By MJC
If you have been on Facebook for a while, you may have
noticed an influx of WhatsApp import groups. These groups are formed to get
many people together to import few pieces of merchandise each collectively, so
as to attain minimum order quantity (MOQ). Coming together to import goods in
this manner has helped a lot of people who are starting out with little
capital, and who can’t meet the MOQ by themselves.
However, having been a member of many such groups, there are
a few negative aspects I have noted as explained below:
1. The buying price and/or shipping charges might be slightly or grossly inflated. The founders/admins of these groups are more often than not,
doing it to make money. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but most act like
they are doing it from the goodness of their heart, when in fact they are there
to make money out of it. They make money by slightly or grossly inflating the
buying price as well as the shipping charges. Not forgetting pesa ya kutoa that
you will add as you send the money via Mpesa.
2. Quality is not guaranteed. Most of the admins of these groups do not first get
samples of the items to check quality. So sometimes you will get very poor
quality items and you the member, will just have to take the loss – a huge one
if you dared make a large order.
3. There might be no compensation for items lost before they get to you. If an item is lost whether at the point of being packed
by the supplier, in transit or at arrival shauri yako! There may be no
compensation for you. And if compensated it either takes a long time to get the
compensation or you are compensated with something totally different from what
you wanted.
4. Dishonesty. Like I said most people who come up with
these groups (the admins) are there to make money, which they won't tell you.
The intense kind of work that's needed when putting together these group orders
simply cannot be done for free. You will pay for it in one way or another. Some
will combine different shipments and charge the group for the whole shipment yet
the group’s merchandise was only a part of the shipment. Some will use the money you pay
them for something else and then pay for your items much later. This means your
items will arrive months late because the money for your items was diverted to
other things. Which is not so bad if you are buying for personal consumption,
but detrimental if you are buying for business because by the time you get your
items, the market will likely be saturated with the “unique” item
that your WhatsApp group ordered.
5. Poor customer service. In some groups you will be treated
very poorly. If you question anything you feel is off you will be berated,
sometimes even insulted. Some admins don't even answer your questions within
the group or if you contact them directly.
6. Con men. There are a few con men and women who have managed
to swindle people out of their money using these import groups. I have seen it
in two groups.
7. Undisclosed storage fees. Some of the admins of the import groups don't have shops in town (Nairobi CBD)
which means they have to store items in other people's shops who then charge
you daily storage fees. The longer you take to pick your items, the higher the
storage fee you pay. So, if you take several days to pick your consignment you
may end up having paid retail prices for the items after including storage fees
in the mark-up, which means you can’t sell your items at a competitive price. Often
you are given a day or two to pick your items before storage charges start to
apply, but in some cases, the charges apply from the first day.
8. Herd mentality that makes you buy worthless or
hard-to-sell products. It's normal human behaviour to gravitate towards things
that seem to be popular. But take your time to actually research about that
popular product, check if there is a market for it before you order several
pieces that you will be stuck with.
I did encounter a
group where the admin was very honest, was kind enough to teach us the process
of importing for ourselves, did not inflate prices, made sure everyone got
their order, so there is still hope you
may yet find a group that's a good fit. (Unfortunately she quit group orders
after a couple of times. I told you the work involved is too intense to be
free).
In conclusion, WhatsApp import groups can be of great help,
but you have to go in with your eyes wide open. Be ready for all the things
I've listed.
- Demand for accountability and better customer care because contrary to what the admins of these groups want you to believe, it is a business and you are their customer.
- Research and know the wholesale prices for the items you want. This is easy especially if you are importing from China. Go to Alibaba and contact a few suppliers and they will give you quotations that you can use to compare with what your WhatsApp import group admin is offering.
