How to find a reputable Chinese lighting supplier

[treez]

Hi,
We wish to start selling outdoor LED lighting products in UK. We can design the mechanical fixtures (lamp-posts, holders, etc). However, we need to import the LED drivers and power supplies needed to power the LEDs.
How do we go about finding a reputable Chinese supplier of these?
Also, in some cases we may need the Chinese to do a custom electronics design of a LED driver, to a certain specification. How do we find a reputable Chinese electronics designer that can do this for us?
Do you believe these services will be cheaper from China than getting it done in UK?
We are based in UK.

 

[CHUKTC]

Hi we are currently sourcing LED lighting for UK clients. This includes wireless switching, timers and PIRs. Although we are a UK based company we have a factory in China making LED lights. We would be very happy to help you with this. If you are interested let me know.

 

[treez]

Thanks for your reply, good to hear from yourself.

We are competing against other LED suppliers, and we know that they deal directly with the Chinese LED factory themselves. I don’t wish to sound disrespectful, but if we are going to have an agent fee to pay then we are not going to be able to compete with our competitors who deal directly with the Chinese LED companys. I know that our competitor visits the Chinese LED factory twice per year. They know that the Chinese company is Bona Fide because the factory that they get shown around is enormous and full of Hi-Tec machinery……they are obviously not scammers, and are serious Engineering companies. We wish to get to know a Chinese company directly in this way…but we don’t know how we can get introduced to them.

 

[Mr D]

Thanks for your reply, good to hear from yourself.

We are competing against other LED suppliers, and we know that they deal directly with the Chinese LED factory themselves. I don’t wish to sound disrespectful, but if we are going to have an agent fee to pay then we are not going to be able to compete with our competitors who deal directly with the Chinese LED companys. I know that our competitor visits the Chinese LED factory twice per year. They know that the Chinese company is Bona Fide because the factory that they get shown around is enormous and full of Hi-Tec machinery……they are obviously not scammers, and are serious Engineering companies. We wish to get to know a Chinese company directly in this way…but we don’t know how we can get introduced to them.

I hate to suggest it but perhaps a visit to somewhere such places are exhibiting?
Or track down companies address directly and arrange to pop along to visit?

You don't want an agent, expect to do more of the running around and verification yourself.

 

[treez]

Thanks, i think our competitor has an agent in China itself. He is a Chinese guy, living in China. Whenever they want to buy any electronics components they buy them through him. He introduced them to their LED driver designer, and when they visit the Chinese LED driver manufacturer's factory, he accompanies them into the factory.
How do we get one of these Chinese "agents"?..someone that is reputable.

I guess if a Chinese agent can get you a visit round an enormous Chinese manufacturer's factory then he/she is going to be Bona Fide....if they weren't bona fide, then they wouldnt have been able to get you access to the inside of an enormous Chinese factory, for an individual show-around.

We know that the mark-up on most Chinese lighting products from China is enormous. The UK middle-men are charging some 700% more for the Chinese product than they are actually paying for it. This in itself makes Chinese products less competitive for sale into the UK. Why aren’t the Chinese doing something about this?...it would be in their own interest.

Why are the Chinese manufacturers not coming over to UK to attend “Chinese Manufacturer Exhibitions”?, …where for example, they would offer themselves up to multitudes of British Middle men companies…this would create more competition and would mean the mark-up getting reduced, which in turn would increase the sale of Chinese products into UK….which would make more profit for Chinese companies…..but strangely the Chinese are not doing this…why are they not doing it? Why are the Chinese settling for just a small number of UK based middle men who charge an enormous mark-up for their Chinese products.

 

[CHUKTC]

You may be surprised at what Chinese agents get up to. I have known agents take clients round some very large reputable factories that they actually had no relationship with. Many will also be working in collaboration with the supplier and not looking after your interest. Unless your Mandarin is very good you will find it hard to spot.

Using an agent in China is probably not the best way to go and I would agree with Mr D - go to a trade show, hire an independent translator (not one supplied by an agent or factory) and go and visit the factories yourself). It is however very time consuming and you should expect to visit a number before finding the right one which is why many prefer to use companies like ours who have staff in China and many years experience doing this kind of thing. Yes it costs but ts often very cost effective in the long run.

The good news is there are many good companies in China doing the sort of work you want so its not hard to find if you know what you are doing.

 

[fisicx]

Using an agent in China is probably not the best way to go....

@MY OFFICE IN CHINA might disagree with this.

