Social Media as a Marketing Tool

If you are running a small retail business and you're interested in purchasing items from overseas to sell in your store, you'll want to get help and information from professionals. This is especially true if you've never dealt with foreign imports, and if you don't speak the language where you are buying goods. Here are a few experts you want to talk with in advance.

Translation Services

Hire a translation professional from a business such as Liaison Multilingual Services, Inc to talk with the company you are buying goods from, to verify quality, shipping information and cost. The translator can read the fine print in your contracts and agreements that you don't understand, and they can work with the retailer to lower the cost or negotiate shipping terms.

You don't want to buy a product from another country without talking with the company in person first, and a translator can help you do that. The translator can help you verify that the company is legitimate, and can speak with the business organizations in that country to see that the business is registered.

Tax Professional

If you don't have a tax professional that you already use regularly, you want to talk with a tax professional before you order to see what documentation you'll need to have when you file your taxes. There are strict rules with buying items on the Internet that you have to follow. If the tax rate in that country is different than in America, or you don't pay a tax, you don't want to get charged or convicted of tax fraud later on.

Customs

Verify the items that are going to be shipped and discuss any potential items with customs. Items from foreign countries may have hazardous labels or contain chemicals preventing them from getting into the country easily. Customs can tell you how long the items may get held up for when the items arrive to the United States, and what you should expect to deal with when you order online from another country.

You can often save a lot of money by purchasing items from a different country and having them shipped to your business, and then putting the items on your shelves. You need to make sure that you do everything legally and that you fill out all the right forms and documents, so you don't have problems getting the items inside the country, or trying to sell the items later on. This will save you time and stress later on.