Thread: YAY! My first purchase from an overseas supplier

I still have yet to get a response from anyone on alibaba and I can't find a good product. I think I am being to rigid in my selection or i'm using the wrong info to make my selection.

Originally Posted by wado1

I still have yet to get a response from anyone on alibaba and I can't find a good product. I think I am being to rigid in my selection or i'm using the wrong info to make my selection.

You must be doing something wrong. What are you saying in your email? How many have you written?

I used the email form on alibaba, I've sent 3 but got no response. I haven't sent out an ass load because I am still looking for the right product.

Originally Posted by wado1

I used the email form on alibaba, I've sent 3 but got no response. I haven't sent out an ass load because I am still looking for the right product.

My first round I sent emails to seven companies. Only a few responded a couple days later and nobody answered all of my questions.

Second round I sent emails to four companies. All of them responded within a few hours.

Amail has a great opening email. Maybe he can PM you or post it here. I thought it was better than what I had. Here is mine:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What didn't work well:

Hello,

My name is <name> and my company is interested in purchasing some of the <product> that your company manufactures. We would like to order a sample batch to see the product and packaging before placing a large order. Can you give me a FOB price per piece on a sample order of <quantity> pieces?

I would also like a little more information about the pieces you offer. What designs are available? What colors are available? Do you have the ability to make custom designs? Do you have the ability to make custom packaging with my UPC code?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

<name>

What worked better:

Hello,

My name is <name> and I represent <company name> from the United States. We’re interested in purchasing some of the <product> that your manufacture. We would like to make some custom designs and use our custom packaging with UPC.

Can you send me your best price per piece for <quantity> custom pieces with custom packaging? We need this shipped directly to our warehouse in <state, USA>.

Thank you,
<name>

The great part about the second email is that after the quote, THEY asked ME if I wanted a sample order. I didn't have to ask them. My sample order was 13, my final order was 2,000. Also, this may help you figure out who the manufacturers are and who the wholesalers are. If they can't or won't produce a small sample of custom products, they more than likely aren't the manufacturer.

Another thing is the time difference. I haven't looked at the time difference per se, but they usually email around 7:00 PM Pacific and end somewhere around 5:00 AM Pacific.

Thank you, I will try that.

Just chatted with a supplier and used Wade's email that worked and it helped. The supplier couldn't do the custom packaging so they were a middle man.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by wado1

I used the email form on alibaba, I've sent 3 but got no response. I haven't sent out an ass load because I am still looking for the right product.

I used Amail's which is posted earlier in the thread. I sent out 24 emails but did not include enough specific info. I got replies from about half. I am still talking to 3.

My mistake was that I did not use the correct terminology. I should have done a little more research before sending an email. Next batch of emails will be better. I figure it doesn't need to be perfect the first time, just keep improving, and keep at it.

Originally Posted by miked_d

I used Amail's which is posted earlier in the thread. I sent out 24 emails but did not include enough specific info. I got replies from about half. I am still talking to 3.

My mistake was that I did not use the correct terminology. I should have done a little more research before sending an email. Next batch of emails will be better. I figure it doesn't need to be perfect the first time, just keep improving, and keep at it.

would you mind posting the link to the post? The thread already has 10 pages so it would save me some time.

That post is here.

I've also included it in my blog, where I'm collecting all the useful tidbits of information I can find. Following Snowbank's lead on that.

Wow, this has been amazing to follow the progress of this endeavor from the order-phase to actually testing, selling, etc. Like other threads, LOTS and lots of great information here.

Amail -- Here's an idea you might've already thought of, but just in case... I LOVE the temperature angle. Have you given any thought to finding/selling non-electrical products to help keep people warm in the dreaded office environment? Where I work, almost all of the women (me included) gripe about freezing our butts off, especially in the summer due to overzealous air conditioning. We brought in space-heaters until they were banned due to safety & the cost of electricity. (It does seem they'd save more money by not freezing us half to death, but I digress...) I just thought I'd throw that problem out there as a potential opportunity since you're already pursuing the temperature-solution angle. Making people comfy in the office, where no one agrees on the temperature.

What did you have in mind? There are air-activated thermal patches I'll be featuring soon, but they're a one and done kind of thing. I'd think it would be easier to just wear a sweater, no? I'm missing something here I think.

