Comments to The Ins And Outs Of Importing2007-12-11T12:51:45-07:00Practical Ecommerceinfo@practicalecommerce.comhttp://www.practicalecommerce.com/Copyright 2007 Confluence Publishing DBA Practical Ecommercenatehttp://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/525/The-Ins-And-Outs-Of-Importing/#comment43502007-12-11T12:51:45-07:00Great list of resources.
I would add emphasis to the last paragraph. Don't get scared by importing or exporting. If your selling merchandise (rather than drop shipping) and you want to grow into new markets you will need to do it.
If your moving product into the U.S. you need a tax id. It is not hard to get.
If your moving product into Canada you need what is called a business number or business registration with the Canadian Revenue Agency. Again, not hard to get.
http://shipwire.com has a few articles on this in their help center and they have partners set up to help with inbound and outbound freight. They even have partners to set-up these tax ids and help you untangle any tax issues in the U.S. and Canada.
As the dollar weakens against the Euro and the Canadian dollar, get ready for more of your online buyers to be international. If you don't want to saddle them with huge shipping costs, you should consider moving some inventory internationally. An order...Dennishttp://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/525/The-Ins-And-Outs-Of-Importing/#comment41912007-11-24T10:49:06-07:00Trust me: The import-export business is not for the faint of heart. The variables, many links in the chain - whatever the metaphor might be - will kill you, especially if you don't have a competent and honest team on both sides of the ocean. You must control the product exclusivity, the market, the factory and quality control (Have fun in China), the money (up to 120 days before you get paid on money advanced via L/C, etc.) and the shipping. Most of this "Entrepreneur" magazine forgot to mention.