b.c

Ever heard of paragraphs, Gale? btw Gale, what 3rd party tool you using? We have used Channeladvisor for years but looking for a change. Corey, dont let anyone ever convince you that you cannot succeed. When I started my business 8 years ago, primarily selling on ebay, many told me I could not make a go of it. Since then, I have done over 250,000 ebay transactions. Determination and dedication goes a long way. With that being said.... eBay (aka FeeBay) is a really tough marketplace these days. The barriers to entry are virtually nothing. This works for you in the beginning but works against you as time goes on. Almost anyone with a couple bucks and access to a computer can sell things on ebay.....and most have done so. The supply/demand ratio is at a point where there is no equilibrium advantage for the supplier. And if there is one, it will not last for long. An example is the category that we sell in on ebay. There are a handful of suppliers that are basically selling items at delivered cost. I question how they continue to survive, but they do so. Due to this and some other factors, our ebay sales are only about 10% of what they used to be in 2007 and 2008. Back then our ebay sales were about 80%+ of our sales. Now they are roughly 20% as we have focused more on our website. We basically use ebay for customer acquisition. We make no money on ebay despite being higher priced than some of our cut-throat competitors. But we then try to route them to our website for future sales. eBay has also dramatically raised their fees for most categories over the past few years (although they did finally reduce them a bit this spring). And it is a fairly cumbersome system to operate effectively. Frankly, its a pain in the @ss. As Gale eluded to, you really have to stay on top of it and analyze many things on a regular basis. But worst case scenario, you can use it for what it is: a cheap easy way to get started and get your feet wet and see if you can make a go of it. If you can make it on ebay in 2010 then you can make it anywhere, imho.

Ding ding ding. +1. Hell, plus +100. Its right on. protectionism doesnt work in this global environment anyway. We need the best and the brightest here legally. American Universities train/educate a lot of them anyway only to send them back to their home countries while many of them would prefer to stay here. Talk about brain drain. Look at all the tech companies that have been created over the past 20 years or so. Mnay of them have been started by immigrants. And they have created a ton of jobs and made this country a better place.

Well, as the article states, his record minus BYD is not that good. But assuming that he can continue that success in Asia, or even just China alone, would sure make him a good candidate. Asia, particularly China, is where the best investment opportunities will be now and well into the future. What I found interesting in the article is his apparent persistence and perseverance. He had a rough start in the late 90's and was still able to get himself through it and to where he is today. Good for him.

You referring to Canton fair? I am there every year. Perhaps we can meet up again.

I too applaud your concern and desires. But your mission is just not possible, imo. I would bet your only chance of accomplishing this is to find him once again on the streets of Chengdu. Knowing a bit about Chinese culture and experiencing some of these same issues with them in my industry, I would guess the following: 1. He very well could have got the design idea from someone else anyway. 2. Chinese view this 'copying' issue completely different than us. It is slowly changing to a more western viewpoint but its still considered somewhat of a compliment/honor to be copied. 3. This is more of a rationalization of the situation which may or may not make you feel better about it, but the Chinese are ruthless copiers themselves. Several times we have spent a good chunk of change on an original design and have these things happen: 1. Our own supplier sells our proprietary design to other companies in other countries and 2. A different manufacturer in China gets ahold of the design and copies it with a slight modification and sells to other importers even in the US. Worst case, the guy at least gets a bit of Karma out of it, if you believe in such a thing. As another alternative, you could probably find an image very similar to that online if you search for stock photos. istockphoto.com is a good one. You can usually get nice royalty free images of about anything you want there for anywhere from $5 to $15. Oh, yes, I was strictly referring to the legality of it. I understand and respect the moral issues you are referring to.

Kudos to your Daughter. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about. If it makes you feel better, then have a graphic designer make a slight change to it when it is put in digital form, if you are going that route for a better quality image.

As you probably know by reading the forum for awhile that there are very few hardcore, easy, definitive answers for much of anything related to GUZ and this process. However, given the details that you stated in your story, this is highly unlikely to be a problem. Many people on here have met their SO while still being married, me included. I have never seen it to be a problem when it is a natural and understandable situation such as yours. Welcome and Good Luck!

It ended up getting pretty ugly in downtown Toronto. I am curious if you made the trip and how it went.

