://www.ebay.com.cn

75. Mop.comhttp://www.mop.com

76. Fotologhttp://www.fotolog.com

77. SourceForgehttp://www.sourceforge.com

78. Abouthttp://www.about.com

79. CNET.comhttp://www.cnet.com

80. Xinhuanet.comhttp://www.xinhuanet.com

81. Google Italyhttp://www.google.it



http://www.apple.com

http://www.rediff.com

http://www.zhongsou.com

http://www.comcast.net

http://www.discuss.com.hk

http://www.google.com.mx

http://www.photobucket.com

http://www.imageshack.com

http://www.nytimes.com

http://www.ebay.com.cn

http://www.mop.com

http://www.fotolog.com

http://www.sourceforge.com

http://www.about.com

http://www.cnet.com

http://www.xinhuanet.com

http://www.google.it



82. Dell Computers Onlinehttp://www.dell.com

83. Mojo Workshttp://www.mojoworks.com

84. Soufun.comhttp://www.soufun.com

85. China.comhttp://www.china.com

86. Uwants.comhttp://www.uwants.com

87. FC2http://www.fc2.com

88. Freehttp://www.free.fr

89. MapQuesthttp://www.mapquest.com

90. StatCounterhttp://www.statcounter.com

91. VNET.cnhttp://www.vnet.cn

92. Google Australiahttp://www.google.com.au

93. Weather.comhttp://www.weather.com

94. Goohttp://www.goo.ne.jp

95. Adobehttp://www.adobe.com

96. CNNIChttp://www.cnnic.cn

97. Digghttp://www.digg.com

98. 21CN.comhttp://www.21cn.com

http://www.dell.com

http://www.mojoworks.com

http://www.soufun.com

http://www.china.com

http://www.uwants.com

http://www.fc2.com

http://www.free.fr

http://www.mapquest.com

http://www.statcounter.com

http://www.vnet.cn

http://www.google.com.au

http://www.weather.com

http://www.goo.ne.jp

http://www.adobe.com

http://www.cnnic.cn

http://www.digg.com

http://www.21cn.com



99. CMFUhttp://www.cmfu.com

100. HiNethttp://www.hinet.net

Four Ways to Generate Monster Traffic From High Traffic Websites

1) AdvertiseAlmost every high-traffic website, search engine and/or portal accepts all levels of advertising,

with the exception of shopping sites (like Wal-Mart). Advertising can take the form of simple textlinks, banners, graphic buttons, images or pop-ups, and video.

2) Partnerships and Affiliate ProgramsMost search engines, portals and high-traffic websites have partnership and affiliate programs

available. A partnership program would include cross marketing, link exchanges and/or promotingeach other’s properties. Affiliate programs are typically when you sell someone’s products or serviceson your website and in exchange receive a commission or promotional credit.

3) Link ExchangesLink exchanges are the process whereby you promote a search engine, portal or high-traffic

site’s products and or services on a website. In turn the reciprocating property does the exact samething for you. In many cases it’s simply an agreement to a graphic image or logo that is assigned to aunique URL.

4) In kind services (usually content or images)In kind exchanges is an agreement whereby a search engine, portal or high traffic website agrees

to promote your website or company in exchange for an article, content or images that you provide.

You now have a basic understanding of how Google works. This will help you leverage Google’sproducts and drive traffic to your website with a view to increasing sales of imported products.

We also included links to the Top 100 Highest Traffic Websites and Portals on the Internet andshowed you how to create partnerships with these sites and leverage their traffic for your benefit.

In the next chapter we’ll begin laying the foundation for your successful import/export business.We’ll explain all of the nuts and bolts for getting your business off to a fast, profitable start!

http://www.cmfu.com

http://www.hinet.net


CHAPTER 6: The Nuts and Bolts of an Online Import/Export Business

CHAPTER 6

The Nuts and Bolts of an Online Import/Export Business

We have been focusing most of our attention on the incredible opportunities offered byAlibaba.com.

But there are hundreds of different typesof import/export sites on the Internet.

We have listed many of these in the Additional Resources Section (chapters 22 and 23).

But the process of launching an online import and export business will be basically the same.

This section is designed to give you a nuts and bolts overview for starting an online import andexport business.

What Is an Alibaba.com Buyer and Seller? Sellers (or exporters) post his or her company information and product photos (together

with descriptions, specifications, shipping terms, etc.) on Alibaba.com.

Selling OverviewPlease follow the steps below to sell your products on Alibaba.com.

1. RegisterTo sell or promote your products on Alibaba.com, you first need to become a member. Simply

click on the “Join Now” link on the top-right corner of any Alibaba.com page and follow the process.Then you can promote your products to attract buyers.

2. Post Products and Selling LeadsYou can add detailed specifications to your products and edit them at any time. You will also have

a Company Profile page to present a general introduction of your business. Newly posted informationwill be added to the Trade Alert section and sent to interested buyers.

3. Explore Buying LeadsBrowse buying requests (Buying Leads) by category or open searching.

4. Contact buyersOnce you find a potential buyer for your products, you can contact him/her by sending a

quotation.

5. Promotion OpportunitiesYou can also promote your business on Alibaba.com by:

Obtaining the priority listing for products in search result listings.

Applying for TrustPass qualification, as well as a TrustPass profile page to furtherdemonstrate your credibility to buyers.

Posting Products and Selling LeadsPosting your product images, specifications and descriptions on Alibaba.com increases your

exposure to buyers. On Alibaba.com, a member can post multiple products.

Selling Lead means a Trade Lead posted by a seller. It can contain product information,availability, timelines and so forth. Trade Leads are sorted according to the date they are posted. Thismakes for a highly interactive and timely method to sell your products.

Posting Trade LeadsUse Selling Tools within MyAlibaba or from other pages by clicking on the “Post Products” link in

the “Seller Tools” box.

Free members are allowed to post up to five products. Paid members can post more products andbuy extra product spaces.

Posting ProductsYou can post Selling Leads in “Selling Tools” within My Alibaba, or from many other pages by

clicking on the “Post Selling Leads” link in the “Seller Tools” box.

Upon publication, buyers will be able to see your Products and Selling Leads, to which they canreply. All of the buyers’ messages will be sent to your own Message Center in MyAlibaba.

Buying OverviewBuying on Alibaba.com is easy. Follow these steps to begin your buying experience:

If you are new to Alibaba.com, Join as an Alibaba.com member first

Look for Products and Suppliers

Contact Sellers after you find products

Post Buying Leads to get instant seller quotations

Looking for Products and SuppliersIf you want to find a product, or the suppliers who produce that product, you can use either our

search function or browse by category.



Browsing Click the “Buy” tab on the main navigation bar on any page.

You can browse the extensive product categories to find whatever you want.

Use the filters above the listing to refine your browse.

To see the product categories, click here

Search Basics If you already know what you are looking for, enter the product name in a search box to start

a search.

The results will look like this:

They will include the title, the posted date, summary, the company name of the seller, its country,and the icon(s) denoting the membership type(s) of the seller.

The results are sorted by relevance and by membership type.

Use the filters above the listing to refine your search results.

Search Tips To refine your search results, use the filters above the listing.

If the results are unsatisfactory, reduce the number of words (i.e. “bicycle framework”instead of “carbon bicycle frame work”).

Avoid keywords which are too specific or specialized (i.e. “4X4 Honda ATV”).

Only search one product at a time.

Don’t include a country/region’s name in your search (i.e. “shoe China”).

Don’t include the word “buyer” or “seller” in your keyword phrase (for example: “shoe buyer”).

Get More Accurate Search Results Use asterisk (*) sign: To broaden your search, use an asterisk (*) at the end of a word or

partial word. For example, “auto*” would return all postings starting with “auto”, such as“auto” or “automobile” or “automation”, etc.

Use quotation marks (“ “): For exact results, use quotation marks (e.g., “ac adapter”). If theresults are not satisfactory, try again without quotation marks (e.g., ac adapter).

Use plus (+) sign: When using the operator “+” a keyword will definitely appear in the search



results (i.e. “red+apple” will return results containing “apple,” but may not contain “red,”although those with the word “red” will be listed first.) Please note: Do not leave any spacesbetween the “+” sign and the keyword.

Use minus (-) sign: When using the operator “-” sign, a keyword will not appear in thesearch results. (i.e. “apple-red” will return all results containing “apple”, but no resultscontaining “red” will appear.) Please note: Do not leave any spaces between the - sign andthe keyword.

Remember, make sure that no punctuation marks except +, -, and “ “ are included in yourkeyword phrase (i.e. bearing 3000/sec).

Contacting Suppliers

Sending Inquiries You can send inquiries to sellers you find through browse or search. Use these steps:

Select the checkbox beside each product or supplier you are interested in

Click button.

Complete the inquiry form and submit.

If you check more than one product or supplier, your inquiries will be sent to thesesuppliers simultaneously.

Once you send out your inquiry, it will probably take sellers a few days to respond. Theirreplies will be sent to your Message Center in MyAlibaba.

Send Multiple Inquiries to Products or Suppliers Select the checkbox beside each product or supplier you are interested in.

Click button.

When you are ready to make your inquiry, go to the Inquiry Basket located at the top-rightcorner of each page.

Review your selection and click “Contact Now” button.

Complete the inquiry form and submit.

Your Inquiry Basket works like a shopping cart, thus offering buyers greater convenience. You canadd up to 38 items in your Inquiry Basket. The items in your Inquiry Basket will remain active only ifyou keep at least one Alibaba.com page open. Please send your inquiries before you leave theAlibaba.com website.

Trade AlertTrade Alert is a customized email that delivers information and business leads directly to you.

Subscribe to Trade Alert to get the freshest business opportunities.

Subscribing to Trade AlertIf you are already an Alibaba.com member, please sign in at MyAlibaba go to “My Subscriptions,”

and click “Subscribe.”



Follow the instructions to set up your Trade Alert preferences. Once you have completed theprocess, you will receive Trade Alerts by email as soon as new content matching your preferences ispublished online at Alibaba.com.

If you are not yet an Alibaba.com member, you are strongly recommended to join Alibaba.comand subscribe to the Trade Alert located in MyAlibaba as described above. Or, if you choose tosubscribe to Trade Alert as a non-member, please click “Free Trade Alerts” in the navigation bar of“Trade Leads — Products — Companies.” Follow the instructions and complete the process.

Adjusting Trade Alert SettingsIf you are already an Alibaba.com member, please sign in at MyAlibaba, go to “My Subscriptions,”

and click “Manage Trade Alerts.” Follow the instructions to modify your Trade Alert settings. You canalso go to the “Manage Trade Alerts” page in MyAlibaba by clicking the “Manage Trade AlertsPreferences” link in any of the Trade Alert emails you receive at your registered email address.

If you have subscribed as a non-member, you cannot modify any setting.

Un-subscribing to Trade AlertIf you are already an Alibaba.com member, please sign in at MyAlibaba, go to “My Subscriptions,”

and click “Unsubscribe.”

Simply follow the instructions to unsubscribe. You may also unsubscribe by clicking the“Unsubscribe” link in any of the Trade Alert emails you receive at your registered email address.

If you are not an Alibaba.com member, you can unsubscribe only by clicking the “Unsubscribe”link in any of the Trade Alert emails you received at your registered email address.

You now have a basic understanding and foundation for doing business on Alibaba.com andlaunching a profitable import/export business.

In the next chapter we’ll cover one of the most important aspects to any import/export business— identifying the best products!




CHAPTER 7: How to Determine Which Products to Import/Export

CHAPTER 7

How to Determine Which Products to Import/Export

The best way to determine which products to import or export is to look at the Trade Leads onAlibaba.com.

The Trade Leads will tell you which products are in demand for and which products are not.

An example: There were 48,365 Selling Trade Leads and 3687 Buying Trade Leads posted onAlibaba.com today.

That means more than 48,000 products were posted for sale and 3687 products were posted thatpeople or companies wanted to buy.

Both of these figures may be misleading because the quantities of these products are not mentioned.

In one case an exporter had more than one million cubic bushels of rice for sale!

In another post, a company in Mexico had more than 5,000 pounds of fresh coffee beans for sale.

Alibaba.com is one of the best sites on the Internet to determine which products to buy and sellbecause the statistics are always posted on the main page.

But let’s take this one step further…

There’s another section on Alibaba.com called Hot Products. The reason these products are “hot” is because they’re moving in a big way.

For instance, in the Hot Products section today there were more than 253 products for sale, oneof which was Dried Anchovies from China.

Another Hot Product that a company (also in China) wanted to buy was seashell ornaments(bracelets, necklaces, and so on).

And the list goes on!

To help you even further, Alibaba.com has launched a new service called the Resources Channel.

The Resources Channel is a place where you can find essential information, education, tutorialsand discussion forums — all designed to help you become a successful importer or exporter.

Another way to determine hot products and rising trends is by subscribing to News Alerts onGoogle. Whenever news is available on the topics or keywords you select you are notified by email

with a link to the story or news source. The Google News Alert service is free and scours more than4800 top news sources. You will hear news long before your local newspaper prints it. You cansubscribe to the Google News Alert at http://www.google.com/alerts


CHAPTER 7: How to Determine Which Products to Import/Export

http://www.google.com/alerts


CHAPTER 8: Obtaining Products from Overseas Manufacturers for the Wholesale Market

CHAPTER 8

Obtaining Products from Overseas Manufacturers for the Wholesale Market

Obtaining products from overseas manufacturers is fairly easy to do — and especially withAlibaba.com.

The most common reasons for obtaining products from overseas manufacturers is to wholesalethem to companies in other parts of the world.

This is another exciting aspect to running a profitable import and export business over the Internet.

Your objective is to identify companies that need specific products and then identify themanufacturers that produce them.

This is referred to as the “wholesale side” of the import/export market.

For example: Let’s say that you identified a company in Zimbabwe that needs 900 tons of maizeevery month for 12 months.

This was an actual “buying lead” on Alibaba.com this morning.

The next step would to identify a company that grows or produces maize. The company could belocated anywhere in the world — it doesn’t matter in this case.

A simple search of “selling leads” on Alibaba.com located several companies that grow and export maize. Upon further investigation you learn that three companies are able to fulfill an order of900 tons per month.

You would contact the company in order to obtain a price quote that includes shipping.

Once you’ve obtained this price quote you would notify the company in Zimbabwe that youwould like to submit a bid — they accept your bid and you reach an agreement.

Now arrangements will need to be made with regards to money transfers and shipping.

There are several ways to approach this but either way Aliabab.com makes it easy – andespecially with the new TrustPass Program. The TrustPass Program pre-approves companies andobtains letters of credit and references.

In this example we used two companies (buyers and sellers) that we listed on Alibaba.com.

But believe it or not, most business people have never even heard of Alibaba.com…which makesyou — with your business expertise and knowledge — even more desirable and unique.

Let’s say, for example, that you’ve located companies in China, Australia, Brazil Egypt or UnitedArab Emirates that are not familiar with Alibaba.com.

The companies that you’ve identified need certain products — in this case, dairy products.

All you need to do is search the selling leads on Alibaba.com for dairy products.

You find a company that manufactures all kinds of dairy products and is able to ship them viarefrigerated containers to anywhere in the world.

Next you check back with the companies that need dairy products and find out specifically whichdairy products they need, and how much.

Then contact the selling lead for a specific price quote that includes shipping and any other fees.

Finally, you would contact the company that needs the dairy products and you submit your bid.

But remember — you’re in the import/export business to make money — so be sure to increasethe price of your dairy product bid by at least 15%.

Obviously a 15% surcharge or commission will not be suitable for every product and every dealthat you transact.

But in this case, a 15% surcharge or commission seems to be very reasonable.

In some cases, you will be able to charge a 40% surcharge or more!

It will take some time for you to learn the specifics for each product and market you’re involvedin, but with experience, you’ll find it’s easier and easier.

Payment Transactions and Money ExchangesAgain, Alibaba.com makes payment transactions easy and in most cases very simple.

The best thing to do is to open a bank account specifically earmarked for your import/exportbusiness.

Once the account is opened you can ask your bank representative for the wire transfer details.

[Note: If the bank representative is clueless about wire transfers then you’re at the wrong bank orit’s too small or unable to handle international transactions.]

Top International Banks that Offer Wire Transfer Capabilities

Barclayshttp://www.barclays.com

Wells Fargohttp://www.wellsfargo.com

Bank of Americahttp://www.bankofamerica.com



http://www.barclays.com

http://www.wellsfargo.com

http://www.bankofamerica.com



CitiGrouphttp://www.citigroup.com

HSBC Holdingshttp://www.hsbc.com

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.http://www.smbc.co.jp

National Australia Bank http://www.national.com.au

Dresdner Bank AGhttp://www.dresdner-bank.com/

UBS Grouphttp://www.ubs.com

Royal Bank of Canadahttp://www.royalbank.com

Bank Leumihttp://english.leumi.co.il

Once you have an account that can accept wire transfers you can start making deals.

Most of the time a portion of the money is set-aside in a type of escrow (you’ll learn more aboutthis later). Escrow is a fairly common procedure when it comes to international business — andspecifically with respect to import/export businesses.

The escrow procedure protects both parties should something unexpected transpire.

For example, let’s say that you’ve completed your first deal. A portion of the money is wired intoyour account. The remaining portion will be wired once the buyer receives the product.

But what if the boat carrying the product capsizes in the North Atlantic due to a horrendousstorm. The entire product onboard is lost. Who pays?

There are provisions in every import/export deal and agreement that specifically address suchunfortunate circumstance.

You can see that obtaining products from overseas manufacturers can be fun, easy and very profitable.

In the example of the buyer who was interested in obtaining maize — the profit would haveworked out as follows:

BuyerAgrees to purchase 900 pounds of maize at 70 cents per pound ($630) for 12 months (for a total of

$7,560 plus $1,950 for shipping).

