MUST YOU IMPORT YOUR GOODS?

 Back in 2010 when I used to source my jewelry from Cotonou,

I decided to source handbags from Togo and add to the business.

It sounded like a grand idea;

Benin Republic and Togo are just next door neighbours.

It cost only a little extra to move between the 2 countries.

So on one of those long public holidays, I took off to Togo with my younger sis Aries-Yudy Udodi Dow (Me and this babe really did plenty waka that year).

We went by road.

For starters, I got extorted at Seme Border.

The guys who carried us on their bikes took us through a back route where some customs/ immigration guys were sitting under a make-shift shade.

They searched us and unfortunately, I had an old N20 note in my wallet

N20 had just been recently changed around that time so that became an international offence ( see me see international crime ).

I begged and begged and begged.

Eventually I had to part with some substantial amount of money.

In the process, one of the bike guys also stole some money from me.

When I tried to confront him, he called his fellow bike men who nearly beat us up.

Anyway, we eventually got to Togo

I saw a lot of nice, second hand designer bags made from some of the best brands.

They were quite affordable for their quality.

By the time I got back home, I felt like I would make a kill.

Unfortunately for me, this didn't happen.

What I didn't consider was that rather than pass through the stress of importing from Togo,

I should have looked around for major importers who would sell at even cheaper prices, with less hassles.

Because finally, none of my customers cared that the bags were of premium quality;

They still wanted to buy at the same price as what was found locally.

Moral of the story:

Before you decide to import your goods,

Check if there are locally available alternatives

It is glamorous to tell people that you import the stuff you sell

But is it glamorous for your bank account?

Gracias

90Aries-Yudy Udodi Dow, Chinwike Eazydegreat Emenyonu and 88 others

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