So you want toSelling abroad
A cushion cover costs about ₹150 in Jaipur and sells for $20 on Etsy. J follows one real order all the way: the tariff year, the end of America's $800 de minimis rule, India Post by weight, Etsy's fee stack, the same order to the UK, EU, UAE and US, returns, and the Amazon warehouse route.
₹1,750 a cover
A ₹150 hand block-printed cushion cover from Jaipur, sold for $20 on Etsy: ₹1,750 profit a cover.
The flaw
Postage priced by weight, a US tariff that changed four times in a year, the end of the $800 duty-free rule, and a stack of fees.
Run J's numbers
The defaults are the exact worked example from the episode. Move any slider to your own quote.
27 out of 70
Seven questions, ten points each — higher is better on every one. The red tick is the season average so far.
Two years, run two ways
The good version
Repeat buyers, UK-heavy orders and a few higher-priced sets: a steady side income.
The realistic version
Offsite ads at 15%, a few returns and a tariff change: some months under ₹100 an order.
J's checklist
- Weigh the packed product before you set a price — postage is by weight.
- Check the current duty for your HS code in each country you ship to.
- Add every platform fee line, including offsite ads, to one order.
- Compare the same order to the UK, EU, UAE and US before you pick a market.
- Decide your returns policy before the first return arrives.
Jump in
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Selling abroad — Calculator
Editable spreadsheet with the episode's numbers already in. Change any yellow cell.
DownloadSelling abroad — Playbook PDF
The real bill, the scorecard, two years run two ways, a checklist and every source.
DownloadJ's Wall poster
The season leaderboard so far, A4. Pin it up and play along.
DownloadScore any business /70
J's seven questions as a blank scorecard. Score your own idea before you spend.
DownloadWhere the numbers come from
Copied from the episode's description. Claims in posts and videos are their authors' claims.
US tariffs and parcels
• White House US–India joint statement, 6 Feb 2026 (framework; the 18% rate was announced but never put into force)
• EO 14329 (extra 25% from 27 Aug 2025); EO 14384, 91 FR 6501 (Russia-oil duty removed from 7 Feb 2026)
• Learning Resources v. Trump, US Supreme Court, 20 Feb 2026; CBP CSMS 67834313 (IEEPA duties stop 24 Feb 2026)
• Section 122 10% surcharge, 24 Feb–23 Jul 2026; Section 301 10% duty on India from 24 Jul 2026, 91 FR 47318; Commerce Ministry via Tribune/ANI, 25 Jul 2026 (~45% of exports exempt)
• EO 14324 (de minimis suspended from 29 Aug 2025); Public Law 119-21 (statutory de minimis repealed from 1 Jul 2027); CBP postal entry changes, compliance date 20 Jan 2027
• PIB, Oct 2025: India Post resumes US parcels from 15 Oct 2025 with delivery-duty-paid; India Post memo, 22 Jul 2026 (normal US tariff rates from 23 Jul 2026)
• HTSUS 6304.92.00.00: 6.3%
• Etsy, 9 Jun 2026: US orders from 9 Jul 2026 must include duties and import fees in the price
Trade data and exporters
• ANI/Commerce Ministry, 15 Apr 2026: exports to the US FY2025-26 $87.31 bn vs $86.51 bn
• GTRI via Business Today, Nov 2025: exports to the US −37.5% May–Sep 2025; gems & jewellery −59.5%
• Al Jazeera, 11 Sep 2025: carpet industry, ~60% to the US; Surya Mani Tiwari quote
• Tiruppur quote, Aug 2025, as reported (quoted in a Reddit post)
UK, EU, UAE
• India–UK CETA in force 15 Jul 2026 (Business Standard, Tribune); UK duty on 6304.92 12% before; India's UK GSP on textiles suspended from 1 Jan 2026
• HMRC policy paper, 13 Jul 2026: £135 customs duty relief to end by October 2028
• EU Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382: €3 per item on low-value parcels from 1 Jul 2026; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152: €2 handling fee per item from 1 Nov 2026; India–EU FTA concluded 27 Jan 2026, not yet signed
• India–UAE CEPA in force 1 May 2022; UAE duty-free threshold AED 1,000 (DHL, EY)
Fees, postage and India's rules
• Etsy fees policy and Etsy help (India sellers: 5% + ₹25 processing, $10 setup, Payoneer payouts); Payoneer fees page
• India Post International Tracked Packet slab rates (USA ₹550/50 g + ₹45 per 50 g; UK ₹360 + ₹25; UAE ₹300 + ₹15; + GST); ClickPost courier price list, 22 Sep 2026 (DHL ₹2,804 for 0.5 kg)
• Business Standard, 31 Mar 2026: ₹10 lakh courier export cap removed from 1 Apr 2026; CBIC: export incentives for electronic postal exports from 15 Jan 2026; 1,013 Dak Ghar Niryat Kendras
• Amazon, 27 Oct 2025: $20 bn+ exports from India, 2 lakh+ exporters; sell.amazon.com pricing ($39.99/month, 15% Home & Kitchen)
• IndiaMART (Oct 2026): Jaipur hand block-print cushion covers ₹95–₹325 per piece; Etsy search (Oct 2026): 194 results for 16x16 block-print cushion covers sent from India to the US
Videos (titles exactly as published)
• Bhanu Pathak, "Export Secrets: Buy for 20₹, Sell for 200$ (Best for Employees)"
• Deepak Daiya 2.0, "Import Export Bussiness का संपूर्ण ज्ञान । Complete Masterclass For Beginners" ("1 lakh → 1 crore" claim, translated)
• India Dotcom English, "How Shiprocket Is Powering Global Growth for Indian Brands | Akshay Ghulati, CEO (ShiprocketX)"
• HiiEM, "What is the Profit margin in export business || By Sagar Agravat"
• Indiamaan, "How We Build a ₹3.2 Crore Amazon FBA Brand From India"; Shashank Singh Unfiltered, "Sell on Amazon FBA USA & Make ₹1 Cr/Month E-commerce Business from India ft. @Indiamaan"
• About 290 recent YouTube videos reviewed (Oct 2026)
Posts shown on screen (quoted exactly)
• X, @IronyMeter, 16 Sep 2025 (Moradabad)
• r/FilmIndustryLA, u/maxplanar, 30 Sep 2025
• r/smallbusiness, u/Thefestivestore, 7 Aug 2025
• r/passive_income, u/Sakhi_Tries, 9 Oct 2026
• r/Etsy, u/AntelopeAutomatic91, 22 Sep 2026
• r/EtsySellers, u/shiplesp, 17 Sep 2026
MUSIC
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Tracks: Rollin at 5 · Carefree · Somewhere Sunny · Volatile Reaction · Covert Affair · The Lift · Easy Lemon · Scheming Weasel (faster) · Airport Lounge · Night on the Docks - Sax · Investigations · Dances and Dames · Breaktime · Pamgaea
J is a made-up character. Every price, rule, quote and post shown is real. Worked examples and the two-year scenarios are illustrations built from the numbers in the video. Education only — not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; check the current terms before you act.