Please Note: This thread is a closed thread but I will be adding questions and answers from time to time. You can expect to ultimately see a very long list. This is not an AMA thread.
All questions should be posted on my AMA:
GOLD! Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.
but remember to search this thread and my AMA before posting a new question. *****************************************************************
Q1: Quality. What is the best way to be sure that the quality of the product I order will be as good as the sample?
A: There’s no doubt that paying for a reputable quality inspection service is your best guarantee of receiving the quality you specify in your order. There are many different forms that inspections can take, so study the inspection service’s various offers before deciding. Inspection services include; complete factory audit, usually before you confirm your order, unannounced inspections during production, post production random inspections or (rarely) inspection of every item., inspection of packaging in the factory or prior to loading, random inspections prior to or at time of loading, including sealing containers.
Q2: Inspection Services: How can I choose a good inspection service?
A: For security reasons you should use only well established services such as any of the following
Bureau Veritas
TUV Rheinland
SGS
Intertek
Sinotrust
KRT Audit Corporation (US based)
Cotecna
The first 5 listed have been in the business for over 100 years..
TUV Rheinland publishes a blacklist of companies in countries everywhere who have improperly claimed that they have been certified by TUV Blacklist | TÜV Rheinland
This list highlights the fact that the forging of certificates is rampant in China. You cannot be sure that a certificate is genuine unless you check it with the authority that has supposedly issued it.
Forging of certificates even extends to the forging of certificates verifying that an Inspection Service complies with legal requirements. For this reason I would avoid any service that advertises on Alibaba.
Q3: Payment methods. Which methods should I use and which should I avoid?
A: To some extent the answer depends on the amount you are paying. For small amounts, $100 to $200, the transaction cost can amount to a lot.
This factor tempts a lot of newbies to use services such as Western Union, but in order to save a few dollars they are risking the lot. WU is the scammers' favorite payment method.
PayPal is often recommended, but the great majority of suppliers won't accept that method. Manufacturers rarely do, and if they do, the transaction will most often be through a private PayPal account. If asked to make a payment to an individual, there is a risk involved.
You will need to carry out some due diligence to confirm that the individual is not merely an employee of the supplier, but is at least part of the management team. If they have an email address that includes their name @company name, that is usually a good sign.
Payment by credit card carries a good amount of security, but very few suppliers will accept CC payment. One major exception is that all suppliers on the Korean site listed in my book will accept CC payments up to $20K. Quite a boost to your frequent flyer points! Correction. I received a notice today from the Korean site notifying me of changes. The CC limit per transaction is now $10,000, but there is no limit to the number of purchases for which you can pay up to $10,000 per purchase. They also now accept payment through PayPal, but no limit is stated.
By far the most commonly used payment method is T/T, also called bank transfer. Fees can vary enormously so you should shop around. I have even found lower fees with banks where I don't have an account. If you find a bank that offers low transfer fees, it could be worth opening an account with them.
If the receiving account name is different to the supplier's business name it could simply be due to the export department operating under a different name to the supplier's company name. It is common for all exports to go through their HK company, so the names won't match.
Be careful about sending money by T/T to an individual. That is often requested, so you must do careful due diligence to be sure they are owners of the business.
Escrow is mostly safe, but few Chinese companies will accept it.
For larger payments Letter of Credit is usually recommended, but beware of scammers supplying forged shipping documents such as a Bill of Lading. You can never be quite sure they are genuine. You can have a high degree of confidence by engaging the services of one of the inspection companies listed in the answer to Q2, who will check the loading and documentation.
All questions should be posted on my AMA:
GOLD! Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.
but remember to search this thread and my AMA before posting a new question. *****************************************************************
Q1: Quality. What is the best way to be sure that the quality of the product I order will be as good as the sample?
A: There’s no doubt that paying for a reputable quality inspection service is your best guarantee of receiving the quality you specify in your order. There are many different forms that inspections can take, so study the inspection service’s various offers before deciding. Inspection services include; complete factory audit, usually before you confirm your order, unannounced inspections during production, post production random inspections or (rarely) inspection of every item., inspection of packaging in the factory or prior to loading, random inspections prior to or at time of loading, including sealing containers.
Q2: Inspection Services: How can I choose a good inspection service?
A: For security reasons you should use only well established services such as any of the following
Bureau Veritas
TUV Rheinland
SGS
Intertek
Sinotrust
KRT Audit Corporation (US based)
Cotecna
The first 5 listed have been in the business for over 100 years..
TUV Rheinland publishes a blacklist of companies in countries everywhere who have improperly claimed that they have been certified by TUV Blacklist | TÜV Rheinland
This list highlights the fact that the forging of certificates is rampant in China. You cannot be sure that a certificate is genuine unless you check it with the authority that has supposedly issued it.
Forging of certificates even extends to the forging of certificates verifying that an Inspection Service complies with legal requirements. For this reason I would avoid any service that advertises on Alibaba.
Q3: Payment methods. Which methods should I use and which should I avoid?
A: To some extent the answer depends on the amount you are paying. For small amounts, $100 to $200, the transaction cost can amount to a lot.
This factor tempts a lot of newbies to use services such as Western Union, but in order to save a few dollars they are risking the lot. WU is the scammers' favorite payment method.
PayPal is often recommended, but the great majority of suppliers won't accept that method. Manufacturers rarely do, and if they do, the transaction will most often be through a private PayPal account. If asked to make a payment to an individual, there is a risk involved.
You will need to carry out some due diligence to confirm that the individual is not merely an employee of the supplier, but is at least part of the management team. If they have an email address that includes their name @company name, that is usually a good sign.
Payment by credit card carries a good amount of security, but very few suppliers will accept CC payment. One major exception is that all suppliers on the Korean site listed in my book will accept CC payments up to $20K. Quite a boost to your frequent flyer points! Correction. I received a notice today from the Korean site notifying me of changes. The CC limit per transaction is now $10,000, but there is no limit to the number of purchases for which you can pay up to $10,000 per purchase. They also now accept payment through PayPal, but no limit is stated.
By far the most commonly used payment method is T/T, also called bank transfer. Fees can vary enormously so you should shop around. I have even found lower fees with banks where I don't have an account. If you find a bank that offers low transfer fees, it could be worth opening an account with them.
If the receiving account name is different to the supplier's business name it could simply be due to the export department operating under a different name to the supplier's company name. It is common for all exports to go through their HK company, so the names won't match.
Be careful about sending money by T/T to an individual. That is often requested, so you must do careful due diligence to be sure they are owners of the business.
Escrow is mostly safe, but few Chinese companies will accept it.
For larger payments Letter of Credit is usually recommended, but beware of scammers supplying forged shipping documents such as a Bill of Lading. You can never be quite sure they are genuine. You can have a high degree of confidence by engaging the services of one of the inspection companies listed in the answer to Q2, who will check the loading and documentation.
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