SellerAgrees to sell 900 pounds of maize to you for 45 cents per pound ($405) for 12 months (for a total

of $4,860 plus $1,950 for shipping).

http://www.citigroup.com

http://www.hsbc.com

http://www.smbc.co.jp

http://www.national.com.au

http://www.dresdner-bank.com

http://www.ubs.com

http://www.royalbank.com

http://english.leumi.co.il

Buyer agrees to wire half of the amount that you quoted into your account ($3,780) — you inturn wire half of the amount the Seller quoted to you ($2,430).

Buyer agrees to wire the remaining amount in full upon receipt of the first shipment (termsobviously will vary) — which in this case would $3,780.

Your profit would calculate as follows:

Buyer Quote and Agreed Upon Purchase Price: $7,580 (+ shipping)

Seller Quote and Agreed Upon Selling Price: $4,860 (+shipping)

Your Profit: $2,720

Not bad for a couple of emails and/or phone calls!

But keep in mind this is a very small deal. There are thousands of deals like this waiting to becompleted with your name of them!

The wholesale side of any import/export business can be very profitable.

On top of that, the size of the deals can be significant.

Obtaining products from overseas manufacturers is fairly easy to do with Alibaba.com. The mostcommon reason for obtaining products from overseas manufacturers is to wholesale them tocompanies in other parts of the world.

In the next chapter we’ll show you the secrets for reselling imported products on the Internet.




CHAPTER 9: Reselling Products on the Internet

CHAPTER 9

Reselling Products on the InternetYou can import products incredibly cheap and sell them on the Internet with profit margins of

200%, 400%, 600% or more!

Here’s a List of 40 Best Selling Products Priced under $45 on the Froogle

(Google’s shopping site)

These are generally accepted prices that you could expect to pay when importing these products in bulk:

Under $45 Import PriceOptical mouse $1.95Crème brulee torch $7.50Glow stick $.22Pond pumps $8.00Emerald ring $2.50Chopsticks $.14

Forceps $1.95Docking station $2.25Cargo pants $5.00Whey protein powder $.90 lbBuffalo meat $.80 lbLow rise jeans $3.40Olive oil $6.00 galRunning shoes $3.35 prBumper stickers $.27 ea (unprinted)Skim board $1.98Viagra $.65 tablet/genericMp3 player $6.65Lawn gnome $2.25Vitamins $1.55 bottleHerbs and extracts Varies



Belly button rings $1.90Climbing shoes $2.90 prLadder $4.00Blow dryer $3.95Hearthrug $2.00 eaCD burner $6.25Spa pump $12.75Sigma lens VariesStationary bike $22Flip flops $.95 prGold chain VariesMakeup $1.65 ct mascara USB $2.85CD writer $6.25Aviator sunglasses $1.55Men’s watches $2.90Sheepskin boots $3.95 prBalloons $.35 dzMoney clip $.45

The profit potential for selling products like these on the Internet is staggering!

Granted, in some cases you will need to purchase bulk quantities (but not always), so you’ll wantto be sure that you can move a particular product.

There are powerful resources on the Internet available to Import/Export entrepreneurs that willhelp you determine which products require that you purchase them in bulk or not.

If you’re selling into a hot market, like the products listed above, you don’t want to have a hugestockpile or inventory.

Wal-Mart is the Largest Retailer in the World because of Their Unique “On-Demand” Inventory and

Distribution System — Not because of Low Pricing.The secret to success online is selling products that are already successful.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel — or try selling products that do not have a track record.

Granted, there are a lot of products that became overnight sensations on the Internet, like iPod,Viagra, Red Sox apparel and memorabilia, CD burners, LCD screens and Coral Calcium.

But to predict these phenomena and stockpile huge inventories would not have been prudent.

The best and most profitable way to sell products on the Internet is to import products at deepdiscounts and maintain very small inventories.

Always keep in mind that markets and the demand for products shift quickly.

In order to resell products on the Internet you’ll need a website where people will visit to find outabout your products and order.

There are many ways to approach this part of the import/export business but starting small andas inexpensively as possible is always a good rule of thumb.

How to Design a Website so It Generates the Most Possible Sales

The best examples of successful website designs are the ones that are generating sales!

Copy success.

Copy the design, layout, navigation and ordering process of the websites that are selling the mostproducts on the Internet.

Granted, you may not have the same budget as Amazon.com, Buy.com or Overstock.com soduplicating these websites might appear to be difficult.

But remember, all these sites started out small.

Amazon.com consisted of less than 75 pages when it launched in 1998. Today there arethousands of pages of reviews, product photos, content and recommendations.

You’ll want to copy the “essence” of what makes these websites so effective with respect to sellingproducts on the Internet.

Here are the Top 10 Websites for Shopping on the Internetaccording to Alexa Internet:

Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com

eBay (eBay doesn’t actually sell any products — but they facilitate sales – it’s still a good model)http://www.ebay.com

Overstock.comhttp://www.overstock.com

Wal-Marthttp://www.wal-mart.com

Yahoo! Auctionshttp://www.yahoo.com

Targethttp://www.target.com




http://www.ebay.com

http://www.overstock.com

http://www.wal-mart.com


http://www.target.com

BestBuyhttp://www.bestbuy.com

Netflixhttp://www.netflix.com

eBay Storeshttp://stores.ebay.com

Buy.comhttp://www.buy.com

What do these websites have in common?

1) White space! All of these sites surround products with a lot of white space, which makes iteasy to see the products.

2) High quality product photographs!

3) Easy Ordering and Checkout!

If you keep these 3 things in mind when you’re designing a website to sell products on theInternet you will be light years ahead of the competition.

In one sense these sites are not good examples because they present HUGE inventories ofproducts.

In most cases it’s better to focus on one product or sector when you’re first starting out. This willhelp to simplify your business, the importing process, and shipping orders.

It will also make it easy for your customers to place an order!

Here are 10 Successful Niche Product Websites:

Delorme Mapshttp://www.delorme.com

Sunglass Replicashttp://www.sunglassreplicas.com

Vitamin Worldhttp://www.vitaminworld.com

Body Candy (belly button rings)http://www.bodycandy.com

Neato (blank media and CDs)http://www.neato.com

Glenbrook Farms (organic herbs)http://www.glenbrookfarm.com/herbs



http://www.bestbuy.com

http://www.netflix.com

http://stores.ebay.com

http://www.buy.com

http://www.delorme.com

http://www.sunglassreplicas.com

http://www.vitaminworld.com

http://www.bodycandy.com

http://www.neato.com

http://www.glenbrookfarm.com/herbs

Fragrance Net (perfume)http://www.fragrancenet.com

800-Pillowshttp://www.800pillows.com

HealthyPetNethttp://www.healthypetnet.com

Christmas Ornamentshttp://www.bronners.com

You don’t need to design or build websites yourself — hire freelance contractors to do it for you!In most cases the designers and developers that you find on these sites are very reasonably priced.

Additional Website Design and Developer Resources to Help Your Business

Guru.comhttp://www.guru.com

eLancehttp://www.elance.com

CraigsList (Computer Services)http://www.craigslist.com

ScriptLance.comhttp://www.scriptlance.com

GetAFreelancerhttp://www.getafreelancer.com

One of the best do-it-yourself website design software tools is XSitePro http://www.xsitepro.com

In the next chapter we’ll show you how to import products for the retail market.



http://www.fragrancenet.com

http://www.800pillows.com

http://www.healthypetnet.com

http://www.bronners.com

http://www.guru.com

http://www.elance.com

http://www.craigslist.com

http://www.scriptlance.com

http://www.getafreelancer.com

http://www.xsitepro.com


CHAPTER 10: Wholesaling Products to Retailers

CHAPTER 10

Wholesaling Products to RetailersThere are more than 2.6 million retail gift stores in the United States and Canada, according to

InfoUSA.

The profit potential for importers is staggering!

Granted, most retail business owners prefer to purchase products from companies they’veworked with in the past and people they have relationships with.

But that’s true with almost every business in existence.

However, very few retail business owners will pass up the opportunity to make more money, andthat’s what you bring to the table.

Retail business owners will tell you which products they are most interested in receiving quotes for.

You can scour Alibaba.com for those products, obtain a quote from the exporting company, andin turn submit a quote to your retailing customer.

For example, one of the largest and most successful international gift shows for retailers today is the New York International Gift Fair. There are more than 2,800 exhibitors and 45,000 attendees.Most of the attendees are retail business owners and chains.

New York International Gift Fair http://www.nyigf.com

Most of the attendees would be very responsive to receiving quotes for products from you.

One of the hottest product sectors in the retail industry is known as Home goods.

Home goods include home improvement products, furniture, consumer electronics and home fashions.

The service you can provide to retail businesses is invaluable. You can obtain products for thesecompanies at a fraction of what they’re currently paying.

On top of that, retail business owners won’t have to replace their current product wholesalers —which is a great selling point and a unique proposition.

If you focus on the retailer’s customer and hot products you will have more business than youcould possibly handle.

What’s more, you won’t have to compete with the importers that work with the retail giants(unless you want to).

In most cases, the small to medium-sized retailers will be your target market.

http://www.nyigf.com

Here’s a list of the products that retail gift stores purchase on a regular basis (according to RetailNet):

20-ounce tumblers (for drinking) Tortilla makers

Espresso makers Splatter screen (for cooking)

Ice cube trays Wood salad bowls

Wood handle barbeque brush Colored pencils

Sidewalk chalk Giant coloring books

Flashing necklace CD lens cleaner

Batteries Balloons

Birthday party supplies Fly swatters

Emergency rain ponchos Men’s personal electronic trimmer

Scissors Beach mat

Camping knife Hands free cell phone headset

Pet toys Painted vase

Retail News indicated recently that there are more than 22,000 products sold in retail businessaround the world!

The opportunities for import entrepreneurs who want to sell products to retail business ownersare unlimited.

What’s more, you can start out small, with almost no capital, and build your business part-time.

Additional resources

Retail Industry http://retailindustry.com

Retail Forward http://www.retailforward.com

RetailNethttp://www.retailnet.com

Chain Store Agehttp://www.chainstoreage.com

The Retail Bulletin (UK news)http://www.theretailbulletin.com



http://retailindustry.com

http://www.retailforward.com

http://www.retailnet.com

http://www.chainstoreage.com

http://www.theretailbulletin.com

Retailer Managementhttp://www.retailernews.com/archives.html

America’s Gift Show (excellent online resource for importers and retailers)http://www.americasgiftshow.com

NRF Annual Conference and EXPO (The BIG Retail Event)http://nrfannual06.expoexchange.com

Approaching retailers is easy! The best prospects will be the retailers that already purchaseproducts from importers, or wholesalers.

In addition to the resources listed above you can also contact mailing list brokers that specializein managing lists of retail business owners. A quick search on the Internet or Yellow Pages willproduce hundreds of potential brokers.

Once you have obtained a mailing list of retail business owners you can send them a simple letterof introduction. Almost everyone in business today has a website. You can include your websiteaddress in your letter. If you don’t have a website that won’t be a problem. You can build and post oneon the Internet in no time flat. We’ve included some resources below to help you do just that.

Here is a sample letter that could be used when contacting retail business owners:

Premium Gift Wholesale Co.

361 Ocean DriveSuite 322Miami FL 33139

Date

Ms Jessica DoeXYZ Retail1111 Jackson Blvd.Kansas City KS

Dear Ms Doe:

My name is John Brown. I’m the founder and President of the Premium Gift Company in Miami, Florida.

We import thousands of products and gift items from around the world, and wholesale them toretailers at deep discounts.

I’ve been to your website — so I’m familiar with your products and customers.

Would you be open to reviewing some of our products and prices?

No one will call you (unless you want us to)!



http://www.retailernews.com/archives.html

http://www.americasgiftshow.com

http://nrfannual06.expoexchange.com

You can submit your request for specific products/prices via our website, email, fax or 24 hourvoice mail system.

We’ve been in business since 2002 — and we currently serve 103 retail businesses just like yours.

We would love an opportunity to be of service to you!

Please call, write or stop by our website today.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

John BrownPremium Gift Wholesale Co.http://www.premiumgiftwholesale.com(800) xxx [email protected]

P.S. We offer free shipping to your business for the first 6 months. That means there are NOshipping charges whatsoever for the first 6 months. All the more reason to give us a try!

In the next chapter we’ll show you how to become an import middleman!



http://www.premiumgiftwholesale.com

mailto:[email protected]


CHAPTER 11: How to Become an Import/Export Middleman

CHAPTER 11

How to Become an Import/Export MiddlemanWe’ve discussed obtaining products from overseas manufacturers for the wholesale market in

Chapter 8.

But there’s another twist to an import/export business — and that is becoming a “middleman.”

This is the part of the business that enables you to compete with other importers and exports formajor multimillion-dollar deals.

The learning curve may be a bit steeper than other aspects of an import/export business — butthe rewards and benefits are greater as well.

Many countries and companies have insatiable appetites for thousands of different types of products.

For example, there are companies that import millions of cubic tons of soybeans, tea, coffee,corn, wheat, steel, coal, copper, zinc and aluminum.

Often times the purchasing directors place orders directly with manufacturers in other parts ofthe world.

The problem is, although they purchase millions of cubic tons of product, in some cases theyneed more — a lot more!

That’s where you come in!

You will simply identify the companies that are importing the largest quantities of products andthen find secondary suppliers for them.

For instance, listed as a Buying Lead on Alibaba.com is a company in Singapore interested in25,000 metric tons of Wheat (Durum).

Singapore imports tens of millions of metric tons of wheat every year. They’re buying it from someone!

All you need to do is locate a company that is able to fulfill this request.

You could work on a retainer or commission basis to begin with if you don’t have the capital to“float” deals this size.

In other words, you would locate a company that is able and willing to fulfill an order of this size(25,000 metric tons per month). Then you would contact this company and tell them you have aprospective buyer in Singapore. If they’re interested in submitting a quote they will need to “retain”your services.

The exact wording of a proposal will vary.



But most companies want to move product as quickly and trouble free as possible.

You’ll find that many companies will be eager to work with you.

But as you can see — this is a great income opportunity.

On the other hand, if you do have the capital to float deals like this you would simply obtain aquote from the manufacturer or producer for 25,000 metric tons of wheat (durum).

You would submit this quote (with a 15% premium added — your profit) to the interested party.

If the quote were accepted you would arrange for payment and delivery.

It’s that simple!

What’s more, money flows very quickly in the import/export industry, unlike hundreds of otherindustries.

An import/export middleman simply facilitates large product orders by bringing buyers andsellers together and making a “premium” or percentage of the deal.

Here’s a Short List of MAJOR Import and Export deals (tens of millions of dollars).

All of the middlemen facilitating these deals earn a percentage.

Crude Palm Oil – Mainland China

Soybean Oil – Mainland China

Wheat (durum) India, China, Pakistan, Malaysia

Corn – Brazil, China, Singapore, India, Australia, Egypt, South Africa

Fishmeal – China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Thailand, Korea, Chile, Argentina

Ma Huang Extract – Mexico

White Rice – Malaysia, China, Japan, UK

Peanuts, Poland, Thailand, UAE

Olive Oil – Portugal

Saw Palmetto Extract – China

Black Tea – Iran

Cashews and Almonds – India

Palm Oil – United States

Bananas – Turkey

Soybean Meal – Bangladesh

Copper – China, Japan, India

Steel – China, Mexico, India, Indonesia

Crude Oil – all countries

Natural gas – all countries

The list of products goes on and on!

The opportunities for import/export middlemen have never been greater.

Once again Alibaba.com is a great resource to help you identify these deals. But Alibaba.com isnot the only resource! There are dozens of websites to assist you in getting your import/exportventure off the ground.

Additional Resources to Help You Become An Import/Export Middleman

InfoBanc / Indian Bazaarhttp://www.infobanc.com/

Global Sourceshttp://www.globalsources.com

Thomas Global Registerhttp://www.thomasglobal.com

FITAhttp://fita.worldbid.com

ImportEuropehttp://www.importeurope.com/

ForeignTrade.comhttp://www.foreign-trade.com/

Export Bureauhttp://www.exportbureau.com/

Berlinkauf – Trade Leadshttp://www.berlinkauf.com/

Muslim Trade Networkhttp://www.muslimtrade.net/b2b/

Export Zone USAhttp://www.exportzone.com/

Trade Indiahttp://www.trade-india.com/

In the next chapter we’ll show you how to dominate the major search engines and directories.Dominating the search engines and directories will help promote your import/export middlemanstrategies, or promote specific products and services.



http://www.infobanc.com

http://www.globalsources.com

http://www.thomasglobal.com

http://fita.worldbid.com

http://www.importeurope.com

http://www.foreign-trade.com

http://www.exportbureau.com

http://www.berlinkauf.com

http://www.muslimtrade.net/b2b

http://www.exportzone.com

http://www.trade-india.com


CHAPTER 12: Dominating Internet Search Engines and Directories

CHAPTER 12

Dominating Internet Search Engines and Directories

If you’re planning to import products from companies and individuals overseas and sell them onthe Internet, you will need to learn how to dominate search engines and directories.

By dominating search engines we mean two things:

1) Your website appears prominently in the search results

2) Your advertising appears prominently around the search results

In order to accomplish this you’ll need to understand a few basics regarding search enginetechnology and how it really works.

This information and insight will give you a tremendous edge over most of the people that sellproducts on the Internet — or do any kind of Internet marketing.

How Search Engines and Directories Really WorkInternet search engines are websites that help people find information.

All Internet search engines perform three basic tasks:

They search the Internet based on keywords or phrases that are entered by the user.

They keep an index of the words they find and where they find them.

They enable users to look for words or phrases found in that index.

The earliest search engines consisted of an index of a few hundred thousand pages and documents.

Today, top search engines will index hundreds of millions of pages, and respond to tens ofmillions of queries per day!

In this chapter, we’ll tell you how these major tasks are performed, and how Internet searchengines put the pieces together in order to let you find the information you need on the Web.

Before the Web became the most visible part of the Internet, there were search engines in placeto help people find information on the Internet.

