The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Today’s episode is the third and final installment of our series on domestic and international supplying. We have talked about shipping in both the United States and from overseas. We have also talked about the politics involved in overseas suppliers. Today we finish this series with how to find a supplier you can work with and make money.

There are tons of online suppliers that offer cheap products for newcomers. These sites are helpful,

This is the second part to our importing and shipping series. Last episode we discussed the benefits of going with domestic manufacturer and all the challenges that comes with that. Today we discuss the process of ordering and shipping from overseas.

When you get your shipment from overseas like from China you have two options you can go FOB (Free on Board) or CWX shipping. Free on Board is delivered to the airport or port and is loaded based on priority. CWX is loaded up by the manufacturer and available for pick up. We tend to go with FOB because it's often included in the overall price.

Deciding which type of shipping is just the beginning. We talk about the whole process and how to approach business overseas.

The topics we cover today are:

• How to avoid unexpected charges.
• The importance of inspections.
• How to haggle for the best price.
• Mike and Grant's missteps in the shipping process.

We have decided to make this a 3 part series. So next time we will discuss how to choose the right manufacturer.

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

This is the second part to our importing and shipping series.  Last episode we discussed the benefits of going with domestic manufacturer and all the challenges that comes with that. Today we discuss the process of ordering and shipping from overseas.

When you get your shipment from overseas like from China you have two options you can go FOB (Free on Board) or EWX shipping. Free on Board is delivered to the airport or port and is loaded based on priority.

We discuss our experience with shipping and importing product for inventory today. Most people make the assumption that importing from overseas like China is the best solution. But we are going to explore all the options of shipping both foreign and domestic.

Everybody normally begins by stocking their inventory with a local vendor. There is nothing wrong with this approach and it does have some advantages, but hopefully we will inform you enough to make the right decision for your business. Just as domestic supplying has its ups and downs, so too does getting your supply from China or some other part of the world.

Some of the points we discussed today are:

• When to ask for white labeling or private labeling.
• Pallet pricing vs. truck load pricing.
• How to handle losing a shipment.
• Why you should maximize your order.
• Why you should always order in bulk.
• The pros and cons of air shipping.
• How to be ready for the hidden fees and costs.

This episode is going to be a 2 part series. We have tons more to cover and we will do that in a future video.

Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode:

Cuttingboard.com

Icewraps.com

Unishippers

Clear Lane

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

We discuss our experience with shipping and importing product for inventory today. Most people make the assumption that importing from overseas like China is the best solution. But we are going to explore all the options of shipping both foreign and domestic.

Everybody normally begins by stocking their inventory with a local vendor. There is nothing wrong with this approach and it does have some advantages, but hopefully we will inform you enough to make the right decision for your business.

We use today’s episode as a chance to thank all the listeners and reviewers who have left their feedback for us. We appreciate the comments and questions you guys leave for us. Speaking of questions we answer a 3 part question from one of our listeners, Colin.

Colin left a 3 part question that we have dedicated today’s episode too. He asked us “what we could recommend for promotional material in a product’s packaging?” “what do we think about seasonable products?” and “how do you plan for holiday inventory?”

We answer all three of these questions and share our thoughts on the subject.

Some of the things we covered today are:

• When to pay the fee for non branded Amazon boxes
• How to promote your site without violating Amazon’s agreement
• The pros and cons of seasonal items
• The challenges of inventory during the holiday season

Resources Mentioned Today:

Amazon

Cuttingboard.com

Colorit.com

Icewraps.com

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

We offer a cautionary tale on today’s episode. Our guest Charles Lee was bootstrapping his business Petphabet with Amazon. Until a simple misunderstanding and a careless login cost him his account. Charles’s account was shut down for 6 to 7 weeks and he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. The lack of funds also forced him to let his team go.

Today Charles tells us how they went about correcting this disaster and what he and his company plan to do to get back on track.

Today we complete the series How to Supercharge Your Email. This is part 3 of 3. If you haven’t heard the first part of this series you can hear parts 1 and 2 here and here.

We have been talking about the success of the Colorit contests. We have talked about the email flows that contestants receive in their inboxes. These flows have really helped us get more sales. Colorit has 7 to 8 flows on Klaviyo that have a sequence of 10 emails each. Today we’re going to talk about the campaigns we do in Klaviyo.

A campaign is just a single email that announces product information. We talk about 3 of these campaigns during the episode. We had a testimonial request, a new book announcement, and an Affiliate program announcement.

Some of the topics we bring up today are:

• How you can win a free hour of consulting with us.
• When to cull your email list.
• Klaviyo compared to Mailchimp.
• Colorit’s current high ranking on Amazon.
• The Pros and Cons of using Amazon.
• Colorit’s acceptance into Google Trusted stores.

As you can see we have some big things happening with Colorit and we can thank email for part of that.

Resources Mentioned on Today’s Episode:

Colorit.com

Klaviyo

Amazon

Mailchimp

Icewraps.com

Cuttingboard.com

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today we complete the series How to Supercharge Your Email Marketing. This is part 3 of 3. If you haven’t heard the first part of this series you can hear parts 1 and 2 here and here.

We have been talking about the success of the Colorit contests. We have talked about the email flows that contestants receive in their inboxes. These flows have really helped us get more sales.

Today’s episode is part 2 to our email marketing series. Mike explains the email flow he uses for his Colorit.com contests. This episode will focus on the promotional material that is sent out over the course of the month.

We discuss why we have the flow structured the way we do and Grant does some brainstorming to think outside the box. We toss ideas around and we talk about how successful Mike has been with this campaign.

Our conversation today includes:

• The benefits of using Klaviyo.
• How facebook is helping us build an email list.
• The actual email schedule we use with new sign-ups.
• General ideas to draw in new customers.

This is part 2 in a 3 part series. If you missed part 1 you can listen to it here. To take a look at the landing page we designed for the Colorit contest click here. We have had wild success with this marketing approach and are still trying to find the edge of the limits to it.

Join us next time for part 3 of this series How to Supercharge Your Email.

Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode:

Colorit.com

Klaviyo

Colorit 4 Free Drawings Offer

Typeform

Cuttingboard.com

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!