If you feel that you will not have much ability for sales and gross profits over the remaining 7 months then, yes, you need to try to make that up within the 5 months. Yes, you have the margin/markup correct. But the worst thing you can do is paint everything with a wide 40% margin brush, if that is what yo are thinking. It might be easier, but you very well could have products you could get more margin out of to give you some padding if you have to discount any slow moving items.

Ronnie you like myself are entitled to our opinions. I am surprised that you would you would take a stand against the USA. I read in your posts that you went beyond the call of duty in Nam. You demonstrated bravery and call to duty. You believed then in Duty, Honor, Country. Today according to your posts you have been able to have very sizeable VA benefits and pensions for your heroic efforts. Yea you and your Special Other got got a raw deal in Guangzhou. If the US continues to loose jobs and wealth there will be no funds to help veterans like yourself and the American people. Looking out for each other begins at home. Tony, I wish the best for America. I haven't changed but the America I volunteered to defend has. I don't say what I did out of anger at the criminal acts of grocery clerks working for the DOS in Guangzhou did, or for spite. I said it because I don't feel the Chinese are the problem. They didn't take any of our jobs, our jobs were given to them by Americans. I am a loyal American, but I refuse to be a finger pointer when the problem was caused by Americans, and allowed to be blamed on others. If I'm gonna go down, then I intend to go down with my integrity intact. China didn't start this crap, America did, to it's own, by it's own. Two of the times I got shot down were by Chinese made, and supplied, radar controled and tri-angulated .51 cal rounds whose tracer rounds look like green bushel baskets of fire when they home in on you. I had no tricks in a slow moving helicopter to evade them...we saw them coming from three areas converging on us, we had a load of wounded onboard and we were helpless to get away...but I don't hate the Chinese...hell, I hate Robert McNamera and the lying generals who helped propagate that crap to keep going on so they could get more stars on the shoulders for their careers. Just like I hate the special interest groups and lobbyists and heads of American corporations who have lead America to the financial abyss that we are in. THEY are the enemy here. I can remember walking into the local Wal-Mart in this simple rural community I live in and everywhere from the ceiling were banners that proudly stated...MADE IN AMERICA WITH AMERICAN PRIDE It begs the question....did the Chinese come over here in the middle of the nighta nd take down those banners, and the jobs of the people making everything that used to be sold in Wal-Mart?....I don't think so. Did the Chinese invade the homes of and bend the arms up behind the backs of corporate Wal-Mart, hold their kids at gunpoint and force them to take American jobs and give them to Chinese sweat shop workers? ...I don't think so. America has done this to itself, yes, change needs to start at home. No need to take China or anyone else down because American corporations made decisions that screwed us all. If I were a Chinese factory owner and a Wal-Mart corporate head came in and told me, "Hey Zhang, I want you to make millions of cheap plastic do-dads for me so I can sell them in our stores." What do you think I would say, "Oh no, I can't do that, it would take jobs from your American workers." No, I would take the opportunity and run with it. But, who went to the Chinese and asked them to make all this stuff....Americans. Does China really have to bend down and take Uncle Sams Chinese made dildo up the butt, change their currency and screw themselves, and be the scapegoat for American corporations greed in screwing American workers out of their jobs? Apparently many folks think they should, I apologize if I must, but I jest ain't one of them. Tony, you are a good guy, we simply disagree on this one. I have seen the enemy, and he shore didn't have slant eyes and a red star on his ball cap. He was much more sneaky, cruel, and insidious than that. Note: The above was written by a slow tawkin', and some would say, slow thinkin' redneck hillbilly who saw Wal-Mart, etc., take down all their banners which proclaimed Made in America with American Pride, a long time ago. tsap seui A most excellent post Sir Tsappy!

Some think the RMB could actually decrease against the dollar, particularly if the euro continues to erode. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1915926720100619 No way will the RMB strengthen significantly against the dollar in the short term. It would hurt China and the US too much. Even a 40% appreciation of the RMB vs the dollar (or a 50% tariff to Chinese goods) will not bring back jobs in the US. Those manufacturing jobs will just eventually migrate at a faster pace to other cheap labor destinations such as Vietnam, Thailand, etc.

