[jester]

Hi everyone,

I am doing research for a business where I import products from China and sell them on the internet through my own web site. I live in California.

I've asked a counselor at my local SCORE and came up with so many little logistical things that need to get done that I'm a little unsure of what I REALLY need and what I don't. i.e. the less i need cheaper my costs will be, but obviously I don't want to evade my taxes and get busted by the IRS.

Does anyone have experience with having their own site that sells just products / as opposed to services here?

If so:
Did you incorporate or are operating as a sole proprietorship?
If sole prop. did you register a DBA with your state/county? (so you can opena bank account and keep business expenses separate for tax filing purposes and deductions)

Do you need/did you get a business license?

I was told I need a resell license if I sell to people in California?

Will I need to charge sales tax?

Since I'm importing I may also need an import license?

How do I pay duty on goods I import in? Obviously I don't pay the manufacturer)

If anyone has any experience in this field, help would be much appreciated. It seems like so many logistical things, when I just want to GET STARTED.

[Wowzerz]

It's up to you if you're going to be an Inc. or a Sole prop. - and most cities require that you register with them and pay another fee for a city license. This is completely seperate from your state/federal license.

If you're selling goods you need to get a business license, regardless of it being online or brick & mortar.

You need to charge sales tax to customers in your same state (thats the current law, it can change though).

I've never heard of an import license.

The duties will come as a COD bill from the customs department when the DHL, UPS, or FedEx guy shows up at your door.

[jester]

Originally Posted by Wowzerz

The duties will come as a COD bill from the customs department when the DHL, UPS, or FedEx guy shows up at your door.

Wowerz - Thanks for all the info. EXCATLY what I needed to know.
OK. So I looked up COD - Collect on Delivery. Thing is I'm getting these items delivered to my workplace - my fulltime job, which gets dropped off at the shipping dept. I literally just pay them on the spot? i.e. by cash, check, cashier's check etc. ?

Are they going to get slapped with the payment? Obviously I don't want this....kind of a retarded question but curious....

[Wowzerz]

You don't pay for the goods, you pay for the customs charges. And yes, you'd have to pay it when it arrives. There MAY be a way for you to arrange payment some other way, perhaps by setting up an account with the shipping company (give them a call). For international shipments, DHL really has its act together.

The policies about payments accepted change from company to company - it's probably detailed on their website.

www.fedex.com
www.dhl.com
www.ups.com
www.usps.com

[jester]

Got it.Thanks a lot wowerz. I'll be posting links up when I get my site up and running.