 

[treez]

Thanks, I do not know if the stories we have heard are true then….What we hear is that all Chinese companies are essentially owned by the Chinese Government…and that any Chinese agent who ripped off a British customer would virtually get executed by the Chinese Government..because it would harm trade relations between China and UK and reduce the sales that China in general could make to the UK.

We would expect that any Chinese Agent would be working with the interests of the Chinese supplier in mind….but as long as they sell us decent quality stuff at a cheap price (which we believe they would), then we don’t care.

 

[treez]

CHUKTC i do appreciate your posts, please could you possibly advise on which UK lighting companies have already benefitted from your services? Or if not by name, possibly tell us the number of UK lighting companies that you've helped into the China Manufacturing market (import to UK from China)?

 

[Mr D]

Thanks, i think our competitor has an agent in China itself. He is a Chinese guy, living in China. Whenever they want to buy any electronics components they buy them through him. He introduced them to their LED driver designer, and when they visit the Chinese LED driver manufacturer's factory, he accompanies them into the factory.
How do we get one of these Chinese "agents"?..someone that is reputable.

I guess if a Chinese agent can get you a visit round an enormous Chinese manufacturer's factory then he/she is going to be Bona Fide....if they weren't bona fide, then they wouldnt have been able to get you access to the inside of an enormous Chinese factory, for an individual show-around.

We know that the mark-up on most Chinese lighting products from China is enormous. The UK middle-men are charging some 700% more for the Chinese product than they are actually paying for it. This in itself makes Chinese products less competitive for sale into the UK. Why aren’t the Chinese doing something about this?...it would be in their own interest.

Why are the Chinese manufacturers not coming over to UK to attend “Chinese Manufacturer Exhibitions”?, …where for example, they would offer themselves up to multitudes of British Middle men companies…this would create more competition and would mean the mark-up getting reduced, which in turn would increase the sale of Chinese products into UK….which would make more profit for Chinese companies…..but strangely the Chinese are not doing this…why are they not doing it? Why are the Chinese settling for just a small number of UK based middle men who charge an enormous mark-up for their Chinese products.

700% markup?

Probably. You are factoring in transport, shipping, duties, VAT, wastage, capital tied up in stock and so on?
I'd hate to think of anyone being able to get away with just 100% markup when buying from overseas.

Seriously the Chinese companies do attend trade fairs. I see dozens at the Spring Fair (OK I'm a fan of the fair) and have seen some at some other fairs.
There are other fairs closer to home for them they perhaps go to - how many of us would exhibit several thousand miles from home?

I daresay there are Asian trade fairs for particular types of goods. Worth tracking them down to get some contacts to start learning what you want to see?
Maybe the first few places you try looking around won't be quite suitable.

 

[treez]

Thanks, i am amazed how complicated this is...you would think the Chinese would make it easy for foreigners to come and buy their stuff....not have to pay significant agent fees.

Is the "China Britain Business Council" a good way to get in touch with a Chinese supplier?

 

[Mr D]

Thanks, i am amazed how complicated this is...you would think the Chinese would make it easy for foreigners to come and buy their stuff....not have to pay significant agent fees.

Is the "China Britain Business Council" a good way to get in touch with a Chinese supplier?

You mean like how easy it is for the foreigners to come to Britain and buy our stuff and not have to pay significant agent fees?
Its only a small island group, how hard is it going to be to find a place called 'Kent'?

Seriously the world is a big place - and its not uncommon for business people to want to make sure the place they are spending a lot of money with is going to produce stuff to the required standard and not run off with the money.

I used an agent. Well, multiple agents - multiple countries.

 

[treez]

Thanks, China has a vested interest in selling stuff to UK...you would think they'd reach out a little more....Thay have set themselves up as the world's manufacturer.......kind of strange that they havent got sales offices all over UK, making it easy for us to buy their stuff.....without people having to pay big agent fees.
Regarding UK, i dont think UK makes stuff any more does it?
And we in UK are declining all the time.......UK used to be the biggest exporter of (UK designed) cars....today, the UK doesnt make cars. (bar a couple of Westerhams).
Today, 66% of UK manufacturing industry (>500 staff) is foreign owned.

Seriously, the UK doesnt even design and build the propulsion systems for its entire Naval fleet...the French do it for us.......if we go to war, we better hope the French are behind us.

The UK buys everything in big time, and i am amazed that the Chinese are not over here making it easy for us to spend our dosh on their stuff.

