You asked for it and we delivered! Here's the recap of the latest Midddleman webinar, ‘Master the Business of Jewelry Importation’:

PS: Jump to the webinar recording by scrolling down.

Introduction

• About Midddleman

• Mary Osunlusi's background

Sourcing Jewelry from China

• Benefits of sourcing from China

• Best sourcing platforms

• Differences and similarities between three popular sourcing platforms

Buying Jewelry from 1688

• Importance of knowing jewelry types

• Step-by-step process to research and buy jewelry on 1688

Managing Your Jewelry Business

• How to avoid extra shipping costs

• Product links to start your journey

Webinar Recording: Watch Here

Webinar Recap and Summary

Introduction and Welcome

Omolara Sanni introduces herself as a representative of the Midddleman team. She explains that Midddleman is a platform for African businesses to pay Chinese suppliers. Omolara introduces Mary Osunlusi, the founder of Mary Moh’s Jewels, as the expert trainer for the session.

Mary greets everyone and expresses her honor to be invited to the class. She introduces herself as an entrepreneur, researcher, writer, and physiotherapist, and mentions her journey in the jewelry business.

Mary's Journey in Jewelry Importation

Mary shares her experience of starting her jewelry business in 2017 and importing jewelry from China to Nigeria. She mentions relocating to Canada for healthcare research and putting her jewelry business on hold. Mary is now back in the jewelry business, selling in Nigeria and Canada, and attending fairs and exhibitions. She emphasizes her extensive experience and success in the jewelry business, supported by customer testimonials.

Overview of the Session

Mary outlines the session's agenda, including jewelry importation, the integrity of jewelry, researching and sourcing for jewelry, and practical examples. She mentions that the session will run for about an hour, with time for questions afterwards. Mary encourages participants to type their questions in the chat and mentions that she will address them as she goes along.

Jewelry Importation: Sourcing from China

Mary discusses the importance of sourcing products from China and other regions without the help of agents. She highlights the potential for high profits in the jewelry business, mentioning up to 500% profits. Mary asks participants if they shop from Lagos markets or other sources and encourages them to share their experiences. She emphasizes the importance of sourcing from reliable platforms and the differences between various platforms for jewelry importation.

Mary introduces three major platforms for sourcing jewelry: Alibaba, 1688, and AliExpress. She explains that these platforms are part of the Alibaba Group and are designed for different target audiences. Mary highlights the differences in pricing and user experience between these platforms, using examples of similar jewelry items. She advises against using AliExpress for jewelry importation, emphasizing the cost advantages of 1688.

She explains that 1688 was originally designed as a business-to-business platform, while AliExpress is more consumer-focused. She provides examples of the same jewelry items priced differently on 1688 and AliExpress, explaining the cost differences.

Mary emphasizes the importance of knowing where to buy to avoid losing money and ensure quality. She shares her personal experience of ordering jewelry from both platforms and the benefits of using 1688.

Transition to ABC of Jewelry

Mary transitions to the next module, which covers the ABC of jewelry, including different categories and metal types. She mentions that participants will learn why knowing these details is important for their business. She continues by explaining the importance of understanding jewelry categories and metals. She encourages participants to study further about metal types, polishing/processing, materials, and color – citing customer trust as a significant incentive for studying these concepts.

Jewelry Research

Mary shares a step-by-step process to acquire jewelry from 1688. In an example, she finds a jewelry product on Pinterest and uses the photo search feature on 1688 to show how it’s done. She continues the process, using Google Translate to translate product descriptions from Chinese to English, and her unique tactic to compare between different suppliers on 1688.

Conclusion

Mary opens the floor for participants to ask questions. She encourages the participants to continue learning on jewelry types and buy in small quantities to test their knowledge. She adds that participants should find a balance between speed and affordability when choosing a shipping partner. Towards the end of the webinar, she sends product links to the participants to help start their journey of importing jewelry on 1688.

Omolara ensures that all participants receive the links. She reintroduces Midddleman and confirms that more webinars like this are in the works for the Midddleman Community. She encourages all participants to join the WhatsApp community where future webinars will be announced.

Did you miss our last webinar class with Xtatee? Here is a little recap of the things that we covered: 

• Introduction and Overview of Importing Gadgets from China

  • Cheap gadget secrets

  • Importing gadgets from China

  • Terminologies for importing from China
     

• Explanation of Phone Conditions

  • Understanding Phone Locking and Unlocking

  • ⁠Checking Phone Status Before Purchase

• Q&A Session

  • Q&A session on Shipping and Logistics

  • Q&A Session on Supplier Contacts and Payment Methods
    

• Contact Information, Trusted logistics and shipping options
   

Webinar Recording: WATCH VIDEO

Webinar Recap and Summary:

Introduction and Overview

Omolara, the moderator, welcomes participants and introduces Toluwalope (Xtatee) as the lead coach for the session on importing gadgets from China. The start of the session is delayed to accommodate more participants, and the use of the chat box for communication is encouraged to avoid disruptions. Xtatee begins by discussing the ease and profitability of importing gadgets from China and emphasizes the importance of building good relationships with suppliers to secure discounts and other benefits.

