Hi, I haven’t talked about DHL, I’ve asked to know how people are able to import stuff into this country tax free. Obviously, if someone is able to import M-16s from America without paying taxes, there is a loophole somewhere.
Mi sijali kulipa tax afterwards because I’ll have made a profit. But if your competitors are using panya roots, your business is likely to fail even before it starts. That’s my concern…
Sawa mkubwa…
What you presume to be panya routes are fully legitimate. That you are not aware how they operate is truly your loss, and is no reason to accuse your competition of tax evasion.
Your first lesson in business should be how to effectively source for products. Surprisingly this is the easier bit. It is more rigorous to sell than source.
I have another question. Supposing you want to import small quantities of say shoes from China say 50 pairs and you already have a supplier. Which would be the most cost effective carrier with a clearing agent in your experience…
Of course, fashion items such as shoes especially for ladies go out of fashion within a month or two so there is no need to bring something like a ton of shoes because you don’t want a lot of dead stock.
[QUOTE="dan1, pl
You need to first know the shipping method to use. Generally, you use sea for heavy items and air for light cargo. You will be charged in kilos for air cargo and in cubic meters/volume for sea cargo
Then you contact the shipping agent in this case, the warias in eastleigh. They will give you the number of their ground man in china or Dubai or wherever. This is the person who will receive your cargo from your supplier, verify quality and quantity, pay for the cargo and forward it to you through their company.
So, you give your supplier in china your china agent number. You also send money to the agent normally via M-PESA through the estleigh office.
Then wait for your goods normally one week by air, forty days by sea.
Sounds complicated but is so easy once you get used. As stated above, sourcing and shipping is the easier part. Selling is the challenge.
Sande sana… This is the information I was looking for.
I think I touched a raw nerve
Me nashangaa na mtu akianza kubrag kwa anonymous forum.
Very weird.
Didn’t mention the cargo companies. You may use rolling cargo, nor salama or Salihia. These are experts of buying on behalf. Google their Nairobi numbers and request for the number of their ground man in wherever you are sourcing from, then engage him via WhatsApp, link him with your Alibaba or AliExpress supplier.
For money transfer, use the Nairobi office of the shipping company you are dealing with. Faster, trouble free and good exchange rates.
@dan1 skiza mawaidha unapewa kijana. Sourcing is the easy part, selling is the hard part. Whatever you think you are importing is probably already readily available and being sold affordably by multiple stalls in Easleigh malls. Usikuwe na kimbele mbele otherwise you will end up wearing those shoes you are thinking will be easy to sell.
Ama hiyo ceet ni ya investigative journalism
For me it’s the other way round. I’m able to sell a lot but don’t know where the cheaper items are coming from. I’ve been in business since 2016 but I’ve never seriously thought about importing until now. The economy is bad and I’m noticing some competitors selling stuff cheaper than how I bought.
I recently got a premises front-face with a lot of foot traffic. Look at my post “Business Premises for Rent”. Problem is not getting customers, my problem is selling things at a cheaper price, enough to make reasonable profit margin even during bad times and compete favourably in the market. This plus quality is usually a good marketing point when dealing with new customers… Historically, I’ve had a very good buyer rate. At least 70 percent of all customers who come to my business purchase a product.
What I’m doing now is optimizing products and prices. I try to sell out most shoes before the next fashion comes out… That’s how I stay ahead for now.
There you go again…dick measuring contest…nani amekuuliza mambo ya pesa baba?
Sa unadai tukusaidie aje CID officer?
:D:D:D
Nope it is very very very illegal. When you ship your goods via DHL, UPS, EMS etc and you ship via Waria, there are very clear distinctions
Being a bulk shipper, I noticed whenever I import via Waria or Kentex, my goods lack receipts from the supplier.
Typically, Kenyan total taxes for goods is typically around 60% of the CIF.
Once I changed my shipping agent to Waria and Kentex from UPS, my total bill(shipping plus supposed customs tax) is less than the tax I paid before
Let us not lie to ourselves, waria hata hawakupatii VAT receipt.:D:D:D
The trick these guys use is to seriously underdeclare(which is why your shipments never have supplier receipts like you would get when you ship via DHL, UPS etc.) They then pay a serious kickback per shipment to the KRA customs agents.
In fact, they have been on the papers many times for playing this game. Rolling Cargo ALONE was on the papers on alleged tax evasion of Kshs 5bn. 
Very correct what I wanted to say exactly
No very wrong. That shit is illegal. They even never offer any VAT receipts