 

[Mr D]

Thanks, China has a vested interest in selling stuff to UK...you would think they'd reach out a little more....Thay have set themselves up as the world's manufacturer.......kind of strange that they havent got sales offices all over UK, making it easy for us to buy their stuff.....without people having to pay big agent fees.
Regarding UK, i dont think UK makes stuff any more does it?
And we in UK are declining all the time.......UK used to be the biggest exporter of (UK designed) cars....today, the UK doesnt make cars. (bar a couple of Westerhams).
Today, 66% of UK manufacturing industry (>500 staff) is foreign owned.

Seriously, the UK doesnt even design and build the propulsion systems for its entire Naval fleet...the French do it for us.......if we go to war, we better hope the French are behind us.

The UK buys everything in big time, and i am amazed that the Chinese are not over here making it easy for us to spend our dosh on their stuff.

China may have a vested interest in selling to the UK.
However Chinese factory owners don't necessarily have a vested interest in selling to UK business owners. The world is a big market and if we don't use a factory to produce stuff then odds are some of the other 7 billion people will.

Why have sales offices all over the UK? Do any of us business owners have sales offices all over any other country? Be pretty pointless for some of us and a waste of money for others.
Get a website - its a worldwide sales office and far cheaper. You'd still want to do your own checks on the production side of things if a company did have a UK sales office?

Yes if we go to war we'd better hope the French are behind us if we need any new propulsion systems for ships. Takes a little while to build a ship so hopefully the war is over by the time we want one.
Then again we use how much British produced stuff in the military made from British raw materials ….. the world is a good trading place these days. Can even get steel subsidised by the Chinese to make some stuff with! Just think, the Chinese subsidising UK manufacturing.

The Chinese make it easy for UK companies to buy their stuff - judging by how much stuff UK companies buy.
Multiple websites you can buy from. Thousands of Chinese businesses attend the same trade events UK buyers attend.
Perhaps they already have a good system of getting orders that they are happy with.

 

[MOIC]

It's not a case of finding any LED factory. You have to find the RIGHT factory for your requirements and this will include the following:

• Manufacturing the LED products you require.
• Using quality components. (Mostly imported)
• Verifiable Certification for your selling markets.
• Your initial order quantities.
• Your branding and packaging.
• 3rd party quality control.
• Ability to produce new designs (if required) as you grow.
• Competitive pricing.
• Accurate production delivery times.
• Understanding all of your requirements.

It will probably take more than one visit to a trade fair as well as visiting and sampling from between 3 - 6 factories before deciding which is the best factory for you to work with that can tick most of your boxes.

A China agent will be able to identify potential factories as well as sample from a shortlist, check samples before shipping and consolidate the samples according to your specifications.

The biggest hurdle working with any China factory is communication. It is vital you have a competent team that can converse in native Mandarin with the factory and native English with yourself. A small misunderstanding can lead to a whole production run being faulty.

We look after the whole process from start to finish.

I am a Brit living in China for the past 10 years and have been working with China factories for over 30 years.

Feel free to contact me via the website in my signature link below.

I offer free advice.

 

[treez]

Thanks,

We always understood that we would have to pay a Chinese agent, its just that we didn’t realise we would have to pay a Chinese agent and a UK agent.

And of course, we are happy to pay whatever fees our competitors are having to pay.

The thing is, I am pretty sure that our UK competitors are not paying a UK agent…they only pay a Chinese agent.

I suspect, but am not totally sure, that most UK lighting companies are in fact (secretly) subsidiaries of huge UK based building & logistics firms …and that they have their own private network of top class agent contacts in China………so we would be competing with UK lighting companies which have this kind of top class agent service. We are somewhat worried that we are going to be viewed as “nuisances” by these huge British companies, and just maybe, if we end up unknowingly using the same Chinese agents that they are using, then they will pay these Chinese agents to give us bad service and “take our money and run”.

Any ideas on how we can prevent this happening greatly appreciated.

 

[treez]

I wonder if the main problem for us is will be Brexit.

With "no deal Brexit", all tariffs on Chinese imports to UK will be removed. This means that every Tom Rick or Harry with an ounce of knowledge about electricity will be climbing onto the import-lighting-products-from-China bandwagon………think how many Electricians will now set themselves up as lighting providers.

There is going to be a deluge of competition for us…and prices of lighting is going to plummet…hitting our profit margins. We hadnt planned for this. Its a nuisance that this is happening just at our point of launch.

 

[Mr D]

Thanks,

We always understood that we would have to pay a Chinese agent, its just that we didn’t realise we would have to pay a Chinese agent and a UK agent.

