Like the question immediately before mine, I am a US citizen living abroad. I want to start an online store and ship from here to the US. I've read through the Customs information to learn about importing into the US.My business will be small; I will be shipping knick-knacks, maybe $500 worth per month. Assume the items are not on any restricted item list. I'm reading about "shipping containers" and "warehouses" which are things that wouldn't apply to me.Can you tell me whether it's necessary to go through any extra steps with Customs for such a small operation where I plan to mail a few things directly from here to the US? I don't want to run into trouble, but can't find answers specifically about my situation.Thank you in advance!
The SBA offers some very good information about importing to the US - http://www.sba.gov/content/importing-goods -
Not sure about customs - you might call them or the post office (or FedEX, UPS) to see what their rules are.
Best of luck
Stephen Morris | Community Moderator |
4/6/2011 - 6:40 pm
moshimoshi,
We wrote an article a while back on Selling Imported Goods Within the United States that might give you some ideas on where to start. I would also recommend connecting with a US Trade Specialist near you. The US Commercial Service provides counseling on these types of issues in 100 US cities and 80 countries worldwide.
-SteveM
phanio | Contributor | 5/11/2011 - 12:31 pm
Stephen Morris | Community Moderator | 4/6/2011 - 6:40 pm
Join The Discussion
You must be logged in to join the discussion. If you already have an SBA Community account, Log In to join the discussion.
New users, Register for a new account and join the conversation today!