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Looking for advice sourcing a product

Anything related to sourcing or importing products.

adam.degenhardt

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Hi,

This is my first time trying to source a product and bring it to market. I attached a spec sheet for the product I want to make. Basically it's a small fabric packet with birdseed inside. So far I've been looking at manufacturers in China through Alibaba and I've gotten a couple quotes, but all at much higher prices than I expected and than would be viable for me. Quotes so far have been $1 - $2 per piece, which is around the total price I was planning to sell them for. I thought that with very cheap materials and a simple design, I would be able to get much lower prices, around 20 cents per piece.

Am I missing something? Are my price expectations just unreasonable? Do I need to redesign the product to be easier to produce? Some manufacturers I've talked to have said they can't or won't get birdseed, and I'm guessing that for the ones that will, that's where a good amount of the price is coming from. So far I'm looking at manufacturers that make things like small drawstring bags and hacky sacks. I haven't been able to think of any products more similar to what I want to make than those. Any advice on what kinds of manufacturers I should be looking at?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, this is my first time, and I could use all the guidance I can get.

Thanks,
- Adam
 
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Walter Hay

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Hi,

This is my first time trying to source a product and bring it to market. I attached a spec sheet for the product I want to make. Basically it's a small fabric packet with birdseed inside. So far I've been looking at manufacturers in China through Alibaba and I've gotten a couple quotes, but all at much higher prices than I expected and than would be viable for me. Quotes so far have been $1 - $2 per piece, which is around the total price I was planning to sell them for. I thought that with very cheap materials and a simple design, I would be able to get much lower prices, around 20 cents per piece.

Am I missing something? Are my price expectations just unreasonable? Do I need to redesign the product to be easier to produce? Some manufacturers I've talked to have said they can't or won't get birdseed, and I'm guessing that for the ones that will, that's where a good amount of the price is coming from. So far I'm looking at manufacturers that make things like small drawstring bags and hacky sacks. I haven't been able to think of any products more similar to what I want to make than those. Any advice on what kinds of manufacturers I should be looking at?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, this is my first time, and I could use all the guidance I can get.

Thanks,
- Adam
For product sourcing and importing I suggest that you should have a look at my AMA here:
GOLD! Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

It is almost certain that the "manufacturers" you have contacted in China are traders. Rather than buy from China I recommend that you have them made locally, and use plain old wheat instead of the much more expensive birdseed.

Not knowing your location I can't direct you to local sewing services, but if you let me know I can provide names in several countries from the list in my labeling book.

I am not a lawyer and I am not providing legal advice, but one point you should consider is product liability, because the game you describe could result in someone being blinded.

Walter
 

adam.degenhardt

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Hi Walter,

Thanks for the advice.

Here are the alibaba pages for some of the manufacturers I'm talking to. Just so I know what to look for, do they seem like traders or real manufacturers? Is there a good way to tell the difference?


Unfortunately the rules of the game specify birdseed. There might be some wiggle room if birdseed ends up being too expensive to be viable, but for now I want to stick with it.

I'm certainly open to using local suppliers. I'm in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Any suggestions for local suppliers would be appreciated.

Thanks,
- Adam
 

adam.degenhardt

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Actually looking at wheat, there's really no difference between that and birdseed for my purposes. That should be fine.
 
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ryanbleau

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Actually looking at wheat, there's really no difference between that and birdseed for my purposes. That should be fine.
So the engineer in me sees a couple things here. You could have someone local sew the fabric cheap and then assemble them yourself. You are going to want to have the wheat or seed in a plastic vessel to prevent moisture from getting into it. Mold and germination are potential issues. I would look at plastic beads or even ground walnut shells instead of seeds or wheat.
 

Walter Hay

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Alibaba have over the past two years tightened their rules for vendors so that tracking them down outside the Alibaba system is very difficult.

I don't want Alibaba to find out who has broken their rules so I don't publish such findings online. I have identified which are genuine manufacturers for you and have sent you a PM with that information.

I have also included links from my labeling book to help you locate people who do sewing.

If you want to keep information private you can now PM me by clicking on reply to the PM I sent you.

Walter
 

adam.degenhardt

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Oct 14, 2021
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So the engineer in me sees a couple things here. You could have someone local sew the fabric cheap and then assemble them yourself. You are going to want to have the wheat or seed in a plastic vessel to prevent moisture from getting into it. Mold and germination are potential issues. I would look at plastic beads or even ground walnut shells instead of seeds or wheat.
That's a good point about mold and germination. The entire packet has to be biodegradable, so most plastics are out. They're meant to be somewhat disposable, and the current standard is birdseed, which has been working fine, but maybe that's a place where there's room for improvement. Thanks!
 
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