I'm about to setup my first international trade deal, purchasing custom-designed garments from a factory in China. The samples they made look perfect. My concern is that the other 3000 they're going to make will not look like the samples. I understand a small percentage will be considered defects, 5-10%. But what if I receive the shipment and there's a lot of quality problems. What does one do at that point? How do you word a contract to protect oneself from this? Tnx.

Replying to [looli]:
Waiting for good reply.

Anyone? Surely someone has done this before.

Replying to [looli]:
IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOUR PAYMENT TERM IS AND HOW WELL YOU KNOW THE SUPPLIER. IF YOU PAY HIM EVERYTHING UPFRONT THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO. AND I DONT THINK ANY NEW SUPPLIER WILL GIVE YOU GOODS ON CREDIT. SO BETTER GO TO CHINA OR ANY COUNTRY FROM WHERE YOU WANT TO BUY STUFF AND HAVE PERSONAL REALTION WITH SUPPLIER FIRST THEN YOU WILL KNOW HOW GOOD HE CAN SERVE YOU.

Replying to [looli]:Hello,you may take L/C as payment.It can guarantee that you got perfect goods if the supplier want to do long-tern business with you,or the bank will aid in your shippment,they will not send the money to supplier if the goods been demaged or any bad things happened.
Good Luck.

Yongqing Lin

Hi Yongqing,

I thought an LC pays when the goods are shipped? This would be before they arrive and can be inspected. No? Is it possible to setup an LC where a % is paid upon shipment and another % is paid upon inspection? Tnx

Replying to [looli]:

You have to add clause in your Letter of Credit and has to be duly accepted by your supplier and if the quality is bad after receiving, you can advise your bank to stop the payment, beacuse according to the clause ,the payment will noe get released till the bank your Quality approval in writing.

Replying to [looli]:

Hi, I saw your posting in Alibaba and maybe I could be of some assistance. I am a sourcing and buying agent for knitted and woven garments working in China and Pakistan for our clients in Europe. My job is to ensure that suppliers deliver the goods according to the specifications and within the time frame agreed upon.

You are right in being concerned about the potential of quality problems of the bulk shipment even if the samples you have received are perfect. It can, and does happen, at times. And there are many reasons why it happens, some valid, some not. One way to protect yourself is by including a clause to the contract stating, Ïn the event of a claim, supplier will be held responsible”. However, not all suppliers will accept this. Note of caution, this could very well result in breaking up of relationship. There are many variables that can crop up during the manufacturing process which can affect the outcome of the product, some intentional and some not. It is advisable that during the negotiating phase, variables affecting outcome should be identified, discussed, and agreed upon before proceeding. However, this by itself does not guarantee a problem free delivery, especially so in China.

Unfortunately, this subject requires much more input than what I can put in this reply as I think there is a space limitation. If you are interested in discussing more on this then you are welcomed to email me directly at rfchen28@yahoo.com.

I hope the above is of some help.
Best regards
Rocky Chen

Replying to [looli]:

Payment terms can only allow you to refuse to accept cargo when but not to ensure no problem upon receipt. You can avoid lose from you supplier but you still loose in sales in your country.

Honestly to say, no way to protect unless you or your men can go there to examinate/inspect during production & before shipment process.

Some companies may help you to check & inspect to minimize your expense of inspection.

Replying to [looli]:Hi, this very good point, but before you start dealing, you have to find out some details on the company, as to how many years they have been in business and to whom all are they suppling and to which countries and what quality standards do they follow and what quality certifications does the company have, i thing if you check on all these points, and you are satisfied on this, i think your 50% concern is over, and the rest 50% if you want u can have a inspection clause in the contract and you can appoint any international inspection agency specifing your requirements and concerns to be looked at the time of inspections, and the report from them lets you know, what you are going to get. There are number of such inspections agencies, and you can ask the supplier to let you know, which all are available in his area, they charge according to the type of inspectiosn required, so you can negotiate with them directely on this issue.

Any other issue, you are most welcome to contact,

The above mentioend answere has been provided by a established manufacturer exporter from India.

Thanks,
Amarjit

Replying to [looli]: Hey Looli, greetings from Florida. I agree with your concern and I have personally seen it happening, as - I'm sure - the rest of the folks in this forum. I do not have the exact answer but I know for a fact that you don't have to accept a shipment that does not match the quality of the sample. Sure there will be some variations but you need to discuss that with the manufacturer and establish what is acceptable and what is not. Thus, anything that exceeds the variations agreed upon is not acceptable. I think you should address this issue with the manufacturer upfront. The part I do not have a suggestion about is how to protect yourself if the actual shipment is not up to par.