Importing a unique product can be an excellent way to enter a niche or untapped market. Innovative ideas can often be the key to separating yourself from your competition and succeeding.
Here are some things to think about when bringing a distinguished item to the market:
Fully Developing Your Product
It will save you so much time, money, and headache if you have complete engineer drawings for manufacturers that have been prototyped and tested. You should be able to give your files to manufacturers with absolute certainty that, if manufactured to print, it will function as intended. If you choose to skip steps, then you might end up stuck with a shipment of parts that don’t work as you intended.
If you like it, then you should put a Patent on It
Having a patent on your product will prevent other people from stealing your idea and creating their own version of it. It also gives you legal recourse if someone does try to profit off your creation you poured so many hours into.
There are two different kinds of patents, design patents and utility patents. Design patents focuses on appearance and aesthetics, while utility patents focus on function. You should contact a patent lawyer to discuss which option would be best for your product.
Non Disclosure Agreements for Your Product
Having a Non-Disclosure Agreement between you and the parties involved will keep them accountable to you. A NDA binds parties to only disclose information, ideas, and files to other parties that are deemed acceptable. This is important for parties that deal with international companies, because not every country follows U.S. Patent law. It’s important to review any and all documents you sign and make sure that the terms are agreeable. Most NDAs are only written to last a period of 3-5 years, but that can be changed if needed. There are some that are made to last indefinitely, but those are really rare.
Packaging & Shipping Protection
Sometimes special items may have distinct shapes. Be sure that your product packaging provides enough protection. If some odd angle juts out, you may need a specialized or larger box to properly protect it. Make sure that there is enough space in-between the box and the part to include some kind of packing material. Peanuts, paper, and bubble wrap all work well to protect parts.
Importing a new unique item can be an exciting adventure. If you have more questions about importing your item, contact us here.