Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

[Ronak]

Recently used an inspection service and wanted to post my feedback. In short-- worth every penny!
They showed up to the factory, basically inspected half the entire shipment, took crazy amounts of pictures and produced a detailed 20 page report the same day going through all their criteria as well as some custom criteria I specified. In short, they found issues with a small portion of the sample--with the 3rd party inspection report, the manufacturer agreed to compensate by throwing in an extra amount of units equivalent to the errors, which basically paid for the inspection cost. In the past, getting factories to compensate for their mistakes has been like pulling teeth, but this was an exception, and I'm pretty sure the inspection had a lot to do with it!

 

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[Tim Mitchell]

Recently used an inspection service and wanted to post my feedback. In short-- worth every penny!
They showed up to the factory, basically inspected half the entire shipment, took crazy amounts of pictures and produced a detailed 20 page report the same day going through all their criteria as well as some custom criteria I specified. In short, they found issues with a small portion of the sample--with the 3rd party inspection report, the manufacturer agreed to compensate by throwing in an extra amount of units equivalent to the errors, which basically paid for the inspection cost. In the past, getting factories to compensate for their mistakes has been like pulling teeth, but this was an exception, and I'm pretty sure the inspection had a lot to do with it!

What country did you have the inspection done? Also who did you use if you dont mind me asking?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

[Ronak]

What country did you have the inspection done? Also who did you use if you dont mind me asking?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Vtrust in China

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter,

This is really a GOLDen thread for
all the entrepreneurs here.

I just have a question to ask, this question is originally a question
from my cousin, well I am no expert, good and didn't even have any experience at importing/exporting products,
and since you are really good in this field, I'll pass the question to you

He contacted a manufacturer in China, the product is clothing, well its his first time to try importing products,
his question is: what is the exact scenario if you have to import in china?
After you close the deal, what will happen next, and next and next,
he really doesnt know what will be the process after dealing with the price,
and I dont even know it my self, he doesnt even know if the product will be delivered
door to door...

Thank you in advance.

Ed

Hi Ed, You and your cousin have a lot to learn. At least you are asking before you place an order, but your situation reminds me of the lady who contacted me after she had placed an order for $4,000 worth of bulky lightweight goods. She had no idea what her next step should be. Although she had not bought my book, I helped her out, but unfortunately her mistake cost her about 40 times the cost of my book.

The only help I could give her was to find the lowest possible sea freight for her, but it exceeded the cost of the goods by so much that it would be impossible for her to break even. My advice, which she took, was to abandon the goods to the supplier. The supplier naturally refused to give any refund. Better for her to lose $4,000 than to spend another $5,000 on freight for a product that she might have been able to sell for $6,000. She had no certain market either, so if she had proceeded to ship, she would have just been upping the ante on her gamble to lose only $3,000 if she had won and sold them all for $6,000.

Now for you and your cousin, without knowing the total shipment size or value, here is a generalized version of the steps you take after getting a good price (I hope it's from a genuine manufacturer, not one of the traders in disguise on Alibaba):

• Get the supplier to now quote including door to door delivery. Up to this stage the supplier has almost certainly quoted FOB.
  
• If that quote is so high that you can't make any profit, get a freight forwarder to quote you for sea freight door to door.
  
• Find out the rate of duty and add that to the total invoice value of the goods plus the freight.
• Add any sales tax that might be payable.
• Add all selling costs such as eBay, Amazon, PayPal, and postage to your customers.
• If you still have a good margin based on those costs and the price you are confident of getting, order a sample.
• Check the sample quality and if satisfied, place your order.

Best wishes,
Walter

 

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[Walter Hay]

Just ordered a sample but the manufacturer said since it is a new product it does not have the necessary certification markings (CE) for safety in Europe.

Does this mean the product will be seized ?

Obviously I can't sell the product without certification that it meets the minimum requirements for safety but can I accept the sample and make improvements ?

How do you go about getting CE approval for a manufacturer in china ?

