Importing from abroad

[JCKST1]

I am looking at importing a bike from Indonesia, Probably start at one a month. Not looking for a career out of this, I have been buying/selling top end mountain bikes since i was 13, Some months i make £400 some i make £2000+ its basically just money which pays for my cars (Hence having a fiesta ST when i was 17!)
Im looking at a different route now. I have seen them for sale on a site http://www.alibaba.com and another china site.
It says they accept paypal which is good as i wouldnt pay any other way.
Is it is as easy as paying them, arranging postage and waiting for it to arrive? I presume there is taxes to pay, Where abouts does this come in the chain and how much is it roughly?
Thanks for any help

[Nickyboy]

It is literally as easy as that, i've bought from Alibaba a few times with no problems.

As for duty etc it depends on who they are shipped with, UPS for example will require payment on delivery whilst DHL etc will usually invoice you a couple of weeks after delivery. As for the costs, factor in 20-30% of the price you pay inc shipping.

[JCKST1]

Thanks a lot mate. Did you pay using Paypal?
I have seen a few which only accept bank transfer which im not willing to do. At least if it all goes wrong i have some protection with Paypal.

[Nickyboy]

I always used Paypal, they all insisted although some offered the likes of Western Union too

[JCKST1]

Think i will stick with paypal. How can you tell who is a genuine seller? Not really clued up on all this.
Cheers

[cuprabob]

One thing that I'm sure you're aware of is that as your these bikes from China and selling them in the European market you effectively become the importer which means you are responsible for the product meeting any CE Directives, if applicable, and that the product us inherently safe. Also, I assume you have adequate product liability insurance in place.