Over the last decade the online landscape has changed dramatically, in which it has become the most effective way for entrepreneurs to make a living, full stop.

And while this can be accomplished in a myriad of ways, it isn’t hard to debate what the most efficient method is for creating a successful e-commerce business.

In short, successful e-commerce entrepreneurs find desirable overseas products, import them into the US, and sell them for a hefty profit.

Simple and effective.

Or at least, it was…

The rising cost of e-commerce

Over the last few years a number of import tariffs have been introduced in the USA that have increased the costs associated with importing overseas products onto American soil.

Although these tariffs were introduced to increase consumer reliance on American business, they backfired dramatically. In fact, all they did was simply make it more difficult to turn a profit while increasing the purchase cost of imported goods significantly.

And now these costs are being passed onto US citizens to the value of 57 billion dollars per year.

Pretty crazy, really.

Now, the good news is that entrepreneurs are known for their ability to come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems — and this is no different.

In fact, they came up with a way that allows you to remove your importation costs, lower product prices, and ultimately separate yourself from the rest of the market in a big way.

Enter Section 321.

Importing with Section 321

What in the world is Section 321?

In short, section 321 describes a class of imported goods that enters the USA from overseas. 

Every item shipped into the US does so under a specific classification. And incredibly, overseas goods that get classified as a Section 321 enter the country completely tariff and duty free. 

Meaning that if you can get your imports classified as a Section 321, you can save a lot of money.

The downside here is that gaining this classification can be easier said than done.

To qualify for Section 321, the total retail value of an order must not exceed 800 USD. Moreover, it cannot consist of multiple shipments covered by a single order or contract (i.e. a large order cannot simply be broken up into smaller orders).

However, it can be accomplished with some outside help.

Order Fulfillment and Section 321

With the realization that Section 321 can help US businesses save a lot of money, there came a need to help entrepreneurs gain Section 321 classification — which was filled by order fulfillment companies.

These Canadian-based companies offer a service to e-commerce entrepreneurs where they receive your overseas shipments into Canada, store them on your behalf, and then ship them to your individual customers when you receive an order.

You can think of them as a middleman that sits between you and your customers.

While this might seem like a somewhat roundabout way of conducting business, it comes with one HUGE advantage. Because your products are now getting shipped under an individual order number, they can obtain Section 321 classification.

In doing so, you completely eliminate your import costs.

It is important to note that this is obviously not a free service — but the cost associated is generally much less than that of importation, which saves you a pretty substantial amount of money in the long run.

More importantly, most of these companies pride themselves on their ability to deliver a good service and offer same day fulfillment on all orders while using all major US carriers.

This means that your customers may actually get their products faster than if you shipped them.

Talk about a win-win.

Final Thoughts

If you are an e-commerce business looking to set yourself apart from the crowd, look no further than Section 321. 

It offers the perfect way to eliminate importation costs and reduce customer spending without impacting your profit margins. This is the secret to building a solid business that has a foundation of loyal customers.

In short, Section 321 is the answer.