You can read my previous post on recent updates here and Part 4 here.
Ok, just a quick update. For Product 1, all the physical products are completed. I have fully paid the manufacturer. I have 5 cartons with the manufacturer now. See below.
Currently, I have 5 cartons with the manufacturer now. See below. I consider this one of the key milestones.
Each item in the carton has their own individual FNSKU barcode affixed at the back. My contact person from the manufacturer has taken a few photos (as well as 2 videos) of the individual products and case packed items in the cartons to show me. Basically, the items are neatly stacked in the cartons and protected by bubble wrap.
Now I am currently getting a final quotation from a freight forwarder/custom agent. Most likely I will be shipping via Air Express (either via the manufacturer or the freight forwarder). I have to wait until Monday night due to the time difference of the working hours of the freight forwarder in the US.
The shipping cost during this period (4th quarter and holiday period) has increased, which is unavoidable.
I have read articles highlighting that goods shipped during this period to Amazon might get lost or misplaced leading to delays due to the large number of items Amazon receive during this period. Hope this doesn’t happen to my goods.
I have to wait until after 19 Dec 2016, before I print the shipping label via my Seller Central Account. And obtain the address of the Amazon Fulfillment Centre I will be shipping my goods to.
The staff from this manufacturer has been very cooperative and very prompt in replying. Except for the initial mistake in misprinting the package design, she has been extremely helpful and proactive. We have used the chat in Alibaba, email, and Whatsapp (recently). She even tried to call me via Whatsapp. Oh yeah, I have recently added the Wechat App in my smartphone.
I haven’t been doing much after initiating the 3 orders via Trade Assurance in Alibaba. Spent lots of time with my family during this period. I guess I didn’t want to go further into the research phase for new products and look forward to the next phase of shipping the goods and promoting the products in Amazon, so see how things pan out.
I did spend some time tweaking the listing pages and the images. But that is about it. Oh yeah, in the meantime I did listen to podcasts and watch some Youtube videos pertaining to Amazon FBA Private Label.
For Product 2, due to my changes in the sticker design, the production end date is postponed to 21 Dec 2016. For that product, as there are fewer items and the shipping cost doesn’t really cost a lot (not much incentive to look for other freight forwarders), the manufacturer will be shipping directly to USA Amazon for me. The time needed for shipping it is also longer – if I am not wrong 20 days.
Base on my research, I have a feeling that Product 2 might be more successful. Both in terms of pricing (price vs cost) and the number of items bought each month (base on what I can see from similar items listed on Amazon).
On a side note, I have yet to obtain the approval for my ITIN application with the USA IRS. I have read online that it can take a couple of months for approval.
A Pen Quotes 