subject: What are the Problems you're Encountering When Dealing with Chinese Suppliers? [print this page] What are the Problems you're Encountering When Dealing with Chinese Suppliers?
When would-be sellers think of importing goods from China, they have mixed emotions. They may be excited and looking forward to it. At the same time, they may also be terrified of what's going to happen. But there really is a huge opportunity for sellers like you to make money as you go on reselling wholesale goods which you have just purchased at extremely lower prices.
Still, language and culture can be hindrance to your success. It causes people to worry. One good example is on the payment issue, like the payment method to use, or whether the money remains intact or not and so on.
Most Chinese wholesalers are only embracing unsecured payment methods like Western Union and wire transfers. Thus, you really need to be careful. But this doesn't mean that Chinese wholesalers are all scammers. These are the only payment methods available to the Chinese. In China, it's really difficult to avail of credit cards because of its numerous government regulations and stringent credit card application requirements.
It may be risky but these are the methods that you'll be using if you want to go ahead with importing from China. To curtail these risks, start with a comparatively small shipment of goods. This way, you are not on the verge of losing your finances in case something goes wrong. Finally, when trust between you and your wholesaler is already built up, you can increase your orders over time.
In sum, Chinese suppliers are real people who work and strive hard each day just so they can build a good and long lasting relationship with you. They do need your business so their business will survive as well. So, there's no doubt that they'll try to damage your business and their working relationship with you.
Communication is another issue that sellers like you face while importing in China. Since communication tends to be a barrier, it's really off-putting to deal or confer about business issues. This is easier since they
To somehow minimize this dilemma, it's best for you to get their MSN or ICQ email address, go online and start chatting. They'll likely be friendly and courteous as they really love conversing with people who ca speak English as a first language. This way, you now have a direct contact with them and it also helps the Chinese in enhancing their communication.
When communication is already established, it's already your time to inquire and ask them to send you pictures of their stocks and so on. When the relationship is already built up, you can now ask for sample orders. This is not a problem for legitimate companies as this lets customers like you see the products upfront. Aside from looking at the products, this is also your chance to see that the company can be trusted and that the products are the ones you desire of importing.
Another issue is quality. This is a huge concern especially that sellers find it hard to distinguish genuine brand names from the fake ones.
Products from China can either be imitations or fakes. eBay is doing its best to track down fast all those people who are selling fakes. Selling fakes is never a good option, so do avoid them!
In general, Chinese suppliers complement well with reasonably priced basic goods. These products are manufactured in no other country, except China. Thus, you wouldn't find it anywhere else and they're even sold at higher prices in Western countries. Take pocket bikes, scoters and other electronic goods as examples. Brand names for these goods are no longer necessary just to make sales. So, if you really want to import from China, you can get wholesale products at the best prices!
Now, that you already have an idea of what you may possibly encounter along the way, be open-minded, inquire and do your research!
If you would like free access to a video training series on
importing from china then check out
http://www.ChinaImportFormula.com.au
Brendan Elias and Alex Ryan have been teaching business owners
how to start their own importing business from scratch, and
import goods without the headache or hassle.
Brendan has been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Live
National TV on the Kerrie Ann Show, Financial Review and many
