Hi all,

Anyone dealt with any Chinese suppliers? How is the quality of their goods?

I found a company that I want to use, but I have heard so many horror stories that I'm getting kind of paranoid.

I would like to hear from someone who has actually dealt with the Chinese how i should source my goods.

Thanks

Hi OnlineHound,

China is known for its black market products. A lot of counterfeited goods are produced in China and sold worldwide, reselling these is illegal and a lot of resellers have had legal problems after reselling goods sold to them by scammers saying they sell authentic goods.

When sourcing from China you should make 100% sure that you are dealing with a legitimate company. One of the ways you can be sure, is to hire a sourcing agent to visit suppliers in China for you. Another is to ask for a company review right here on Wholesale Forum, we will do our best to give you a full review and verify any company you find online.

We would like to invite you to read the following threads and articles on Wholesale Forum about China sourcing:

- https://www.wholesaleforum.com/discu...cts-china-179/
- https://www.wholesaleforum.com/discu...-imports-1779/

Hope this helps

Hey,

Thanks for your post. I notice that you are from the UK. I imported from China for over 4 years into the UK, whilst I was in UK and now have a permanent base in China and deal with several suppliers on a regular basis. So, I guess I might be able to give you a balanced perspective about sourcing from China.

Quote:

How is the quality of their goods?

There is a major misconception (that even I had whilst in UK) that the Chinese only manufacture low quality products. The fact is, in China there are two keys to controlling quality:

1. Price - There is a direct relation between the price you are willing to pay to the manufacturer and the quality you will get. Many buyers that I work with initially, tell us constantly, that they want the cheapest possible price (usually giving us a target price) but do not want to compromise on the quality. This is an Oxymoron as there is a direct link between price and quality.

2. Quality Control: It is extremely important to have good quality control, as it is sadly common for manufacturers to show you a great sample and then send you a final product that is substandard and inconsistent with the sample. There is where sourcing agents do play an important role. However, other than working with the agent (which has several other benefits such as price negotiation, etc), you should also proactively put terms and conditions in your contract outlining the quality standards as well as liquidated damage clauses. I have seen several major buyers who import huge quantities do not have liquidated damage clauses in their contracts and some who do not even have a contract. This is certainly not advisable, especially in the absence of a buying agent or a representative of your company who is based in China.

In summary, yes there are unrelaibale/fake/scamming suppliers in China but with the right background research, you can find the right supplier and improve margins considerably as opposed to sourcing from Europe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by china_expat

Hey,
In summary, yes there are unrelaibale/fake/scamming suppliers in China but with the right background research, you can find the right supplier and improve margins considerably as opposed to sourcing from Europe.

agree with this!

Hi OnlineHound,

As mentioned, if you are from the UK, definitely the quality of the products should be first grade.

I own a export company with my own brand, I prefer better-than-normal procucts, so I always source plenty of factories in the same field(As you know, factories belong to the same field always located intensively in one area, such as electronics in Dongguan, household electric appliances in Shunde Foshan, Ceramic in Nanzhuang Foshan, Textiles in Xiqiao Foshan... ). According to my own experience, the products of your target company should pass the CE certification, its better if they take commission orders from famous brands. Sourcing company is a time-taking job, but if you want to do business, not just to make some money, it's worthy.

Xiaoyang Lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by francis-cif

Choosing the Right Supplier for your products is the most important part of your journey in becoming an importer expert. It always helps to get samples as these are always free. You will only be required to pay for shipping which is fair enough. The reason for this is for you to be able to check on the quality of the products that you ordered and to check if they were able to follow your specifications as instructed. In terms of the prices, my rule is always to talk to at least 5 different suppliers so I can see the benchmark and do my assessment from there. I wouldn't advice you to go for the lowest price since this would mean lower quality in terms of raw materials which will affect the quality of your goods. Find that middle ground where in you still gain high profit margins and at the same time not sacrificing the quality of your products.

A couple of issues here.

Samples are NOT always free. I think that many buyers EXPECT samples should be free, but this is not always the case and I agree with that.

Many buyers expect to receive a free sample with the view that they should be able to see a sample to make sure of the quality. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly tbat a buyer needs to get a sample for checking.

