Rocking Your Blues Away

How to Become a Successful Importer

Starting any new business takes time and lot of planning. Some business takes a little more than that. Before starting an importing business, it is very important to understand why to import. How to make money from your Imported Products come next.

Import and Export also referred to as Trading is as old as humans (especially once they were civilized and social). Now Import and Export plays an important role in the world’s economies. Many under-developed and developing countries rely on imported goods for their necessities. The reason why imports and exports happen is simple. When one country has what the other doesn’t, they trade. Some countries have abundance of food but not clothing, so they either trade their food with clothing with another country, or they sell their food to one country in exchange of foreign currency and then buy clothing from another.

Many people have successfully established importing businesses while knowing very little about regulations, Customs duties, tariff rates, tariff numbers and other complexities of importing.

By using the services of qualified customs brokers you can escape the red tape nightmare and avoid having to learn all the complexities. By using other people’s knowledge of importing procedures you can have more time to devote to actually running your business and making money.

Usually international air courier services carry out customs clearance work for you as a normal part of their service. The cost may or may not be included in their door-to-door service, so you need to be sure of this before placing orders overseas.

You can avoid a lot of red tape by the simple expedient of limiting the value of each consignment and having it shipped via EMS (International Express Post). If you do not exceed the specified value the postal service will do the calculations for you, lodge the customs forms, and deliver to your address.

All this is free of charge. You pay any duty and taxes due when you collect the goods from your post office.

This is not applicable in Australia, where you are notified of arrival of the parcel in Australia, and you must then lodge an informal clearance, either in person or via fax. If you lodge the documents in person you may collect the goods upon payment of the duty and sales tax assessed at that time.

If you lodge via fax, the parcel will be delivered to your post office, where you must pay those charges before collecting the parcel.

Check with your Customs office to find out what is the maximum value per shipment under this scheme. Note: If you use this scheme, avoid having more than one parcel dispatched on any one day.

This information is just a fraction of what you need to know about importing.

If you’d like to learn how to become a successful importer, check out this invaluable import guide. It will save you a lot of time and lot of money that you could end up paying otherwise.

"We Need More Rock Bands!!" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

If you watched all 3.5 hours of the Grammy's on Sunday Feburary 11, you might have been struck by how sophisticated it has become compared to past years. What a big difference. Some people may not have liked the change, but I did. The dresses were all stylish and flattering, instead of shocking and over the top. The men wore suits instead of low riding, baggy jeans.

The musical performances were, for the most part, incredible. I expected to be more enthused by the Police's performance, so that was a tad disappointing. But Christina Aguilar in her all-dressed-in white soulful tribute to James Brown left me speechless.

Justin Timberlake and his surprise new guest singer made beautiflul music together. She got my vote. Did I see sparks flying...? The list goes on.

I could have done without Mary J. Blige's 3 minute long acceptance and thank you speech. She thanked 55 people, at last count.

I still can't get over all the accolades Jennifer Hudson has been getting since making "Dream Girls". I guess I'll have to go see that movie to see what all the hupla is about...

But what really struck me was how professional everyone was. Mark and Brian's sidekick thought it was too sedate and boring, but I completely disagree. I saw the music world with a maturity and respectability that has been sadly missing in previous years and I loved it. Whoever produced that show should do it every year.

The highlight for me was seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers give their acceptance speech and blurt out "We need more rock bands!!" I completely agree. Music is a medium that touches us like no other, and rock music is the best, in my humble opinion :) In fact, after watching the Grammys, my passion for really good music was restored.

• Previous Posts:

• How to Become a Successful Importer
• "We Need More Rock Bands!!" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

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