Online selling

[jagman1959]

Would selling stuff through ebay be considered 'working' in Indonesia?
Could it be possible to subsidize living expenses this way?
Just wondering if I could semi-retire to Bali.....

[waarmstrong]

Legally, I have no idea, but give it a try and let us know how it works out.

I am wondering if its a logistical impossibility here, as most Ebay based businesses depend on efficient, economical, and reliable package delivery infrastructure -- that is, assuming your products are locally produced. It would be different if, while you are based in Bali, your products were shipped out of, say Hong Kong.

[Coffee]

I suppose if you were only buying and selling on the net and not sending out goods from Indonesia it could work. Have the funds sent from a paypal account to a UK bank account and noone would know. Not sure about sending stuff from Indonesia, probably a no no with customs.

Would be interesting to find out. good luck in your semi-retirement

[Brigadier Van Der Schnoof]

It is entirely possible and it is illegal. I had a friend doing it who got caught. He had to pay a large fine which wasn't so bad considering he was pulling in 300 million rupiah a month. His company is now legit. You can make a lot of money because of the huge profit margin, but what you sell is key.

There are two principles you have to follow to make money online:

- Sell small stuff that doesn't cost much to ship.
- Sell stuff that won't break during shipment.

Although you will likely charge the buyer with shipment costs, if he returns the product and the shipment was expensive you'll either have to refund the shipment, or have a very unhappy customer on your hands.

If your stuff breaks, then you have to refund it or get very unhappy customers.

Unhappy customers are worst online than for a physical store. In real life, the unhappy ones will complain mouth to mouth and it won't reach much people unless some publish their discontent. On the Internet, especially Ebay, you get a rating so your reputation is more fragile. It can go downhill pretty fast.

Later, lane:
Brigadier

[El_Goretto]

- Sell small stuff that doesn't cost much to ship.

And also for stock purposes. Whether you hold the stock at home or with a fulfillment company, it will be much cheaper and convenient to stock.

[jagman1959]

I appreciate if you were just 'dropshipping' from Hong Kong, then it would be a different story. I take it the postal service in Bali is not very good?

[Brigadier Van Der Schnoof]

The postal service and shipment services are excellent in Bali. There are many exporters, so there are many shipment companies.

Later, lane:
Brigadier

[Mas Fred]

Imigrasi informed me it was illegal but, if it was small scale, from home and 'off the RADAR, no one would bother looking.
Small scale by western standards is enough to live off out here if you aren't on the pee every night.

[jagman1959]

The postal service and shipment services are excellent in Bali. There are many exporters, so there are many shipment companies.

Later, lane:
Brigadier

Thanks Brigadier, at present I am in Australia and I sell small items. Turnover is only about 100 million rupiah a month. I don't even have to use exporters as my items are small enough to go through the mail service.

[jagman1959]

Imigrasi informed me it was illegal but, if it was small scale, from home and 'off the RADAR, no one would bother looking.
Small scale by western standards is enough to live off out here if you aren't on the pee every night.

Hi Mas Fred, thanks for the info. The Australian Gov't was the same. If your annual turnover was < AU$50,000 you slipped under the radar. But now the Australian Tax Office have lowered the limit to AU$25,000 p.a. If your turnover is AU$25,000 or over, ebay are obliged to hand over your details to them. This includes your bank details, sales figures, IP address and registered address.