The hard part of reselling Korean goods is not sourcing, it is that your money is tied up in transit for weeks while your listings run out of stock. Sellers who fail usually fail on timing rather than on margin, and the fix is arithmetic done before the first order rather than after.
The cash conversion cycle, measured
From placing a Korean order to having sellable inventory in hand runs typically 14 to 25 days: three to six days for domestic dispatch and consolidation, four to seven for air transit and customs, and two to four for receiving and listing. Add your own selling period of two to six weeks and you are looking at a 35 to 70 day cycle from cash out to cash back.
Why the second order is the dangerous one
Sellers reinvest the first order's revenue into the second, which means the second order cannot be placed until the first has largely sold. That creates a stock gap of two to three weeks where listings sit at zero and ranking decays. Overlapping orders, placing the next one when the current is 50 to 60 percent sold, costs more working capital and eliminates the gap.
Sizing a restock
A useful rule is ordering to cover your expected sales for the full cycle plus a buffer of roughly 30 percent. If you sell 20 units a month and your cycle is six weeks, that is about 30 units plus buffer, not 20. Underordering to reduce risk is what produces permanent stock gaps.
Shipping cost per unit at different volumes
Air freight cost per unit falls steeply up to about 15 to 20 kg and then flattens. A 5 kg shipment might cost 11 to 13 USD per kilogram; a 20 kg shipment often lands at 7 to 9. For heavy low-margin goods, that difference frequently decides whether a product is worth carrying at all.
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Start a buy-for-me order →Frequently asked
Should I use sea freight to cut costs?
Only above roughly 50 to 100 kg and only with six to ten weeks of lead time. Sea freight's slow cycle makes the cash flow problem worse unless your volume genuinely justifies it.
How much buffer stock is too much?
Beyond about two cycles of coverage you are paying storage and obsolescence risk for a marginal service improvement. Trend-driven goods are especially punishing to overstock.
What if a product sells out at the Korean source?
Assume it will happen and keep a second source identified for anything that accounts for a large share of your revenue. Single-source dependence is the most common failure in this business.