Programs with names like “Gopher” and “Archie” kept indexes of files stored on serversconnected to the Internet. This dramatically reduced the amount of time required to find programsand documents.



In the late 1980s, being a serious Internet user meant knowing how to use gopher, Archie,Veronica and the rest.

Most Internet users today limit their searches to the Web, so we’ll deal with the search enginesthat focus on the contents of Web pages.

In order for a search engine to tell you where a file or document is, it must be found.

To find information amidst the hundreds of millions of Web pages that exist, a search engineemploys special software robots called spiders. Spiders build lists of the words found on Web sites.

When a spider is building its lists, the process is called Web crawling.

In order to build and maintain a viable list of words, a search engine’s spiders have to look at a lot of pages.

How Does a Spider Start Traveling Over the Web? The obvious starting points are typically lists of heavily used servers and popular pages. The

spider will begin with a popular site, indexing the words on its pages and following every link foundwithin the site. In this way, the spidering system quickly begins to travel, spreading out across themost widely used portions of the Web.

Google.com, for instance, began as an academic search engine. Google’s initial system usedmultiple spiders.

In order to keep everything running fast, Google created a system to feed necessary informationto the spiders.

The early Google system had a server dedicated to providing URLs to the spiders. Rather thandepending on an Internet service provider for the domain name server (DNS) that translates a server’sname into an address. Google had its own DNS with a view to keeping delays to a minimum.

When a Google spider looks at an HTML web page, it notes two things:

The words within the page

Where the words were found

Words occurring in the title, subtitles, meta tags and other positions of relative importance werenoted for special consideration during a subsequent user search.

A Google spider was built to index every significant word on a page, leaving out the articles “a,”“an” and “the.” Other spiders use different approaches.

The different approaches usually make the spider operate faster, and allow a user to search more efficiently.

For example, some spiders keep track of the words in the title, sub-headings and links, along withthe 100 most frequently used words on the page. These spiders also keep track of each word in thefirst 20 lines of text. Lycos is said to use this approach to spidering the Web.

Other search engines and spidering systems, like AltaVista, index every single word on a page,including “a,” “an,” “the” and other “insignificant” words. The push to completeness in this approach ismatched by other systems in the attention given to the unseen portion of the Web page, the meta tags.

What are Meta Tags and What Difference Does It Make?Meta tags enable the owner of a web page to specify key words or concepts under which the page

will be indexed.

This can be really helpful, especially in cases in which the words on the page might have doubleor triple meanings — a meta tag can guide the search engine in choosing which of the severalpossible meanings for these words is correct.

There is a downside with over-reliance on meta tags, though. A careless or unscrupulous pageowner might add meta tags that fit very popular topics but have nothing to do with the actualcontents of the page. To protect against this, spiders will correlate meta tags with page content,rejecting the meta tags that don’t match the words on the page.

Building the IndexOnce the spiders have completed the task of finding information on Web pages the search engine

must store the information in a way that makes it useful (actually this task is never actuallycompleted — spiders are always crawling).

There are two components involved in making the gathered data accessible to users:

The information stored with the data

The method by which the information is indexed

In most cases a search engine could just store the word and the URL where it was found. But inreality, this would limit the search engine in a big way because there would be no way of tellingwhether the word was used in an important or a trivial way on the page.

In other words, there would be no way of building the “ranking list” that tries to present the most useful pages at the top of the list of search results.

In order to deliver more results, most search engines store more than just the word and URL.

An engine might store the number of times that the word appears on a page.

The search engine would then assign a weight to each entry.

Each commercial search engine has a different formula for assigning weight to the words in itsindex. This is one of the reasons why a search for the same word on different search engines willproduce different lists, with the pages presented in different orders.

Regardless of the precise combination of additional pieces of information stored by a searchengine, the data will be encoded to save storage space.

An index has a single purpose: It allows information to be found as quickly as possible.

There are a number of ways to build an index, but one of the most effective ways is to build ahash table. In hashing, a formula is applied to attach a numerical value to each word.

The formula is designed to evenly distribute the entries across a predetermined number of divisions.

This numerical distribution is different from the distribution of words across the alphabet, andthat is the key to a hash table’s effectiveness.



In English, there are some letters that begin many words, while others begin fewer. You’ll find, forexample, that the “M” section of the dictionary is much thicker than the “X” section. This inequitymeans that finding a word beginning with a very “popular” letter could take much longer than findinga word that begins with a less popular one.

Hashing evens out the difference, and reduces the average time it takes to find an entry. It alsoseparates the index from the actual entry.

A hash table contains the hashed number along with a pointer to the actual data, which can besorted in whichever way allows it to be stored most efficiently. The combination of efficient indexingand effective storage makes it possible to get results quickly, even when the user creates acomplicated search.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search engine optimization is the technique of fine-tuning your website so it appears morefrequently and with a higher ranking in search engines, and thereby increasing traffic to your site.

Each search engine compiles a database of web pages, which are then ranked by relevance whena particular search term is entered. Each search engine uses different algorithms in order todetermine a web page’s relevance for a given search. But there are a number of things you can do tohelp a web page receive a higher ranking in search results.

Search engine marketing is the implementation of strategies to elevate a site’s page ranking insearch engines. A strong search engine ranking enables you to connect more easily with people whoare looking for the products or services that you offer.

Search engine marketing would include purchasing keywords and phrases (advertising). The twomost popular types of advertising on search engines are keyword buys/cost per click (CPC) and flatrate keyword buys.

In Order to Dominate Search Engines and Directories You Must:A) Build your website to accommodate different spider technologies and especially the

technologies of the top five search engines: Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Lycos and AOL.

B) Purchase relevant keywords and/or phrases in the top five search engines and topdirectories on a cost per click basis and/or flat fee basis

Building your website to accommodate different spider technologies can be as simple as placing“meta tags” in your source code. There are hundreds of resources and books on programming andHTML that can help you or your webmaster set this up properly.

Purchasing relevant keywords in the top search engines and directories is very easy to do. All ofthe top search engines have step-by-step instructions on their sites. In most cases, it will take about20 minutes to purchase all of your keywords on each engine or directory.

What’s more, all of the major search engines have an administration section available when youset up your account and purchase keywords.

The administration section will help you to revise, edit, change or delete keywords — as well aspurchase new keywords instantly.



In the next chapter we’ll discuss the benefits of having powerful linking strategies in place.

On the surface this topic might appear to have nothing to do with an import/export business.

But entire World Wide Web is built on hypertext links! If you’re going to do business on the Internet, or market anything on the Internet — it’s absolutely crucial that you understand linking strategies.




CHAPTER 13: Powerful Linking Strategies

CHAPTER 13

Powerful Linking StrategiesLinking strategies not only improve your “page ranking” on most of the top search engines. They

will also increase traffic to your website, and enable other sites and people to link to you and improvethe “viability” of your site.

One of the grandmasters of linking strategy and techniques is Eric Ward.

You can learn about Eric’s linking services and URL announcement services here:http://www.ericward.com

You can also listen for FREE to a 30-minute, power packed interview that Eric gave to SEO-Radioon Linking Strategies here: http://www.seoradio.com/20050322-eric-ward-on-link-publicity.html

Either way you look at it linking strategies are absolutely crucial to the success of your website asit relates to traffic, popularity and search engine page ranking.

Here are a few things to keep in mind (courtesy of Eric Ward):

Linking’s Holy Grail: The Passively Obtained Backlink A passively obtained backlink is nothing more than a link to your site that you had nothing to do

with obtaining. You didn’t know a thing about it. Didn’t ask for it, didn’t pay for it, and didn’t swapfor it.It just happened.

The search engines love passive links like this. Why? Because they can trust them.

Here’s an example. You sell organic produce. You have a web site. You sell your produce all overthe U.S., to hundreds of stores, food chains, and specialty markets. You’ve never once asked anyoneto link to your site, yet your site has several hundred links. How can this be?

Reason 1: Many of the stores you sell your organic produce to also have web sites, and on their sites theyhave a section named “Suppliers”. In this section they list the companies (like yours) that theypurchase products from, and when those companies have web sites, they make a link out ofthe company name.Bingo, a passively obtained backlink for your organic produce company.

Reason 2: You are going to attend an upcoming trade show for your industry. It just so happens thatthe trade show has a web site, and on the trade show site there’s a section with links to theweb sites of all the companies that are going to attend. Once again, another passivelyobtained backlink.

http://www.ericward.com

http://www.seoradio.com/20050322-eric-ward-on-link-publicity.html



These are just a couple of reasons a site might have links they didn’t seek. Search enginesjudge these types of links as being a better indication of the quality of the content on the sitethey are linked to than the links you DO actively pursue and obtain. This makes sense to acertain point, since the basic nature of the web from the early days was a massive network ofpassively obtained links. Back in 1993, nobody was seeking links in order to improve theirsearch rankings, because none of the search engines looked at links. They looked on-site only.

But here’s a dirty little secret. Many links that appear to have been passively obtained are infact actively obtained.

How do I know this? Because many of the links I mentioned for the organic producecompany in “Reason 1” (above) actually came about because I requested them. Many of thegrocery web sites existed before the organic produce company had a web site, so the grocerystore sites couldn’t link to the organic produce site, since there was nothing to link to.

But once the organic produce company launched their web site, there was something for thegrocery store sites to link to. The only catch is that all those grocery sites have no idea theorganic produce company has launched a site, so link requests HAVE to be made.

What appears to be a passively obtained backlink is in fact an actively obtained backlink.

All this masks the more important lesson: Every web site has its own universe of inboundlinks it can reasonably expect to come about from a passive approach.

But you can’t just sit back and wait for a webmaster somewhere to happen upon your site andlink to it. The key is to be strategically active, rather than randomly active. Make sure youknow which sites are the best targets for your link requests. If you aren’t sure, seek advicefrom someone you trust. The goal is not to trick the engines into thinking an activelypursued link is a passive link. It’s to make sure you obtain the links your site has a naturaland logical reason to obtain. Identifying the natural and logical targets is 90% of the battle.

Until next time, I remain,

Eric Ward, The Link Mensch

Using Google to Identify High Quality Link Targets Building links to your site improves rankings in certain search engines. Not all of the search

engines put as much weight on inbound links, but one that does is Google. Google has become the800-pound gorilla in the search engine wars, seemingly overnight.

Did you know you could use Google to identify the sites you need to have links from?

Not all links are created equal, and Google know this.

They know that FFA links are useless, as are link farm links. They help you clog your own inboxand that’s all. In Google’s case, the sheer number of links doesn’t determine your ranking.

Google’s ranking algorithm takes into account each link’s importance along with other factors likethe proximity of your search keywords in the documents. In other words, it’s not just about thenumber of sites that link to a given page, but also the importance of those sites (measured by the linksto each of them).

Google has given a name to its ranking algorithm for determining a web page’s importance; it’scalled PageRankTM.

In order to accurately view a page’s PageRank, according to Google, you will need to install theGoogle Toolbar into your Internet Explorer. Download it from http://toolbar.google.com/

You’ll notice after it’s installed that there’s a green “PageRank” meter. That meter is your windowinto the inside of Google, telling you how important and high-quality Google considers your site tobe. And thus how well it’s going to rank in a relevant search. Placing your cursor over the meter willdisplay the numerical rating, an integer value between 1 and 10.

Granted the PageRank meter isn’t very precise, but nonetheless it is still immensely illuminating.You can learn more about “PageRank” at: http://www.google.com/technology/

Once the Google toolbar is installed, you can start visiting sites that you want to considerrequesting links from to see how good their PageRanks are. Those with high PageRanks are the ones toapproach for reciprocal links, because they’ll help you the most with improving your own PageRank.

Don’t forget that your PageRank is only part of the equation. A web page must still have enoughcontent on it for Google to ascertain its theme. According to the CTO of Google (see the interview athttp://www.ibizinterviews.com/craigs1.htm for more), the key to ranking well in Google is two-fold:having content-rich web pages, and building a web of links to your site from other reputable, relevant sites.

Looking for Links In All The Wrong Places? In their frenzy to build links to curry favor with the engines, web site owners miss a far more

important audience using topical tools.

Most people will tell you that links from Yahoo and DMOZ to your site are vital, and to a certainextent I agree. Who wouldn’t want to be listed with two of the most widely used directories in theworld? It’s what marketers do after they get the Yahoo and DMOZ links that can make or break them.

Pursuing links just for Pagerank and Link Popularity in the major search engines is not going to goaway, as much as I wish it would. And by trying to impact Pagerank artificially, Pagerank as it isdetermined now is doomed. Whether that happens in 2005 or 2010 I don’t know, but once thousands ofsites are after links for reasons other than relevancy, no link can be trusted enough to reward it, right?

Aside from the ethics of link building, pagerank, etc. let’s discuss sites and search enginesdedicated to niche topics. Niche and topical search engines and directories can bring your sitehighly targeted traffic, maybe not a stampede of traffic but a steady trickle of perfectly qualified users.

And while some marketers are quick to claim nobody uses niche search engines because they’venever heard of them, I can tell you from ten years of experience they’re wrong.

It probably wouldn’t surprise you to find out there were search engines devoted to popular topicslike financial web sites or even Fish web sites.

But for proof that search engines are truly going vertical, look no further than ElvisFind, a searchengine and directory that only indexes content about Elvis Presley.

At the time of this writing ElvisFind contained 320 Elvis related web sites in 9 categories.Obviously, if your site doesn’t have content about Elvis Presley, you have no reason to request a linkfrom them or submit your site to their editors.



http://toolbar.google.com

http://www.google.com/technology

http://www.ibizinterviews.com/craigs1.htm

But if your site sells vacation packages to Memphis and has a “Spend the day at Graceland”package, well, suddenly ElvisFind makes a lot more sense.

Some specialty search engines focus on more than just a specific topic. SearchEdu.com is a goodexample. This search engine indexes pages from educational sites hosted on .edu domains. I use thissearch engine to find links to pages at educational sites, since for my kind of clients’ educational linkspages are extremely useful (and they are pretty good for improving Pagerank too).

One nice aspect about specialty search engines is they typically don’t charge for links (although afew have started charging), and better still I’ve noticed they add links and index sites far quicker thanmost of their bigger brethren. There isn’t a sandbox at ElvisFind...

While there are hundreds of specialty search engines available, it can be hard to find the bestones in any particular subject area. I have included some of the tools I use below. Once you find aspecialty search engine, the link request or site submission process is usually fairly straightforward.Look for the “add your site” link and follow their directions. Options may even be available for paidlinks or sponsored links.

Here are some online tools you can use to find specialty search engines.

Danny Sullivans’ List of Directories and Search Engine’s by Topic http://searchenginewatch.com/links/specialty.html

SearchEngineGuide http://www.searchengineguide.com/searchengines.html

Open Directory Specialized Search Engines Categoryhttp://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Search_Engines/Specialized/

InvisibleWeb http://www.invisible-web.com/

Powerful linking strategies can propel your import export business into the stratosphere.

In the next chapter we’ll walk you through the process of buying keywords on the major searchengines. Keyword advertising will enable you to promote products to a very targeted audience ofeager buyers. We’ll dispel all of the popular misconceptions and walk you through the keywordbuying process step-by-step.



http://searchenginewatch.com/links/specialty.html

http://www.searchengineguide.com/searchengines.html

http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Search_Engines/Specialized

http://www.invisible-web.com


CHAPTER 14: Buying Keywords and Phrases on Search Engines

CHAPTER 14

Buying Keywords and Phrases on Search Engines

You can purchase keywords and phrases in more than 200 top search engines and directorieswith a view to marketing your import/export business and products.

There are currently two ways or methods for purchasing keywords and phrases on search engines.

1) Cost per click (CPC)

2) Flat fee

Both of these methods have advantages and disadvantages.

Let’s talk about why someone with an import/export business would purchase keywords and/orphrases on a search engine or directory.

Let’s say that you’re reselling products on the Internet that you’ve imported from China.

Let’s also say that you have a retail component and a wholesale component to your business.

On the retail side you are targeting individuals or businesses that only purchase products in smallquantities. — Let’s say that your product is tee shirts.

On the wholesale side you are targeting retail stores, shops and the like.

The best way to approach this is to keep the two components completely separate.

That’s not what most people do — but most people do not understand how the Internet works.

If someone comes to your retail site and checks out your products — and then stumbles ontoyour wholesale section — they’ll be shocked to learn they’re paying up to ten times the wholesaleprice (or more)!

That’s true even if you have special or secured access to the wholesale section.

It’s much better to keep the two components (retail and wholesale) completely separate and ondifferent websites (and domains).

Okay — let’s talk about purchasing keywords and/or phrases in the top search engines.

Google’s AdWords is likely the most popular advertising network for search engine keywordpurchases on the Internet.

The Google AdWords “system” is really quite simple.

Advertiser’s “bid” for specific keywords and phrases in an open market.

Words like: “100% cotton tee shirts,” “Cotton tee shirts” and “Colored cotton tee shirts” are fairly popular.

In fact, all of these words are fairly popular based on Google AdWords Keyword Relevance Tool:https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

You can also choose expanded broad matches like: “t shirt,” “customized t shirt” or “hilary duff t shirt.”

Once you’ve selected the keywords that you want to purchase you’ll begin bidding on them.

Let’s say that you are the high bidder and are able to purchase the keyword/phrase, “100% cottont shirt” and your “bid” amount is $1 per click.

That means when someone enters the term or phrase “100% cotton t shirt” into the Googlesearch box your keyword “ad” matching that phrase would appear on the right hand side of thesearch results page.

There will be other advertisers featured with you — but your ad should appear first on the page ifyou are the highest bidder for that word.

In your Google AdWords account you can set a “spending cap” too. You can limit the amount youspend each month for advertising keywords by simply specifying a spending cap.

Let’s say that you have set your spending cap at $500 per month.

That means if you receive 500 clicks (at $1 each or $500) your ad would be shut off automatically— and the next highest bidder would take your spot.

