Danny - remind us of your background in 2 minutes or fewer!

Danny first got his start in the music industry selling vinyls years ago. That where he first got to work with products and marketing and all that. In 2008 he began working online with different startups which led him to Amazon last year. He was able to consolidate the knowledge he gained from those two industries and put them to use with FBA.

What is the Canton Fair and when is it?

The Canton Fair is basically a trade fair with suppliers that takes place in April and October. It takes place over three phases and is the largest fair of its kind. To put it in perspective the rough estimate is that it's about the size of five NFL stadiums. Each phase has different product verticals and you decide with ones you want to go to depending on your categories. The Canton Fair has roughly 20,000 stands and an average of 200,000 people for each phase.

Tell us more about your recent article about the Canton Fair…

Danny wrote an article for Web Retailer which is the UK bible for online marketplaces. He wanted to do an article about a lesson learned. Danny likes the approach where he goes off and does something then reports back. With this piece, he wanted to create a guide for people that wanted to participate in the fair. It would cut down on the planning needed and allow them to cut through everything by learning from his mistakes.

Why travel all the way to Asia to find products?

Traveling to the Canton Fair gives you a competitive advantage. Many of the products won't be on Alibaba and many of the suppliers at the fair aren't in China. This can give you a 6-8 month advantage on your competitors that don't go. For example, say you go on Alibaba and order spatulas. Your competitors can get the same thing, from the same factory. By attending the fair, you can find a product that isn't on Alibaba and isn't made in China; they could be made in Pakistan, or India, or Korea making it difficult for your competitors for follow the supply chain.

There are a massive amounts of people that are getting into selling on Amazon but only a very small portion will actually attend the Canton Fair giving you an advantage over most other sellers.

What is a rough budget needed for attending the fair?

Depending on your lifestyle you could do it for around £1800 – 2200. Danny and his business partner paid about £3500-3800 but they went out every night and ate well.  However, you can do it on a budget. There are indirect flights with Turkish Airlines for about £350. It will take you longer but you can save money. You can find 3 to 4 star hotels for £80-100.

For a two year visa, it's about £150 and it can take around 5 weeks to get in from of the Chinese consulate. However, Danny uses an agency handle the Visas, Visa For China.  For £45 they can handle the processing and help expedite it. The important thing to remember is that this is an investment in your company. You are paying for a massive competitive advantage at a relatively affordable price.

 How much time does it take out (including travel)?

When Danny and his business partner went, they spent about 11 days there. It's broken down into three phases with pack down time in between each phase so you need to plan around that.

Danny spent a day there during phase one, then took a train to Hong Kong where they had a meetup. Next day he had a presentation and then a HK TVC show. Then they went back to China to attend phase three for a couple days with a factory visit thrown in.

One of the biggest mistakes Danny made was only taking one pair of trainers.