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Shipping/logistics and storage (fulfilment) for items to the UK
Hey,
I'm looking for a UK based storage and shipping solution for a new business that makes specialist musical instrument parts. The plan is to ship items to the UK from China ready to purchase and avoid the inconvenience of customs and waiting for shipping. Ideally the service will stores the stock and can send them out when an order is recieved. The volume to begin with is going to be quite low (single numbers per month) because the products are very niche but the important thing is scalability for the future if/when I get more mainstream exposure. Any recommendations?
9 comments
spronzygruntfuttock
OP11 months agoI understand. An individual purchase decision is made by a musician, they usually hire a guitar tech or luthier to fit the neck. Luckily, I already have had repeat customers and I'm only on the third batch of necks but B2B is probably more efficient.
I have already reached out to a couple of manufacturers with niche appeal to musicians who might appreciate the benefits of the products I'm offering. But it's a slow process given the connections are global.
*vyolla*
Mentor11 months agoIf your initial volume is going to be as low as single numbers per month to start and this is a niche product, I'd first start like most businesses do and have the items sent to your home and send them out from there, just test the water to see if its a viable business first.
It is possible, if these are specialist parts, that you'll find that potential buyers will instead go to a specialist who can both supply and fit them. In this case you'll need to do a little research and perhaps some marketing spend to target the suppliers/fitters.
You can research scalability whilst this is all going on. You'll then have a better idea of what's required.
You do need to trade on an eBay business account though (you can have more than one account).
spronzygruntfuttock
OP11 months agoYou make a couple of good points there, thank you.
I travel a lot for business. My main gig is exporting steel curtain wall components from China to SE Asia, India and the Middle East. I'm not going to be at home all the time to personally fulfill orders. The day job still pays the bills atm as the income I've made so far from sales on this carbon composite venture will be reinvested.
I doubt very much that anyone will be supplying AND fitting these products because they are labour intensive to make, need space and specialist equipment to make efficiently and require a lot of experience, particularly with epoxy resins, to achieve the precise tolerances necessary. The finished products also have to be fitted by an experience guitar technician as a matter of course due to the fractions of millimetre involved in achieving a high quality installation on an instrument.
*vyolla*
Mentor11 months agoThat's what I meant, it may not be the musician making the purchase, but the specialist fitter. Have you researched who usually buys the product you're planning on selling and where they buy it from?
This is such a niche business, it's difficult to advise.
jckl1957
·11 months agoYou are asking a fairly specialized question.
Only mentors can reply in this part of the forum and we mainly respond to questions about Ebay policy.
Maybe ask on the business seller board?
You would need a business account rather than a private account as you would be trading.
spronzygruntfuttock
OP11 months agoOK, perhaps I missed something mentioning this part of the community was for policy questions. But the alternative you've suggested is going to involve jumping through more hoops than I otherwise need to at this point in time. Maybe I'll try asking somewhere else. Thanks for your reply.
tobiasd4
Mentor11 months agoYou are asking other sellers to give away info they may not want to, especially if you will be in competition with them.
spronzygruntfuttock
OP11 months agoI think you're not letting a lack of insight prevent you from making assumptions. And for that reason, I'll respectfully withdraw from this exchange. I've had some helpful recommendations from another website.
papso22
Mentor11 months agoAre you aware that your current listing says the earliest you can post is August 5th?
The suggestion to ask on the business seller board where more members can answer was an eminently sensible one, as was the warning that they might not want to.
If someone buys to sell, ebay policy, and the law, require them to use an ebay business account.