Yep definitely a tough game. But you never know until you try. I would certainly consider more than the business aspects in your analysis. It may not look like its too promising, but how is it going to affect your life at home if you do not allow her this opportunity? If you can afford to lose a little chunk of change in the 3 month period then you might get a lot of bonus points for it. I would take a more consultative approach regarding the inventory. Assuming she has a decent variety of things now, use that to experiment and see what is selling and whats not. Then try to source the specific items that sell well. I wouldnt rule out sourcing them directly from China. First, a lot of companies have lowered minimum order quantities significantly if you find an opportunity to buy directly from a company. Or you could have a friend or family member buy the items and ship them to you. Either way is not that difficult.

If you note in my Chinatown Thread, there are more Chinese shopping centers than just the down-town one, the ones on the north east side of Toronto "Markham and Richmond Hill" are extensive too, Pacific Mall in Markham is huge. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=37849 Besides I doubt that protests would extend into the downtown Old China Town. I agree. I wouldnt let it stop you from going. I just posted it as an FYI.

Just saw this on drudge and thought I would post it here for you, Corey. I am sure everything will be fine though. http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE65E4RB20100617

Yep if you are not a US Permanent Resident (Green-Card holder) then a transit visa is needed for canada. Is a problem for K-Visas too, so avoid connections in Canada if you are a NON-Resident. Yeah, I got burnt to the tune of about $500 on that!

Not normal but anything is possible. I might be wrong on this but I think there were some policies impleneted by the government over the last year or 2 that would make this situation very disadvantageous to employers. Most office jobs in China are as Dan stated, the 9 to 5 variety (most actually seem to be 8am to 6pm with a 2 hour lunch break. This is the case for the jobs my wife worked and most of the office workers of the factories that I deal with).

If possible you might want to check out Toronto. It has the best Chinatown that we have been to (also been to NYC and Chicago). If I remember correctly, its about an hour and a half drive from the falls.

Wow, that is very impressive. You should be very proud. Looks like she has found her calling. Congrats!

The resentment is certainly real. I have experienced it on a couple occasions. Nothing too bad thankfully. One was a stupid young drunk kid in a pub in chengdu and the other was a middle aged man in a shopping mall in chengdu. They both just had some choice words for my wife. Not a big deal. I cant blame them. I think we would feel much the same way if the situation was reversed. And there are some things in that article that are hard to disagree with. There are many foreigners that go to China solely to have a bit too much fun.

I will check with the crazy lady. We might be a go.

This should be no problem at all. First, there is no real legal issues or requirements to worry about provided that nothing is illegal in the US. For example, that the DVD's are not pirated. If everything is legit and legal then nothing else to concern yourself about. How much of this stuff are you bringing in, in $ amount and CBM volume? If its just a little bit (like a few boxes, etc) then most carriers (like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc) will charge the duties (if any) upon delivery. If you are looking at a container load (20ft, 40ft or 40ft HQ) then you will be best served by contacting a local customs broker. Here is a list for the Kansas City area: http://www.magicyellow.com/category/Custom.../-State_ks.html They fill out and file all the customs documents for you for a relatively small fee. It is well worth it as even just looking up the product classifications for each item can be a pain. Most will also take care of the logistics as well. If they dont then they will at least give you somebody who will. Its a very smooth process. I dont have much experience in small orders but I import several containers a year. Let me know if I can help you further.

Cool story Jeff! Good luck buddy. Hang in there.

Hey buddy, after his first two posts ( I saw the one aimed at you) I figure this is some guy we may already know who is pretending to have just gotten out of the crotch, is bored, and tryin' to get a rise out of folks. tsap seui Good call. I had the same thought.

That was one of the scariest days of my life. My wife was working on the 15th floor in an office building in Chengdu then. We had just gotten our appointment letter a couple days before. We were very happy. I was in my office late that night finalizing a project. I was chatting with my wife on msn or QQ and then all the sudden she went offline. About a minute later i got a text from her saying "big earthquake. building shaking. under desk. scared". I immediately turned on the tv to cnn and checked all the news websites and nothing. I kept trying to call her but couldnt get through. 10 minutes later still no news and no contact from her. My fear and anxiety is getting the best of me. I am pacing in my office. Finally big red breaking news on cnn.com saying big earthquake in China. Many feared dead. An hour later still not able to contact her. But more news is trickling in. Finally about 6 hours later and after having serious doubts of her safety, I get a call from her and she is safe back in her hometown with her parents. It was a sad and terrible day for many.

Seems just asking about a previously locked or pulled thread is just cause to pull a thread. Its getting rather ridiculous on here lately. Someone needs to lighten up a bit.