Granted, click fraud or clicks that are generated maliciously or fraudulently is a problem. Butgenerally speaking, it’s manageable.

If you received 500 unique click thrus from targeted buyers there’s a very good chance apercentage of these people will make a purchase on your website.

Hopefully you can see the value of purchasing the right keywords on the right engines — becauseyou receive targeted traffic and business.

The downside to cost per click keyword programs is obviously cost. The best and most soughtafter keywords and phrases can be very expensive. If you have a limited budget you’ll have a hardtime competing on this playing field with large advertisers.

Some advertisers will purchase hundreds or even thousands of keywords and/or phrases.

An alternative to cost per click keyword buy programs is flat rate keyword buys like those offeredon the search engine ExactSeek: http://www.exactseek.com/featured_listings.html

ExactSeek also offers one of the best “bulk Keyword Buy Programs” on the Internet.

Granted, ExactSeek traffic pales in comparison to Google’s (ExactSeek currently receives about150 million unique searches a month), but it’s still pretty formidable and costs a lot less.

Whatever engine or approach you prefer buying keywords and phrases in, it’s a great way tomarket your import/export products and services.



https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

http://www.exactseek.com/featured_listings.html



The “Top Tier” Search Engines with Keyword Buy and/or Pay Per Click Programs

Yahoo!http://www.yahoo.com

Googlehttp://www.google.com

MSNhttp://www.msn.com

AOLhttp://www.aol.com

Go.comhttp://www.go.com

Gain insight into consumer buying habits and uncover profitable niche markets with these websites and tools

Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Yahoo Leading Searcheshttp://buzz.yahoo.com/

Google Search Trends - Zeitgeisthttp://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

Amazon Movers and Shakers Listhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/movers-and-shakers/-/books/104-6832628-4759129

Amazon Best Sellershttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/bestsellers/-/books/

Wordtracker - Advanced Keyword Analysis Toolhttp://www.highertrustmarketing.com/part/wordtracker

Adword Analyzerhttp://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/adwanalyze

URLTrendshttp://www.urltrends.com

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion

http://buzz.yahoo.com

http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/movers-and-shakers/-/books/104-6832628-4759129

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/movers-and-shakers/-/books/104-6832628-4759129

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/bestsellers/-/books

http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/part/wordtracker

http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/adwanalyze

http://www.urltrends.com



http://www.msn.com

http://www.aol.com

http://www.go.com

Overture (now part of Yahoo!)http://www.overture.com

SearchScouthttp://www.searchscout.com

Lycoshttp://www.lycos.com

AltaVistahttp://www.altavista.com

Excitehttp://www.excite.com

The Top 20 “Second Tier” Search Engines with Keyword Buy and/or Pay Per Click Programs:

eSpottinghttp://www.espotting.com

ExactSeekhttp://www.exactseek.com

FindWhathttp://www.findwhat.com

LookSmart Listingshttp://listings.looksmart.com

Enhance.comhttp://www.enhance.com

ePilot.comhttp://www.epilot.com

Kanoodlehttp://www.kanoodle.com

Dogpilehttp://www.dogpile.com

Vivisimohttp://www.vivisimo.com

HotBothttp://www.hotbot.com



http://www.overture.com

http://www.searchscout.com

http://www.lycos.com

http://www.altavista.com

http://www.excite.com

http://www.espotting.com

http://www.exactseek.com

http://www.findwhat.com

http://listings.looksmart.com

http://www.enhance.com

http://www.epilot.com

http://www.kanoodle.com

http://www.dogpile.com

http://www.vivisimo.com

http://www.hotbot.com

Kartoohttp://www.kartoo.com

Mamma.comhttp://www.mamma.com

SurfWaxhttp://www.surfwax.com

Excitehttp://www.excite.com

Fazzlehttp://www.fazzle.com

InfoGridhttp://www.infogrid.com

IXQuickhttp://www.ixquick.com

MetaCrawlerhttp://www.metacrawler.com

Turbo10http://www.turbo10.com

Lycos InSitehttp://insite.lycos.com

Buying keywords on the top Pay Per Click (PPC) Engines will help you target eager buyers foryour imported products. Another popular alternative to PPC engines are flat fee keyword buys likethose offered on ExactSeek.com.

In the next chapter we’ll show you the secrets of effective online advertising.



http://www.kartoo.com

http://www.mamma.com

http://www.surfwax.com

http://www.excite.com

http://www.fazzle.com

http://www.infogrid.com

http://www.ixquick.com

http://www.metacrawler.com

http://www.turbo10.com

http://insite.lycos.com


CHAPTER 15: The Secrets of Effective Online Advertising

CHAPTER 15

The Secrets of Effective Online AdvertisingMany entrepreneurs walk away from Internet advertising disillusioned, discouraged and/or broke.

In most cases, these entrepreneurs did not understand the concept of “testing” ad copy and offers.

What’s more, people do not typically understand which advertising mediums are the best for aparticular product or service.

For example, running a conventional banner (468 x 60 pixels) on “general interest” websites andportals is generally a waste of time and money.

If a banner is run on a targeted website or portal there’s a much higher probability that it will be“clicked” or responded to.

Generally speaking, conventional banners are a waste of time on the Internet these days becausethe click thru rate is abysmal.

In addition, running a “text link” advertisement on a website or portal that already has dozens oftext links is a waste of time and money too – in most cases.

The secret to effective online advertising is a “targeted” audience and achieving “direct response”.

Direct response advertising has many shapes and sizes but it always focuses on targeted,qualified prospects.

Most entrepreneurs target “the masses” with mass media advertising tools like television,newspapers, radio, billboards, generic email blasts, or bulk snail mail.

What’s more, you don’t need a lot of money to run effective online advertising campaigns if youdo it right.

The Internet is a direct marketer’s paradise!

The key is to focus on a very targeted audience. Mass-market advertising does the exact opposite.

Does mass-market advertising work? It depends on the offer, ad copy and timing.

Most of the time it will be disastrous.

Mass-market advertising could be much more effective if it focused on a target audience.According to most advertising agencies a “prime” target audience would be anyone in the 18 to 34year-old age bracket.

We all know there’s a big difference between an 18 year-old and 34 year-olds.

What’s more, this is NOT a targeted audience. It is a huge slice of the population.

A highly targeted audience profile might look like this: 20 year-old college student

Internet, iPod, Web savvy

Frequent online buyer of iPod accessories, software, music, books and clothes

Disposable income — credit card carrier

Most recent purchase — dozens roses from ProFlowers.com

That is a targeted audience and prospect!

The secret to effective online advertising is to think in terms of direct response, targeted audienceand “A Prospects.”

An “A” prospect in this context would be someone who has recently purchased the same thing (orsimilar) that you are selling.

Most of the people that are doing business online today overlook the “A” prospect formula – thuscosting them a lot of money in wasted advertising and profits.

What does this mean in the real world?

If you’re selling the products that you’ve imported from overseas companies you’ll want toadvertise to a targeted audience.

Google and the other search engines enable you to purchase keywords and phrases that people might use to find your products. But these “searchers” are not always a targeted audience or “A prospects.”

Just because someone is searching for “brushed marble tile” does not mean they are in themarket to buy it. It could be distributor-researching competitors. It could be someone looking aroundbecause they might buy “brushed marble tile” someday.

What’s more, someone might be searching “brushed marble tile” because they purchased thosewords in Google and they want to see when it comes up on the search result pages!

The point is not all of the people searching for “brushed marble tile” will be targeted, “A” prospects.

That said, Google and the other top search engines can be very effective when it comes to advertising.

The difference is you can “test” specific keywords and phrases, monitor the click thru and moreimportantly the click thrus that convert to sales.

Targeted Email NewslettersTargeted email newsletters are perhaps THE most overlooked advertising medium on the Internet.

There is a world of difference between “generic email promotions” and promotions that are sentto targeted, opt-in subscribers.

Most of the large advertising agencies try to use “generic email lists” the same way they use snailmail lists. That’s a big mistake.



Targeted email newsletter subscribers have opt-in and/or requested specific information or publications.

Generic email lists typically start out with someone making a specific purchase or request forinformation. But as months and years pass these lists are used hundreds of times — over and over —and become “watered down” and in most cases irrelevant.

For example, someone may have requested information on a new business directory. Thepublisher sends the subscriber the information that was requested.

But the publisher continues to send the requester email every week for a year offering otherproducts and services.

Then the publisher sells his or her company and the new publisher begins sending email threetimes a week selling everything from business directories, to website hosting, ecommerce productsand more.

This is why people end up receiving hundreds of email that has nothing to do with the original request.

It’s called “generic email” — it’s a common occurrence but an accepted practice for manyadvertising agencies and email list brokers.

Targeted email newsletters on the other hand often address topics or categories rather than aspecific product.

Think of email newsletters as targeted email publications.

There are millions of email newsletters circulating on the Internet today covering everythingfrom animal health to network security.

The best thing about them is advertising is usually reasonably priced.

On top of that, in a print publication or magazine you may have 20 or 30 advertisers.

Most email newsletters are typically only a standard web page in length and only feature two orthree advertising messages.

SiteProNews, for example, is an email newsletter devoted to professional webmasters andeBusiness site owners. It’s published three times per week. The newsletter only features threeadvertisers per issue. There are usually only three advertising “spots” or positions per issue.

The advertising spots are fairly large (by industry standards) and measure 400 x 175 pixels.

This particular email newsletter reaches a very targeted audience and has 500,000+ opt-insubscribers.

Blogs, RSS feeds and PodcastsBlogs, RSS feeds and Podcasts have not really caught on as an Internet advertising medium.

Part of the problem is the audiences are usually too small, and oftentimes too targeted.

The upside is that advertising on blogs, RSS feeds and Podcasts is relatively inexpensive.



Here are a couple of resources for advertising on these mediums:

BlogAdshttp://www.blogads.com

RSS –Adshttp://www.rssads.com/rss/default_rss.jsp

Podcast Directoryhttp://www.podcastdirectory.com/advertising/

Internet and Email Discussion ListsAdvertising is generally frowned on in Internet and email discussion lists. But everybody does it

— even if it’s only advertising his or her opinion.

The catch is to have a signature that advertises your website URL.

These can be very profitable — and especially when you’re on targeted discussion lists with othermovers and shakers.

Highly recommended.

Tile.Net Discussion List Directoryhttp://www.tile.net/lists

Google Groupshttp://groups.google.com

Topicahttp://lists.topica.com

CraigsListhttp://www.craigslist.com

The key to effective online advertising is to focus on a targeted audience. Buying advertising onthe major search engines (keyword ads), email newsletters, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts and discussionlists can be very effective.

In the next chapter we’ll show you how to resell imported products through classified ads.



http://www.blogads.com

http://www.rssads.com/rss/default_rss.jsp

http://www.podcastdirectory.com/advertising

http://www.tile.net/lists

http://groups.google.com

http://lists.topica.com



CHAPTER 16: Reselling Imported Products with Online Classified Ads

CHAPTER 16

Reselling Imported Products with Online Classified Ads

Online classified ads are probably the most underused method for advertising and marketing inthe world.

Granted, thousands of new classified websites have been launched in the past few years with aneye to taking revenue from print newspapers and magazines.

But the problem with most of these sites is actual real-time traffic.

What’s more, whenever you ask the site’s owners or customer service for verified traffic resultsand statistics they often misplace your email — by accident of course.

The secret to using online classified ads to sell anything is:

A) Targeted real-time traffic

B) Proven products

C) A website that can handle a sale quickly (without having to jump through rings of fire)

One of the largest and most successful online classified sites is called CraigsListhttp://www.craiglist.com

People from every walk of life visit CraigsList on a daily basis looking for jobs, apartments,relationships, automobiles, advice, companionship, freelance experts and more.

In the old days you would place an ad on an online classified site and wait until someone responded.

But that has all changed. Today you can automate the process with software and manage youronline classified campaign with a couple of clicks.

On top of that, sites like ClassifiedClub http://www.classifiedclub.com/submissionsorder.htmlthat offer do it yourself classified submission software and/or professional software submission services.

Due diligence is an absolute requirement when it comes to classified submission software andsubmission services — not all are created equal!

The best way to find out if classified submission software or a submission service is legitimate isto ask people that have used it. The best place to do that is on webmaster and eBusiness marketingforums — WebmasterWorld.com and WarriorForum.com.

Online classified sites can be a tremendous source of customers and targeted traffic if used correctly.

http://www.craiglist.com

http://www.classifiedclub.com/submissionsorder.html

Most online classified sites have very little traffic — let alone targeted traffic.

You’ll want to focus on the top 15 or 20 online classified sites that have significant targeted traffic.

It’s a good thing to remember that most people come to online classified sites to save money —they’re looking for a deal.

On top of that, other than automobiles, concert tickets or cruise vacations, lower priced productswill always sell better.

Information products like eBooks, eReports and software programs priced under $30 oftenperform well on classified sites, too.

How to Sell Products Successfully with Online Classifieds1) Place the ad in the right category

2) Powerful headline — short and to the point — include benefit

3) The right product (stick with items that are already selling — i.e. iPods, Cell phones, wellness products, etc.

4) Priced to sell

5) Include a link to a website that can handle the sale quickly

The Top 20 Online Classified Websites

Google Local Classifieds (coming soon)http://local.google.com

Inetgianthttp://www.inetgiant.com

TraderOnlinehttp://www.traderonline.com

AOL Classifiedshttp://classifieds.aol.com

US Free Adshttp://www.usfreeads.com

Sell.comhttp://www.sell.com

CraigsListhttp://www.craigslist.com

Yahoo! Classifiedshttp://classifieds.yahoo.com



http://local.google.com

http://www.inetgiant.com

http://www.traderonline.com

http://classifieds.aol.com

http://www.usfreeads.com

http://www.sell.com


http://classifieds.yahoo.com

Live Dealhttp://www.livedeal.com

Ziplyhttp://www.ziply.com

AdPosthttp://www.adpost.com

SuperClassifieds (classified site directory)http://www.superclassifieds.com

Half.comhttp://www.half.com

AdQuesthttp://www.adquest.com

SFGatehttp://www.sfgate.com/classifieds

AmericaNethttp://www.americanet.com/Classified

Loot.comhttp://www.loot.com

eClassifiedshttp://www.e-classifieds.net

ClassifiedAds.comhttp://www.classifiedads.com

eDirectionhttp://www.edirection.com

Online classified ads are a great way to advertise to a very targeted audience of prospectivebuyers (looking for a good deal). Online classifieds are typically less expensive than all other forms ofadvertising. Some classified sites like CraigsList and Yahoo! reach millions of people every month.

Granted, you probably won’t get rich by selling products through classified ads — but it canprovide a nice supplemental income stream.

In the next chapter we’ll show you the benefits of having eStores and how to market them successfully.



http://www.livedeal.com

http://www.ziply.com

http://www.adpost.com

http://www.superclassifieds.com

http://www.half.com

http://www.adquest.com

http://www.sfgate.com/classifieds

http://www.americanet.com/Classified

http://www.loot.com

http://www.e-classifieds.net

http://www.classifiedads.com

http://www.edirection.com


CHAPTER 17: How to Build and Market eStores “On Demand”

CHAPTER 17

How to Build and Market eStores “On Demand”

One of the best ways to sell imported or exported products on the Internet is with online or eStores.

Ten years ago eStores were expensive, complicated and required hours of sophisticated programming.

That has all changed — for the better.

Today there are hundreds of eStore options available to entrepreneurs.

What’s more, many of the online stores today are inexpensive and incredibly easy to maintain.

The 4 Most Important Aspects of an Online Store (according toAmazon.com — one of the largest and most successful!):

1) The shopping cart must be easy to use and trouble free

2) You must be able to accept all payment methods in multiple currencies (including PayPal,eChecks and paper checks)

3) The product photos and images must be professional quality, and clearly marked with aprice and description

4) The order confirmation must be clear and concise — and be shown on the Web uponcompletion as well as with email

Whenever you begin selling products online to the public you should test the system yourself.

That doesn’t mean delegating the task to a webmaster, programmer, graphic designer, customerservice person, web host or customer.

We recommend that you test the system yourself using your credit card and money!

Believe it or not — most of the people that do business online never bother to check the orderingprocess themselves. They just assume the system has been checked and doubled checked.

If you place an order on Amazon.com you will see how the ordering process and confirmationshould look.

The key is to enable users to place orders (and send money!) as quickly and efficiently aspossible. If you do it right in the beginning you won’t have to mess with it down the road.

One of the most difficult aspects with respect to programming and database administration forany online store is the inventory and shopping cart process.

But there’s no need to get overwhelmed. There are dozens of online store systems available on theInternet today that do most of the work for you.

In most cases it’s a good idea to start small and gradually increase the size of your inventory (ifyou so desire).

If you’re only going to focus on and offer a few products — that’s even better because it will beincredibly easy to maintain and support such a system.

What do we mean by an online store that offers products “on demand”?

Simply put — you should be able to instantly create a product and/ or product category in youronline store.

For example, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was a devastating event. Millions of people were displaced.

Many entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to help people by selling “on demand” products thatwere in demand, like waterproof flashlights, first aid kits, oxygen tanks, food, clothing and evendonations to the American Red Cross.

Important Note: Offering donations to non-profit organizations like the American Red Cross canbe tricky. There is often more involved than just placing a “Donate Here button” in your online store.Be sure to check the requirements, policies and procedures for each non-profit group before offeringthis option in your online store.

Here’s another example: A national TV news magazine ran a special feature on the health benefitsof Chinese ginseng.

People began searching Google in droves to find places to purchase Chinese ginseng online.

If you didn’t offer ginseng in your online store — you could quickly add it and include aprofessional photograph. You would need to have the product on hand or in inventory in order tofulfill the demand.

You could also purchase the keywords “Chinese ginseng products” (and maybe the name of thetelevision show that broadcast the special feature!) on Google or the other top search engines in acouple of minutes.

That’s what we mean by building and marketing online stores and products — on demand… theobjective being to sell products “on demand” quickly and easily.

