A separate chapter of Law is dedicated to antidumping measures. Discovering fact of goods dumping in Russia, calculating damage and introducing protective measures - each step is exposed in every detail, because this is a new practice for this country. Here, as well as in case of application of special protective measures may be, lawgiver requires that facts should be carefully investigated, as it is possible that blind measures can do more harm than good. If dumping influence does not exceed a certain allowable threshold, strict measures should not be used. Moreover, if supplier of goods states in writing that he followed a dishonest price policy, and signs an obligation to stop it, investigation is then suspended, should "inspectors" make decision, that supplier can be trusted. However, tight control is carried out to verify how he complies with promise.

The Law introduces concept of "compensatory measure" which is necessary in case when goods, produced with subsidies of foreign governments are imported into Russia. In reality however, as it has been already noticed by experts, it is firstly foodstuffs: crisis of overproduction of agrarian and industrial complex, aspiration to support quiet lifestyle of local farmers cause foreign governments to buy from manufacturers of agrarian and industrial complex goods at unfairly high prices, and then resell them for export at lower prices, compensating difference from budget. The demands of domestic manufacturers of agrarian and industrial complex "to forbid" such imports was faced with fears, that sharp interdiction of imports will not cause growth of own production and will result only in shortages and price increases. The Law has defined "golden balance": investigation concerning subsidized import is conducted extremely objectively, abstracting from lobbyism of domestic manufacturers.

The document is extremely transparent, as it could not be any different. The attempts to declare a "trade war" to Russia when its goods are exported to some countries, on one hand, as well as obvious practice of "bad import" to our country from which we were not protected, on another hand, have forced Russia to use protective measures (on import of fowl, beef, pork) before adoption of this law. It caused an ambiguous and sometimes extremely strong reaction in outside world. The reaction of Russia's supporters during WTO negotiations was especially painful. There was not a single country at this stage of joining WTO who dared strengthening its protective measures. Russia has invested a great deal of efforts to prove, that it had right to protect market, and has spent a lot of time to explain to foreign experts, how its market was going to be protected.

Copyright 2005 OpenRussia.ru Russian business directory

So, all said, you may be wondering if it’s even worth effort. That depends on you and how well you prepare.

Before you open your eBay Store or run out and buy a bunch of product, visit Strictly Business Magazine’s "How to Sell on eBay Resource Center" at http://sbmag.org and read all "free" articles. Then buy and read a series of books about eBay, there are a number of them listed there. Start out with a book on basics and then more advanced volumes.

After you have read up on basics, set up a seller’s account. Not a Store yet, that starts meter running after thirty day free trial. Not a lot of money, but why pay it until you have necessary education you are going to need to be successful.

Once you have a basic education, experiment with a few items you have lying around house you’d like to get rid of. This will give you chance to experience eBay process and give you an idea of what you are in for. Pick items that sell for under $10, this will give you cheapest listing fees to experiment with. (A $9.99 item lists for half price of a $10 item, same thing as $24.99 vs $25). Also make sure you pick items that are easy to ship. Check with post office for shipping fees and packaging. If you use Express Mail, most of shipping materials are free and in some cases will more then offset higher postage fees and will get your product to your customer faster, resulting in better a Feedback Rating, something you will soon learn is very important in eBay.

As you’re reading books you have just bought, watch for important subjects such as Feedback Rating, shipping and handling, product selection, effective listings, taking and using photos and using hmtl in your listings. Also make note of other tips and ideas on keeping your listing professional but at same time keeping cost down. Other topics of importance include "keywords" and how they affect eBay search engines and auctions vs fixed price listings.

Don’t be misled into believing that buyers are clamoring all over themselves to bid up every item you offer up for sale. Go browse listings in category that you will be listing in. You may be surprised to see that most items don’t have a single bid and will not sell at all and others have only a single bid. You may also want to find out what are best days and time frames most successful auctions close.

The price you pay for a few books and time it takes to read them and do a little research may be returned ten fold or more in just first few months after opening your eBay store.

Floyd Snyder is the founder and former owner of Executive Advertising, Camera Ready Art and Strictly Business Magazine. Currently he is the owner of Strictly Business Magazine at http://www.sbmag.org, http://www.FrameHouseGallery.com, http://www.EducationResourcesNetwork.com/and http://www.TraderAide.com.