This might be a stupid question, but do manufactures usually answer e-mails over the weekends? I was communicating with one but they suddenly stopped answering.
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You will still have questions, but just go ahead and buy his sourcing book if you haven't. Will open your eyes to the multitude of places you can source and has useful links for countries along with tips and things to look out for.Thanks so much for your reply, I appreciate your time. I decided to start sourcing on made-in-china.com instead, as I've heard good things about them. I'll remain on the lookout for fake manufacturers though.![]()
I deal with the matter of anti-dumping duties in my safe sourcing and importing book, along with countless other things that you need to know.Question: Is there reference/resource you can point me to, that I can catch reforms on findings like that?
As you will see from my reply to your PM, I am less than impressed with the company you are dealing with. They raise a lot of red flags, mostly with inconsistencies in the various companies that are supposedly part of their organization. The links to those companies are not working.
Also by checking the Bills of Lading for their shipments to the US (3 only) I discovered that one of those shipments consisted of a product totally unrelated to what they claim to be their specialized product line. The recipient of all 3 shipments is clearly a front company. That company's delivery address, supposedly head office, is different to the head office address their website displays.
I am sorry to say that I think you have lost what you paid this time.
Walter
I am very pleased to know that the outcome was so good for you.Turns out I didn't get scammed. I got my product as ordered, a month ago. Just took longer than promised.
Several years ago, I quoted from a thread by @Vigilante in which he strongly recommended choosing a product that had not previously been imported into the country where you want to sell.This thread is amazing, thanks Walter.
My question is - how do you work out what you should be sourcing?
Do you recommend following the winds of opportunity, or starting with a category you're interested in and then trying to sniff out something there?
Same thing for the markets (to and from)
Apologies if you already answered. I tried a few searches among the thread and on posts you've made to find the answer but haven't found anything yet.
The first thing you need to know is that if you want to have a product made in China, your invention will almost certainly be copied. Many people have found that their product idea is on the market before they even see a prototype.How do you go about getting an estimate for how much it will cost to import and source an invention? I read through the thread somewhat haphazardly, but I didn't see this, so I'm sorry if you've already answered my question.
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I really need some more information. 1. Have you bought from this supplier before? 2.Have you paid a deposit? 3. If so what %of the order value have you paid? 4. What payment method did you use?Dear @Walter Hay, please let me know what you would do. I ordered on 1.7.2020 a product form a new supplier via Alibaba, in our invoice we fixed the delivery date on 30.8.2020. The goods are still not finished. Tried to reach out to them and after begging them for many days they finally said that the order will be ready on around Oct 15 2020, this means they need for our order totaly 105 days for production = 6 weeks longer than agreed. This never ever happened before, normally our suppliers have been very reliable.
@SylvieNicole you can either go to my Marketplace Offer , see the link below in my signature, or to my new website: https://www.WalterHaysBusinessBooks.com and pay there through PayPal.Hello @Walter Hay Where can I buy your sourcing and importing book? I am living in the Netherlands.
Dear Walter, thank you very much for your answer. This is my first-time order of this supplier, I had to change the supplier because of quality problems in the past. I paid 30 % deposit and it was a Trade Assurance payment to an Alibaba account.I really need some more information. 1. Have you bought from this supplier before? 2.Have you paid a deposit? 3. If so what %of the order value have you paid? 4. What payment method did you use?
Even allowing for the delays caused by the Coronavirus epidemic I think such a long delay could mean that they are not able to pay their materials/component suppliers.
If you did proper due diligence and found them to be a reliable company I expect that you will eventually receive the products ordered.
Once I see the answers to the questions above I hope that I will be able to give some help.
Walter
I am sorry to tell you that Trade Assurance does not give the protection that Alibaba want you to believe it does. I have outlined the problems previously in detail in this thread.Dear Walter, thank you very much for your answer. This is my first-time order of this supplier, I had to change the supplier because of quality problems in the past. I paid 30 % deposit and it was a Trade Assurance payment to an Alibaba account.
I am almost sure the supplier is a reliable company. I met in person representatives of a European subsidiary of this Chinese supplier on a fair in Germany.
Margins are insanely high, but that doesn't mean that suppliers will cut their prices to the bone.Hi Walter, thank you for providing answers for the communities questions for so many years now. That's amazing.
I myself am sourcing from China on alibaba. I always wondered what the margin of the chinese suppliers is. For example if they offer me a backpack for 13 usd with a MOQ of 200, how much can I negotiate the price or are there other terms I should consider negotiating? Hope this makes sense, Greetings from Germany
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I suggest that you do a Google search for reviews on the freight forwarders that you are considering. If they are based in Hawaii you could call them and have a discussion about their processes.Walter,
I have decided on a supplier and is currently receiving quotes from various freight forwarders.
Besides judgement by price and ETD, is there thing else I should pay attention to when deciding on which freight forwarder to go with?
Thank you in advance!
I recommend asking for references, but Chinese suppliers are often reluctant to provide them. That doesn't necessarily mean that they have something to hide, it is just that the idea of giving references is not a part of Chinese business culture.Walter,
I'm hesitant on the quality of the samples I've received from the supplier, due to being the complete product is too large be sent over as a sample.
Would I be overreaching if I asked my supplier to provide me one of their customer's contacts so I could get a review of their product from them? Please advise if there's a better way of doing this. Thank you
To be honest, I think you should leave the old posts as they are, because they were relevant at the time of posting, so whoever is going through the thread should use a bit of due diligence and check the dates of posting as well as local import/export regulations to have the latest information.
It will be a never-ending job trying to keep up with all the changes and amending/deleting your own posts in the thread, so if I were you, I would leave them, but it's your call.
Thanks for your work.
Thank you for this!I am finaly done with reading the whole thread, i have put all the important things in a word document and then in google docs.
Here is the link for anybody who is intrested : Sharing my lifetime experience in export
Walter Hay this thread is one of the most helpful threads on import i must say. I am definitly going to buy your book. As a matter of fact i am going to do it right now.
That document has unfortunately been given the wrong title by the compiler. This thread is all about importing, not exporting. A good example of how easy it is to use the wrong terms.Thank you for this!
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