Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

Wang Feiyang got up early Sunday morning. He was off today, but he had important things to do.

He already had a complete plan for what he would do after arriving in Moscow.

He only has a little over 600,000 yuan on hand, a portion of which he expects to keep in China for other important purposes. So, if he wants to do something in Moscow, his start-up capital is estimated to be at most 400,000 yuan.

He wouldn't consider those small businesses he did in his previous life, like selling phone cards or assembling computers, now, as they were time-consuming and didn't earn much.

He doesn't have enough capital for things like forex trading and freight forwarding, which can make a lot of money.

So, there's only one path left: become a middleman!

This was what most Chinese in Russia did around 2000. After all, Russia's light industry was extremely weak, and daily necessities such as shoes, bags, and clothing had to be imported. Meanwhile, China already had hundreds of thousands of factories of all sizes with explosive production capacity, and they were worried about not having a place to sell their products.

As a result, some people saw the potential in the Russian market, which was in dire need of development, and sent cheap goods from their home countries there to sell at several times the price. Many people made a lot of money by acting as middlemen.

In the Izmailov Market, where many Chinese businessmen gather, many middle-aged Chinese people who look ordinary, even with dirty clothes and unkempt hair, are actually already worth tens of millions and own sizable factories in China.

The greater the profit, the greater the risk!

The well-known wholesale markets where scalpers congregate have seen a lot of incidents. Some people have made a fortune and become millionaires, while others have lost everything and gone bankrupt!

It's fair to say that the Izmailov Market bears witness to the blood and tears of many traders...

However, Wang Feiyang has experience. In his previous life, he made his fortune by being a middleman. If he does it again, he will definitely do better than before!

…………

There is a large wholesale market next to the old railway station in the provincial capital, where you can find everything from clothes and shoes to bags and small commodities.

Because the textile industry chain in the province is very complete, there are many well-known domestic men's and women's clothing brands, and even more processing plants. In the wholesale market, basically every wholesale store is supported by a factory.

In addition, the provincial capital is a transportation hub connecting nine provinces and the central region. Therefore, not only the cities and prefectures below, but also the surrounding provinces come here to purchase goods to sell back to them. From time to time, you can also see many foreign manufacturers coming to purchase.

Wang Feiyang arrived at one of the newly built clothing wholesale buildings, which had a huge area. The five-story podium was filled with wholesale stalls. It was not yet 10 a.m., but the building was already bustling with people.

He was quite familiar with this place. He had been here a lot when he was a reseller in his previous life, and he had several familiar old customers here. He just didn't know if they had moved into this building by now, since he started being a reseller several years later in his previous life.

After wandering around the wholesale building for a while and gradually getting the hang of it, Wang Feiyang took the elevator directly to the third floor, looked around, and walked straight to a shop at the corner.

Shop number 3-25 is a wholesale denim store. The spacious and bright store is filled with all kinds of denim jeans in various colors. The middle-aged owner is sitting on a sofa in the corner of the store, drinking tea. Every now and then, he shouts at the two young girls who are busy in the store, asking them to adjust the placement of a certain sample or something.

As soon as Wang Feiyang arrived at the store entrance, a young girl greeted him warmly, showing no disdain for him because he looked like a student.

"Handsome, wanna buy some jeans? Our jeans are the best quality and style in the whole market. Come and take a look, they're all Levi's export surplus stock!"

Although these stores mainly do wholesale, they do not refuse retail. Many people from the old provincial capital know to come here to buy clothes and other items, and the prices are much cheaper than in department stores!

Of course, the retail price here is different from the wholesale price, and it will be higher.

Take this store's jeans, for example. The wholesale price might be sixty yuan per pair, and the price can be negotiated if you buy in bulk. But for retail, the asking price is usually one hundred and twenty or one hundred yuan. Even if you try to bargain, the price won't be lower than 80 yuan, otherwise the store would rather not sell to you.

Wang Feiyang smiled and nodded, then asked, "Is President Gu here? I need to talk to him about something."

The young woman paused for a moment, then turned and called out into the store, "Mr. Gu, someone's looking for you!"

The middle-aged man sitting in the corner drinking tea stood up, looked over, and seemed a little confused when he saw Wang Feiyang, but he still smiled and greeted him, "Hello, are you looking for me?"

Wang Feiyang walked over and nodded, saying, "Hello, Mr. Gu. I was introduced by a friend. I heard that you can wholesale European-sized jeans here. I'm in the foreign trade business, mainly dealing with Russia, so I'd like to order a batch of jeans. The size tags and everything else need to be in English, and the brand will be Levi's."

He had worked with President Gu for several years in his previous life, so he knew him very well. Although President Gu's shop was small, the factory that President Gu and his relatives jointly owned was actually quite large, mainly doing OEM for some European and American brands.

This shop in the wholesale market must have just opened not long ago, testing the waters in the domestic market.

General Manager Gu's eyes lit up, and he quickly and warmly invited Wang Feiyang to sit down, poured him some tea, and said generously, "That's definitely no problem! Although our factory isn't big, it has a good reputation in the industry, and the quality is excellent. Um... what's your name, boss?"

"My surname is Wang. To make a long story short, I'm ordering about 40 yuan worth of goods for the first time, just to test the waters. If sales are good, I'll increase the order..."

Since it was their first collaboration, Wang Feiyang didn't make any pointless attempts. He knew the other party wouldn't dare let him buy on credit; they would definitely want him to pay in full before he could receive the goods.

Four hundred thousand units of goods is not a large quantity for foreign trade, but it is not something to be underestimated either.

Sure enough, upon hearing Wang Feiyang's words, General Manager Gu nodded emphatically. "That's right. I've heard from my colleagues in Russia about it, but not many people from our province go there; it's mostly people from the northern provinces who like to go there. Since you're so straightforward, General Manager Wang, I won't beat around the bush. This batch of goods is our first collaboration, so I'll give you a major customer price. Your requirements are all fine. You can choose which styles you need later, and the goods will be ready in about half a month at most..."

There was no need to compare prices from multiple suppliers. To be honest, Wang Feiyang didn't dare to rashly seek cooperation with unfamiliar manufacturers whose prices seemed cheaper. He preferred to choose an old friend like Boss Gu, whom he knew well and trusted.

After all, as long as this first batch of goods can be delivered smoothly and the funds can be rolled over, it will be considered a success!