The manufacturer must obtain certification before you can legally sell the product, so buying the sample before that happens is risky. Customs could seize the sample, but chances of that are slim.

Once they provide the certificate it is important to check its authenticity. See my previous post on this subject. It would be too costly for you to have the testing done unless you are going to handle large quantities.

I should add that a CE mark does not relate to quality. The build or design could be terrible but if it conforms with EU health, safety, and environmental standards it can still be certified CE.

Walter

 

[Walter Hay]

Recently used an inspection service and wanted to post my feedback. In short-- worth every penny!
They showed up to the factory, basically inspected half the entire shipment, took crazy amounts of pictures and produced a detailed 20 page report the same day going through all their criteria as well as some custom criteria I specified. In short, they found issues with a small portion of the sample--with the 3rd party inspection report, the manufacturer agreed to compensate by throwing in an extra amount of units equivalent to the errors, which basically paid for the inspection cost. In the past, getting factories to compensate for their mistakes has been like pulling teeth, but this was an exception, and I'm pretty sure the inspection had a lot to do with it!

Thanks @Ronak for naming V-Trust and your good experience with them. I have been checking them out and so far so good. They say they are accredited with China National Accreditation Service, but it is a painfully slow process confirming that. I will post when I substantiate that claim.

The use of an inspection service can be very worthwhile, as Ronak has shown. The reported performance by V-Trust was excellent, and subject to checking with CNAS I will add them to my list. Their charges seem moderate compared to some of the older inspection companies.

The US owned KRT Audit Corporation has a higher daily rate, but their day is 12 hours, not 8 as in almost every other case, so they might be worth considering. They are on my recommended list.

Walter

 

[edward222]

Hi Ed, You and your cousin have a lot to learn. At least you are asking before you place an order, but your situation reminds me of the lady who contacted me after she had placed an order for $4,000 worth of bulky lightweight goods. She had no idea what her next step should be. Although she had not bought my book, I helped her out, but unfortunately her mistake cost her about 40 times the cost of my book.

The only help I could give her was to find the lowest possible sea freight for her, but it exceeded the cost of the goods by so much that it would be impossible for her to break even. My advice, which she took, was to abandon the goods to the supplier. The supplier naturally refused to give any refund. Better for her to lose $4,000 than to spend another $5,000 on freight for a product that she might have been able to sell for $6,000. She had no certain market either, so if she had proceeded to ship, she would have just been upping the ante on her gamble to lose only $3,000 if she had won and sold them all for $6,000.

Now for you and your cousin, without knowing the total shipment size or value, here is a generalized version of the steps you take after getting a good price (I hope it's from a genuine manufacturer, not one of the traders in disguise on Alibaba):

• Get the supplier to now quote including door to door delivery. Up to this stage the supplier has almost certainly quoted FOB.
  
• If that quote is so high that you can't make any profit, get a freight forwarder to quote you for sea freight door to door.
  
• Find out the rate of duty and add that to the total invoice value of the goods plus the freight.
• Add any sales tax that might be payable.
• Add all selling costs such as eBay, Amazon, PayPal, and postage to your customers.
• If you still have a good margin based on those costs and the price you are confident of getting, order a sample.
• Check the sample quality and if satisfied, place your order.

Best wishes,
Walter

Wow. Thank you so much Walter...
This is really a big help.

 

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[M&A]

Wow. Thank you so much Walter...
This is really a big help.

Is it commonplace to receive a confirmation of shipment and tracking code (UPS) after you buy goods door to door ?

I ordered my sample on tuesday and got an email back saying

"We have received you money. Will arrange produce and delivery soon."

Haven't received any other contact since should I be worried ?

 

[Ronak]

Thanks @Ronak for naming V-Trust and your good experience with them. I have been checking them out and so far so good. They say they are accredited with China National Accreditation Service, but it is a painfully slow process confirming that. I will post when I substantiate that claim.

The use of an inspection service can be very worthwhile, as Ronak has shown. The reported performance by V-Trust was excellent, and subject to checking with CNAS I will add them to my list. Their charges seem moderate compared to some of the older inspection companies.

