Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi all,

I have a friend in England who has developed a great new toy - I really believe it will be a big hit here in the US. How can I bring it here? Do I treat it as an import business or would I be the US distributor - what`s the difference? Does anyone know about international licensing/importing?

She`s starting to get press over there and I`d like to be the ONE to bring it into the US.

Hi
I think you might be over complicating the situation.
What i hear is that you want to buy toys wholesale in the UK, ship them here, and resell them in the US. Right?

The PDF above is huge, but does cover some interesting stuff on page 32. If the total value is under 2,000 you can just sent it by Royal Post. There is some paper work , but your friend may be able to take the box(s) to a place like mailbox etc. in the UK and they would help her out. Using the mail you do loose some control. It`s hard to know what the duty costs might be, but if you`re dealing in small amounts this is the best way to go.

For larger shipments, use DHL, Fedex, UPS. They do this every day.  It will cost more, but your friend will have to do less work. You can even call Fedex and have them go directly to point X and pick up the package and have it billed to your account. In this case  the carrier has their own in-house customs broker. I think this is what you`re talking about licensing.  FedEx, and the rest, may want your EIN # or your SS#. This is part of the government`s  requirements.

For even larger shipments, you get yourself a freight forwarder and a customs broker. These are the people licensed by the fed government. You tend to work with these people like accountants. They move all the paper around, but they also can show you better strategies to reduce costs.

thank you for useful info just what i look for

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Hi Jeff,

Could you please list your preferred Freight forwarders / customs broker?
I am looking for a recommendation, instead of trying my hand at any random agency.

thanks much
Swaroop

Swaroop
When I was living in California, my freight forwarder was in Long Beach.  My recommendation is to find a freight forwarder in your area. They will have valuable knowledge about how to get it to your final designation. Suppose you are located in Kansas. Yes, a shipping expert in Long beach will know everything there is to know about ocean freight, but they may not be very efficient on the last leg of the journey. It may seem counter intuitive , but that last leg can be more expensive than crossing an entire ocean.

Searching locally also gives you the advantage of a face to face meeting. Its good to have somewhere to go if something goes wrong.  I wish i could give you a simple way to search, but I`ve seen these groups listed under. freight forwarders, freight brokers, international shipping etc.

Super Jeff! that does make sense. I think I will look under classifieds like Craigslist, to see what I can get.

And BTW, I am in Madison, WI, which would mean the nearest port would be Chicago.

thanks
Swaroop

Ahhh
In that case I would look into Phoenix International.
This is a HUGE company based in Chicago, but they have a little satellite office in Brookfield WI!
I have never done business with them , but had an excellent conversation at a trade show. They had no reservation about working with a real small customer like myself. They wanted my business.
I`d read-up that web site and take a drive over there and have a chat.