Create Ebay store geared for Ex-pats

Hiya everyone,

Don't know if anyone here remembers me posting awhile back last year. I moved to Scotland last year, and then moved back really quickly because my OH didn't like living back over there.

Well, here I am back in the US, and I'm job hunting. My mom runs an Ebay & Amazon store (this is her livelihood), and has suggested that I do something similar. She pays for her lovely home and everything, and is very successful, so it does appeal to me to do something like that (and be my own boss!).

If I started Ebay or Amazon stores that carried items that ex-pats can't get overseas, how successful do you all think it would be? Would you even consider purchasing from a US-based biz and paying for the shipping overseas? Or do most of you prefer buying from a UK-based biz?

Any insights into the ex-pats' thoughts on this would be most welcome.

If you are in the US, I think the best bet would be a shop for UK'ers in the US. If I am buying American goodies, I tend to do so from shops in the UK--if I was feeling patient, I would just get a friend/family member from the US to send it.

I know there are quite a few stores that already cater to UK ex-pats here in the US, and it is a pretty good idea. My one roadblock with that biz idea is that I have no idea how to get my hands on UK goods from over here in the US! I can't just pop into the local grocery store/Sams Club, like I can over here! 

Hi Bluegrass Lass,

Welcome to 'due diligence & research' !

You're not the first to have this idea, nor will you be the last. However, seeing as you are in your early stages of thinking, asking if it'll be successful is extremely vague. For instance, what sectors of retail goods are you considering making available to Americans living in the UK? will you be able to source locally the goods you are thinking about at a good enough 'wholesale/trade' price? how will you ship the goods over? will they be high value items? do you think the demand would big enough to supply? could you expand and also appeal to UK nationals as well ? ... and plenty more questions.

I do something along these lines, with goods that are available in the US that are not available here. Still early days for me as I have some projects and concepts going along at the same time, however in a nutshell, I'm focusing on a specific niche area of the market based on what consumers/end users are trending/looking/asking for and my area is Automotive/Automotive electronics. So I've specialised and I think it's something you'd need to do as well.

You'll need to be aware of shipping costs, taxes and import duties and if applicable, any warranty and return issues as well. On top of all that, you'll also need to be accepting of all the responsibilities of running a business - so start up costs, advertising, sourcing, accounting, stock storage, legal & accounting aspects on everything etc etc.

There's a whole lot more about this sort of thing, but it's way too much to type up here.

Good luck !

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!