Selling clothes locally on the Internet while on a student visa?

[Winny Cheng]

Hi,I have a question. I am a international student in Canada. I am planning to create a internet shop to sell clothing in my study city. Could I buy the clothing from China and ask my friend to send to me and then sell them in the internet shop every month ? Is it legal ? And I want to create the internet shop in the blog webside. Is it ok? Please answer my question if you know ! Thanks a lot!

 

[GoCubsGo]

You may, no wait, you need to contact an attorney or at the very least look at your local entity that regulates businesses and ask them.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

It's only legal if the goods you are selling are made in a sweat shop.

 

[Winny Cheng]

You may, no wait, you need to contact an attorney or at the very least look at your local entity that regulates businesses and ask them.

Thanks. do u know is it ok for people to sell the clothing except sceond hand clothing ?

 

[-Ryan-]

It's probably illegal. First, you're almost certainly on a student visa which either prevents you working or restricts you to a small number of hours. Secondly, you likely aren't even allowed to register a business in your host country.

 

[flopticalcube]

Check it out here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/study/work-offcampus.asp

You will also have to obtain a business license.

 

[Winny Cheng]

It's only legal if the goods you are selling are made in a sweat shop.

I am planning to sell the clothing from the legal shop in China, but I want to make sure if I can sell them in Canada because I am a international student . And the clothing are new not second hand..

It's probably illegal. First, you're almost certainly on a student visa which either prevents you working or restricts you to a small number of hours. Secondly, you likely aren't even allowed to register a business in your host country.

how about I sell clothing in ebay? is it also illegal?? thanks for ur answer.. I am pretty worry about this question. Because as a student I want to try small bussiness to get some experience and also could earn a little bit money .

Check it out here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/study/work-offcampus.asp

You will also have to obtain a business license.

Is it also need to get a business license if I sell clothing in ebay ?

 

[flopticalcube]

Is it also need to get a business license if I sell clothing in ebay ?

Yes.

http://ebay.about.com/od/sellingeffectivel1/a/se_smallbus.htm

Don't forget to register or license your business. Most localities require some sort of registration or licensure if you plan to own and operate a for-profit business of any kind. Laws vary by city, state, and nation, but you shouldn’t assume that you can simply begin, without any sort of paperwork, buying and selling with the intent to generate income. Visit your local commerce authority and register your business so that you are engaging in commerce lawfully, rather than risking enforcement action.

 

[snberk103]

You should contact appropriate department in the Canadian Government. No one here really knows, and even if they do you, and they post the truth - there is going to be a dozen different answers. How are you going to tell which one is correct without going to... the appropriate government department. Or are you just going to pick the answer you like best?

There are questions that will complicate the answer, as well.

Are you going to be collecting the money from sales, or is it going to an account in China? (Presumably China since that is where the clothes are coming from)
Are you acting as an agent for the clothes' maker, or are you buying the clothes and then taking all the risks that they may or may not sell?
Are you buying a bunch of clothes that are then shipped here, and then you sell them - or are you collecting orders, and then the clothes are shipped to the customer directly?
How are you dealing with import duties?
If your store has a presence in Canada (that would be you) then you should also be collecting sales tax (provincial likely, and for sure federal).
Do you have a business bank account, or are you doing it through a personal one? Are you aware that at tax-time banks in Canada report any interest earned on a bank account to the federal government for tax compliance? Also, any transactions over a certain amount (money laundering compliance).

There are lots more....

I don't want the answers.... I can't give you any advice, but these are probably the type of questions that you will need to answer before someone who knows the answer can in fact answer.

Or you can just fly low and hope you don't get caught. If you do, it will be the tax people - not the visa people. The tax people in Canada are very good at catching non-payers.