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We were honored to work with Dave Bryant on a past deal. Recently, he sold his business, packed up his family, and moved to China for a year. While in China, Dave is exploring the ins and outs of sourcing products from China for ecommerce businesses.

One of the things that makes a sustainable Amazon business is owning the brand and controlling the manufacturing process. In this interview, Dave talks specifically about sourcing and importing from China. Before selling his business, Dave was importing boat anchors from China. He is also the co-host of the Ecomcrew Podcast. He is an experienced entrepreneur and also part of eCommerce Fuel and active in that forum.

Episode Highlights:

• On the call, Dave is literally in a hotel lobby in Beijing, China.
• How Dave sold his business for south of a million dollars but still has his blog to keep him busy.
• We pushed the value of Dave’s business higher, so that he could capture seasonal revenue.
• Dave and Joe planned Dave’s exit well in advance, implementing tips that generated at least $150,000 more in value.
• How Dave was importing and selling large, heavy boat anchors.
• Dave built his relationships over years, but he started with Alibaba.
• Going to trade shows and meeting suppliers is probably a better method.
• When emailing a vendor list mention the trade show and ask for more information on a product.
• Go through your products and get discounts for products that are losing money.
• Sometimes all you need to do is renegotiate your contracts.
• Consolidating shipments can save on shipping costs.
• Have one supplier ship to the other and then the other one can ship to you in one container.
• Ship directly from China to Amazon and eliminate the middleman.
• How Dave’s business buyer is getting a good return on his money.
• The importance of differentiating your products.
• How shipping is one of the biggest costs.
• Focus on building positive relationships with your suppliers. They may want to partner with you as opposed to compete with you.
• There will always be competition.
• There is still a ton of opportunity in ecommerce.

Resources:

• Ecomcrew
• Ecomcrew Podcast
• eCommerceFuel
• How to Create a $1million Amazon Brand Course
• Build Your Million Dollar Business Importing from China
• Alibaba