Here’s a List of the TOP TEN eStore Shopping Cart Applications and Services:

MonsterCommercehttp://www.monstercommerce.com

MIVAhttp://www.miva.com



http://www.monstercommerce.com

http://www.miva.com

Volusionhttp://www.volusion.com

SalesCarthttp://www.salescart.com

ShoppingCartPlushttp://www.shoppingcartsplus.com

ShopFactoryhttp://www.shopfactory.com

KingCarthttp://www.kingcart.com

Storefronthttp://www.storefront.net

AbleCommercehttp://www.ablecommerce.com

EasyCarthttp://easycart.com

Build an Online Store or Shopping Cart Yourself (open source article)http://www.devx.com/opensource/Article/26654

Plug ‘N Play Online Stores (these can be set up in just a few minutes)

Yahoo! Online Storeshttp://smallbusiness.yahoo.com

Bizlandhttp://www.bizland.com

InstantOnlineStores http://www.instantonlinestores.com

Froogle Merchants (Google)https://www.google.com/froogle/merchants

DollarDayshttp://www.dollardays.com/openastore.asp

WirePlanethttp://www.wireplanet.com/svc_webstore.asp



http://www.volusion.com

http://www.salescart.com

http://www.shoppingcartsplus.com

http://www.shopfactory.com

http://www.kingcart.com

http://www.storefront.net

http://www.ablecommerce.com

http://easycart.com

http://www.devx.com/opensource/Article/26654

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com

http://www.bizland.com

http://www.instantonlinestores.com

https://www.google.com/froogle/merchants

http://www.dollardays.com/openastore.asp

http://www.wireplanet.com/svc_webstore.asp

BuyIt-Sellithttp://www1.buyitsellit.com

2Checkouthttp://www.2checkout.com

eBay Storefrontshttp://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-landing.html

Amazon.com Merchant (and zShops)http://www.amazon.com

Online stores can be your key to riches with an import/export business.

Think about it. You can import products for pennies on the dollar and resell them on the Internetfor 100%, 200%, 300% markups or more!

On top of that, online stores are easy to set up, maintain and market.

But it’s important that you launch your online store today! Don’t waste your time thinking abouthow it will work. Take action.

Check out Yahoo! Online Stores, Froogle, Bizland or even PayPal Stores! You’ll see how easy it is tolaunch a profitable online store.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

In the next chapter we’ll help you get started. The Fast Start Strategy is designed to help youlaunch an import/export business as quickly and simply as possible.

Let’s start making money with this business!



http://www1.buyitsellit.com

http://www.2checkout.com

http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-landing.html



CHAPTER 18: ACTION PLAN: Fast Start Strategy — Completing Your First Deal

CHAPTER 18

ACTION PLANFast Start Strategy – Completing Your First DealThe first step toward building a profitable Internet based import/export business is taking the

right action.

That is what this chapter is designed to help you do.

After completing your first deal your entrepreneurial juices will start to flow. New ideas,approaches and methods will begin appearing as if out of nowhere.

Ask any successful entrepreneur what the single most important element to their success is andinvariably they will tell you — taking action on an idea.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (and richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine),said in an interview recently that hundreds of people were developing software programs andoperating systems for personal computers. The one thing that set him apart was that he acted on hisidea of becoming “the” operating system for personal computers.

Taking action — no matter how large or small — will make a difference in your business success.

Once you’ve decided to take action the next step will be to determine what area of importing andexporting you would like to focus on initially.

Don’t make this step too difficult — it’s simply a matter of what aspect of this business interestsyou the most.

If you’re interested and become passionate about a specific area the details and money willfollow if you take the right action.

Four Main Areas of an Internet Import/Export Business

Matching Buyers with Sellers

Import Products for the Wholesale Market

Exporting Products to Overseas Buyers

Importing Products for Resale on the Internet

We‘ll develop an Action Plan for each of these areas. Your plan may be slightly different, but thiswill give you a start in the right direction.



Matching Buyers with SellersThis is easy with Alibaba.com. Go to http://www.alibaba.com now.

Near the top of the page next to “Search,” you will see a pull-down menu that includes BuyingLeads and Selling Leads.

By the way, if you haven’t registered as a member you should do so now (it’s free).

Click on Buying Leads and you’ll see 30 Product Categories. Select Agriculture. In today’s listingthere is an entry entitled Buy Onion. ("Alibaba is constantly updating its buyers and sellers so by thetime you read this, these directions may no longer show you a lead for Buy Onion, but I want to usethis example to illustrate how easy it is to match buyers with sellers and profit from it!") This is a company that is interested in buying large quantities of size 5-7 red onions. The company is located in Malaysia. When you click on their listing you also learn they need the onions shipped in10kg mesh bags.

We’re making progress!

Save this web page — and open a new window in your web browser (File -> New Window) and goto the Alibaba.com home page again.

Click on Selling Leads this time.

Search for “red onions” in the Selling Leads.

In today’s listings there are several companies that are selling red onions.

Let’s pick the company with a “TrustPass” certification. This will help us identify the most trustworthy company; one that is experienced at exporting.

If we click on this Seller’s Listing we find out they sell red onions (sizes 5-7 are very common) andship them in mesh bags.

Further down in their listing we’ll see the Contact Information. Click on the Inquire Now button.

We need to ask this seller to send us a quote for twenty 10kg mesh bags of number 5-7 red onionsincluding shipping costs to Malaysia.

Once we’ve obtained this quote we can contact the interested Buyer and give them the quote.

But remember if you’re Matching Buyers and Sellers you will need to make a reasonable profit.

When you send a quote to the Buyer our suggestion would be to add 15% to the quote. This 15%charge will be your profit.

When the Buyer agrees to purchase the product (in this case red onions) they will send you fromone third to one half of the purchase price. You will need to send this same amount to the Seller.

After the product has been shipped by the Seller and received by the Buyer the remaining fundswill be sent to you (typically by wire transfer).

You will in turn send the remaining balance due to the Seller (less your 15% markup/profit margin).

That’s it!




In this case let’s say the quote that you received from the Seller was $75 for each 10kg mesh bagof red onions (this includes shipping to Malaysia).

The Buyer has requested 100 bags, so 100 bags x $75 each = $7,500.

But that’s not the quote you’ll send to the Buyer — when you send a quote to the Buyer you willneed to include a 15% profit margin on the total order.

To calculate your profit margin, multiply the Seller’s price x your percentage profit margin:$7,500 x 15% = $1,125 (your profit margin).

The quote that you send to the Buyer will be $7,500 + $1,125 = $8,625.

When this deal is completed you will have made $1,125.

The only things that are involved with matching a Buyer and Seller on Alibaba.com, are sending acouple of emails (or making a couple of phone calls), overseeing the shipment, and collecting $1,125for your efforts.

Importing Products for the Wholesale MarketImporting products for the wholesale market is quite simple, too.

We’ll need to identify which products have the greatest demand.

In Chapter 10 we discussed ways of identifying some of the products that have a strong demand.

But let’s use 100% cotton t-shirts for illustration purposes (there are actually thousands ofproducts that could be used).

How many stores, shops and retailers sell 100% cotton t-shirts in the U.S.? Canada? Australia?U.K.? Middle East? Africa?

We think it’s safe to say that hundreds of thousands of stores sell 100% cotton t-shirts!

Let’s identify and contact twelve stores to see if they would be open to receiving a price list fromyou for 100% cotton t-shirts.

Most of the largest retail stores have already established relationships and/or own the factoriesoverseas that produce 100% cotton t-shirts.

So let’s focus on five medium-sized clothing retailers for this illustration.

We provided a link to RetailNet http://www.retailnet.com let’s go there now.

On the left hand side of the homepage you will see a category entitled Apparel — click it.

We’re going to scour the headlines and/or databases to identify five medium-sized apparel retailers.

The following five companies work fine for this example:

http://www.retailnet.com

Stein Mart Inc.1200 Riverplace BoulevardJacksonville, FL 32207Phone: 904-346-1500Fax: 904-398-4341Web Site: http://www.steinmart.com

Bebe Stores, Inc.400 Valley DriveBrisbane, CA 94005Phone: 415-715-3900Fax: 415-715-3939Web Site: http://www.bebe.com

Finish Line Inc.3308 North Mitthoeffer RoadIndianapolis, IN 46235Phone: 317-899-1022Fax: 317-899-0237Web Site: http://www.thefinishline.com

Gymboree Corp.500 Howard StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105Phone: 415-278-7000Fax: 650-579-1733Web Site: http://www.gymboree.com

Charlotte Russe Holding Inc.4645 Morena BoulevardSan Diego, CA 92117Phone: 858-587-1500Fax: 858-587-4902Web Site: http://www.charlotte-russe.com

The next step is to identify the purchasing manager or apparel buyer at each of the fivecompanies listed above. You can do this by going to their website, clicking About Us or CompanyProfile — and digging. If you can’t find a specific contact then just call or email the company for his orher contact information.

Once you have obtained the appropriate buyer contact ask them if they would be open to receivinga wholesale price list from you. You can mention that you are an importer of 100% cotton t-shirts.

If you are unsuccessful with these companies continue identifying and contacting other apparel retailers.

You WILL find someone that is willing to look at your wholesale price list!

What’s more, these five companies may be medium-sized retailers but they are still very large.



http://www.steinmart.com

http://www.bebe.com

http://www.thefinishline.com

http://www.gymboree.com

http://www.charlotte-russe.com

You can contact much smaller retailers in local areas, too — try search on Google Local for anapparel retailer in a city of your choice!

The next step is to locate a company that manufactures, sells and is able to export 100% cotton t-shirts.

Again we go to Alibaba.com.

Search for “cotton t-shirts” on the Alibaba.com main page.

You will find hundreds of companies that manufacture, sell and are able to export 100% cotton t-shirts.

Simply identify twelve of the most promising companies — click on their listing — and click onthe Inquire Now button. Ask them to send you a quote for 5,000 100% cotton shirts in various sizesand colors.

When the retailers that you have contacted respond in the affirmative and want to see awholesale price list you can send them one.

Important Note: When you are sending a wholesale price list to retailers it needs to look similarto the ones they receive from hundreds of wholesalers. When you inquire for a price quote from theexporting companies ask them to send you a wholesale price list for t-shirts. You will use thiswholesale price list as a “template” to design your own (with your name at the top, etc.). In addition,you will need to include a 10-15% profit margin (or more) on the items. This is how you make money-exporting products for retailers.

Let’s see how the profit calculations work when importing products for the wholesale market.

Finish Line Inc. agrees to purchase 15,000 100% cotton t-shirts from your company at $1.95 eachplus shipping ($4,200) for a total of $33,450. This amount includes all taxes, fees and insurance.

ABC Export Company in China agrees to export 15,000 100% cotton t-shirts to your client (FinishLine Inc.) for $1.25 each plus shipping ($4,200) for a total of $22,950.

Your profit when this deal is completed would be $10,500!

You can see why so many entrepreneurs get hooked on importing products for the wholesale market.

What’s more, there are tens of thousands of items and products waiting to be imported and soldto the wholesale or retail market.

Exporting Products to Overseas BuyersExporting products to overseas buyers is quite simple and can be a lot of fun, too.

Thousands of companies in practically every country of the world need to import productsbecause they lack the resources in their own country.

For example, China is one of the largest importers of agriculture products in the world and thetrend continues to rise! They have an insatiable demand for hundreds of different products including



corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, vegetable oil, foodstuffs, coffee, tea, sugar, orange juice, rye, barley andmany more.

Granted, most of the billion dollar deals and shipments are handled by multi-nationalcorporations like ADM, Cargill and Dupont.

But there are still unlimited opportunities for small to medium-sized exporters.

For example, on Alibaba.com on any given day you will find hundreds, and in some casesthousands of Buying Leads from people and companies that are looking to import products from theU.S., Canada, Mexico and the U.K., etc.

For instance, this morning a Buyer from Portugal is looking for 4 metric tons of canola oil per month.

You can search Alibaba.com to see if you can match this Buyer with a Seller (as we mentioned earlier).

But another way to approach this is to find a company that produces canola oil and is able toexport it to Portugal.

You see there are thousands of companies that produce and manufacture and export productsthat are totally unaware of sites like Alibaba.com.

Alibaba.com can be your secret resource.

You simply identify companies that need products now (Buyers) and then locate companies thatproduce, manufacture and can export those products.

It’s fun!

How to Find Companies that Produce, Manufacture and Export Products to Overseas Markets

There are many ways to find this information, but the search engine Google is a pretty good placeto start.

Let’s find a company that produces, manufactures and is able to export canola oil to this Buyer in Portugal.

Go to Google http://www.google.com

Enter these words in the search box: we produce canola oil

Our first search returned results on a company in Canada that produces and exports canola oil.

There were hundreds of other search result pages but this one sounds the most promising.

Upon further investigation we find that this company is willing and able to export canola oil toPortugal. Although they have never shipped canola oil specifically to Portugal – they have exportedproduct to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

So this company appears to be a good fit.

All you need to do is contact this company with your prospective buyers specifications and ask




for a quote. Oftentimes the companies will want to talk to you by phone — and remember you havean international exporting company.

As we’ve said, deals like this are plentiful!

Importing Products for Resale on the InternetThis is perhaps the most exciting aspect of an import/export business because of the profit

potential. But it’s also a quick and easy way to get into this business!

The objective is to import products as inexpensively as possible and resell them on the Internetwith an online store.

The trick is to identifying the hottest markets and trends so you don’t have to carry a large inventory.

For example, let’s import sunglasses as inexpensively as possible and sell them on the Internet.

What’s more, we need to get a website up and running, and be able to accept credit cards asquickly as possible. One of the best ways to do this is with “instant storefronts” like the ones wesuggested in Chapter 9.

For this illustration let’s use an eBay storefront and/or auction because it receives monstertargeted traffic, and you can set up a store in just a few minutes.

In time you might want to secure your own domain names and implement your own ecommerceapplications (like those we mentioned) so as to maximize profits!

You can open an eBay Store in about 20 minutes and the pricing starts at about $15.95 month:http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-landing.html

It is highly recommended that you spend a few minutes reading the tutorials because you’ll learneverything you need to know about eBay Stores, policies, procedures and best of all — additionalmarketing and promotion ideas.

Okay — we’ve opened our storefront and we’re going to focus on sunglasses because it’s a fairlyhot item and because we can import them inexpensively (as you will see).

The next step is to locate a company that can export sunglasses as inexpensively as possible.

We go to Alibaba.com once again to find sunglasses manufacturers.

Important note: There may be companies in your country that manufacture products like thisbut generally speaking the least expensive products are typically found in Asia, India, Pakistan, SouthAmerica and Mexico).

Enter “sunglasses” in the search box at the top of the page (in the Selling Leads category). You willfind more than 712 Selling Leads in this category!

Let’s choose the first company (they are also a TrustPass Member which enhances the credibility).

Upon further investigation we find that this company is located in China (no surprise there) andis extremely competent when it comes to exporting their products anywhere in the world.

We also learn they ship most of the product line in cases of 300.



http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/seller-landing.html

Most of the time you will find that exporting companies have minimum order requirements.That’s okay — because when you are first starting out in your import/export business you will only beplacing minimum orders — because you don’t want to maintain large inventories.

The cost for a minimum order of 300 assorted sunglasses is approximately $285 (or $.95 each)plus shipping of $75. The total cost for this order is $360.

Here’s the exciting part!

Let’s go back to the eBay main page and search for sunglasses. The prices and styles vary a greatdeal but sunglasses sell for $6.95 to $150 each.

We’ll need to test different price points to see at which level we can move the greatest number.But even if we sell them at the lowest price point of $6.95 each we’ll make a significant profit.

If the total sunglasses order from China is $360, that means that we’re paying about $1.20 each($360 divided by 300 = $1.20).

In this scenario we generated a profit of more than 550%!!!

Sunglasses are only the tip of the iceberg!

There are literally thousands of products in hundreds of categories that you can import veryinexpensively and resell them on the Internet for mind-boggling profits!

NOW is the time to make it happen.

Take action today.

Discover the hottest products on the Internet — import them as inexpensively as possible andresell them for big profits. What’s more, we only used eBay in this example!

There are dozens of high traffic sites, marketplaces, online classifieds and storefronts that youcan utilize to sell imported products for major profits!




CHAPTER 19: Growing Your Business for Even Bigger Profits

CHAPTER 19

Growing Your Business for Even Bigger ProfitsThis chapter is devoted to growing your import/export business as well as your profits.

The following information is why most entrepreneurs love this business – monster profits!

Let’s take a look at a few of the most successful importer/exporters the world has ever known.

Granted, many of these entrepreneurs did not have the luxury of high tech communications,satellite, high-speed Internet, supersonic transportation or sophisticated logistic systems andapplications.

That is why an import/export business is tailor made for today’s Internet entrepreneur!

Renowned Importers and Exporters George Gray of Tunbridge Wells, U.K. was a successful entrepreneur who made a fortune

from importing fruit and producing confectionery

In the 1880s the dime-store magnate F. W. Woolworth discovered Lauscha’s Glaskugelnornaments during a visit to Germany. He made a fortune importing the German glassornaments to America

Julius Robert Oppenheimer was the son of a German immigrant and made his fortune byimporting textiles in New York City

George Smith, a Victorian publisher, made a fortune from importing mineral water

Joseph P. Kennedy and family made a fortune by importing Scotch

Sidney Frank of New Rochelle, NY has made a fortune importing the world’s mostexpensive vodka’s GreyGoose and Jaegermeister. He enjoyed more than $115 million inprofits in 2004

Shakar Pentaka an Indian businessman, has made a fortune by importing and sellingblankets in Africa

Automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin is on a mission to be the first mass importer oflow cost Chinese cars. Bricklin has had a long illustrious career of importing automobiles.He started by importing Subarus in 1968 and later founded Yugo America Inc.whichimported Yugo cars from the former Yugoslavia

Rajit Argawal, a very rich businessman in Karachi, India, made a large fortune byimporting needles in the early 1900’s

Aristotle Onassis made his first fortune by importing tobacco and then bought a whalingfleet followed by surplus ships from the United States at the end of World War II

In the 13th Century, The Saylors of Dieppe, Viking descendants, made their fortune byimporting precious wood.

