cheap imports

i know i have mentioned chinese splits before, but now as winter draws in, i'm looking at next seasons money spinners.

Now, i have never bought any of this stuff before, but i have installed quite a bit for other companies.

My impression is, apart from the 358,128 inter connecting cables, which is ok if you have a 5m pipe run because it is supplied, but if you have to extend it !!!.

The stuff is not bad. Basic but functional

So i'm considering buying a container full. The deal seems to be, buy a 20ft or a 40ft container load of the same model.
Which means about 150 or 300 3.5kw wall mounts. And get a "free" supply of spare service parts with the shipment

Anybody want to go halves ?

I'm currently in discussions, to get a mixed container of 3.5kwwalls, 7kw cassettes and 2.7kw portables.

Has anyone done this, and could pass on some tips ???

PS i'm serious about sharing the cost if any body else has thought about it, but doesnt think they want to try it alone.
If a few of likeminded types all club together a few £££'s each.
All we can loose is a few ££££'s if it goes tits up.
Or we could be buying mitsu"M series" carrier "allegro" Haier etc for 1/4 of the cost ?

come on, form an orderly line.

cheers

eggs

Hi Eggs

On paper it sounds good, but shipping the stuff in in the hope of flogging it on poses another scenario.

It would work if say you formed a " buying club" say around 20 members or so. Each one provides an order stipulating their requirements and stumping up the cash.

Then you can bring in the container , allocate the shipment wherever and everyones happy.

If a couple of guys bring it in, the perceived profits would quickly be swallowed up by the following:

Financing a whole shipment in one go. Bank charges, interests, etc Letters of credits

Legal , contracts, etc

Shipping , insurance, port costs, demurrage, etc..........Every stage you pay, ( In my experience if things dont work like clockwork you can end up in probs) Duties, vat

The consignment could end up here , customs may deem some components not within regulations, ie: will not release

Now the costs start, Distribution and channels......Where will you hold the stock?? Warehousing is not cheap.

You need adminestration and staff, accounting , transport, more insurances, product liability insurance, public liability,

I could go on...........but Ill put it this way.

WHY BUY A COW WHEN YOU CAN BUY MILK IN BOTTLES

I dont wish to sound pessimistic, I am sure there are guys out there who will take the initiative and ship a container in. Good luck to them and full marks for their entrepreneurship

But I look at the market , remember Tadiran launched?? The Saudi Crufft launched, some Italian makes launched, all the Electrical wholesalers launched their chinese make badged air conditioners

In the end, the UK market is different. Here customers prefer to buy branded stuff, from reputable dealers.

The best option by far is this: Form a buying club. Ascertain the quantities required by each member. Order a container. As soon as the shipment arrives allocate the shipment straightaway. This way each member will have a stockpile of cheap stuff to use as he requires.

But I hasten to add, do your homework, check with Business Link, Chamber of Commerce, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, on the formation , statutory, legal and taxation requirements.

A CA and LLB wouldnt hurt, if you can stump up their £200.00 per hour costs. Or you can take the DIY route and do it yourself.

Hi Eggs,

I can see that Abe giving you good advice.

Let me give you another idea: Why not get in touch with one of the importers from China, get a few quotes for a full container,
save all the import hassle.
Wave with some cash under their noses, it does the trick some times. A mini split made in China, about 2.5 KW costs there only US$80-85 so you can work out how much you will be willing to pay.
One more thing to take into account is that if you buy a stock, a lot of money just seat there in your container, this money will cost you and is out of your financial cycle.
If you don't have enough, you will have to borrow from the bank and that is extra.

One good thing that I saw over here, is, if you order more then 50 units, you can have your name on them. ;)

What ever you do, good luck.

Chemi :)

cheers for the tips.
the buying club is a good idea. it is what i was sort of getting at with my post.
dipping my toes in, so to speak.
all i (we) need is 5 people, £2000ish each, which i'm sure you will agree is not a lot to lose, and for that you will get 30 of you best selling sized splits at about 90% gross profit on resale.
in the words of del boy, "go on, you know it makes sense"
nothing ventured, nothing gained.
£2000, every time you take on a single, one off install, you risk more than this.
even if it is a single cassette in you local shop, one day one of these customers will not pay you. you have lost more than £2000 for nothing.
i'm not a gambling man, thorough research is still needed, but according to the law of averages, it is a winner.

come on who has a spare couple of grand ?

cheers

eggs

If I get another junk fax or email advertising cheap unbranded aircon units, then I'll go barmey!!! :mad:

Quote:

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come on who has a spare couple of grand ?

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I can if we are talking about a container full of DAIKIN equipment :D

Have a look at http://www.klimaconnect.com
It seems that they use Hitachi compressors and it the bigger machines Daikin. Till some years ago, they made the units for Daikin.

Thats quite interesting Peter. Did you notice on the factory tour that the units are being built with the compressor on the right hand side and condenser on the left as is normal, but then the finished product is shown with the compressor on the left hand side and the condenser on the right :confused:

Is the build quality suspect or is it just a trick of the camera?

Hi Frank,

Please look again and you will notice that the units with the compressor of the left have a a fan with three blades while the units with the compressor on the right, have a fan with four blades.

Looks like a different model ;)

They are sold over here under various names.

Chemi :)