The US owned KRT Audit Corporation has a higher daily rate, but their day is 12 hours, not 8 as in almost every other case, so they might be worth considering. They are on my recommended list.

Walter

Interestingly, I had been planning a trip out to China, and a big part of my trip was to deal with quality issues with multiple suppliers. For several reasons, I could not make the trip, one of which was due to my expired visa. Of course, there is no substitute for in person meetings, and there would have been several other benefits, namely finding new products/suppliers, but the cost of an inspection is such a small fraction of the cost of airfare, hotels, food, visa fees, and time, that it simply blows my mind. You can have a professional do your bidding and clear up any issues for a couple hundred bucks. A great tool in the arsenal of a fastlane business, and it makes you appear more professional and larger to your Chinese suppliers. Hopefully this will also positively impact future orders.

 

[Walter Hay]

Is it commonplace to receive a confirmation of shipment and tracking code (UPS) after you buy goods door to door ?

I ordered my sample on tuesday and got an email back saying

"We have received you money. Will arrange produce and delivery soon."

Haven't received any other contact since should I be worried ?

You definitely should be given a tracking number. Because they say they will produce the sample you need to ask how long that will take, then you will know when to expect notification of shipment and the AWB number for tracking.

If they don't answer your question promptly I would be concerned.

Walter

 

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[Walter Hay]

Interestingly, I had been planning a trip out to China, and a big part of my trip was to deal with quality issues with multiple suppliers. For several reasons, I could not make the trip, one of which was due to my expired visa. Of course, there is no substitute for in person meetings, and there would have been several other benefits, namely finding new products/suppliers, but the cost of an inspection is such a small fraction of the cost of airfare, hotels, food, visa fees, and time, that it simply blows my mind. You can have a professional do your bidding and clear up any issues for a couple hundred bucks. A great tool in the arsenal of a fastlane business, and it makes you appear more professional and larger to your Chinese suppliers. Hopefully this will also positively impact future orders.

Thanks for that input @Ronak. I would recommend that all my readers take note.

Walter

 

[Oceano]

Greetings Walter, well first and foremost I would like to thank you for taking the time to share this insane amount of genuine information with us (29 pages long!). Before reading this thread, the process of importing seemed extremely complex and challenging to me. Now after reading this thread, I feel great urge to give it all a shot! (I am also looking forward to reading your ebook).

Well, I am interested in importing electronics (such as chargers, phone chargers, car chargers, etc...). BUT I wish to innovate such products, make them my own, then have them manufactured. I know it is repeated multiple times throughtout this thread that importing electronics from China is seemingly a bad idea and a big no-no because of quality issues. Now my question for you, is product innovation something that you would recommend doing overseas? Also, are there locations where I can look into innovating and importing electronics from that are reputable for their good quality products? Heck, perhaps even in China?

Thank you again and I am looking forward to your response,

 

[snappyhappy]

Hi Walter,

What are your thoughts on the current landscape of Amazon for sellers? Is it becoming too saturated to the point where margins in a lot of niches are being squashed, or is there still room for new players?

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find good markets, and it seems that margins are pretty low in most cases. Is there still room for Sellers starting with little capital, or is it now essential to have a lot in capital in order to run big promotions and sell inventory at cost to establish a strong position on Page 1?

Thanks,
Snappy

 

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[Walter Hay]

Greetings Walter, well first and foremost I would like to thank you for taking the time to share this insane amount of genuine information with us (29 pages long!). Before reading this thread, the process of importing seemed extremely complex and challenging to me. Now after reading this thread, I feel great urge to give it all a shot! (I am also looking forward to reading your ebook).

Well, I am interested in importing electronics (such as chargers, phone chargers, car chargers, etc...). BUT I wish to innovate such products, make them my own, then have them manufactured. I know it is repeated multiple times throughtout this thread that importing electronics from China is seemingly a bad idea and a big no-no because of quality issues. Now my question for you, is product innovation something that you would recommend doing overseas? Also, are there locations where I can look into innovating and importing electronics from that are reputable for their good quality products? Heck, perhaps even in China?

