china importing

I live in Beijing now. Maybe I can give you a little help on some pre-research.

Re: china importing
Below is from my experience, hope it could help you a bit.

It is always a good idea to meet manufacturer directly, which could save you some money. However, if you are importing a small volume from China, buying directly from manufacturing company is not always the best answer.

1. They may be lack of exporting experience.
2. They may ask for MOQ (Minimum order quantity), which you can not meet.
3. They may not able to handle exporting, paper work and logistics part properly.
4. You may not trust 100 % on their quality if you don’t have somebody inspect quality for you before shipment.

To avoid that, you many want to find a trading company, in China, there are some import and export companies; they usually are more reliable than factories. Of course, there are still some risks and uncertainties even through these trading companies; however, risk is generally less if you are buying from trading company. If it is a long time business, you may want to find somebody you can trust in China to do quality inspection for you. You may be surprised to find the purchasing cost from trading companies is not much higher than from factories. Three to five percent higher up charge is normal, but you could reduce the rise a lot. When you are doing importing business, cautious is the key.

If you want to go to China, choose the dates there are trading fair in China. How many days you need to stay in China? Depends. A week should be enough if only for business and you may also have a couple days visisting around. There are two major trading fairs in Guangzhou City in April and October, and there are several trading fairs in Shanghai and Beijing specialized in decorating products. Check out those dates. The cost going to China is much depends on your own budget. You should consider these costs:

- Flight tickets (you can find from travel agencies)
- Accommodation in China (Hotel rates similar to States, but you may be surprised to find their 4 star hotel have higher standard than we have in North America)
- Food: cheaper than States
- Other expenses: Not much, unless you want shopping a lot, I am sure you will spend a lot, their stuff is just too good and cheap to resist.

As to the transportation, you may just want to use sea freight, air in or by UPS are too expensive if you margin is moderate. You are expecting around 30 days to get your shipment in Texas. The close port is L.A. and from L.A, the shipment can be transferred to Texas by rail or truck. You can indicate the final destination to your forwarder, and your forwarder will arrange everything till you get the shipment. Make sure to check with several forwarders (I mean international forwarders).

For customs clearance, you should be able to do it by yourself, or you may find the customs broker do it for you, should be around 50 to 100 dollars. Let the forwarder know your broker, and when the shipment arrives in L.A or somewhere in Texas (In Bond), the forwarder will let your broker know, than broker clears customs and let you know the cargo is ready at somewhere, you can go there to pick up by yourself, or let broker arrange truck delivering them to your warehouse.

Good luck on your new venture.

maybe i can help you !
[email protected]

For this sitiuation , like gevingo says ,you gotta choose a trading company in China, and they can help you with looking for products you want and inspecting the quality for you , and you can also go to China anytime if you got an appointment with that trading company ,they 'll take you to the factory ,that'll be more usefull than going to a trading fair for a short time. cuz going to a trading fair won't help much.
In fact ,I know a trading company in China,and I have done some business with them , they 're believable. If you got interest , I can recommend them to you .
contact me at : [email protected]

I haventhe perfect person for you to contact if you're still interested in importing. Email [email protected]. He speaks fluent English, has a factory where he restores antiques and makes new furniture and will shop for you and send you containers. He would email you photos with prices and you decide what you want. I've been dealing with him for years and you can't find a more honest individual over there. Great host too.

Hello

I currently live and work in Guangzhou, Guangdong China. Im a Canadian citizen and can visit the trade show here now and let you know. The first part of the fair is over but the second part begins on Monday. My email address is [email protected] Let me know :+)

I'm also a Canadian in China who speaks decent Chinese and has delt with several factories in the past.

If anyone needs assistance in China feel free to let me know.

Michael Bromley

Import from china
Hi.
I also would like to Import from china,and I'm looking for a trading company but I want to order from the internet because I don't have time now to go to china,is it wise to order from the net?
will it be expensive?
I need some information in the subject if you can help me out :
[email protected]

I would like some information on importing from China to sell on Ebay..I would like to start out small...like silk scarves or sports collectibles...not a large investment, also wan to keep it legal, any help would be appreciated! How do I find a connection? Who to trust?? Thanks in advance..

Hi there
Importing from china is a hot topic, I 've read thru all the messages but can't find any one that fit perfectly in my situation. I want to start a food distribution company, my customers will be supermarkets and restaurants.How can I find a trading company that will handle a variety of foods and beverages (canned foods,rice,cookies and chips,drink.....)
I have never been in China, and if I have to go to see each manufacturer one by one, I think time and finance not allow me to do that.
Any information and advice would be greatly appriciated.

cl

HI Chau lenh,,,or whatever??
I think I got your ideas and I got right what you want...
leave your contact information (email adress) here ,and I 'll write you .

