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Elizabeth Shi
Bronze Contributor
Welcome! So what is your advice to anyone entering into international trade? Are there specific things to avoid when starting in the wholesale / retail business? Are you working mainly with a lot of large scale companies?
Hi,
That's a great question and while the answer can be very broad, I would cover some key points:
1. Research your market well. It is more important to have well planned out marketing/sales channels then the most unique product ever. We get a lot of inquiries where importers simply ask, "I am looking to invest, can you recommend a product".
2. Carry your due diligence on new suppliers to not become a victim of fraud. When sourcing from China, get quotes from multiple suppliers and if a suppliers price is any lower than 10% of market average, be extremely careful. Always try to visit your suppliers or engage a third party verification/quality control company.
3. Sign a contrtact with the supplier and when importing from China, it is critical it is in Mandarin, as english contracts have very little value here.
4. Have clearly defined products criteria, specs and quality standards, as whenever you do not define something, suppliers are likely to use the cheapest possible material.
5. Do not pay 100% upfront, when importing from China, for new importers 30% advance and balance upon inspection or shipment and the standard payment terms.
We work with large companies as well as a lot of small independent importers. Many of our clients are ebay powersellers as well as Amazon sellers, who are doing really well. We also work with a lot of new importers.
Hope that helps.
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