There is this nasty little rumor going around that says importing small quantities of merchandise is something that is very difficult to do. But the truth is that you can get virtually anything and everything you want. If you want 10 sets of authentic Chinese medicine balls directly from China, you can get 10 sets of authentic Chinese medicine balls directly from China. Perhaps that is all your store needs and no one should tell you, “No, you can’t order that few although you don’t need very many.”

The main difference here is cost. Yes, it is more expensive to ship more items, but the bargain is greater the more you get. And yes, you get a better deal if you order more, but you shouldn’t order more than what you need or you are going to find yourself with an excess of Chinese medicine balls. This actually results in a greater loss for you than having to pay more in wholesale cost because you ordered less. You don’t want to find yourself with an excess of the item and not be able to sell it.

But what happens if a company says they have a minimum order?

How do you conquer that?

Well, even if a company says that they have a minimum order of 25 items and you only need 10, you can order what is called a “sample order.” A sample order is a way in which you can see how the item performs in your store. If it performs well, then you can order more later on. It is important to keep in mind that these companies doing the exporting will not turn down money. They are not going to say, “No, you can’t have this because you don’t need 25 of them.” Letting you order 10 is going to provide them with money they wouldn’t have otherwise. No good business is going to turn down the very cash that makes them grow. That would be counterproductive, don’t you think?

With a sample order you will pay more per piece, but you have the benefit of “testing the waters” before you order in large quantities. So don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t run the store the way you want to run it with the merchandise that you want to sell. Better yet, don’t let them tell you how much of your merchandise you can buy and sell. That is just right out wrong. If you want to order 10, go for it. If you want to order 5, don’t let anyone push you around. You’re the boss, so let them know that.

Most manufacturers realize that a small sample order can quickly turn into a larger order and then, of course, an ongoing trade relationship. A great resource to get started in importing is a site called Alibaba.com where there are plenty of worldwide manufacturers ready to ship in small quantities.