Mini importation business is one of the most profitable businesses in Nigeria today. A lot of people have discovered how lucrative this business of importation can be and have swung into action long before now. Interestingly, you can start your importation business with as low as #30,000 or less. It all depends on how big and successful you want your business to be. Therefore, If you are interested in the mini importation business in Nigeria, then you need to carefully read and understand this article and follow the helpful guide.

What is Mini Importation?

Mini importation is an advanced form of small-scale business that allows you to buy or import goods from overseas directly from the manufacturers at an easy and affordable rate. Most mini importation business owners buy their goods from countries like China and others where different types of products are produced in mass quantity, and then import to Nigeria, and resell to people.

Notwithstanding, there are few things you need to have/know before going into mini importation in Nigeria.

• A personal computer or smartphone with a good internet connection
• Valid contact and address details
• Agents to inspect the goods
• Business capital
• Platform to buy the goods
• Platform to sell the goods

Before you venture into the mini importation business, ensure that you have made all the necessary inquiries, get all the aforementioned points ready, and then carefully follow these steps below to get the best guide on how to start mini importation business in Nigeria and sell like a pro.

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Steps On How To Start Mini Importaion

1. Products to import

This is actually the main part of your mini importation business. The products you import determines how successful you will be in the business. So, you need to do some research to know what kinds of products people actually buy these days and find out if they are sellable. To make this easy for you, visit any popular e-commerce website and sort for goods that are high in demand by popularity.  Below are some of the categories of products you may like to import. Then, when that is done, consider also to know how much turnover you get from the products when sold.

• Electronic gadgets and appliances
• Computers, mobile phones, and fashion accessories
• Hair wigs and hair products
• Jewelry
• Cosmetics
• Clothing products and underwears
• Clothing accessories (shoes, bags, belt, caps, etc)
• Domestic and kitchen utensils

2. A platform to buy

Having decided on what goods to import, the next step is to look out for a platform that you can buy your goods from. The following are the top-recommended marketplace to buy your goods from directly from the manufacturer at a low wholesale price.

• Aliexpress.com
• Alibaba.com
• 1688.com
• Amazon.com
• Ebay.com
• Digicircle.com

3.Find a supplier

A good supplier is one of the backbones of your mini importation business. Zero communication skills and slow response are a few of the problems that most suppliers have and you wouldn’t want to do business with a non-competent supplier. And to totally avoid being frustrated by a bad supplier, you need to carefully source for a reliable supplier. Here, is how you can go about it;

• You need to compare the reviews of other customers who buy from the suppliers that sell on the eCommerce site you plan to buy from and make your choice.
• Since you will be buying your goods from other countries, you have to ensure that your supplier understands and speaks English
• Find out if there is  a 24/7 communication channel
• Check the number of completed sales
• Find out if the supplier is into the business for the long haul or just for a moment
• Find out if the supplier responds to query in time

4. Place an order and make payment

This is another very important part of your mini importation process and one of the reasons why you need a reliable supplier. Once you have made up your mind about the products to order and have gotten a good supplier, then you to place an order for the items and make payment for those items. Payment might be done using your local account, or a dollar account. Ensure you get a message from the seller about the success of your transaction and the shipment of your order. Take note of the prices of the goods in your local currency and also endeavor to identify different categories of the goods such as color, product type, sizes, minimum of order, weight, and many more.

Read also: How to invoice & receive payments from international clients as a Nigerian freelancer?

5. Product delivery

In the business of mini importation, product delivery comes in two ways. This includes:

• Free Shipping –  This method is usually slow but will increase profit as it takes between 14 to 60days but most time it’s usually delivered between 20 to 30days. The service company can be either be China Mail Air Post or Hong Kong Mail services. Also, endeavor to put your phone number. This is because they are always delivered at the nearest post-office close to you. With this, you can be easily contacted whenever your shipment has arrived.
• Premium delivery – Premium deliveries are usually done by DHL, EMS, and FedEx. It is quite expensive compared to free shipping but it is faster and safer. Product deliveries are usually between 3 – 5days
  While the free shipping may be free you should know tracking it might not be entirely accurate compared to the premium shipping.

6. Marketing of your products

Now that everything is set and you are sure you are getting your products, you need to start marketing your goods before they arrive. There are several ways you can go about this and they are as follows;

• Social media marketing: Instagram, Facebook, etc.
• Ecommerce websites like Jumia and Konga etc
• Whatsapp
• Word of mouth

Final thoughts

A lot has been said about the mini importation business and as a beginner, you should be careful not to start with expensive goods, buy affordable products that can easily sell, and make your profit back. As time goes on, when you must have gotten a good number of existing customers, you can introduce preorder. Here, you get pictures of fascinating products from the e-commerce website you use, post them on your page for your customers to preorder.

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