But, what they do not realise is that there are so many supposed buyers all asking for free samples. Many factories/suppliers send out a great number of samples and then never receive any business from it. One of the reasons for this is that, just as buyers get cheated by suppliers, the same can happen to suppliers. Some people pose as buyers to receive free samples with no intention to place an order, then they sell those samples on ebay. Is this fair???

Maybe with samples that are of small value this is not such a problem, but when a factory is often requested to send out higher value samples where they may only get a few % result from it, then it becomes an expensive problem. And don't forget, at this stage, there is no business relationship so both the buyer and the supplier are still feeling eachother out and noone wants to go too far with expenses until they know eachother a little better.

Also, of course, everyone should reaslise that nothing really comes for "free". You may get a free sample today, but I can assue you when you place an order that all those samples you received and all those samples others have received are partly being paid for in your unit price, just like any other expense the supplier has, so one way or the other, you are being charged for it anyway. Much like "free shipping". You think this is really free???

So, my comment is that instead of just asking for a sample, make sure it is the what you want first and don't automatically expect it will be free. One way the suppliers overcome this is to charge for a sample and make the cost refundable on placement of an order. And I think that is fair.

And one further point about samples. Even if you receive a good quality sample, do not assume that means the mass production of your products will be to the same quality. This is something you need to be wary of. A way to overcome this is to have a third party inspection company complete an inspection during production or before the goods are shipped to make sure they are of a satisfactory standard. This of course costs more money, but you need to weigh up whether the extra costs is better than the possible alternative. A bit like insurane, you pay insurance premiums regularly, but its more a backstop against risk and offers peace of mind.

With the othe rcommetns about getting several different quotes and taking the middle ground, i agree 100% with that.

Hi Dipper,

I am base in the UK. I will be going to Yiwu, China in October. I am looking for a sourcing agent to help me purchase the products and with the language. Can you help?

David

Hi David,

I am not allowed to promote any services on here. Even if I could, I am based in Hong Kong so Yiwu is a long way from me, and unfortunately I don't know anyone in that area who may be able to assist you.

But I am more than happy to offer some comment about Yiwu.

It really is difficult to describe the size of the market there. It is incredible with seemingly an endless supply of pretty much everything.

Some points I would consider based on my own experience and feedback from others about Yiwu:-

1. Given the amount of different stuff available it can be easy to lose focus of what you want and end up buying all sorts of stuff you don't really want or need. Be sure to have a plan for what you want and how much you want to spend before you go, and stick to it.

2. While I can say that not everyone is out to rip you off, there are certainly people there who will prey on inexperienced buyers, and they can tell who you are. So always be conscious of what is happening around you and use some common sense. And even if you are not entirely confident, at least act like you are.

3. Language can be a bit of an issue, but you will be able to get by, just needs a bit of confidence. I was talking to someone on another forum a little while ago and making similar comments and recommending he arrange an agent and any freight forwarder before he visited there. He advised when he returned from Yiwu that he got by without an agent and had no real problems with arranging shipping through the local DHL office.

4. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone near there who can assist. It may be of some help to arrange an agent. But then you have the problem of making sure that agent is trustworthy. A good agent may potentially be able to negotiate with/for you, but the hard part will be finding a GOOD agent who you can have faith in to work in YOUR interests.

5. There are a lot of buyers from the middle east and african countries. While this in itself is obviously not an issue, given the different markets one thing you will need to contend with is quality. The quality requirements for the UK will mostly be more stringent that some of those other countries. So you need to be aware of the quality of the products and whether they will meet UK specifications.

There are certainly bargains to be had, but it is an important point to stress this issue.

Finally, it can get a little frustrating. But I think it is good when people like yourself make the effort to go to this type of place and see it for yourself. Adopt a relaxed approach and spend some time to take in what is happening because it really is a great learningexperience, and I hope you will enjoy the trip.

Hi Dipper,

Thank you for your time and advise. I will go to Yiwu with an open mind and enjoy the experience. I will bear in mind all your advise. Do you do any work in South China? Please keep in contact, if the products I am looking for can be found in HK or South China I may be importing from HK instead.

Thank you for your help.

David

No problem, I cannot offer any service I believe on here, but glad to offer advice. Send me a PM if you like.