I am pretty tired of reading of about all of the problems people have. So here is how to avoid them.

1.) Know your products that you want to buy:
What are the raw materials / parts / grades at a minimum.
How the product is assembled; the cost of energy, tooling and labor.
What kind of packing you want. have the files in PDF at least.
Know logistics and customs costs.
This way you can calculate what you want to pay for it. then know the standards on the product.
Know your main critical quality problems that you think you will have.

2.) Make a plan about what you want to accomplish in terms of buying. A yearly purchase schedule, and know your acceptable payment terms.

Basically make sure you know exactly what you want to do before contacting the factory. Biggest problem buyers have is they do not want to take the time formulate a plan and are not prepared to buy the product they want.

3.) Research suppliers: make a list of potential suppliers. When talking to them ask this question before any other.
I want a business license faxed to me?
then I am going to visit or send someone to check your factory?
i want sales quotation signed and stamped with factory seal from the factory?

4.) When dealing above it is probably best to sleect a professional buying office / agent that is incorporated in china. What you need from them. Realize that they will want 5% to 10% of the product price + expense deposit. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET GOOD SERVICE FOR FREE. Inspection / sourcing companies that offer 50USD for the day or by the man hour are not going to give you good service. If they do not know your products how can they inspect them and how do u know if the inspector is even remotely qualified.These are just scammers trying to take advantage. A good company knows how prevent and resolve issues after they have been discovered. BOTTOM LINE IS GOOD SERVICE COSTS AND YOU HAVE DEVELOP YOUR PLAN WITH THIS COMPANY AND IT TAKES TIME TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN CORRECTLY.
Ask for license?
Ask if they will provide transparent service? this means you preview and sign off on all purchase contracts prior to signing with factory.
Ask them for an agent contract that is signed and sealed with there company stamp? (This should state payment terms, services provided and dispute resolutions methods at a minimum)
remember you are sigining contracts with this company and not the factory. So this company is responsible for getting the goods for you and the factory is not responsible so you need an incredible amount of transperency / honest cooperation. And you need to have input into the contract drafting.
make sure this company has a lawyer.

5.) Make sure all contracts are china legal. If you are not able to do this then carefully select a professional buying agent / office. These can be trading companies, but most of the time they are foreign owned trading companies / offices.

6.) Focus on prevention: QC in production contract. test reports. actually testing what you buy before you buy it. QC'ing the product and rejecting replacing it before it ships. Again you will need a company to perform this service. make sure they are reliable and china legal.

6.) Prevention, prevention and prevention before your take legal possession of the products. verify that they are what you want before you buy and the factory or agency is that you have selected is doing what you want.

this requires at lesat one trip to china. Professional buying agent will save you a couple more trips to china if you are prepared. generally discuss with the buying agent to make sure your adequately prepared before coming with samples, drawings and your plan.

god i hope this helps some of you people to be better prepared. if you a question let me know

Replying to [Chinasolutions]:

I have a few questions regarding trade with other contries. I read your advice and i agreed with most of it. I am a small time buisness owner looking for an advantage. I am not buying enough product to justify a trip to china. I would like to know if it is normal for small purchase usually just the MOQ to be paid for by Wire Transfer and if this is the normal way then what protection do i have if any against people trying to scam me. I would like to trust all of the suppliers on allibaba but i know there are a few rotten apples in there how do i determine which are rotten and which are not?

Does anyone know of a list or recommendations of Asian factories who have US Ambassidors to their factory stationed in America that I can work with on a project and pay directly? I am little concered about sending $10,000+USD overseas even though I have done my due diligence research and I would feel more secure meeting with Chinese representitives here in America first...

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Best Regards,

David Andrascik

Royal Penn Products USA

Replying to [Chinasolutions]: thanks ,i have known how to communicate with our customers . maybe i am different from u that what i sell is transportation .

Replying to [Chinasolutions]:
Hi,
I am looking for a good quality supplier to purchase portable speakers from to market in the UK. I am based in the UK so am aware of the difficulties. You mentioned a buying agent is a good idea. Can you please advise any tips for finding a good one. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated. L

Replying to [Prav]:hi i am just new here.then i just want to say something .i think UK you can find the manufcturer in shanghai or some places are littoral.that will be more convenience .
and you can have a world map .and try to find which port in China is much more easier to UK. hehe

Replying to [pootdy]:

Yes, it is normal for MOQ orders to be paid by wire transfer. I do not recommend Letters of Credit unless you are going spend more than 100,000USD on a single purchase order. The bank draft fees to issue transferable LC's and processing fees are too costly.

You should never wire more than 30% deposit to start production. Next payment should be made when you have recieved a copy of the OBL. Send this copy to your customs broker for verification of documents. Then pay the remaining 70%.

As for being scammed or making sure you get what you pay for; you need to physically verify that the manufacturer is producing the goods or have someone do this for you. No way around that.

The minimum step you can do. Is request samples confirm the samples in writing and have the factory state that they will produce all the goods according to the samples that you have confirmed.. this needs to be in writing and signed and stamped by the factory / TC or whoever you are working with.

Replying to [Royal Penn USA]:

You may be able to find some companies that have agents in the USA. If this is the case then you are purchasing from the USA agent and not from the factory. Contractually they will be responsible becuase they are legally representing the manufacturer in USA.

If you choose to pay the factory directly then you will need a contract with the factory according to PRC law. This means you will need a buying agent at a minimum.

If you have questions let me know. As I own a chinese incorporated trading company.

Replying to [LDRS]:

I own a trading company in China. Let's discuss.

Replying to [Chinasolutions]:
We are a Hong Kong co and have been trading with China for 20 years.
Best way to build business when buying from China is to visit the factories and assess their strength/weakness, select the best ones, fix yr quality standard,appoint your freight forwarders.QC checks should be conducted at the start and during process(not after production is over),pre-production samples must be approved before starting production and these approved samples shd be the 'Standard' for production.
I/E or trading cos should be avoided if possible as these youngsters working in these cos have no product knowledge or any experience in Intl trade vis-a-vi LC or shippings matters.They merely speak English.
It is best advised to appoint an Agent/buying office from Hong Kong ( than China). Goldpass/Trsutpass membership is a waste of time.
Simon- Hong Kong

Replying to [Simond]:Ridiculous and a selfish thought!