We have setup a company that would import goods from various countries
to be sold/distributed in USA. We have very reliable and quality
conscious contacts who would supply us goods(leather items, artificial
jewelry and food products)  but we are stuck gaining an entry into the
US market. Precisely my 2 questions would be

1. How to go about gaining an entry in the US market for these products ?

2. How to make sure that we get paid on time, every time for the goods
that we would deliver.


Thanks
Mr.Zee

1 - get a big supermarket chain to pick it up. A lot easier said than
done, but if, say, WAL*MART would pick up the product, you would need
a lot of stock to distribute stuff.

2a - good contracts
2b - good lawyers


If you want to sell directly, you could consider using eBay or
similar, or start your own webshop, coupled with an affiliate
programme (see www.tradedoubler.com, for example)

If you need importers address with whom wal-mart is purchasing, let me know

handicrafts and gift items etc.