And of course, we are happy to pay whatever fees our competitors are having to pay.

The thing is, I am pretty sure that our UK competitors are not paying a UK agent…they only pay a Chinese agent.

I suspect, but am not totally sure, that most UK lighting companies are in fact (secretly) subsidiaries of huge UK based building & logistics firms …and that they have their own private network of top class agent contacts in China………so we would be competing with UK lighting companies which have this kind of top class agent service. We are somewhat worried that we are going to be viewed as “nuisances” by these huge British companies, and just maybe, if we end up unknowingly using the same Chinese agents that they are using, then they will pay these Chinese agents to give us bad service and “take our money and run”.

Any ideas on how we can prevent this happening greatly appreciated.

Why pay a UK agent?

And yes I would guess anyone dealing with Chinese companies regularly would use the best agents they could find in that area.
Makes business sense.

Think you are being paranoid about people being paid to give you bad service. From my experience there will be people out there willing to give bad service for free!

 

[treez]

Why pay a UK agent?

I guess in the first place, you have to pay a UK agent in order to get connected with a Chinese agent....then when you have settled into your relationship with the Chinse agent, i am guessing that you cut loose from the UK Agent and stop paying them?....then onwards just pay the Chinese agent.

 

[Mr D]

I guess in the first place, you have to pay a UK agent in order to get connected with a Chinese agent....then when you have settled into your relationship with the Chinse agent, i am guessing that you cut loose from the UK Agent and stop paying them?....then onwards just pay the Chinese agent.

Interesting method.

May find it a bit cheaper to do the legwork of finding a Chinese agent. Think last time I looked for an agent it took almost 30 seconds - wasn't in a 4G area.

 

[MBE2017]

OP, forget what you think you know and concentrate on finding out how to do it correctly.

Finding a good knowledgeable agent who will work in your interest is no mean feat, but one every importer will face.

There are plenty of conmen pretending to be agents, companies etc and many such agents will be acting for the seller more than for yourself if you are not careful. Take care, it can be a minefield, but one worth going through in the end.

Due diligence applies to importing as to everything else. Never take anything at face value, many sellers on sites claim to be a factory, but are just as likely to be a chancer sat at their breakfast table.

 

[treez]

Thanks, i suppose the only way you can know you contacted a genuine Chinese agent is when they take you for an individual show-around of an enormous Chinese factory, where you are shown round most of the premises, and introduced to many of the staff in that factory?

Even then i suppose it could still be a Chinese scammer, but its unlikely , as a scammer wouldnt likely have access to such a factory.....and if they were a scammer, then the people at the factory would be furious as the Chinese scammer would have been doing over a potential customer of the factory, and so that Chinese scammer would have been putting thermsleves at a big risk of being done over by the people who own the huge Chinese factory.

I also suppose that in order to get a genuine Chinese agent, it probably helps if you already own a pretty sucessful business where on your customer list you have customers who already buy the type of products that the Chinese factory would be interested in selling their products to?

I also suspect that we could possibly be doing this the wrong way round...just maybe, the genuine Chinese agents actively seek out the British people that they want to be agents for....and the wannabe-importers like us, just get ripped off when we go over to China to meet an Chinese agent.

 

[MBE2017]

Thanks, i suppose the only way you can know you contacted a genuine Chinese agent is when they take you for an individual show-around of an enormous Chinese factory, where you are shown round most of the premises, and introduced to many of the staff in that factory?

Even then i suppose it could still be a Chinese scammer, but its unlikely , as a scammer wouldnt likely have access to such a factory.....and if they were a scammer, then the people at the factory would be furious as the Chinese scammer would have been doing over a potential customer of the factory...

Plenty of scammers would find this easy enough to do and to arrange. Due diligence as before. I have never used My Office in China, but you could make a start with the forum member, and ask and check out things as you would with anyone else.

The web is a great tool if you use it, but you need to stop making and believing sweeping generalisations and start finding out facts. It will be your money you are risking, so it should be worth the time and effort involved. I personally have never had any problems with any of my imports, but I am a careful person.

 

[MOIC]

We always understood that we would have to pay a Chinese agent, its just that we didn’t realise we would have to pay a Chinese agent and a UK agent.

Why would you need to pay a UK agent for an introduction to a China agent?

