Hi


I am currently looking to import products from china (mainly security products), I have already ordered some samples but these samples have cost much more then the value of the product, because of shipping, Duty and VAT. I am thinking of ordering more samples and by my estimate i could end up spending £400-600 on getting samples.


My question is would i better of spending that kind of money on a ticket and visiting different suppliers?

(bare in mind, I am also looking to place smaller orders first time round like 50-100 units of each product)

would i be able to easily visit the factories and sample their products?


Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Many thanks

Replying To  [fazUK]:

Of course it is always better to go and visit the factories yourself. That way you get to personally meet the people you are dealing with and get to see how they manufacture their products first hand.

Replying to [fazUK]:

I don't think it's necessary for you to come to China in person and buy the samples. Here are my reasons:

1. With your ticket cost, you can buy several samples from several suppliers, you may compare their quality and trade terms and then select a best one to deal with in the future.

2. With your ticket cost, you can employ a reliable third-party biz service company to check, inspect or audit any company in China. Not only can save you much more time and energy but also more money saved for you with their professional services in China.

3. If you know nothing about Chinese, you will get easily ripped off by some professional scammers. Simply imagine that if a Chinese guy takes you to another factory that has nothing to do with his own business, what will you do ? Are you able to audit and check out all the fake official documents in Chinese ?

So my suggestion is that you may simply forget the trip to China if your order is very small...If your order is very large, you may come to China in person and hire a local to help you at all times to protect your interests.. Please feel free to contact me for any question related. Take care !

Replying to [fazUK]:

It is all down to your business plan, if you want to do long term business with a supplier in China, so the trip to China is great start, to meet the supplier and talk more about your business and this would improve trust on both sides.

To have a Chinese person with you is okay, but you can understand the supplier from the first things you see at the site, if you was going to be there at a direct date, you can ask for someone to collect you from your hotel and have a person there to speak English, so again this is where a Chinese helper is good.

To buy samples is one thing and to buy more and ship them, as you know you need to have CE and nice with Rohs too for UK.

In Shenzhen you find many suppliers for security items, we have just bought IP camera, wireless IP cameras, baby cams, walkie talkies, and we like to test them for a while to see how they work, and the manual, carton, packing, software and so on.

Whne you are in Shenzhen you can travel to H/K via train, make sure you have a mutiple visa to get back to the mainland, or fly to H/K first then Shenzhen and back to H/K.

The canton fair is a good place to go, you would see many things there, we got to see many suppliers for security goods, and its only 1.5 hours to Shenzhen from Guangzhou.

Find the right supplier is paramount and then you can think of long term business. good luck

Replying to [fazUK]:If your business is just small, i do not think getting fro China would be favorable to you. If you have grand plans though, you better go to China during a trade show. There you can meet the right people to talk to. At least can see the different offers of many suppliers in just one visit. You can also check the quality yourself.

Replying to [fazUK]:To my opinion, you should come and do a thorough visist around china. It's a long and nation-wide trip. You need to arrange you trip carefully and list the related factory you want to visit.
For a business, you need to know the condition of the factory, the quality of the products, the credibility of the factory, and these can't be got unless you can and prove with you own eyes.
The visit to the company would not be so easy, because you need to contact them before hand or they will see you as a spy or something else.
If you need my help, just leave me a message, I can try to provide the info you need.
I'm also a business man, but the travel business, and I have lots of source that you need.
Best regards