Home 4 things you need to know about sourcing from China
AFP News

4 things you need to know about sourcing from China

Contributors

businessIf you are a new seller on Amazon who is planning to import goods from China, you are in for making a good amount of money since Chinese suppliers can sell you goods at exceptionally low prices. However, no matter how experienced trader you are, dealing with suppliers in China is a tad bit trickier than dealing with suppliers in any other country. Chinese suppliers are smart and you can easily end up in a scam or a business loss if you have not done your homework well. If you are going ahead with sourcing goods from China, here 4 things that you need to be careful about.

1. Be Clear About Specs

When you are dealing with the Chinese, beware that they judge you in detail whether you are an amateur or a professional. It is important that you sound professional from the beginning and give an impression that you are completely aware of what you are asking for. When you are placing an order for a product, research as much as you can about it and be as clear and crisp about your specifications as possible. You would not want to sound as if you do not know enough about your product.

2. Do Not Fall for Cheap Pricing

It is true that sellers opt for importing from China because they want lower prices. However, you will find suppliers offering you variable prices for the same product within China. At the end of the day, the deal breaker should be on the quality. Most good suppliers who are professionals try to distance themselves from anyone who values price over quality. They judge you for being a cheap buyer. Likewise, smaller suppliers who are desperate for orders will try to lure you with cheap prices but will deliver substandard products that will ruin your brand.

3. Use Third Party Services

As a seller, you might be tempted to cut down the middleman and go direct to the supplier and that is understandable. It sounds financially more profitable on paper to do so. That being said, remember as a seller who will be relying heavily on the FBA facilities, you will be needing a lot more services from your supplier. Your supplier will most likely be unaware of FBA regulations and might not be able to ensure swift and prompt prepping for a third party prepping service. Hiring a third party sourcing service Leelinesourcing.com will not only help you pick the right supplier, but will also facilitate you with all kinds of prepping, packaging, storing and forwarding needs without much hassle.

4. Location

China is a huge country and there is not one consolidate industrial are. In fact clusters of industries are spread across China. In many cases, they have regional centers that specialize in one type of product or the other. For example, factories making toys might be on another location while those making clothes or shoes might be in a different region. Make sure that you are looking for a supplier in the right region depending on what your product is.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.