The China agent will earn their money by doing the following work for you:

• Sourcing from a range of LED factories that fit your product and order requirements.
• Sampling from a shortlist of selected factories.
• Check & consolidate the samples before sending.
• Order processing.
• Supplier contract.
• Quality control.
• Certificate verification.
• China export documentation.
• UK shipping
• UK forwarding.
• Delivery to your door.

There are literally thousands of LED factories in China and you must be guided to use the factory that fits your specific needs.

We have been working for over 30 years in China supplying UK as well as global businesses.

Different agents will carry out different work and have different fees. You should choose the agent that can do all the work you require, have competitive fees and most importantly, speaks your language.

It takes time finding and selecting the factory to work with, it will also take time finding the right agent to work with.

 

[Linna]

hello, you can visit some of the Chinese online business stores, like Alibaba, Taobao, etc. You can communicate with these retailers. If needed, you can ask for samples or visit the factories.

 

[The Byre]

It will probably take more than one visit to a trade fair as well as visiting and sampling from between 3 - 6 factories before deciding which is the best factory for you to work with that can tick most of your boxes.

This! (And the rest of his advice is golden as well!)

For starters, visit a trade fair or five - beginning with the Industriemesse in Hannover in a month. https://www.hannovermesse.de/search

If you don't want to use an agent, just look up who makes the stuff you require and do some sample orders of, say, ten pieces or so. Once you have found one or two suppliers, then you can start ordering in batches of a few thousand.

Remember all the CE and other H&S requirements, but I'm sure you know all about that stuff.

As @MY OFFICE IN CHINA states, communication is sometimes difficult, but every major supplier has an English speaker (of sorts!) on the staff - but keep your sentences very, very simple and obvious! No conditional clauses. e.g. "This is an order for 100 LED GU10 bulbs, part number 12345." and not "We would really like to order one hundred of your LED bulbs with a warm-white glow."

 

[treez]

Thanks, the Hannover Messe sounds great.
But i am surprised Germany allows Chinese factories to present there....when you consider the high EU tariffs on Chinese goods.

 

[Mr D]

Thanks, the Hannover Messe sounds great.
But i am surprised Germany allows Chinese factories to present there....when you consider the high EU tariffs on Chinese goods.

Why would they not allow a company willing to sell to EU buyers?
It's the buyer paying the tariff regardless - that's you if you are the one ordering a tariff charge item from China.
Does not bother the German government if people want to give money to import stuff.

Tariffs do not work like you think. They tend to be item specific - so for example EU can put a tariff of 10 percent on one type of item and 30 percent on another.
Now you could buy in the UK (in the EU currently) with 700 percent markup or buy from China and have whatever sort of pricing you can work out with supplier. That may be cheaper than UK supplier is willing to sell to you at.

 

[MOIC]

As @MY OFFICE IN CHINA states, communication is sometimes difficult, but every major supplier has an English speaker (of sorts!) on the staff - but keep your sentences very, very simple and obvious! No conditional clauses. e.g. "This is an order for 100 LED GU10 bulbs, part number 12345." and not "We would really like to order one hundred of your LED bulbs with a warm-white glow."

Therein lies the problem, especially for a newcomer looking to purchase in China.

It's generally a 'sales' person who has a (very limited in most cases) command of the English language within a company as they are used as the first point of contact whether this is at a fair, or Alibaba or similar.

For any technical issues, amendments or new products within the tech sector you MUST be able to speak directly with the technicians and engineers (who will not speak English in the vast majority of cases). A sales person will not have in-depth knowledge of technical issues and will struggle with translating.

There are many nuances working with China factories compared to working with European factories and these have to be learnt and understood, which takes experience and time.

My advice is to have someone 'on the ground' to do your communication, prepare supplier contracts and test/check each production run.

There is a reason why ALL the major international companies who buy in China have a buying office in China (or Hong Kong). Communication is the most important, but understanding the Chinese business culture is important too.

Enjoy Hannover and gain experience!

 

[The Byre]

Chinese companies have a huge presence at the Industriemesse, as it is where the World goes to see new industrial technical ideas and developments; that and the CeBIT.

But it is HUGE. Some 24 very large halls filled with anybody who is serious about selling industrial products and processes in Europe. Getting a B&B is at this late stage impossible, so you'll have to have a car there and stay in a nearby town. It really is that intense!

 

[treez]

Thanks, i went to the gov.uk website and it looked like there is a 25% tariff on importing chinese lighting products to UK...However, a lighting company owner told me its only 2.7%. Do you know what is the actual import tariff?

