I'll try that. You've been giving out great advice and I thank you for that. I wish I had some advice to offer. I do know something about cooking and fashion, so I guess I could help you there, if you need any.

Also, I think I'm going to get some sleep.
Good night and good luck on your business.
Thanks again.

Wow, thanks for the offer. I might in the future. Thanks.

Perhaps I should start small. Actually, I should start finding the right products. How do you pick out what people in your area would want? Do you go around surveying people?

So you might have sold pirated copies of copyrighted material. What are the implications of that? I don't know about buying American or foreign products in China.

Finding a dealer (makes it sound like I'm selling drugs) would be difficult, but I thought I could post my requirements and the amount of products I wanted to sell on Craigslist. Would that be safe to do so? Have you ever had a dangerous encounter with a customer?

Also, since I only have one contact in China, how do you go about getting new or more contacts?

I'll probably use my house as a front. I live in a suburban area, so I'll have a lack of customers in comparison to urban districts. Well, because of that disadvantage, I thought about buying bulk, like maybe 1000 items, and selling 100+ to someone who lives in, for example San Francisco, and then he could sell it for more. Is that a good idea?

The alcohol trade? Do you need a license for that? And how would you go about doing that? Do you just walk in and ask them if they want a new supplier?

Yeah, when I came back from China, Customs did confiscate some of my food. So I know I'm not going to import food.

On a side note: How did you get those P-90xs for such a cheap price and selling them for only $50? Those are the weight-training machines right?

I guess I should summarize what I just stated before:
I have 5k and I don't know if it's enough. I have a relative in China who is exporting silk scarves, but I would like them to help me import something more viable: perhaps something cheap and small.


Any advice? And what are the legal problems in importing? Since brick and mortar establishments don't work, should I use my house as a front?

Well, I just finished with my volunteering duty and studying, want to finish where we left off?

Sorry to cut this short, it's been an interesting conversation, but I have to go. I hope we can talk later if that's "ok" with you?

I only have 5k (which isn't much anymore because of inflation and taxes) saved up and I guess I could take a loan from a bank, but that would mean I have to pay interest, which is something I'd like to avoid. And unlike New York, California, isn't very crowded -- even San Francisco. I do have a relative that is exporting silk scarves, but i don't find that very viable. But since they already have a business there, it would make it easier for me to import other products, I would assume.

Yeah, I've been trying to think about what my professor told me on how to turn 100 dollars to 1000 dollars in a month and not sell drugs. He gave us an example of a student he had before that got the idea and started importing small things from China and selling it on Ebay; he makes 600k (I'm not sure if it includes the costs) a year. That student and your story is my motivation right now, but I have to find out what to buy and sell.

Wow, 18 years old. What made you want to go into importing and exporting?

Hello, a belated welcome. It's a pleasure meeting you. I see you're an importer/exporter; sounds like a very interesting occupation. I'm might go into that field as well, but I'm not sure if being too young will make it too difficult.