📦 Lesson 2: Where the Stock Comes From

Three sources

Local wholesalers and distributors (fast, no customs, thinner margin). Importing from the US through a freight forwarder (two to four weeks, duty and fees, wider choice). Importing from China or elsewhere direct from the factory (six to twelve weeks, best price per unit, bigger minimum orders, more that can go wrong). Most shops start local or US, and move to factory orders once a product has proven it sells.

Samples first

Never place a bulk order on photos. Order two or three units, hold them, use them, photograph them. A sample costs a few dollars; a box of the wrong thing costs the month.

What customs adds

Imports into Jamaica pay duty, GCT and fees that depend on the type of goods — it is common for the landed cost to be a good deal more than the ticket price once freight, duty, GCT and the forwarder's handling are in. Ask your freight forwarder for the landed cost of your exact product before you order; a good one will tell you. Put that full number in your unit cost from Lesson 1.

Homework

Find two suppliers for your product — one local, one abroad — and get a landed cost from each.

✅ Do this now — step by step

1. Ask three shops that sell something similar who supplies them; wholesalers are rarely a secret.
2. Open an account with a freight forwarder with a Miami address and ask for the landed cost of your product.
3. Order samples from your top two suppliers before any bulk order.
4. Write the landed cost per unit from each supplier next to each other and choose.

⚠️ Mistakes to avoid

• Paying a factory a deposit on a product you have never held.
• Forgetting duty and GCT and finding the "cheap" import costs more than buying local.
• Ordering the minimum quantity of five products instead of a real quantity of one.

🇯🇲 How it plays out in Jamaica