Thank you again and I am looking forward to your response,

I always have reservations about having new or improved products made in China. Respect for Intellectual Property rights (IP) is very low, and it is often the case that copies hit the market even before the innovator gets his/her prototype.

If I may generalize, the Chinese tend to be copiers rather than innovators, and without very precise specifications for a new project there can be many false starts.

I would prefer to have a new product made in places like the US, Australia, or Israel. These are all countries that excel in innovation in electronics. Cost of production may be a bit higher, although you could be surprised.

If tooling is required, you can sometimes have that made in China, where tooling costs are way below what they are in western countries, but if tooling for several components is required, I would have them made in different factories so that none see the finished product. It might even be possible to have components made in different factories in China, and assembled elsewhere.

Regarding quality in general, China can produce excellent quality if it is required and specified and if buyers are willing to pay a little more for it. When I began importing in 1987, the availability of better quality from China compared to what I was able to get from local manufacturers was a key factor. The much lower cost was a bonus, as was the much quicker delivery.

Walter

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter,

What are your thoughts on the current landscape of Amazon for sellers? Is it becoming too saturated to the point where margins in a lot of niches are being squashed, or is there still room for new players?

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find good markets, and it seems that margins are pretty low in most cases. Is there still room for Sellers starting with little capital, or is it now essential to have a lot in capital in order to run big promotions and sell inventory at cost to establish a strong position on Page 1?

Thanks,
Snappy

I am not an internet marketer, so my views might not help you a lot.

As an experienced businessman I see plenty of room for growth in marketing through Amazon, but it has always been a case of survival of the fittest. Margins tend to be squashed when everyone jumps on the bandwagon, and that is what I see repeatedly.

You might like to look at my little article on How to Find Unique Products here: Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

I do believe that it is still possible to start off with a small amount of capital. I have recently had people thank me for getting them started, and they have done so with as little as $300, but they have found products that they can sell at very high margins.

Walter

 

[snappyhappy]

I am not an internet marketer, so my views might not help you a lot.

As an experienced businessman I see plenty of room for growth in marketing through Amazon, but it has always been a case of survival of the fittest. Margins tend to be squashed when everyone jumps on the bandwagon, and that is what I see repeatedly.

You might like to look at my little article on How to Find Unique Products here: Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

I do believe that it is still possible to start off with a small amount of capital. I have recently had people thank me for getting them started, and they have done so with as little as $300, but they have found products that they can sell at very high margins.

Walter

Thanks Walter. Handy tip, everybody else is doing it through Alibaba so as well as better marketability and quality, finding suppliers elsewhere would make it a lot more difficult for a competitor to copy cat your product. I'm off to do some product & sourcing research.

 

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[Walter Hay]

Thanks Walter. Handy tip, everybody else is doing it through Alibaba so as well as better marketability and quality, finding suppliers elsewhere would make it a lot more difficult for a competitor to copy cat your product. I'm off to do some product & sourcing research.

Another Fastlane member has recently told me that he has started looking at one of the "other countries" links in my book and has already found unique products. You will find that most of those sites are not so user friendly, but that is just a barrier to entry, requiring patience and persistence, and is one reason why the crowds source through Alibaba.

Walter

 

[Late Start]

Walter,

I found something on Amazon during Thanksgiving that has to have an incredibly good margin (unless I am way underestimating the cost of single color silicone rubber), located the manufacturer, and found out that they were simply a wholesaler of it and many similar products (mainly plastics and the like). I watched these things sell out in seconds during a Thanksgiving Day Amazon lightning sale for 25% off, which was still way higher than I was willing to pay (I can get my eight year old a lot more bang for her Christmas present buck). Last week I saw they were listed on Alibaba (even had the US Company's name on the listing), but now they are no longer there, and since it was more of a curiosity expedition, I didn't even look into who was offering them or if they looked remotely reputable.