My photo box light studio arrived late last week, but the box had been crushed on one side.
The cube itself is white material stretched over a heavy wire frame. That wire was kinked, and when I tried to bend it back into shape, it broke. Everything else is intact.

I contacted the seller and they're sending me a new photo cube. I should get it today. I'm going to take some more photos, and will have them up in the next few days. I still haven't shot any video - I really need to do that.

For anyone looking to take their own product photos, use a lightbox (you can make your own, but mine was pretty cheesy), use a decent digital camera on a tripod, and take your photos in raw format. This allows you to work magic with a post processing program. You can use PhotoShop, but that's spendy. I downloaded Scarab Darkroom, which is free and constantly updated. I'm looking forward to playing with that.

Andy, if you want I use photoshop all the time and can do pretty much anything to any photo. Just an offer, no charge...

(EDITED to show this is in response to the question of why not wear a sweater, and what kind of products might be useful for warming in the office. Sorry, I should've used the "quote text" feature. I'm going to blame it on my newbie status...)

<b>Why wearing a sweater won't work for women who are cold in the office. Warning: It's not necessarily logical. </b>

That's the interesting thing, but in a good/potential opportunity way. I think guys do miss it, because guys are generally so much warmer than women. Everywhere I've ever worked, the men were relatively happy with the temperature, and the women either complained or brought in space heaters.

And you simply can't solve it with logic. True, wearing a sweater makes sense, but there are drawbacks. Say it's Summer, and you're wearing that cute little sundress and strappy sandals. But you get to the office, and it's cold. So you throw on a fuzzy sweater and wool socks, but now you look like a bag-lady.

So the next day, you decide you'll simply dress in longer, thicker clothes. But then you're dressed out of season and look like a frump. Worse, you leave the office at lunch, and it's 90 degrees outside. Soon, those thick pants and long-sleeve shirt make you sweat like a pig. A half-hour later, you return to the air-conditioned office, where that summer sweat freezes into little cubes and bounces off your paperwork. The noise alone is a huge distraction.

Last Christmas, my best friend bought me a contraband foot warming pad. It's very subtle and makes no noise. It looks like a floor mat for the back seat of a car. It hides under my desk, and when I leave my seat, I hide it from prying eyes. It has no permit (company policy dictates we get one for any heating product that you plug in), and I'd be written up if my heating pad were ever found in-use. But to me, it's worth the risk. I've nicknamed it "the Precious."

In my department, there are three men. None of them are cold, and if they were, they'd probably throw on a sweater or just suck it up. Meanwhile, there are four women in my office. All four of us had space heaters until they were banned.

Similarly, my husband did some work for a construction company. There was only one woman in the office. She had a space heater until the owner of the company secretly cut the power-cord so she couldn't "waste electricity." But if she had something less obvious like my heated mat, or maybe even something very subtle she could've used as a chair-warmer, she probably would've flown under the radar.

Obviously, I've given this whole heating way too much thought, but I will say that if anyone knew about my heating foot-pad, they'd be mighty jealous.

I think some of it comes down to control. In the office, you don't control much of anything. But with the right product, you COULD control your level of temperature-comfort.

Just spent the morning reading this thread and it's great.

But after shipping, taxes, storage, packaging 'n reshipping, paypal and Ebay fees are you still making a good profit?

Originally Posted by revo33t

Andy, if you want I use photoshop all the time and can do pretty much anything to any photo. Just an offer, no charge...

Thank you, that's very generous! I will likely take you up on that. Speed+

Originally Posted by ChickenHawk

Why wearing a sweater won't work for women who are cold in the office. Warning: It's not necessarily logical.

I get it now. I know exactly what you're talking about, and I think I know what might work. I'd like to bounce some ideas off you in the next couple days while I research it. Speed+ to you too.

Originally Posted by Adam_C

But after shipping, taxes, storage, packaging 'n reshipping, paypal and Ebay fees are you still making a good profit?

In a word, yes. The operation is still small, so a lot of these expenses are small as well. Storage is a shelf in my storage shed. Shipping and packaging is considered part of the cost of goods. Reshipping is included in the selling price. Taxes, PayPal, and eBay fees come off the gross profit, but yes, I'm left with a decent profit.