How possible is this shipping business in Japan?

Well, I am going to Japan for a year. I have read that American clothing sells really expensive in Japan, probably 3x the price that would cost anyone in the U.S.

Now, I want to know how possible it is to ship clothing and sell it to the local teenagers. What's the deal with customs, how expensive is a shipment from the Americas to Japan, what would I need for as a recquirement? I plan on settling in and then start knowing how to get this going.

Mauricio

I know shipping out of Japan is crazy expensive through the post office!! I "assume" that shipping to Japan is much cheaper. I think you will get better rates with Chinese or Korean Shippers, from what I have heard. I know people that just carry everything with them and make several trips a year. They just pay the extra charges for being over weight or having too many bags.

If you can find some shops that will sell your product it is an easy way to make money. I guess I would find the shops first before i started shipping anything. You could also set up a Yahoo Japan Auction account and start selling on there. You will need a Japanese bank account and some Japanese language ability, and an address in Japan (I believe but not 100% sure on this part).

Better check inport laws and tax laws, etc. .

I tried selling American booze and cigerettes when I was there and all most ended up in jail, LOL. The tax people were not happy that I cut them out as the middle man. I figured I was just selling to a few close friends, no big deal. Was I ever wrong.

Uncle Frank

Here are some past threads on the subject:

Export/Import
Customs, Duties

In addition to problems involving shipping costs and duties, I need to warn you that Japanese consumers have tastes very different from North American tastes and require marketing studies. You need to do your homework and know that it is a risky business that might get you stuck with a stockpile of merchandise that is unsalable.

Just my two cents.

Uncle Frank, I will take into consideraton what you said about the Japanese tax laws andbe careful about that, don't want to be shunned from the country at such an early age.

epigene said:

In addition to problems involving shipping costs and duties, I need to warn you that Japanese consumers have tastes very different from North American tastes and require marketing studies. You need to do your homework and know that it is a risky business that might get you stuck with a stockpile of merchandise that is unsalable.
Just my two cents.

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Yes, thank you very much to all, I have given some thought to that, I wouldn't ship it directly from the e-store from the U.S. What I plan to do is tell my parents to go buy clothes at the store, but before that, I will tell the poeple what I am doing, tell them what they want out of a web catalog or something like that and just ship them to Japan, i know it is not that easy, but I get the idea of what I want to do and will find a way to make it possible if it seems profitble.

Mauricio

I know shipping out of Japan is crazy expensive through the post office!!

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The post office is the cheapest, and actually isn't that expensive compared to other countries. They've even got traceable options for parcels shipped by boat.

In addition to the epigene's advice, Japanese have quite different image of "mint". A buyer would be mad to find a loose thread of a cool LA shirt. Probably you will come to know it to see beautiful vegitables in a supermarket here.

And for some American people in Japan, they can use domestic postage fee from Japan to US, and vice versa.

Making as many friends as possible will bring you more money in the future.