For a novice just getting into the resale game, as well as someone doing this on the side outside of a normal 9-5 job, would you recommend just going through the American wholesaler to start off (assuming the price is right) while I get my feet wet, or jump into trying to find their actual source in China?
Your e-book is on my near future purchase list regardless.

 

[Tim Mitchell]

I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for a customs broker in Australia? And a freight forwarder? Have been searching the internet looking for reviews etc but they all claim to be the "ducks guts" so too speak.

 

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[Walter Hay]

Walter,

I found something on Amazon during Thanksgiving that has to have an incredibly good margin (unless I am way underestimating the cost of single color silicone rubber), located the manufacturer, and found out that they were simply a wholesaler of it and many similar products (mainly plastics and the like). I watched these things sell out in seconds during a Thanksgiving Day Amazon lightning sale for 25% off, which was still way higher than I was willing to pay (I can get my eight year old a lot more bang for her Christmas present buck). Last week I saw they were listed on Alibaba (even had the US Company's name on the listing), but now they are no longer there, and since it was more of a curiosity expedition, I didn't even look into who was offering them or if they looked remotely reputable.

For a novice just getting into the resale game, as well as someone doing this on the side outside of a normal 9-5 job, would you recommend just going through the American wholesaler to start off (assuming the price is right) while I get my feet wet, or jump into trying to find their actual source in China?
Your e-book is on my near future purchase list regardless.

There were times while running my importing business when I would buy from other importers, and I recommended to my franchisees that they use that same approach when quantities were small and the product was outside our normal product range. Profits were much lower than if we imported direct, but for convenience it was worthwhile.

That's a long-winded way of saying yes. Try the product and see if you can sell it in competition with the importer. If you can, then you see if you can find the manufacturer.

You might have noticed that I encourage thinking outside the square, and this could be a good product for that. If the product is simple in shape, you could possibly make it yourself!. You can buy silicone rubber in moderately small volume in China, and use a sample of the product to make a mold. You don't have to be a chemist to make molds or to do the molding. If you decide to try it I can tell you how. Cost should be way under the manufacturer's price.

Regarding finding the actual source, that is often not easy. Unless you find that specific product listed on one of the B2B sites, chances are slim. If it is generic you should have more luck.

Walter

 

[AdamH]

Good day Walter,

I purchased your eBook last week and appreciate all the work you have put in to create this excellent resource for the Fastlane community looking at possibly transitioning to the import business.

I am looking at various products to import and using the sites and pointers you describe but am finding that many of the potential suppliers appear to have their own e-commerce sites and sell direct to end-customers. I read earlier in this thread that you recommend avoiding these suppliers/manufacturers if this scenario exists. Is it still possible to get best pricing from these manufacturers considering I am not in their target market and do not intend to sell online?

Also, you recommend using Thailand as a sourcing destination for clothing and other apparel based products. Do you have any reliable sources/websites that you may provide via PM at your earliest convenience?

Thanks again for your support and dedication to the community. The world would be a better place with more people like you!

 

[Walter Hay]

Good day Walter,

I purchased your eBook last week and appreciate all the work you have put in to create this excellent resource for the Fastlane community looking at possibly transitioning to the import business.

I am looking at various products to import and using the sites and pointers you describe but am finding that many of the potential suppliers appear to have their own e-commerce sites and sell direct to end-customers. I read earlier in this thread that you recommend avoiding these suppliers/manufacturers if this scenario exists. Is it still possible to get best pricing from these manufacturers considering I am not in their target market and do not intend to sell online?

Also, you recommend using Thailand as a sourcing destination for clothing and other apparel based products. Do you have any reliable sources/websites that you may provide via PM at your earliest convenience?

Thanks again for your support and dedication to the community. The world would be a better place with more people like you!

Thanks for your kind comments.

I think that you will find in practice that those suppliers who are selling direct will only offer very small discounts for a reseller. There is no harm in asking, but I would not disclose to them how you intend selling the products.