Trading with China


I found a company in China through Alibaba.com that I would like to do trading with, but I'm really nervous. The total cost of the product I'm buying is around $3500. They want 50% up front, and the other %50 when they go to ship. What guarantees are there that I will actually get the product, or it gets lost in transit, then I'm out the $3500. Alibaba didn't seem to be much help. I know I could do well with this product on ebay, but I don't wanna get ripped off. I asked about insurance and they gave me a quote but didn't give me any info on what to do if the product is not received. right now I've been communicating via email with them. Any help or suggestions you could give me would be greatly appreciated. You can also email me at [email protected]

Thank you,

Lisa Casillas

Importing From China
You can lose a lot of money not doing this right. Chinese trading companies will always look out for themselves first. Some of the responses you've gotten here have come from Chinese people looking for your business - guaranteed. That's not to say you can't find a reliable Chinese trading company, but there will always be a language barrier as well as a cultural barrier that very much crosses over into the way they do business.

- you do not need to go to China. You can if you want to later.
- you do need a trading company unless you are doing millions of US dollars with a factory.
- you must have a trading company to export out of China (whether the factory owns the trading company also, or the trading company is a separate entity).
- you need a trading company to inspect (do Quality Control - QC)your product before shipment. Otherwise if you ordered rounds, you'll likely get squares.
- make sure you have the marketing and distribution plan for your product done before you invest in production. Sounds basic, but I've seen many examples of this crucial step not being taken and people losing a lot of money when they find out they couldn't sell those 5 containers of the next latest, greatest widget they came up with - and got produced.
- The trading company will protect your money until QC is passed - if they can be trusted.

If you want to work with an American owned, English speaking trading company in China, Email me at [email protected].

Good Luck!

china importing
Hi, I just found this site and it seems to be pretty informative.
I am trying to make purchases from four suppliers in Shenzhen, China.
What I've found to be interesting is as follows:
1) All four of them want me to pay by Western Union (payments are under $1000 each).
2) The payment made out to an individual's name instead of the company's name.
3) None would supply customer referrals instead some supplied tracking
numbers from EMS to USA.
4) They will only accept L/C if amount above $5000 except for one T/T
above $2000.
Are these normal business practices when dealing with chinese suppliers?
Thank you. Your answers will be greatly appreciated.
Sergio.

I am Chinese and work on sourcing for importer.

There are three way for a foreigner to import from China .

1 Someone purchase from trading companies. Tell them what you need ,they will find the local manufacturers who can supply it and then purchase form them and export to you. But the price is very high; the trading company will add more than30% of the total value of the goods, as their profit. This is the worst way.

2 Purchasing from the manufacturers which has the export license. It's a better way, but only some of large manufacturers have export license, and can export by themselves. is it a good idea?Not exactly, you don't need to worry about the quality of their products, at the mean time, the price is very high, Why? They can be searched in the internet easily and the have enough customers .They receive many inquiries from Alibaba ( www.alibaba.com )everyday. They don't need to do business in a low profit. Of course, some small manufacturers have export license can accept a low profit, but they can be hardly searched in the internet. Any this way is better than the first way, also, Canton Fair is a good way to purchase from manufacturers directly but the price is really high.

3 Cooperate with the export company. Purchase from the local manufacturers or local market by yourself or your representative then export the goods by the export company, of course pay them service charge (1.5%of the total value). Many foreigner like this way, some of them hire a broker to do the purchasing work in China. When they have enough business, they set up an office. Paying export service charge is totally different from being earn a high profit by the trading company. That help to cut the cost down in a large percentage

Hello there

I'm still located in China. I'm a Canadian citizen now in Beijing. For any people/businesses looking to source from China and need someone who is hands on in the country, please email me. I may be able to offer assistance. [email protected]

Hope to hear from you.

I am from New York, have lived in China for 7 years now. I live in Guangzhou. Please let me know if you need any assistance. I don't do fake stuff, nike shoes, rolex watches or anything like that but serious ventures I'd be happy to help out. I have a lot of experience in logistics and trade with the U.S. Canada we can do but always found Canadian tariffs to bind businesses like a bowl of cheese.

Anyway let me know glasglow AT hotmail.com or talking here is good too.

Hello,
I thought this might be helpful. My husband owns an import manufacturing company. He deals directly with factory owners and we also own part of a factory in China so he is a familiar face there along with his team. We do products and product development from start-up companies to fortune 500 companies. We have excellent references and 30+ years of experience. We have people with good intentions come to us all the time that have wasted a lot of time and money doing it the wrong way. This is a specialty and you need a pro that understands every aspect of this business. If you have watched the ABC TV show “Shark Tank” you can clearly understand this. If you would like more information please e-mail me and I would be happy to refer you to our website and introduce you to our FREE consultation process. All The Best!! [email protected]
Rachael

Ring Silk Road Trade Consultants or go to their website. They will met with your supplier, complete factory inspections, get samples delivered to your door, negotiate prices, organise your puchase order and get you the best frieght prices.
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