Jason Bousquet ⋅ Papillion , NE U.S. Air Force Reserve, Major ⋅ 14 years served

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Von Doromal ⋅ Columbus , GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 16 years served

Patrick,
Since I posted this message here, some of my contacts have backed off from the plan. Some had certain things happen to which I cannot discuss in this medium. Some have changed priorities and other lucrative endeavors became available for them. I managed to get a courier type company to assist me in shipping some things from here. When I go back to Philippines again, I will reengage some of my contacts and get more to make US products and services available to the Filipino people.
Thank you for your efforts and consideration in answering this post. I noticed that you have prior experience in international business. Is my assumption correct?
My economic observation of the Philippines is that of a consumer based economy. Many of the income incurred by local Filipinos are from Overseas workers and the economic benefit of outsourcing. Due to the internet savvy of many Filipinos, they are exposed to marketing advertisements and pretty much aware of international products and services. I would just like to bridge that gap.
Thank you for your consideration and may you have a wonderful rest of the weekend...

Patrick Feeney ⋅ Methuen , MA UPS ⋅ 7 years experience

Von,
Have you ever thought of simply using a logistics company like UPS, etc to ship your items and handle all of the paperwork? Based on what I have read (correct me if I'm wrong) but it appears you simply want to purchase goods here in the U.S. that you can then turn around and sell to your contacts in the Philippines who can then sell for a profit. If this is the case, using a company like UPS, etc would make things 1000% easier for you. All the paperwork is done for you using easy shipping software the company provides for free. From my experience, the hardest part for folks is developing relationships and contacts in other countries to whom they can sell/ship the U.S. products to. It seems as if you have that part nailed down!

Von Doromal ⋅ Columbus , GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 16 years served

Jason,
Thank you for recommending me this website. I will definitely look into it. Are you into the Export / Import business also? Have a nice day...

Von

Von Doromal ⋅ Columbus , GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 16 years served

Mr. McGrue,
It just happen to be that my cousin in the country I am trying to enter into export with is a customs agent. I think he can assist me in any information i might need and be willing teach me the things I need to know. I guess i just need to be greatly familiar with the customs here.
Mr. Zell mentioned about Import / Export brokerage firms to handle all the paperworks and i will follow thru in researching for these types of firms. Maybe they can also assist me with the legalities of getting goods out of the country.
I would also take into account what you mentioned about holidays and things. Even annual natural desasters. Manila gets flooded atleast ones a year and I will keep that in mind.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to this inquiry and may you have success in your endeavors. Have a great day!!!

Charles McGrue ⋅ U.S. Army Reserve, Captain ⋅ 21 years served

Reading what Alan is stating, and some feedback from a position I didn't get at a company, I'd recommend you get very familiar with customs.

A friend of mine at a company got my resume in front of the hiring manager, and the only reason I didn't get hired was because he needed someone who fully understood customs. Each country has their own rules and regulations. Some are a lot easier to deal with, while others are more difficult.

An example is a story I was told prior to working at a cellular provider. They ordered some cell tower antennaes from outside the U.S., and they antennaes got stuck in customs. The reason is because the shape of them was similar to a missle and apparently that caused just a little alarm. This goes back to what Alan references with the paperwork. They eventually got the items, but it took a little longer than planned.

Another thing to take into account are various holidays that countries have. You may try to import or export to/from a country and they might shut things down for a particular period. If you are working on a timeline, that now puts another damper on what you are doing. So these are various things to take into consideration.

I definitely agree with the recommendations that Alan has made though. It will allow you to save a lot of heartache, stress, and money in the process.

Regards...

Von Doromal ⋅ Columbus , GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 16 years served

Alan,
Are you suggesting that I network with exporters or associate myself with exporters in some way? Are you also suggesting that it is better for me to be the middle man, connecting exporters to importers?

I just came back from the Philippines and there are individuals there that would be willing to assist me in this endeavour. I really just need to get the goods out of the country. I will be looking into the import/export brokerage you mentioned. You never know, I might end up being one.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. May you have a great day...

Von

Alan J. Zell ⋅ Portland , OR Attitudes for Selling ⋅ 29 years experience

Von, Exporting, is like an iceberg. We see the top but not the 7/8 that are below the surface that can sink one's ship and that is what makes exporting difficult.

if someone does not have experience in a product's industry and/or has a relationship with importers and agents in foreign countries, is a very high risk thing to get into for oneself. Every type of product, while it may not be technical, has its technicalities and while there are some commonalities, each is different. If, for some reason you have a business relationship with an import agency in a country/countries then you can bring that knowledge with you to someone who is or wants to export.

If you don't have this in your "hip pocket", Best to find any job, no matter what it is, even sweeping floors,, with a firm that is exporting their products. Learn it from the bottom up. Some may do it in-house, others use import/export brokerage firms to handle the paperwork. Hence, There are in most areas, especially those on east or west coasts, import/export brokerage firms that you may talk to.

Alan