Mayer Amschel Rothschild (of The House of Rothschild fame) amassed a sizable fortuneby importing wine and manufactured materials from England

William Gibbs made his fortune from importing guano from Peru for use as fertilizer

Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith made his fortune by importing electronics from Asia

Three Scots, all brothers — Patrick, James and Daniel McMasters amassed a small fortuneby importing British goods into the U.S.

Semon Bache made his money importing plate and window glass into the United States inthe early 1900’s

William H. Gebhard made a fortune importing fine wines and liquors for a rich clientelethat could afford the best

Stephen R. Lesher parlayed something as humble as imported tailors’ trimmings into a fortune

Leonard Lewisohn built a multimillion dollar fortune by importing hair, bristles, ostrichand other feathers

In the 19th century, Mark Dunham made his fortune in Wayne by importing Percherondraft horses from France

Alfred Kohlberg, a wealthy textile owner made his fortune importing Irish linen and thenembroidered it very inexpensively in China

Humphrey Monmouth lived was a wealthy merchant in the 1600’s who made a fortuneimporting and remanufacturing cloth

Boro Vukadinovic, a multi-millionaire textile tycoon, made his fortune in America byimporting Italian and Eastern European goods

Matsuhisha Kojima, a motocross champion in Japan, made his fortune importing bananas

W.W. Crenshaw made a fortune importing four million banana stems to the Golden State

Hundreds of Russians made small fortunes importing personal computers in 1990s

American millionaire Elias Haskett Derby made his money importing black pepper. Heused his fortune to endow Yale University

Royal Dutch/Shell Group co-founder Marcus Samuel made his earliest fortune importingknick-knacks made from exotic sea shells from the far east

Vyasheslav Bresht made his first fortune importing luxury cars from Germany

Michael Weatherly Sr., made a fortune importing the first Swiss Army Knives in to the U.S.

Morgan Hughes, 86, a native Irishman, made his fortune importing amusement park ridesfrom Europe after World War II

Manuel Rionda made his fortune importing sugar from South America

Trev Deely generated a multimillion dollar empire by importing motorcycles and sellingthem in Canada

Sandy Chadha is a multi-millionaire, and the U.K.’s largest importer and distributor of batteries



Successful Internet Importers & Exporters

Shenzhen Technology Rise Microelectronic Co., Ltd. is a privately owned company thatmanufactures and exports micro-controllers, voice chips and electronic gifts. The companyis located in Baoan District of Shenzhen

T. T. Flora Co. in Thailand manufacturers and exports artificial flowers, craft flowers andbridal flowers and accessories

Shandong Jumboaudio Research Co., Ltd. manufacturers and exports car speakers,woofers, boom boxes, PA systems, wall speakers, and other car audio equipment

Joyful Path in Hong Kong manufactures and exports handbags, cosmetic bags, documentbags and backpacks

Aristey Fashion in the U.S. is an international exporter and distributor of designer women’sapparel

Paranthaman Exporters (India) specializes in drilling rigs for water wells, mining,exploration and pole drilling. They also manufacture and export hammer bits, rock rollerbits and drilling rods

Hong Mei Coral Jewelry Factory, based in Taiwan, was founded in 1987; they manufactureand export coral beads and cabochons, supplying both local and foreign markets

Bernard Cosmetics manufactures, exports and sells products in the USA, England,Germany, UAE and Korea

Zhejiang Wanshengda Industry Co., Ltd. in Mainland China exports playing cards andnotebooks

Mahanem LLC (U.S.) exports computer and consumer electronics. Their line of productsincludes: Apple iPod, CPU, digital cameras, camcorders, projectors, monitors,motherboards, MP3 players and more

Shenzhen Jinhuicong Science & Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the largest manufacturersand exporters of security alarm systems, wireless cameras, fire alarms, radar detectors, andrelated products

Lingying Vehicle Co., exports gas scooters, electric scooters and pocket bikes to marketsaround the world

Xiamen Caixin Inflatable Product Co., Ltd. in the Fujian Province, China, manufacturesand exports inflatable products like bouncers, castles, slides, air tents, air dancers, tunnels,mascots, arches, pools and balloons

President Furniture in Indonesia builds and exports high quality teak furniture, teakoutdoor furniture, teak garden furniture, indoor furniture, steamer, chair, table, bench andpatio furniture

Shandong Yijian Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (China) is a major importer of Citicoline Sodium

Liu’an City Guzhen Feather Craftwork Factory is one of the largest importers of turkeyfeathers in the world

All of these entrepreneurs saw a need and filled it by importing products and reselling them, orexporting products to other countries.



On top of that, most of them tended to focus on a particular product or market. They typicallydid not diversify into multiple product lines.

These entrepreneurs parlayed their wealth and success by applying time-tested principles overand over, and subsequently their businesses grew exponentially at every stage.

You can do the same things in your import/export business!




CHAPTER 20: Importing and Exporting Billionaires

CHAPTER 20

Importing and Exporting BillionairesThe world’s billionaire importers and exporters do not approach business the same way as

millionaires do.

In fact, they play at an entirely different level, which includes relationships with governmentofficials, multinational corporations and “sweetheart” deals.

Even if you don’t have a desire to build your import/export business to this size or depth, thereare still lessons to be learned by watching billionaires play the game.

There are ten specific things that billionaire importers and exporters do in order to generatemind-boggling profits.

According to Forbes magazine the collective net worth of the world’s 691 billionaires (in 2005) is$2.2 trillion, up $300 billion from the combined net worth of the 587 people listed in 2004.

Of that number more than half of these billionaires are involved in importing and exportingproducts at some level!

Billionaire’s Rule Book:1) Set Goals (be specific and include dates)

2) Steward Your Health and Wellness

3) Love, Honor and Cherish Your Family

4) Own Markets

5) Identify Formulas (sales, marketing, investing, etc.) — Apply them repeatedly and do not alter them

6) Understand Your Core Market — Don’t Dabble in Other Markets Until You Understand Them as Well or Better

7) Generously Reward Results — Penalize Incompetence (swiftly)

8) Diversify Holdings (low risk / medium returns or higher)

9) Aggressively Protect Wealth

10) Charity — Passionately Share Wealth

There are probably more rules but these were complied by researching the world’s foremost billionaires.

Billionaire Importers/Exporters

Rem Vyakhirev - RussiaNatural gas and heavy equipment $1.5 billion net worth

Max H. SchachenmannMarble, Agriculture, Concrete$1 billion

James MoranAutomobiles$1.4 billion

Michael YingApparel$1.8 billion

Roustam TarikoVodka, Automobiles, Luxury items$3 billion

Nadim KhouryBeer$1 billion

Solomon LewConsumer goods $1.5 billion

Thomas J. MazzettaFrozen SeafoodUnknown

Lev LevievDiamonds$2 billion

Li Ka-ShingElectronics, Tourists, Consumer Goods, Mobile phones$5 billion

Sidney FrankFancy vodka and tequila$2 billion

Alex ShnaiderSteel$2 billion



Dhirubhai AmbaniPolyester and spices$1 billion

Carlos SlimOil, industrial equipment$5 billion

Vijay MallyaLiquor$2 billion

Terry PeabodyFly ash – trucks$2 billion

Gautam S Adani Natural resources$1 billion

Olav ThonTabacco$1.5 billion

All of these billionaire importers and exporters started with an idea. They were convinced theycould make money in this business! You need to be convinced you can make money in this business,too — and one of the best ways to do that is by taking action.

The conditions are no different today than they were when these entrepreneurs started theirimport/export businesses. They all started from somewhere.

But the key is they started — these billionaires took some kind of action toward their goal or objective.

In the next chapter we’ll show you the importance of focusing on one product or market whenyou’re first starting this business. This will keep you from getting sidetracked and it will help to makeyour business incredibly simple — and fun!




CHAPTER 21: Focus on One Product at a Time

CHAPTER 21

Focus on One Product at a TimeOne of the fastest ways to get started and be successful in your import/export business is to focus

on one product or product line at a time.

You may be tempted to jump from product to product… but don’t give in to temptation.

The reason it’s important to focus on one product or line at a time is because it helps you tobecome more knowledgeable and proficient than your competitors. This proficiency should lead togreater profits because you will KNOW and UNDERSTAND your market better than anyone.

To repeat: Our recommendation is to keep it simple when you start out and focus on one productor product line at a time.

After you’re successful in one area, you can expand into additional products and lines.

This is the key strategy that most successful Internet import/export businesses andentrepreneurs follow.

For example, there is a company in Hong Kong called Jiaxing Maosen Flag Co., Ltd. The companyimports and exports flags. That is the only product they carry. They have thousands of flags of everyshape, color, design, language and purpose.

Another example is Rose Best LLC — they specialize in handmade soaps. The company carrieshundreds of different sizes, shapes, colors and scents. They ship worldwide.

Thai Mountain Imports focuses on bamboo and wicker furniture. They export their productsaround the world.

It will be easy to avoid the temptation to “jump around” from product to product when your firstfew deals are successful. You’ll see the value and benefit of focusing on products you really enjoy, orproducts where there is a tremendous demand.

If a particular product or product line is not moving — you can easily shift into new products! Thatis one of the greatest advantages of an import/export business. You can move into a new product lineat a moment’s notice, and that’s especially true if you’re not entangled in large inventories.

The following is a list of companies and the products they have focused on:

Yuyao Jinwei Sprayers

AvasinComputers

Galleon Trade Pan Pacific Ventures Corp.Scrap metal

Shaul Barnea LtdComputer memory

China Guangzhou eFiver Electronics Co., LtdBatteries

Seasons & FashionsGarments

CybercrazeComputer accessories

Fujian Xiamen Yongqing Trade Co., LtdPoly resin

Kaki Zawa Enterprise Co., Ltd.Brown sugar

Frontier EnterprisesHeavy equipment

J D OverseasHandicrafts

Sun Nonwoven & PaperNon woven products (like baby wipes)

Sita SourcingSolid wood furniture

Raf Unique VenturesOffice supplies

Dimensionx Inc.Mobile phones

Ghozat Poultry Units Co.Poultry products

SportsmotoWatches

KCF Trades & ExportsChemicals

Herbalbd Herbs

Susheela Fertilizers & PesticidesFertilizers and Pesticides





StileksSteel billets

Yu-va Gida Temizlik Turizm InsaatCable

Asrar Supply ServicesFood additives

J. L Trade Co. LtdHome appliances

Jubin Part ChemicoInorganic chemicals

TransariaAudi parts

Dejen EnterpriseAgriculture products

K2B AgencyContact lenses

Tuzgolu Otomotiv Ltd.Lamps and bulbs

Sinoz CompanyCeramics

AzadsystemnetIranian carpets and rugs

Aman Trading CoNuts

Hua BagsHandbags / accessories

Concept International Inc.Jewelry

Zhejiang Shuangling Socks Co, Ltd.Socks

2kmg Corp.Yarn

PT. AsturaFruit juice

Bella Bisque Inc.Italian pottery



Sangho Ceramic Co.,Ltd.Ceramic products

Zibo OceanFar General Merchandise Co., Ltd.Glassware

Shikha InternationalBottles of every color and type

Tianjin Tianrui Animal By-Products Co., Ltd.Animal by-products, wool, cashmere

Marble Unique Inc.Marble statues

Shenzhen Shinefull Shell Industrial & Trading Co., Ltd.Sea shells from around the world

Herbgate Co., LtdEels

Kabir SportsGloves for work, sports and welding

GPS TradingLingerie

Dollmac Trading Co.Baby clothes and accessories

Chumsangthai Goldrice LtdThai rice

Kenrico Ltd.Detox pads

Power Drinks SLEnergy drinks

Rommel EMCRefurbished notebooks

AGRICOLA GUARANI SRLForestry products

Ivand Trading Co.Dried fruits

GM Gateway Co.Electronics

CWL ImportFood and confections

Jinoo Corp.Fabrics

DCF EnterprisesClothes / jeans

Viet Tra Co. LtdHandbags/scarves

Prowell CompanyMetals

These companies focus on one product or product line — and they are very successful.

If you adapted a similar strategy and focused on one product it would not only simplify yourbusiness… it would help establish you as an expert in that area.

In the next chapter we’ll include valuable trade resources to help you build your business,contacts and expertise.




CHAPTER 22: Trade Resources

CHAPTER 22

Trade ResourcesIn this section we are providing more than 100 trade resources to help you establish contacts,

further your education and build your import/export business.

These trade resources will also help you to find products, buyers, sellers, ecommerce, onlinestores, web hosting and trade organizations.

We’re confident you’ll come back to this section again and again to find the information you needto be successful.

Federation of International Trade Associationshttp://www.fita.org

Boletin.net (directory of importers/exporters/manufacturers)http://www.boletin.net

BuySellOffers (directories of importers/exporters)http://www.buyselloffers.com

ChinaBig Global (Directory of 1 million businesses worldwide)http://gtdchina.yp.com.hk

Export Focus (directory of resources)http://www.exportfocus.com

Global Importers Directoryhttp://www.export-import-companies.com

Importer Listhttp://www.importerlist.com

Online International Business Information Directoryhttp://www.b2b-bestof.com

TOBOC – International Trade Leadshttp://www.toboc.com

Foreign Trade Online (massive import/export resource)http://www.foreign-trade.com

TradeKeyhttp://www.tradekey.com

http://www.fita.org

http://www.boletin.net

http://www.buyselloffers.com

http://gtdchina.yp.com.hk

http://www.exportfocus.com

http://www.export-import-companies.com

http://www.importerlist.com

http://www.b2b-bestof.com

http://www.toboc.com

http://www.foreign-trade.com

http://www.tradekey.com



Asian Product Directoryhttp://www.asianproducts.com

Trade India (product directory)http://www.trade-india.com

New York International Gift Fairhttp://www.nyigf.com

San Francisco International Gift Fairhttp://www.sfigf.com

Toronto International Gift Fairhttp://www.torontointernationalgiftfair.com

World Trade Show Directoryhttp://www.worldtradeshow.com

Hong Kong Electronic Fairhttp://hkelectronicsfair.com

Jinhan Fair for Textiles, Garments and Fabricshttp://www.jinhanfair.com

Canton Fair http://www.cantonfair.org.cn

Productronicahttp://www.productronica.de

Shenzhen International Toys and Gifts Fairhttp://www.szsinoexpo.com

Export911 (Trade education and resources)http://www.export911.com

GoEastDirecthttp://www.goeastdirect.com

International Universal Currency Converterhttp://www.xe.com

International Business and Personal Credit Checks

Experianhttp://www.experian.com

Equifaxhttp://www.equifax.com

TransUnionhttp://www.transunion.com

http://www.asianproducts.com

http://www.trade-india.com

http://www.nyigf.com

http://www.sfigf.com

http://www.torontointernationalgiftfair.com

http://www.worldtradeshow.com

http://hkelectronicsfair.com

http://www.jinhanfair.com

http://www.cantonfair.org.cn

http://www.productronica.de

http://www.szsinoexpo.com

http://www.export911.com

http://www.goeastdirect.com

http://www.xe.com

http://www.experian.com

http://www.equifax.com

http://www.transunion.com

BBBOnline http://www.bbbonline.org

Top Auction Sites – (For Selling Imported/Exported Goods Online)

eBayhttp://www.ebay.com

uBidhttp://www.ubid.com

Bidz.comhttp://www.bidz.com

Overstock.comhttp://auctions.overstock.com

Bidstarhttp://www.bidstar.net

Auction.comhttp://www.auction.com

Yahoo! Auctionshttp://auctions.yahoo.com

MSN Shoppinghttp://shopping.msn.com

Froogle Shoppinghttp://www.froogle.com

Amazon.com Auctionshttp://www.amazon.com

Half.comhttp://www.half.com

Sotheby’shttp://search.sothebys.com

Christie’shttp://www.christies.com

Biddington’shttp://www.biddingtons.com



http://www.bbbonline.org

http://www.ebay.com

http://www.ubid.com

http://www.bidz.com

http://auctions.overstock.com

http://www.bidstar.net

http://www.auction.com

http://auctions.yahoo.com

http://shopping.msn.com

http://www.froogle.com


http://www.half.com

http://search.sothebys.com

http://www.christies.com

http://www.biddingtons.com

Liquidation.comhttp://www.liquidation.com

Taobao (China’s largest auction site)http://www.taabao.com

eBay China (American products are very hot)http://www.ebay.com.cn

Daily Bidzhttp://www.dailybidz.co.uk

Free Web Hosting

DotEasyhttp://www.doteasy.com

Be-Hostedhttp://www.be-hosted.com

Blogger.comhttp://www.blogger.com

Yahoo! Geo Citieshttp://geocities.yahoo.com

50Megshttp://www.50megs.com

Free Web Hostshttp://www.free-webhosts.com

FreeWebshttp://members.freewebs.com

The Free Sitehttp://www.thefreesite.com

The Homesteadhttp://www.homestead.com

Bravenethttp://www.bravenet.com

Web Spawnerhttp://www.webspawner.com

eCommerce Web Hosting

HostMySitehttp://www.hostmysite.com



http://www.liquidation.com

http://www.taabao.com

http://www.ebay.com.cn

http://www.dailybidz.co.uk

http://www.doteasy.com

http://www.be-hosted.com

http://www.blogger.com

http://geocities.yahoo.com

http://www.50megs.com

http://www.free-webhosts.com

http://members.freewebs.com

http://www.thefreesite.com

http://www.homestead.com

http://www.bravenet.com

http://www.webspawner.com

http://www.hostmysite.com

ValueWebhttp://www.valueweb.com

SuperbHostinghttp://www.superbhosting.com

Apollo Hostinghttp://www.apollohosting.com

BlueHosthttp://www.bluehost.com

Globat.comhttp://www.globat.com

Shared Web Hosting

Velcom.comhttp://www.velcom.com

APlus.nethttp://www.aplus.net

Exists Hostinghttp://www.existhosting.com

Host Gatorhttp://www.hostgator.com

Ready Hostinghttp://www.readyhosting.com

StartLogichttp://www.startlogic.com

eCommerce Shopping Carts (for online stores)

Fortune 3http://www.fortune3.com

Mighty Merchanthttp://www.mightymerchant.com

Actinic eCommerce Softwarehttp://www.actinic.co.uk

Bazaar Builderhttp://www.bazaarbuilder.com

CubeCarthttp://www.cubecart.com



http://www.valueweb.com

http://www.superbhosting.com

http://www.apollohosting.com

http://www.bluehost.com

http://www.globat.com

http://www.velcom.com

http://www.aplus.net

http://www.existhosting.com

http://www.hostgator.com

http://www.readyhosting.com

http://www.startlogic.com

http://www.fortune3.com

http://www.mightymerchant.com

http://www.actinic.co.uk

http://www.bazaarbuilder.com

http://www.cubecart.com

WirePlanethttp://www.wireplanet.com

Lite Commercehttp://www.litecommerce.com

Smart Shophttp://www.smart-shop.com

Charge.comhttp://www.charge.com

Just Add Commercehttp://www.richmediatech.com

Product Cart by Early Impacthttp://www.earlyimpact.com

eCom Palhttp://www.ecompal.com

Mal’s eCom (great for static websites)http://mals-e.com

Americarthttp://www.cartserver.com/americart

PrestoStorehttp://www.prestostore.com

Plexxahttp://www.plexxa.com

ePayhttp://www.epay.com

Important note: Not all shopping carts and online stores are created equal. One of the bestforums on the Internet can be found on Webmaster World http://www.webmasterworld.comContributors include the people that develop, program and use ecommerce applications andstorefronts on a daily basis.

