In 2018, consumers spent nearly $517.36 billion with U.S. eCommerce stores.
That number is huge, and it might just inspire you to start an eCommerce store of your own. However, if you don’t figure out how to source products at a reasonable price, your store may never make a decent profit.
Thankfully, Chinese suppliers can help you overcome this problem. By using them, you can affordably source products without having to sacrifice quality.
Read on to learn how you can source products from China. Use these tips, and it won’t be long before you’re ready to order your first shipment from a Chinese company.
Let’s begin!
Define Your Requirements
If you fail to provide Chinese suppliers with a clear brief, they may send you products that aren’t a good fit for your store.
Because of this, it’s important that you list out the specifications of your ideal product in detail before speaking to a supplier.
Include measurements and required materials as well as the colors you want in your product. You may even want to create some sketches that help portray your concept.
Try to find some products that are similar to the kinds of things you want to source from China. Put all this information into a single document so you can share it with the company when discussing your requirements.
Understanding the Different Kinds of Companies in China
When looking to source products from China, it’s important to note there are two kinds of suppliers you can work with:
- Manufacturers
- Trading companies
are essentially companies that own the factories.
Working directly with manufacturers can often result in lower costs as there aren’t any middlemen involved.
That said, working with a manufacturer can be difficult because the people owning these companies may not speak English. This communication barrier may result in you sourcing products that don’t match your specifications.
Nevertheless, some companies will have ‘English reps’ you can speak to. If you’re struggling to find manufacturers with English speaking reps, you can use the services of a company like Equipment Cowboy.
This is a ‘western’ business that has preexisting relationships with manufacturers. By using such a company, you should be able to find a manufacturer that meets your needs without having to do all the legwork yourself.
As mentioned, the other option is to work with a trading company.
These companies are different from manufacturers in that they don’t make any products. Instead, they order a range of items from manufacturers and then make their money by adding a margin to the products they’ve bought.
Trading companies are used to selling to English speaking countries. Because of this, their command of the English language is often much better compared to that of manufacturing companies.
However, trading companies generally can’t provide you with custom products as they don’t own any manufacturing sites. Thus, if you have a novel product idea, they may not be able to help you.
Buying Online vs. Visiting China
When sourcing products from China, you can buy items online or you can actually fly down to the country.
Of course, the benefit of buying your items online is you can get everything done from the comfort of your home.
That said, if you buy products online, you may have problems with quality control. After all, there’s online so much a picture can tell you and sometimes the picture might not represent how the item looks in ‘real life.’
Buying online is also very risky as you open yourself up to being scammed.
It’s hard to verify the credentials of an online company that’s on the other side of the world. You don’t know how trustworthy they are, and this can be unnerving if you’re looking to place a large order.
The other option is to fly to China so you can visit trade shows and factories.
Taking this step can often result in better prices as you’re able to cut out the ‘online middlemen’ that’ll take a cut of the transaction.
The fact that you’re able to visit an actual factory also means you can verify the credentials of a potential supplier. This helps reduce the risk associated with the transaction, thereby giving you peace of mind.
The Importance of Taking Things Slowly
Though you might be eager to sell your product, it’s crucial you don’t rush into things.
If you see a supplier that looks as though they’d be a good fit for your needs, start by placing a small order.
If you do things this way, the ‘per item’ cost will probably be higher than if you had placed a bulk order. This can be frustrating, but taking this approach is better than placing a huge order and ending up with a lot of stock that doesn’t meet your needs.
You can also use this as an opportunity to validate your .
If this small batch of products meets your specifications, you can put them up for sale and see how many units you can move. If things don’t work out, at least you’re not going to be left with a massive amount of unsold stock you now have to throw away.
Do You Know How to Order Products from China?
Sourcing products from China is perhaps the best thing you can do if you want to maintain high-profit margins for your eCommerce store.
There are websites that let people review the sourcing companies they have worked with. If you want to avoid falling victim to a scam, these sites can be a good way to determine the reputation of a company before you spend money.
Like anything in business, sourcing products from China can be risky. But if you get things right, there’s a good chance your hard work will leave you swimming in profits.
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