Explanation of Phone Conditions

Xtatee provides a detailed explanation of the various phone conditions, such as open box, used, new, and "99% new" (refurbished). She emphasizes that "UK used" does not exclusively refer to phones used in the UK and addresses misconceptions about refurbished phones.

Understanding Phone Locking and Unlocking

Xtatee provides detailed explanations of brand new phones, locked phones, and factory unlocked phones. He emphasizes that a locked phone is cheaper but restricted to a specific carrier, while a factory unlocked phone offers more flexibility in terms of network usage.

Xtatee addresses the use of sticker cards from suppliers for locked phones and explains the terminologies related to buying gadgets from China. She also shares two websites, ionlocker.com and imeicheck.com, for the participants to explore, and asks for confirmation on their visibility.

Checking Phone Status Before Purchase

Xtatee stresses the significance of checking the iCloud status and IMEI of a phone before making a purchase. She warns against suppliers who refuse to provide the IMEI, and advises that the "find my iPhone" feature should be off to ensure the phone is not compromised. Additionally, she highlights the importance of checking the blacklist status to avoid purchasing a stolen phone.

Q&A Session

Xtatee suggested addressing the Q&A before sharing supplier contacts to maintain engagement. Midddleman presented their platform's services, focusing on RMB products and the Q&A format, and addressed technical issues by using the chat for questions. Xtatee then discussed the use of WeChat for communication with Chinese suppliers, highlighting the platform's popularity and providing tips for successful sign-up.

Q&A Session on Shipping and Logistics

Midddleman and Xtatee respond to inquiries about shipping gadgets from China to Nigeria, highlighting the advantages of air shipping and the necessity of engaging with trusted suppliers. They also explain the need for a virtual wallet and the mandatory BVN verification for using the app, reassuring the safety of the process.

Q&A Session on Supplier Contacts and Payment Methods

The Q&A session, led by Ask Xtatee and Midddleman, addressed various queries from participants. Topics included using the Middleman app for vendor payments, communication with suppliers on WeChat and WhatsApp, the safety of payments outside of 1688, the potential for importing gadgets from 1688, the concept of dropshipping, and the availability of classes for laptops. Additionally, the session covered the absence of MOQ for personal use purchases and the fluctuating RMB rates.

Contact Information, Trusted logistics and shipping options 

Xtatee provides detailed instructions on how to add the suppliers' phone numbers on WeChat and WhatsApp, emphasizing the importance of specifying the shipping destination when reaching out for assistance. Additionally, the process for making payments through platforms is explained.

NOTE: To get the contacts of the Gadgets suppliers and Shipping Companies that Xtatee shared, kindly join our community of importation and e-commerce experts on WhatsApp here.

What are the major differences between 1688 and Alibaba?

Welcome to the Midddleman blog where we share tips to help make your e-commerce journey easy.

Alibaba and 1688 are to China what Amazon and eBay are to the US.

Although these two sites are some of the biggest places for Nigerian mini-importers to source goods, a lot still don't know the major differences between the two.

Are there any? We'll talk about a few every Nigerian mini-importer should be concerned about.

• The first difference is language.

While 1688 uses Chinese as a default language for its app and website and demands a translator for non-Chinese users, Alibaba has an option that allows its users to switch to their preferred language. You could switch to English and make your navigation breezy in a few clicks.

• The second difference between Alibaba and 1688 is product prices.

While it is widely accepted that Alibaba has a wide range of high-quality products from trusted suppliers, it is also believed that their products are expensive just as their shipping rates are high.

Meanwhile, 1688 on the other hand is known for having affordable products with lower shipping rates.

• The third and last difference between these two e-commerce giants is ease of payment.

While 1688 only accepts payments through an Alipay wallet, Alibaba has wider options which include credit/debit card payments from globally recognized issuers like MasterCard or Visa. Still, on payments, there's one more thing to note.

Alibaba accepts only dollar payments while 1688 accepts only Chinese currency.

It was exciting taking you through that brief run. We believe you’ve learned a thing or two.

Before you head off, you should remember that the easiest and safest way to send RMB from Nigeria to your suppliers’ Alipay account in China is through Remit by Midddleman.

Do you have a Midddleman account? Get one here.

, our co-founder, writes about why they began this journey.

Read his newsletter below:

Adeola’s Newsletter

I'm taking matters into my own hands.

I have sold stuff on Instagram for the better part of the last 5 years. One major problem has always lingered: “Absence of Trust” Whoa…See who’s here. If you’re reading this, you might as well just drop your email address so I can send the next one straight to your email 🙂…

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3 years ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Adeola Owosho