Alibaba.com Resources Channel

Alibaba.com Discussion Lists and Forumshttp://resources.alibaba.com/discussion_board/11/General_Trade_Discussions.htm

Alibaba.com Tutorialshttp://resources.alibaba.com/discussion_board/22/Tutorials.htm



http://www.wireplanet.com

http://www.litecommerce.com

http://www.smart-shop.com

http://www.charge.com

http://www.richmediatech.com

http://www.earlyimpact.com

http://www.ecompal.com

http://mals-e.com

http://www.cartserver.com/americart

http://www.prestostore.com

http://www.plexxa.com

http://www.epay.com

http://www.webmasterworld.com

http://resources.alibaba.com/discussion_board/11/General_Trade_Discussions.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/discussion_board/22/Tutorials.htm

Alibaba.com Shipping Tutorialshttp://resources.alibaba.com/trade_essential/a101/Shipment_Delivery.htm

Alibaba.com Financing Tutorialshttp://resources.alibaba.com/topic/forumList.htm?forum=4

Alibaba.com Online Security Tutorialshttp://resources.alibaba.com/trade_essential/10/online_security.htm

U.S. Government Resources

FirstGovhttp://www.firstgov.gov

FedStatshttp://www.fedstats.gov/toolkit.html

IRShttp://www.irs.gov

U.S. Department of Commercehttp://www.commerce.gov

International Trade Administrationhttp://www.ita.doc.gov

Federal Citizen Information Centerhttp://www.pueblo.gsa.gov

United States Customs Servicehttp://www.customs.gov/

CIA World Factbookhttp://www.cia.gov

In the next chapter we have assembled a comprehensive resource of standard forms, contractsand agreements.

In addition, you will find shipment inspection forms, letter of credit information and the basicsof extending credit to buyers.

We have also provided information for obtaining financing from import/export banks to furtheryour business expansion.

We’re confident you will find this section extremely beneficial to your import/export business.



http://resources.alibaba.com/trade_essential/a101/Shipment_Delivery.htm

http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/forumList.htm?forum=4

http://resources.alibaba.com/trade_essential/10/online_security.htm

http://www.firstgov.gov

http://www.fedstats.gov/toolkit.html

http://www.irs.gov

http://www.commerce.gov

http://www.ita.doc.gov

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov

http://www.customs.gov

http://www.cia.gov


CHAPTER 23: Standard Forms, Contracts and Agreements

CHAPTER 23

Standard Forms, Contracts and AgreementsThis section can be a little overwhelming.

But keep in mind that not all of these forms, contracts and agreements are necessary in everysituation. This information is simply provided as ancillary information in case you should need it atsome point in your import/export business.

In most cases you can begin doing business on the Internet immediately. All of these forms,contracts and agreements will not be required. But if they are required or needed you will have theinformation here at your fingertips.

Shipment InspectionsGovernments or buyers demand inspection reports for a number of reasons:

To ensure shipments do not contain illegal or low-quality merchandise

To make sure importers are properly declaring their goods

To ensure they have received what they have paid for or are about to pay for (usually byindependent inspection)

The process typically starts with the buyer. Once a contract between a buyer and seller hasbeen established, the importer or buyer will arrange with their favorite inspection companya pre-shipment inspection. Although some countries require a specific company to performthe inspection, others have opened it up to a variety of competitors.

Upon requesting an inspection, the following information needs to be given to theinspecting company:

Company name and contact name of the exporter and the type and location of the goodsto be inspected.

Note: Regarding the time of the inspection, inspectors have busy schedules and need a fiveto seven day window to schedule a visit. Once you have a tentative date for inspection youneed to have the goods ready for inspection. This may mean opening the shipping unit orhaving the container staged and ready to load.

Many “Less than Container Load (LCL)” shipments can be inspected at the port of export

It is recommended that the inspection take place where you can supervise and answerquestions the inspector might have

You may also need to close up a crate or box following the inspection so it is best that youare or your forwarder is available to assist during the examination



Following the inspection, a “Clean Report of Findings” (or something similar) will be issued.This is usually required at the time of import. Most reports are issued following proof ofexport and usually can be completed by fax

The importer usually pays the costs for such examinations; however, delays can be invoiceddirectly to the exporter.

The inspector will look at the following aspects of the products in the shipment:

Safety

Are the products compliant with applicable safety regulations?

Performance

Does the product function properly, and as intended?

Appearance

What is the condition of the finish, printing and marking?

Packaging

Is the condition of packing, marking and accessories appropriate?

Sample inspection form:



Quality control and complianceWhen purchasing volume goods internationally, there are many areas in the process where you

should conduct checks on your prospective suppliers.

The first one is during the discovery and negotiation process when you are deciding whichsupplier to go with. More often than not, the prospective supplier will indicate whether heor she has achieved ISO accreditation for their products. See below for details:

The other very important stage in quality checking is prior to shipment. You need to engagethe services of an inspection officer to go through the shipment to check and see if what youare about to receive is what you paid for.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of standards.

ISO has built a strategic partnership with the WTO (World Trade Organization), with the commongoal of promoting a free and fair global trading system. Between 1947 and the present day, ISO haspublished more than 15,000 International Standards.

Although ISO’s principal activity is the development of technical standards, ISO standards alsohave important economic and social repercussions. ISO standards make a positive difference, not justto engineers and manufacturers for whom they solve basic problems in production and distribution,but to society as a whole.

ISO:9000 is concerned with “quality management.” This means what an organization doesto enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer and applicable regulatoryrequirements and continually to improve its performance in this regard.

ISO:14000 is primarily concerned with “environmental management.” This means what anorganization does to minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities,and to continually improve its environmental performance.



Documents against Payment (D/P) flow diagram

Documents against Payment/Bill of Exchange flow diagram(Courtesy of Wiley Publishing)



Letter of Credit (L/C) transactional flow diagram

Letter of Credit Flow diagram:(Courtesy of Wiley Publishing)

When buyers don’t pay: reduce your non-collection riskIn international trade, there are differing reasons why you may experience a buyer defaulting on

payment. A buyer may have a legitimate complaint regarding an incorrect shipment. There may be aproblem with the banks facilitating payment. Or a buyer may simply have decided not to pay for theirgoods. Regardless of the reason(s), there are some things you, as a supplier, can do to reduce this risk:

It is a general rule that before international trade is conducted, both parties should alwaysengage in some *formal and informal “checks” of the other party (see below).

It is always wise to have insurance against payment defaults, but be aware that you must exhaust all reasonable means of collecting payment before an insurance claim will be honored.

It also considered wise to select or suggest payment options, which reduce your exposure tofinancial loss, especially if you are dealing with a buyer for the first time. From the widerange of payment options available, the most popular among suppliers is TelegraphicTransfer (T/T) payment in advance, which means the payment is sent to you before youorder shipment of products.

Another option is to select a payment process, which works both in favor of the buyer and seller.Letters of credit distribute risk evenly.

Formal and Informal ChecksCommon sense approaches to finding genuine buyers

A long-held concern for many suppliers both experienced and new is that inquiring buyers mightbe showing interest only for price comparison purposes.

Alibaba.com’s sellers’ advice for dealing with buyers is summarized below:

1. Pay more attention to those emails, which are highly specific, as this can be an indicator of authenticity.

2. Distinguish authentic buyers via communication (chat, phone, fax, email) by askingquestions regarding:

Product specifications

Technical requirements

Acceptable pricing

Required quantity

Brand history

The number and type of companies with which they have cooperated with in the past

How long they have been in business

3. Business cards from buyers provide information, including:

a. Where their company is located in their city





b. How many telephone lines they havec. Whether they have their own website or whether they do e-commerce through

free servicesd. Whether they are retailers, wholesalers, importers or agents, or any combination

4. Give careful attention to product inquiries outside of your usual product categories. Onereason is that the buyer typically cannot find a supplier who can match his requirements.This is a good opportunity for you. On the other hand, even if you do not get an order, youcan gauge market demand and technical standards for new products. This information isnormally very hard to get.

Popular payment methods in international trading

Popular payment methodsThere are many ways to make and receive payment in international trade. Due to the physical

distances between buyer and seller, and the fact that the transaction may have taken place withoutthe two parties actually meeting, minimizing exposure to risk is on the minds of both parties. Thebuyer wants to make sure they receive their order in acceptable condition and on time, and the sellerneeds to know they will get paid for it.

Allocation Payment Details of Risk

TT or CashAdvance

100% buyer risk

T/T is the easiest payment form and is typically used whensamples or small quantity shipments are transported by air.

T/T is also used between buyers and sellers who have alreadyestablished a mutual trust, as this negates the risks associatedwith this, the fastest and cheapest form of payment.

Documents like air waybills, commercial invoices and packing lists will be sent to you along with the shipment in thesame aircraft.

As soon as the shipment arrives, you, with documentation, canclear the customs and pick up the goods. Shipping happensonly after the money is safely in seller’s bank account. It usuallytakes 3-4 days for such a wire transfer anywhere in the world.



Allocation Payment Details of Risk

Letter of Credit(L/C)

Escrow

DocumentAgainstPayment/Bill ofExchange

Open Account

Evenly shared

Evenly shared

Mainly withsupplier

100% seller risk

The L/C is a guarantee, given by the buyer’s bank that they willpay for the goods exported, provided that the exporter canprovide a given set of documents in accordance with clausesspecified in the L/C and in a timely manner.

The technical term for letter of credit is “Documentary Credit.”

Letters of credit deal in documents, not goods. Thus, theprocess works both in favor of both the buyer and the seller.

Simply put, a letter of credit is a letter written by the importer’sbank to the exporter. It verifies that the payment will beguaranteed when the bank is presented with concretedocuments (bills of lading and freight documents).

Most letters of credit are “irrevocable” once the importer hashad them sent, which means it cannot be changed unless boththe buyer and seller agree.

Escrow is a legal arrangement (and most commonly a paymentarrangement) whereby money is delivered to a third party (calledan escrow agent) to be held in trust (“in escrow”) pending thefulfillment of condition(s) in a contract, whereupon the escrowagent will deliver the payment to the proper recipient. Typically,escrow is used when the Buyer and Seller are unknown to each other.

In an international trade context, after the Buyer and Seller haveagreed to the transaction, the buyer puts the payment in escrowby paying the escrow agent, which both parties have agreed touse. The seller sends the shipment and upon acceptance bythe buyer, the escrow agent releases the payment to the seller.

(D/P) The exporter ships the goods, and then gives thedocuments (including the bill of lading necessary to claim thegoods at the foreign port) to his bank, which will forward them toa bank in the buyer’s country, along with instructions on how tocollect the money from the buyer.

When the foreign bank receives the documents, they willcontact the buyer and provide documents to the buyer onlywhen the buyer pays.

Opposite situation to T/T: The exporter receives payment onlyafter the buyer has received and inspected the goods.

Approaching the lender and understanding lender practices

How they rate youObviously, the lender will do comprehensive checks on your business and products. It is

advisable to have a detailed export plan ready and be able to clearly show how and when a loan willbe repaid. The typical information required might include some or all of the following:

Year end financial statements for the last three years on the business and copies of signedtax returns

Current interim financials, normally not older than 90 days

Personal financial statements on all owners with 20% or more of the company’s shares andcopies of each of their last three years’ individual tax returns

Product literature/business plan or narrative on how the business is operated, number ofproducts produced and sold to indicate proof of ability to perform

Resumes on key management

Financial projections (P&L) and a cash flow statement

Proof that 50% of content in the product(s) originates in the country of export

Purchase order copies from foreign buyers

Information on foreign buyers and their ability to pay

What you can doLikewise, you should hunt around for the best loan, as well as the institution which understands

what you want to achieve through export.

Ask the following questions:

What are the charges for confirming export documentation (letters of credit, processingdrafts, and collecting payments)?

Does the bank have foreign branches or affiliate banks? If so, where are they located?

Can the bank provide buyer credit reports? At what cost?

Does the bank have experience with your federal and state government financing programsthat support small business export transactions? If not, is it willing to consider participatingin these programs?

What other services can the bank provide?

The basics of extending credit to buyersFrequently, buyers ask for extended credit terms and/or financing to purchase your goods, but

few exporters can manage the cash flow issues or commercial risks without assistance caused bythese types of contracts. This called “term financing.” Buyer credit programs typically provide loanguarantees to commercial lenders. This kind of program benefits all the parties involved:

Exporter benefits: paid cash on delivery and acceptance of the product or service



Buyer benefits: extended credit terms

Lender benefits: guarantees, many backed by the government, for full repayment of the loan

A general overview of the nature of loans Trade finance generally refers to financing individual, self-liquidating transactions. Self-

liquidating means the bank collects payment for the transaction it has helped to finance.This is used to redeem the money lent to the exporter. The remainder is credited to theexporter’s account.

Pre-shipment financing is granted to the exporter to enable him to cover costs ofmanufacturing or shipment.

Working capital loans, which are associated with pre-shipment financing, are designed tocover more long-term operating costs related to a sales order or contract, specifically in theareas of labor, materials and inventory.

Lenders also engage in Post-shipment financing where a bank or government agencyextends a cash advance to the exporter against the security of billing instrumentsrepresenting the goods shipped, pending payment by the importer.

It is recommended that promotion financing, such as that needed to attend trade shows,come from the working capital of the firm.

For sellers: obtaining export financing

Export financingTrade finance is a specific topic within the financial services industry. It refers both to loans

sought by exporters (pre- or post- shipment) as well as to the extension of credit to importers, whichenables them to purchase from exporters. Exporters can obtain financing from either commercialbanks or governmental agencies looking to encourage SME (small to medium enterprise) export:

Large multi-national banks are generally thought to be the most experienced in tradefinance, but these banks are less interested in working with small businesses because of thesmaller deal sizes and volumes accompanied by greater risk. Even SMEs with large tradedeals are not attractive to larger banks due to risk and credit issues.

Federal and local government agencies offer programs to assist exporters with theirfinancing needs, which include the provision of loans or grants, as well as improving anexporter’s access to credit. Government guarantee and insurance programs are used bycommercial banks to reduce the risk associated with loans to exporters.

Resolving payment problems with buyersIf a payment problem occurs, you will want to resolve the issue as quickly as possible with the

buyer. You first need to get a good understanding of the entire situation before seeking disputeresolution assistance. Ask:

Were the goods supplied per the contract/invoice?Are all your shipping and customs documents in order?Was there damage or theft?

Have you attempted to negotiate a solution to the problem, along with a payment plan or





future concessions to the buyer?Have you discussed your problem with your bank and your lawyer?Do you have copies of all correspondence and records related to the dispute?

Help with payment disputes

If you have come to the point where negotiations with the buyer are not leading to a resolutionand you are determined to collect, you will have to turn to the advice of your bank, legal adviser andperhaps other advisory bodies involved in mediation, arbitration or even litigation.

The International Chamber of Commerce handles the majority of international arbitration and isusually acceptable to foreign companies because it is not affiliated with any single country.










TERMINOLOGY: A Glossary and Definition of Import/Export Acronyms

TERM -ACRONYM DEFINITION

ABI Automated Broker Interface - a part of Customs Automated CommercialSystem, permits transmission of data pertaining to merchandise beingimported into the U.S. Qualified participants include brokers, importers,carriers, port authorities and independent data processing companiesreferred to as service centers.

ACE Automated Commercial Environment - Part of Customs AutomatedCommercial System which controls imported merchandise from the time acarrier’s cargo manifest is electronically transmitted to Customs until controlis provided to another segment of the ACS.

ACH Automated Clearinghouse - The Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) is a featureof the Automated Broker Interface that is a part of Customs AutomatedCommercial System. The ACH combines elements of bank lock boxarrangements with electronic funds transfer services to replace cash or checkfor payment of estimated duties, taxes and fees on imported merchandise.

