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Ask HN: Managing an e-commerce business outside the U.S?

5 points by dataker ↗ HN
Working remotely, I've been traveling around the world and recently considered to start an e-commerce website( found an U.S unexplored niche).

I was wondering if it'd be possible to manage suppliers and logistics with an outsourced service, as I don't currently reside in the U.S.

Are there any services or companies that could make this feasible?

1 comment

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patio11
Quite possible. You're presumably very early in your research if you haven't heard of dropshipping yet, but that should probably be your first choice option. (You capture orders and then fulfillment happens through the manufacturer. You pay the manufacturer less than the retail price you charged and pocket the difference. Your hands never touch product.)

After you've got the business humming, you may choose to actually have inventory, likely at an outsourced fulfillment center. This should probably not be your first choice, as inventory risk is a real thing and fulfillment is expensive/complicated.