[captaincleanoff]

I am moving to HK shortly, and am interested in setting up an eBay export business. I have been selling products on eBay in Australia for some time, and have built up good feedback.

I am wondering if anyone here has any experience selling items from HK on other eBay websites (ebay.com, ebay.com.au, ebay.com.uk). Are there any items that are particularly profitable?

I was thinking that items that are easy to get in HK, but hard to get in other countries could be hugely profitable. BB gun parts (scopes etc, anything that is legal to sell), and radio controlled car parts are examples.

Anyone have any ideas or input?

[gweilo]

Ebay hk is only in chinese, i registered with a friends help but i still get emails in chinese, confirming buys/sales and it is really annoying having to get a chinese friend to translate everything so i don't miss anything. Unable to register anywhere else as when you type in your address it automatically sends you to ebayhk.
Hong kong post seems to be reliable so far, no lost packages yet.

gweilo

[jayinhongkong]

Since I'm a pretty heavy e-bayer, I'm not gonna give you too much information....lol. believe me, there's a lot of items that you can source out here.

[nation]

There are ways to get around registering a HK address in an overseas ebay account so that shouldn't be a problem. You can simply change the address on your Australian ebay registration.

Best to go to those ebay stastical sites to get an idea of which items are the hot sellers to ensure you're focusing on the in demand products for the market you're targeting. Once you have narrowed down a few products use that as a base for determining whether those products are easily attainable in HK, significantly cheaper (HK has become quite expensive over the years), require less support from your end, won't have horrendous shipping costs etc etc. Also for the products you've narrowed down check that there are no HK sellers that have already built a reputation for that product. They will be hard to compete against and as they're typically HK locals they will have the contacts and the relationships to get the best cost price that may take you time to develop.

[jayinhongkong]

excellent general advice there. i'm a voracious consumer of material goods and i have a keen eye for a good deal - when i buy something at a price that seems good to me, i always get on e-bay to see how prices online compare. after i factor in e-bay fees, paypal charges and my time, i then decide if it's worthwhile to list the item in question. interestingly, i've been selling an american made product that retails for less here in hk than it does in the US. even after e-bay fees, im making over 80% profit on 'em...

[ployd]

Hi guy,
Same story for me I'd like to sell items from Hk to Europe on ebay.
What is the cheapest way to send items? normal post services ? or is there something cheaper ? (dont think DHL,HKDC, FEDEX are cheap)
What about customs at arrival? My brother had a bad experience with french customs and has been asked 20% of the value of his new roller from USA lol... (thank you fedex!) Do they check parcel if it's sent by normal post?
Cheers ! and have a good business!

[nation]

Depends on size and value of items whether you send through HK postal service or courier. Customs is the responsibility of the buyer not the seller. However, because of the irrational and uninformed nature of a lot of ebay users it's best to point this out clearly in your ebay advert (and your invoices) and a brief explaination as to why. This will hopefully cut down on potential negative feedback or give you a point for recourse if you do get negative feedback. Whether the customer gets hit with customs is luck of the draw. To the extent the product is classified as dutiable and valued greater than that country's import limit expect that they will be charged customs and duty charges. There is, however, a slight chance you can get lucky using the postal service rather couriers.

[lowlight]

Where are these "ebay stastical sites"?

I used to sell on eBay for a huge profit, just triyng to think of what to sell next

[tsuiwah]

Originally Posted by jayinhongkong

interestingly, i've been selling an american made product that retails for less here in hk than it does in the US. even after e-bay fees, im making over 80% profit on 'em...

That's pretty amazing when I think of all the crap that costs more here than in the States (such as IBM laptops, which are made here!).

Curious, do you pay someone to go to the post office for you? Whenever I visit, there is always someone dropping off a gazillion small packets.

[iam980]

Always find potential item from oversea to H.K.