Replying to [Aussie]:
well of course it was a great idea!....lol
Mot is there in the spotlight as well isn't he?

Replying to [Aussie]:good information ,thx

Replying to [China Solutions]:
if anyone is dealing with any factory in China exporting any type of products its a good idea to have someone contact the factory who is from China and not apart of the factory in question. They make sure the buyers requiements are known and the production will be set with the correct information and specs. The production quality can be checked and this as anyone who is a exporter knows when you get products that are damaged or information is not what we wanted, and my buyers in UK want answers we loose business.
The simple facts are that if my business in UK makes 100,000 pcs of products each year, would i live in another country and dont take part in the factory, or have and managers reporting back to me?
i'll be blind and crazy, and its the same when a buyer in UK wants 100,000usd products from China, i dont think the say so of the factory is good enough but i want a 3rd party who will have my thoughts and make my company paramount that we are 1st and the factory MUST give what we order, so i know my buyers in UK will be happy and my Business will run smooth.
In any situation uts the same, to find an error before the fact is the correct format to work with, after the fact will cause problems and loss of business, and forward thiinking is the best form of defence.

Replying to [Aussie]:
http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/25733/your_helper_for_audit_inspection_sourcing.htm

Replying to [Aussie]:


Why would anyone pay these rates!!? I employ four agents in China and the most expensive is only $40 per day. This is for a person with a doctorate degree in electrical engineering and a masters degree in International Business!

[Edit ...  the further content of this post was deleted for dishonesty ... Aussie]

Replying to [sailr]:
 

Jim, a discussion on reasonable rates to pay expert Chinese Helpers is very welcome and is useful insight for members. We'll get to that shortly.

 

First, your own experience in getting scammed, where you said in another topic yesterday ...

"Welgard Electrics or Welgard Power?

Has anyone heard of this company in Shenzhen? We were scammed by them for $25,000!"

.

Inconsistent with that $25k, you then said in yet a further separate topic ...

We did business with [Welgard] for many months. All business was by email. We did not go to China. The first shipments were excellent. However, a very large ($40,000USD) order received was of extremely bad quality. The company would not honor the defects and we lost all of our money, our reputation with our customers, and it nearly put us out of business. We did as much diligence on this company as we could before doing business with them.

.

Okay Jim, was your alleged loss $25k or $40k? Given your careless nature in tossing numbers around why should we believe anything at all you say?

.

However, your above latter comment "We did as much diligence on this company as we could before doing business with them." is helpful. It well illustrates a key theme of our Due Diligence forum. First, a proper Factory Audit should precede paying the initial 30% deposit Second, a proper Pre-shipment Inspection should be done before paying the 70% balance. 

.

Doing Due diligence "on" the company is but a tiny first step. Being the amateur you are (or were) you did Due Diligence on the company but failed to do it "on the goods". All the bits of paper in this world "on" the company are near pointless unless you physically check the factory and more particularly check the goods prior to shipment .. and get an expert to do those physical checks. 

  

Had you paid an expert like Tony Chang (TonyInspection) or other expert Helpers around here, a pittance of only $150 or so to conduct a couple of days of intensive pre-shipment inspection work, you would not have lost your $25k or $40k or whatever the real figure is (in addition to loss of your reputation + loss of profit on the shoddy Welgard goods).

 

[cond below]

[cond]

Then, having got your ass burned by Welgard for not doing proper Due Diligence, you grabbed the next flight to China, where as you said in yet another separate topic ...

GO TO CHINA! It is surprisingly inexpensive! I traveled to China last October and spent 12 days there, visiting 4 different cities. My itinerary took me from Tampa, FL US to Beijing. From Beijing a china airline flight to Shenzhen, then a ferry to Zuhai and finally a ferry to HK and flight back to the US. The entire trip including airfares, ferries, hotels, meals, taxis, etc. etc. was less than $3000 US dollars! If you are serious, you must go!

 

The upshot of your Welgard loss and associated loss of reputation with your customers and of your trip to China is that you found yourself some cheap Chinese Helpers for $40 per day.

 

Congratulations Jim, it will take more than the rest of your entire life to recoup your past losses from future savings by trying to underpay expert Chinese helpers. Or, more likely than not, you are headed for even deeper trouble. Unless the $40 per day casual agents are part of your immediate family you are at risk of healthy bribes for glowing reports and consequent disappearance of your agents into the bowels of China. Or, at best, they will dump you as soon as your competitor pays them proper money. 

 

I have spent more time over the past 25 years living in, and doing business in, China than I could even begin to count. Yes, I can employ first rate Chinese helpers on full time salary for less than $200 per week (plus cost to me to set up their office and pay their out of pocket travel and office overhead expenses and etc). 

 

But hey, we are talking about expert Chinese Helpers, people we can trust, to perform occasional professional tasks ... people who themselves paid to set up their own offices and etc. 

 

To me, $40 per day for an expert Chinese Helper, complete with own office, for occasional work, is entirely unprofessional and risky. I would not insult a Chinese professional by offering such pittance nor would I accept the service of a professional who charges only $40 per day ... it does not compute with my knowledge of the real China nor does it compute with professional integrity.

Replying to [Aussie]:Individual China Helper in Shanghai:
http://www.shanghailocalguide.com/china_helper.asp

Replying to [Aussie]:
informative.

Replying to [Aussie]:Thanks!