Thread: Importing from China

Treat Western Union and wire transfer payments with caution. To lower the risk, I would suggest that you start with small orders so you don't lose too much money if the order falls apart. Then, when enough trust is established, slowly build up your orders over time.

Communicate directly through MSN Messenger instead of waiting around for emails. This way you can receive pictures of stock, have a better "feeling" about the situation, and never having to work around a heavy accent.

Originally Posted by EnternationalTrader

Treat Western Union and wire transfer payments with caution. To lower the risk, I would suggest that you start with small orders so you don't lose too much money if the order falls apart. Then, when enough trust is established, slowly build up your orders over time.

Good advice. Be careful not to place a large order too soon, some scammers are known to send good sample orders and then fake merchandise once you place a bigger order. Increase your order gradually.

Also check out this thread for details on payment methods and their pros and cons:

http://www.wholesaleforum.com/paymen...nt-method.html

Originally Posted by buyinbulk

Communicate directly through MSN Messenger instead of waiting around for emails. This way you can receive pictures of stock, have a better "feeling" about the situation, and never having to work around a heavy accent.

Another good pointer. Please note images can be taken from anywhere. Ask the supplier to send you a picture of their stock and to include in the picture their local newspaper (from a recent date) and an A4 sheet with their company name written on it. That way at least you know they have the stock in hand. Of course this is still not a 100% reassurance you will receive the stock, but at least you know they are holding it and that they are not middle men.

Chinese people always take a big attention on credit ,and always feel so good when get a order, so ,it is safe when trade with them, they will do there best to provide you the best goods

Originally Posted by talent2203

it is safe when trade with them, they will do there best to provide you the best goods

Hi Talent2203,

Thanks for your comment, however it's a bit generic. China, like any other country, also has scammers, middle men pretending to be factories, and unscrupolous traders claiming to sell branded merchandise when in fact 99.99% of the branded merchandise originating from China is counterfeit.

There is no question China has a thirst for business, however to state that it is always safe to trade with China does not reflect reality.

WholesaleForum.com Admin

Originally Posted by WholesaleForum

Hi Talent2203,

Thanks for your comment, however it's a bit generic. China, like any other country, also has scammers, middle men pretending to be factories, and unscrupolous traders claiming to sell branded merchandise when in fact 99.99% of the branded merchandise originating from China is counterfeit.

There is no question China has a thirst for business, however to state that it is always safe to trade with China does not reflect reality.

WholesaleForum.com Admin

How dare you, sir. HOW DARE YOU. lol jk

Video conferencing with the supplier is pretty neat, it lets you see what their offices look like and how they run their operation. Next thing would have to be you asking for a quotation, this is usually sent to you in a pro forma invoice. Always talk to them directly while checking their credentials with government agencies.

Originally Posted by Live2Laugh

checking their credentials with government agencies

This is an excellent point. Call the embassy or consulate of the supplier in your country. For example, if you are based in the US and your supplier is from China, call the Chinese embassy in the US (Embassy of People's Republic of China in the United States of America) and ask them to confirm that the supplier is a legitimately registered business in China.

You can also ask the supplier to confirm which Trade Shows they have attended. Then visit the Trade Show's official website and verify that the supplier has in fact attended.

Finally you should know that every Chinese company with a website must have and display an ICP number on their home page. If they don't you should automatically exclude them from your sourcing (Hong Kong websites are excluded from this requirement). You can use the manufacturer's website ICP number to determine the website ownership, and check whether there have been any complaints about the supplier.

To verify an ICP number follow the steps below:


1. Visit http://www.miibeian.gov.cn/CX/main.jsp (in Chinese only, but don't panic)

2. In the left menu, click on the last link;

3. You will now see a form on the right. In the first input, insert the website of the manufacturer you want to verify (eg manufacturerdomain.com without http://)

4. At the bottom of the same form you will see two submit buttons. Click the one on the left;

5. You will now be asked to submit a verification code to confirm that your request is not machine generated;

6. You should now see the ICP number of the website you inputed;

7. Click on the text in the last column of the result to view further information about the website and ICP number;

8. Use Google Translate to translate Chinese text to English to reveal all the details about the ICP registration.


Please be aware that there is no such thing as a 100% fool proof method of remotely verifying a supplier. The best way by far is to visit the supplier in person or use an import/export agent in the country of the supplier to inspect the merchandise for you and ensure it reaches destination.

WholesaleForum.com Admin