ACS Automated Commercial System - The Customs Automated CommercialSystem, ACS, is a joint public-private sector computerized data processing andtelecommunications system linking customhouses, members of the importtrade community and other government agencies with the Customscomputer. Trade users file import data electronically, receive neededinformation on cargo status and query Customs files to prepare submissions.Duties, taxes and fees may be paid by electronic statement through a Treasury-approved clearinghouse bank. ACS contains the import data used by Censusto prepare U.S. foreign trade statistics.

Ad Valorem Duty Duty imposed on imported merchandise based on a percentage of the value.

ADD Antidumping duty - A tariff imposed to discourage sale of foreign goods at lessthan a fair market price that would be detrimental to local manufacturers.See Dumping.

TERMINOLOGY

A Glossary and Definition of Import/Export Acronyms




Air Waybill A bill of lading that covers both domestic and international flights transportinggoods to specified destination. Technically, the air waybill is a non-negotiableinstrument of air transport that serves as a receipt for the shipper, indicatingthat the carrier has accepted the goods listed therein and obligates itself tocarry the consignment to the airport of destination according to specifiedconditions.

All Risk Extensive insurance coverage of cargo including coverage due to externalcauses such as fire, collision, pilferage, etc., but does not include special riskssuch as those resulting from acts of war.

AMS Automated Manifest System

APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

APHIS A branch of the USDA, the Animal Plant Inspection Service providesleadership in ensuring the health and care of animals and plants, improvingagricultural productivity and competitiveness and contributing to the nationaleconomy and the public health.

Appraisement The determination, by a proper Customs official, of the dutiable value ofimported merchandise following procedures outlined in the Tariff Act of 1930,as amended.

Arrival Notice This notice, which advises the consignee that cargoes have arrived, is issued bysteamship lines and can also serve as the freight bill.

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Assist Items furnished to the producer either free of charge or at a reduced amountor used in the production of merchandise that will be imported. Examplesinclude tools, dies, and molds. Artwork performed in the U.S. is notconsidered an assist. The value of an assist

ATPA Andean Trade Preferences Act

AWB Air Waybill

BEET Business Executives Enforcement Teams

BIS Bureau of Industry and Security

BL Bill of Lading - A contract between the owner of the goods and the carrier.There are primarily two types of ladings. A straight bill of lading isnonnegotiable. A negotiable or shipper’s order bill of lading can be bought,sold, or traded while goods are in transit and is used for letter of credittransactions. The customer usually needs the original or a copy as proof ofownership to take possession of the goods.

Bonded Warehouse A warehouse authorized by Customs authorities for storage or manufacture ofgoods on which payment of duties is deferred until the goods enter Customsterritory. The goods are not subject to duties if reshipped to foreign points.


Bureau of Census - In relationship to imports, the DOC has two primary interests. The firstinterest pertains to the Committee for Implementation of Textile Agreements(CITA) which regulates certain textile imports under Section 204 of theAgricultural Adjustment Act. The second area of interest involves thecollection of statistical data from import shipments.

Buying Commission A buying commission consists of any monies paid to the buyer’s agent, who iscontrolled by or works on behalf of the buyer.

CACM Central American Common Market

Cargo Selectivity The Cargo Selectivity System, a part of Customs Automated CommercialSystem, specifies the type of examination (intensive or general) to beconducted for imported merchandise. The type of examination is based ondatabase selectivity criteria such as assessments of risk by filer, consignee,tariff number, country of origin and manufacturer/shipper.

CARICOM Caribbean Common Market

Carnet Customs documents permitting the holder to carry or send samplemerchandise temporarily into certain foreign countries without paying dutiesor posting bonds. A carnet serves as both the entry document and a Customsbond.

Cartage Movement of freight via trucking, draying or carting.

CBERA Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act

CBI Caribbean Basin Initiative

CCL Commerce Control List

Certificate of Origin Certain nations require a signed statement as to the origin of the export item.Such certificates are usually obtained through a semiofficial organization suchas a local Chamber or Commerce. A certificate may be required even thoughthe commercial invoice contains the information.

CF 3461 - All imported merchandise (other than merchandise admitted into a FTZ) mustbe released by U.S. Customs before it can be received by theimporter/consignee. The CF 3461, Immediate Release, is the form used toobtain the proper release from Customs.

CFTA Canada Free Trade Agreement

Classification Classification is the categorization of merchandise according to theHarmonized Tariff Schedules of the U.S. Classification affects the duty statusof imported merchandise. Simplified, it is the process of finding the tariffclassification which best describes the imported good.

CM Contract Manufacturer

CMC Customs Management Center



Department of Commerce

System

ImmediateRelease


Compound Duty Tax imposed on imported merchandise based on a percentage of value andalso on the net weight or number of pieces, etc.

Consignment Delivery of merchandise from an exporter (the consignor) to an agent (theconsignee) under agreement that the agent sell the merchandise for theaccount of the exporter. The consignor retains title to the goods until sold. Theconsignee sells the goods for commission and remits the net proceeds to theconsignor.

Consignor The person or company shown on the bill of lading as the shipper.

Consolidation The combination of many small shipments into one container, often withmore than one destination/consignee.

Consumption Entry Required by U.S. Customs for goods entering the United States. Informationon the form includes cargo origin and description and estimated duties, whichmust be paid at the time the document is filed.

Container Single rigid, sealed, reusable metal box in which merchandise is shipped byvessel, truck or rail.

Container Freight Facility used by ocean carriers to load/unload cargo to and from containers.Most less-than-container-load lots of cargo are either packed into or de-vanned at the CFS.

Country of Origin Country where merchandise was grown, mined or manufactured.

Customs Broker Individual or firm licensed by Customs to enter and clear goods on behalf ofothers through Customs.

Customs Territory Includes the States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico

CVD Countervailing Duty - A special duty imposed on imports to offset the benefitsof subsidies paid to producers or exporters in the exporting country

Date of Exportation The actual date the merchandise leaves the country of exportation for the U.S.

DCS Destination Control Statement

Demurrage Excess time taken for loading or unloading a vessel. Demurrage refers only tosituations in which the charter or shipper, rather than the vessel’s operator, isat fault.

Devanning Unloading of cargo from a container.

DOC Department of Commerce

Dock Receipt A dock receipt is used to transfer accountability when the domestic carriermoves the export item to the port of embarkation and left with theinternational carrier for export.

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy



Station (CFS)




Domestic Status Domestic status material is Growth, product, or manufacture of the U.S. onwhich all IRS taxes have been paid. Previously imported and on which duty and tax have been paid. Previously entered free of duty and tax.

DOS Department of State

DPL Denied Persons List

Drawback Refund of all or part of Customs duties paid on imported merchandise, whichwas subsequently either manufactured into a different article or re-exported.

DTRA Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Dumping The sale of a commodity in a foreign market at less-than-fair value. Dumpingis generally recognized as an unfair practice because the practice can disruptmarkets and injure producers of competitive products in an importingcountry. Article VI of the GATT permits imposition of antidumping dutiesequal to the difference between the price sought in the importing country andthe normal value of the product in the exporting country.

Duty Tax levied by the government on the import, export or consumption of goodsand usually based on the value of the goods or some other factors such asweight or quantity or a combination of both.

EAA Export Administration Act

EAR Export Administration Regulations

EC/EU European Community/European Union

ECCN Export Control Classification Number

EFTA European Free Trade Association

EL Entity List

EMS Export Management System

EPCI Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative

FACR Foreign Assets Control Regulations

FDA Form 2877 Declaration for Imported Electronic Products Subject to Radiation Control

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FMS Foreign Military Sales

Foreign Inland Freight Foreign inland freight consists of the charges to move the freight from theforeign factory to the place of loading. Foreign inland freight charges aredutiable unless the terms of sale are “ex-factory” or the charges were incurredincident to the international shipment.




Freight Forwarder An independent business which assembles, collects and consolidates less-than-truckload freight. Also, a person acting as an agent in the transshippingof freight to or from foreign countries and the clearing of freight throughCustoms for compensation.

FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas

FTSR Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations

GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services

GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GSP Generalized System of Preferences

Harmonized Tariff The Harmonized Commodity Description & Coding System (or HTS) is asystem for classifying goods in international trade, developed under thedirection of the Customs Cooperation Council. Beginning on January 1, 1989,the new HS numbers replaced previously adhered-to schedules in over 50countries, including the United States. For the United States, the HTS numbersare the numbers that are entered on the actual export and import documents.Any other commodity code classification number (SIC, SITC, end-use, etc.) isjust rearrangements and transformations of the original HS numbers.

House Air Waybill Contains all the information of an air waybill but is not a financial document.This is a contract between the shipper and freight forwarder. All the shipmentscovered by the individual house air waybills are consolidated, and a single airwaybill is issued to cover the consolidated shipment.

IC Import Certificate

IEEPA International Emergency Economic Powers Act

Immediate Delivery Customs entry procedure that provides for immediate release of a shipmentprior to the arrival of merchandise although the merchandise must arrivewithin the port limits for the release to take effect. The entry summary withduties must be filed within 10 working days after release.

Importer Number Identification number assigned by the Customs Service to track importers,usually IRS number for the company.

In bond Procedure under which goods are transported or warehoused under Customssupervision until they are either formally entered into Customs territory andduties paid or until they are exported.

Incoterms Maintained by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), thiscodification of terms is used in foreign trade contracts to define which partiesincur the costs and at what specific point the costs are incurred.

Informal Entry The informal entry is a simplified import entry procedure for mostcommercial shipments not over $2,000 in value. The statutory limit forinformal entries is actually $2,500.

System (HTS)


Insurance Certificate This certificate is used to assure the consignee that insurance is provided tocover loss of or damage to the cargo while in transit.

Intensive Exam An intensive exam result means that Customs wants to physically examine themerchandise. Inspectors have the ability to “override” some intensive examsand convert them to general exams.

IPR Intellectual Property Rights

ITA Information Technology Agreement

IVL Individual Validated License

L/C Letter of Credit - A financial document issued by a bank at the request of theconsignee guaranteeing payment to the shipper for cargo if certain terms andconditions are fulfilled. Normally, the letter of credit contains a briefdescription of the goods, documents required, a shipping date, and anexpiration date after which payment will not longer be made.

LCL Less than container load

Liquidation System The Liquidation System, a part of Customs Automated Commercial System,closes the file on each entry and establishes a batch filing number which isessential for recovering an entry for review or enforcement purposes. An entryliquidation is a final review of the entry. The process of liquidation iscurrently under revision by the Customs Service.

Marine Cargo Insurance Broadly, insurance covering loss of, or damage to, goods at sea. Marineinsurance typically compensates the owner of merchandise for losses in excessof those which can be legally recovered from the carrier. Losses may includefire, shipwreck, piracy, inclement weather and various other causes.

Marking (or Marks) Letters, numbers and other symbols placed on cargo packages to facilitateidentification.

Marks of Origin The physical markings on a product that indicate the country of origin wherethe article was produced. Customs rules require marks of origin of mostcountries.

MERCOSUR Southern Common Market

MLA Manufacturing License Agreement

Mod Act The Customs Modernization Act is a comprehensive effort by the U.S.Customs Service to streamline and automate the commercial operations andimprove compliance with Customs laws and regulations.

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MPF Merchandise Processing Fee is a fee assessed for formal entries based on 0.21%of the invoice value, with a minimum of $25 per formal entry and a maximumof $485.






NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement. A free trade agreement that comprisesCanada, the U.S. and Mexico, exceeding 360 million consumers and acombined output of $6 trillion—20 % larger than the European Community.

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NDA Non-disclosure Agreement

Net Weight Weight of the goods alone without any immediate wrappings (e.g., the weightof the contents of a tin can without the weight of the can).

NIS Newly Independent States of the ex-Soviet Republic.

NVOCC Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier: A cargo consolidator of smallshipments in ocean trade, generally soliciting business and arranging for orperforming containerization functions at the port.

OAC Office of Antiboycott Compliance

Ocean Bill of Lading A receipt for the cargo and a contract for transportation between a shipper andthe ocean carrier. It may also be used as an instrument of ownership which canbe bought, sold, or traded while the goods are in transit. To be used in thismanner, it must be a negotiable “Order” Bill-of-Lading. A Clean Bill-of-Ladingis issued when the shipment is received in good order. If damaged or ashortage is noted, a clean bill-of-lading will not be issued. An On Board Bill-of-Lading certifies that the cargo has been placed aboard the named vessel and issigned by the master of the vessel or his representative. On letter of credittransactions, an On Board Bill-of-Lading is usually necessary for the shipper toobtain payment from the bank. When all Bills-of Lading are processed, a ship’smanifest is prepared by the steamship line. This summarizes all cargo aboardthe vessel by port of loading and discharge. An Inland Bill-of-Lading (a waybillon rail or the “pro forma” bill-of-lading in trucking) is used to document thetransportation of the goods between the port and the point of origin ordestination. It should contain information such as marks, numbers, steamshipline, and similar information to match with a dock receipt.

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OFAC Office of Foreign Assets Control

Open Insurance A marine insurance policy that applies to all shipments made by an exporterover a period of time rather than to a single shipment.

Packing Costs Packing costs are defined as “the cost of all containers (except instruments ofinternational trade) and coverings of whatever nature or materials used inplacing merchandise in condition, packed and ready for shipment to theUnited States.

Packing List A list showing the number and kinds of items being shipped, as well as otherinformation needed for transportation purposes.

(Actual Net Weight)


Paperless A paperless result indicates that the merchandise is low risk from a compliantimporter. The broker places a stamp on the CF3461 and signs the document;thus, the merchandise is released without a Customs official ever looking atthe documents.

PO Purchase Order

Port of Entry A port at which foreign goods are admitted into the receiving country; portwhere the imported merchandise is entered for consumption.

Port of Import First port within the Customs territory where imported merchandise arrives.

Pro Forma Invoice An invoice provided by a supplier prior to the shipment of merchandiseinforming the buyer of the kinds and quantities of goods to be sent, their value,and important specifications (weight, size, etc.).

Protest A “protest” is the method primarily used by importers to take issue withCustoms decisions with which they disagree. A protest is normally utilized asan opportunity to provide evidence that will result in the refund of duties andother charges that were erroneously paid.

Reasonable Care “That degree of care which a person of ordinary prudence would exercise inthe same or similar circumstances. Due care under all circumstances. Failureto exercise such care is ordinary negligence.”

Related Parties Members of the same family, spouse, and lineal descendants Officers or directors if each individual is also an officer or director of the

other organization Partners Person owning, controlling or holding with power to vote 5% or more of

outstanding stock Person who is an officer or director in both organizations

SACU Southern African Customs Union

SADC Southern African Development Community

SDN Specially Designated Nationals

SED Shipper’s Export Declaration

Shipping Weight Shipping weight represents the gross weight in kilograms of shipments,including the weight of moisture content, wrappings, crates, boxes andcontainers (other than cargo vans and similar substantial outer containers).

Ships Manifest A list, signed by the captain of a ship, of the individual shipments constitutingthe ship’s cargo.

SLI Shippers Letter of Instruction

SO Sales Order




Surety Bond A surety bond is a promise or guarantee of payment to U.S. Customs in theevent of a default in any terms of the importation laws. If the importer doesnot comply, Customs will look to the surety for payment and compliance.

Tare Weight The weight of a container and/or packing materials without the weight of thegoods it contains.

Tariff List or schedule of merchandise with applicable rates to be paid or charged foreach listed article. A schedule of duties or taxes assessed by a government ongoods as they enter or leave a country.

Tariff Rate Quota Permits a specified quantity of merchandise to be entered at a reduced rateduring a specified period.

Tariff Shift A change in tariff classification may be from one heading in a chapter toanother heading in the same chapter. Some changes must be from onechapter to another chapter.

TDO Table of Denial Orders

Textile Declaration In addition to the original textile visa, shipments containing textiles must beaccompanied by either a single or multiple country declaration whichprovides certification as to the article and country of origin.

Through Bill of Lading A single bill of lading covering receipt of the cargo at the point of origin fordelivery to the ultimate consignee, using two or more modes oftransportation.

TIB The Temporary Importation Bond (TIB) procedures allow importers to entermerchandise that will be exported within one year from importation fortemporary use without paying duties. Merchandise entered under a TIBcannot be sold but can be repaired, altered or processed.

Trade Name Name by which a commodity is commonly known in a trade; a name used asa trademark.

Trademark A symbol, design, word, letter, etc., used by a manufacturer or dealer todistinguish his products from those of competitors and usually registered andprotected by law.

Trailer Vehicle without motor power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and soconstructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.

Transaction Value Transaction Value is the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods,with additions made for any dutiable items not included, or deductions madefor any non-dutiable items included.

Transfer Pricing Overpricing of imports and/or under-pricing of exports between affiliatedcompanies in different countries for the purpose of transferring profits,revenues or monies out of a country in order to evade taxes.

Transship Cargo, which is transferred from one vessel to another.




TSCA The Toxic Substances Control Act is intended to protect human health and theenvironment from unreasonable risks of certain chemicals. The EPA and U.S.Customs Service are responsible for keeping chemicals that have notundergone risk screening out of the United States.

TWEA Trading with the Enemy Act

UCP 500 Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits

Ultimate Consignee The ultimate consignee is the person located abroad who is the true party ininterest, receiving the export for the designated end-use.

Ultimate Purchaser The ultimate purchaser is generally the last person in the United States whowill receive the article in the form in which it was imported.

URAA Uruguay Round Agreements Act

USITC U.S. International Trade Commission

USTR United States Trade Representative

Value Added Fee This method of pricing offers a base entry fee with extra charges for additionalclassifications, additional invoices, issuance of delivery orders, freighttracking, phone and fax charges and other miscellaneous services.

Visa A visa is an endorsement in the form of a stamp on an invoice and consists ofa stamped authorization that is usually circular, square, or rectangular inshape. The visa number normally consists of a standard nine digit number. *Click here for more on a textile visa.

War Risk Insurance coverage for loss of goods resulting from any act of war.

Wharf age A charge assessed by a pier or dock owner for handling incoming or outgoingcargo.

WTO World Trade Organization