 

[Mr D]

Thanks, i went to the gov.uk website and it looked like there is a 25% tariff on importing chinese lighting products to UK...However, a lighting company owner told me its only 2.7%. Do you know what is the actual import tariff?

What is the specific item type?
Chinese lighting returns a number of items. I'm looking at one with 3.7%, haven't seen a 25% in my searches but I am obviously not looking at same screen as you.

Figure out what your particular item is, find it and look to see what the relevant figures are.

 

[treez]

I have also been told that the "tariff" is actually the imposition of 25% VAT on any Chinese lighting item imported into UK.......so in effect, there is a 25% "tariff", but its not called a "tariff", its called VAT.

 

[Mr D]

I have also been told that the "tariff" is actually the imposition of 25% VAT on any Chinese lighting item imported into UK.......so in effect, there is a 25% "tariff", but its not called a "tariff", its called VAT.

VAT in the UK is set at 20% on many goods - presumably yours.
Whoever told you it was 25% was mistaken.
Far as I know we have never had 25% VAT here.

Tariffs are separate and are subject to change as required. Today may be one rate, maybe as a result of a trade war it has its rate changed to a higher rate.

 

[treez]

Thanks, thats it then..20% "VAT" is put on Chinese imports.
I am certain that the EU imposes high tariffs on Chinese goods, thats what the customs union is all about(?) and UK is part of the EU...for now.

 

[Mr D]

Thanks, thats it then..20% "VAT" is put on Chinese imports.
I am certain that the EU imposes high tariffs on Chinese goods, thats what the customs union is all about(?) and UK is part of the EU...for now.

No. 20% VAT is put on all imports from outside the EU that don't have another rate applied.
Can be Chinese, US or Russian. Or Kenyan.

EU imposes tariffs on particular goods - some of it on Chinese goods. Pretty sure the customs union is about rather more than 'how much can we soak from our own businesses before they stop buying the stuff'.

The high tariffs on Chinese goods don't appear to be on some of the lighting products. You were told about a 2.7% one, I found a 3.7% one. Hardly high tariffs - some of the gifts stuff at one time was 65%. There used to be, a while back, one at 80%. Wasn't a Chinese product.

 

[The Byre]

I have also been told that the "tariff" is actually the imposition of 25% VAT on any Chinese lighting item imported into UK.......so in effect, there is a 25% "tariff", but its not called a "tariff", its called VAT.

And this is supposed to be a business forum!

 

[treez]

It appears that a small amount of lighting products from China are specifically listed and these have low tariffs of a few percent, as shown on the gov.uk website. The majority of lighting products from China are not listed and so default to the 20% tariff.
I am wondering if we would be better served simply buying lighting power supplies from stontronics in UK...who buy-in and evaluate lighting power supplies from China...evaluating them for the potential British customer. Is this the way everyone does it?

Stontronics seems to be the only UK company doing this "evaluation of Chinese power supplies".

What I don’t understand is, when I type in “linkedin stontronics electronics engineer” into google, I don’t get any hits…….are there no British engineers working at Stontronics?…and if not, then how are they evaluating the lighting power supplies that they buy in from China?…….Are the Chinese doing it for them?

 

[Mr D]

It appears that a small amount of lighting products from China are specifically listed and these have low tariffs of a few percent, as shown on the gov.uk website. The majority of lighting products from China are not listed and so default to the 20% tariff.
I am wondering if we would be better served simply buying lighting power supplies from stontronics in UK...who buy-in and evaluate lighting power supplies from China...evaluating them for the potential British customer. Is this the way everyone does it?

Stontronics seems to be the only UK company doing this "evaluation of Chinese power supplies".

What I don’t understand is, when I type in “linkedin stontronics electronics engineer” into google, I don’t get any hits…….are there no British engineers working at Stontronics?…and if not, then how are they evaluating the lighting power supplies that they buy in from China?…….Are the Chinese doing it for them?

Just remember when you buy from stontronics - they will be charging you 20% VAT. On their selling price, which will be higher than their cost to purchase and import. So you will probably be paying more in tax than you would with importing the items yourself.

LinkedIn - not everyone is on it. Not everyone puts their current employer on there until ready to look for another job.

 

[treez]

Thanks, take your point about linkedin. ....i would have thought Stontronics would have had a web page with a picture of a lab full of there UK Based power supply designers, and a showing of all the design projects that they have done, in order to convince people that they have the staff there to be able to evaluate Chinese power supplies. There is nothing on the Stontronics website to suggest that they have any UK based electroncis engineers working there.