Buying from China - Help

[ESChina]

Hi Guys,

I've been sourcing products online from various chinese companies and most of them seem legitimate. They've sent me copies of company registration, export licence and test certificates I've asked for but I'm still worried about buying from china because of all the 'fraud websites' i've seen on the net for chinese companies. Most of the certificates are in chinese????? So they don't really mean anything.

I'm starting small and I cannot afford to lose any money. I can't really afford to send someone to check each and every company I want to buy from as they're asking for nearly 200-300USD per visit. Is there any other way (cheaper) to verify these companies?

I have also asked for samples but the courier costs are out of this world. For 4 samples from 4 different companies I have been quoted £400 and the products are costing me less than £50? Anyone know of cheaper couriers in China? DHL, TNT ect are way too expensive. I'm starting a new business with my own money and every penny counts.

If anyone can advise me on freight charges/container costs, that would help.

ANY HELP AND ADVISE WOULD REALLY HELP.

[FONT=verdana, helvetica, sans-serif]Dear Sir,

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Julie Shi and I live in Dongguan, China. I have been working as sourcing agent for oversea customers.

I have more than eleven years of sourcing and product development experience with Western customers and will be able to help you find capable factories easily. Moreover, I am well versed in other related disciplines including but not limited to sample development; quality inspection; and, on time delivery.

In short, as a reliable professional agent and friend working on your behalf in China, I can assist your company in becoming more efficient and successful. Please feel free to contact me immediately, you will not regret your decision.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Julie Shi
Efficient Sourcing in China

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[goweightlossnow]

There are thousands of people out there who believe they can buy cheap brand name electronics and textiles from the other side of the planet as easily as they go grocery shopping. Believe it or not. As far as I know (I should mention that I am not in this business myself so I'm no authority) the idea that you can always get the latest Nokia/Sony/Apple gadget cheap from China is just a dumb get-rich-quick myth that gets thousands of people scammed. There is no such thing as cheap branded electronics from China, but there are hundreds of scam sites feeding off this dumb myth. The chance that the one you found is real is practically zero, all other things being equal.



If you are looking to do business in China (or anywhere else for that matter) you actually need to learn something about international trade, about the market you are entering, and especially how to make sure you get what you pay for. This is not necessarily easy, it is not something we do on this forum, and it is not something we can provide advice on.
What we can do is provide a forum for people to share experiences and opinions, and we can help you recognise common scams. But frankly, if you intend to start a business importing from China then this is something you really need to learn to do yourself. There are also plenty of companies you can hire to do this for you, which is probably the easiest way, are a few possibilities. Two forums that could be more appropriate for an aspiring internet trader is

As for the common scams you will find in China, the most popular is of course websites selling all kinds of brand name consumer electronics at below market prices. These are always fraudulent, and they operate on most B2B and auction sites. Here was a small collection of them. You can find some pointers here on how to recognise them. Some of them like to excuse themselves with that the goods got stuck in customs somewhere, or just send a fake Nike shoe regardless of what you order. Some will send non-working tracking numbers. The city of Putian, and the Fujian district, is somewhat infamous for fraud both in China and internationally. It's possible to find plenty of scam companies from this area, many of their websites advertise fake Nike shoes in combination with electronics.

Many of these scammers go around spamming eBay traders who are usually the primary targets, some examples are

All Chinese sites selling all kinds of designer clothing will only deliver counterfeit items. Some of them will freely admit this, others will not. Many of these will also scam you, sometimes only depending on which salesperson you are talking to. These companies are operating outside of the law already so they have little incentive to actually deliver anything, and frankly it's a lot easier to just scam people. They know you can't really complain either way, as long as you realized the goods were fake. Trading in counterfeit items is after all not legal. You may get your items seized by customs and face legal action. Seeing the difference between a fake faker and a "real" one is often very difficult as the fakers use similar methods as the scammers to stay anonymous. Either way, I'm not personally interested in the difference, and I have no wish to assist people with this type of business. We have no way of knowing if people will try to pass these items off as authentic or not. We have a long list of sites suspected of being scams or selling fakes.

Many other types of counterfeit items can also be found in China, e.g. memory chips, golf clubs, Ipods and mobile phones (often including models that have yet to be released). They will always claim that the quality is "AAA+" which can mean half of them are broken. If they claim that the items are authentic the price will often be thereafter as well, but you will still only receive fake junk. Don't expect them to honor any guarantees they give you unless you have the resources to hire a couple of Chinese lawyers to go after them. You really need to check them out so you know who you are dealing with, see above.

It should be mentioned that there are a few legitimate companies selling refurbished electronics from China. These can be cheap, but for good reasons, and there might be quality issues that you need some proper commercial due diligence to deal with. And this article mostly applies to mainland China, Hong Kong is a different story.

Another type of scam that is quite common in many places in China is sometimes known as the "Guilin scam". The general idea is that they make a large order with a foreign company, and invite them to China to sign the contract. The victim is then expected to pay for various gifts, hotel bills, upfront fees (notary fees) etc... before the contract can be signed. It is not common Chinese business practice to insist on a personal meeting in China, nor are notary fees, both of these should be considered red flags. For more information on this type of fraud please read here:

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[Intertek]

Hi Guys,

If ever you have any doubts about buying from a new Chinese supplier please feel free to come to me for advise on ways which Intertek can provide a saftey net for you. For the small cost of a quality inspection, it could save you thousands. We have a huge amount of clients whom import from China and regularly trust Intertek to ensure their quality is protected. We have saved several of these clients a lot of time, money and effort in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Any questions or advise required, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Pete.

 

[figolmf]

You can look for some Chinese agents from your friends,and you need to get to know more about China before you star your business with Chinese suppliers.

 

[anglina]

I think you can find a agent to do everything for you in China, it is safty and cheap

 

[nancywang]

Hi,i am Nancywang from China.To be frankly,i don't know what products you buy from China,but according my experience in foreign businee,maybe you can try the EMS express.That is cheaper than UPS,TNT...but the time need about 10 workig days normally.

 

[kxd-Sandy]

Hello ,

it is writing from china . I feel shocked because you know little things about china now . Maybe some have bad experiences before but that doesn't mean all chinese companies are doing business like that . What's more ,I am sure every country has the "bad egg" even in USA ,right ?

I think the only thing you need to do before starting the business is to pay a visit to china and then continue the business , you will found it is worthy . By the way ,what's kind of business are you involving ?

For the shipment , the courier charge is high . You can use HK post for a cheaper rate . It is just the suggestion .

I feel I have right to correct our country's image . If anything you need help , I will feel pleasure to help you .

Sandy

 

[jasonvalve]

hi, choorian, it is true that there are a few fraud companies here in China. But you can not take it for granted that all of the companies here in CHINA are bad. There are many international trading forums on the internet in China. If the company is proved to be a scamming one, we,the merchandisers, will expose them in the forums and other internet links as much as possible. Because they have spoiled the international trading enviroment.We also become one of the victims as the result they made.I agree with the idea that you go and find a agent here for you in China. It will do you good.