Alibaba Sample purchase

[qwerty123]

Hello,

I am about to purchase a mouse from a supplier on Alibaba.com .

The mouse is

http://hitony.en.alibaba.com/offerdetail/52108968/Sell_Wireless_Optical_Mouse_Rechargeable.html

Can anyone see anything wrong with this purchase ? I am paying $6.60.

Can anyone give me some advice for example on payment methods ?

Thank you

[nickmartni85]

Is that $6.60 including postage?

[qwerty123]

Hello,

No i got to pay like $50 for postage for all the mice. But that gets cheaper as u buy more.

I just go a quote from another company as we speak. The mouse is

http://italadin.en.alibaba.com/product/50065191/50295137/mouse/Rechargeable_Wireless_Optical_Mouse.html

This company has said $7 for the mouse and for the 3 samples I have requested they want to charge me $38 for DHL express. This is the 5 day air freight. They have asked for express T/T payment.

Im a bit of a beginner to this system of doing things. Can anyone give me a hand !?

Thanks

[Dave Hybrid]

T/T is normal when buying from china, no company out there will let you use your credit card.

There are scammers out the but they don't sell $6.50 mice, they offer cheap ipods, psps and such like. I think your pretty safe on this one.

As for postage ask them to tell you the weight, go to the courier website and find the cost of the postage, if they are overcharging let them know, they will normally reduce their cost of the posting. Also ask if they can send EMS if you want cheaper postage, EMS are china's postal service like our Royal Mail and it will be significantly cheaper.

If you need further help just ask, i have imported on many occasion and also know a fair bit about the whole area.

Dave.

[qwerty123]

Hello,

OK . So how long does the China postage method take ?

Thanks

[qwerty123]

And i basically just got to send them the money in a bank transfer ? I take it it wil not cost any money to do this ?

Cheers

[Dave Hybrid]

And i basically just got to send them the money in a bank transfer ? I take it it wil not cost any money to do this ?

Cheers

It will, its an international transfer, about £25 but depends on the bank. Also some suppliers make you pay the fee their end for receiving the money, so this fee may be doubled.

Dave.

[Dave Hybrid]

Hello,

OK . So how long does the China postage method take ?

Thanks

Ask your supplier, normally 4-5 working days.

[FunkyBears]

Hi,
I would suggest you go with the option they have suggested, if you are serious about importing products from them in quantity. Don't start by messing them around with cheaper postage rates etc they are not interested in that they want to sell you thousands of these mice and other product.
Paul

[boro97]

You can always open an account the the likes of dhl or fedex then you will foot the bill directly . from them .

[qwerty123]

what do you mean by that ? How would that get rid of the transfer costs ?

[ATPAgency.com]

At your place I'll think about small sample order first.

Some of the companies in Alibaba do that and some of them are sending this sample for free.

Why you should do that? Becouse you have to test technical condition of your product.

Some of them looks nice at the photo, but condition it's rather poor. ( china - poor but cheap )

[bwglaw]

You may get a tax bill as well for importation and the courier normally collects it i.e. DHL

[mia]

I think she should be safe. It's quite a cheap item and I would doubt it that the transaction is some sort of a scam.

[Anglo-Sino]

Looks fine...suggest you see CE/RoHS certs before getting too involved as if they cannot offer these then not worth chasing. Additionally price may differ slightly. Years ago you did not have to pay for samples...today it is the norm to pay, no such thing as a free lunch! Might be advisable to pay for shipping on their account as it is generally less than on a UK account..strange but true!