The Thai sourcing website that I recommend has undergone some major changes, and it is now so difficult to use that I have written to them offering my services free of charge to make simple changes so that it is user friendly. I suggest you wait for a while and you will get a notification from my support team when the site is usable without the great frustration that it currently generates.

Walter

 

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[snappyhappy]

Hi Walter,

Just finished reading your e-book and it was great, heaps of valuable info there that I'll be sure to read over numerous times.

I tried to visit turkeymanufacturers.org but was met with a Malware warning so I didn't proceed. I googled Turkey Manufacturers and there are a few different sites that come up in the search.

Could you point me to the best address to follow for Turkey manufacturers?

Thanks,
Snappy

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter,

Just finished reading your e-book and it was great, heaps of valuable info there that I'll be sure to read over numerous times.

I tried to visit turkeymanufacturers.org but was met with a Malware warning so I didn't proceed. I googled Turkey Manufacturers and there are a few different sites that come up in the search.

Could you point me to the best address to follow for Turkey manufacturers?

Thanks,
Snappy

That site has been hacked and is totally unsafe. Most of the sites you will find by Googling are like poor quality copies of Alibaba, so I will PM you with the safe alternative.

Like so many sites in countries other than China, searching will be slow, but worth it because Turkish manufacturers have such a fresh approach to design and innovation that it is possible to find products or styles of existing products that are not available elsewhere.

Walter

 

[AdamH]

That site has been hacked and is totally unsafe. Most of the sites you will find by Googling are like poor quality copies of Alibaba, so I will PM you with the safe alternative.

Walter

Thanks Walter.

Do you mind sending me the site address as well via PM?

 

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[Walter Hay]

Thanks Walter.

Do you mind sending me the site address as well via PM?

See your PMs. I have included the instructions on how to navigate the site. Not easy, but well worth it. Just another barrier to entry that keeps people using Alibaba instead of looking elsewhere.

Walter

 

[edward222]

Hi Walter,

I already placed an order.
They already gave me the tracking number.
The shipment is FOB.
It means that I will be the one who will unload the products right?
How do I unload it? I mean how should I do it?

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter,

I already placed an order.
They already gave me the tracking number.
The shipment is FOB.
It means that I will be the one who will unload the products right?
How do I unload it? I mean how should I do it?

FOB means that they are bearing the cost and risk to a point where the shipment will be loaded on board either a truck, ship, or aircraft.

You don't get a tracking number if it is FOB, because the tracking number is issued by the carrier. The shipment must be already on board a ship or an aircraft.

Is it being shipped door to door? Is it being shipped by sea? Is it being shipped by air? How big is the shipment? Do you have the name of the carrier?

I need more information before I can answer your question.

Walter

 

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[edward222]

Hi Walter,

Thank you for the fast reply.
I think it is shipped by sea.
I don't know if it is door to door or not but they told me that they used DHL to deliver the products.
They say that the price of the product is the FOB price.
So I do the bank transfer and they told me that they received the money
and they gave me a tracking number ( I dont know if its a tracking number or not tho but it has random numbers on it).
I really feel that theres something lacking, but I dont know what it is.
I'm really an amateur newbie

 

[Walter Hay]

Hi Walter,

Thank you for the fast reply.
I think it is shipped by sea.
I don't know if it is door to door or not but they told me that they used DHL to deliver the products.
They say that the price of the product is the FOB price.
So I do the bank transfer and they told me that they received the money
and they gave me a tracking number ( I dont know if its a tracking number or not tho but it has random numbers on it).
I really feel that theres something lacking, but I dont know what it is.
I'm really an amateur newbie

DHL will be shipping the goods by air on a door to door basis. You can go to the DHL website and use that number to track the shipment. If the number is not recognized then you might have been scammed. Time will tell.

If the price quoted was FOB that would be the usual first quote, but if using DHL it should have been changed to CFR or CPT (most likely, unless insured in which case it would be CIP or CIF.

PM me with the tracking number and I will see if I can sort it out for you.

Walter