I think im going crazy looking for a reliable chinese supplier

[keeron]

Hi guys, ive recently joined this forum and ive also joined another 10 different business forums, yet none of them have helped.

Ive searched on here and havent found any info at all, everyone just simply gives useless answers to people looking for help regarding buying from china. Or they are trying to promote themselves and advertise on here.

Ive been importing since i was 18, from usa, germany, prague and france, i was importing health supplements. I live in the U.K england and i am now looking to buy wholesale unbranded and chinese branded android phones, such as brands like hero, star and xiaomi.

Im not looking to buy branded, so dont post an answer about how you cannot buy branded online from china as i already know this, i have no interest in branded stuff.

Sorry for sounding like an ass, but ive had no sleep and i feel like pulling my hair out, as ive been looking for a supplier all night.

Ive looked on alibaba,aliexpress,dhgate and i have no trust with them at all.
Ive tried esources but its garbage, i can buy stuff they have on esources from elsewhere.

There has to be a reputable chinese mobile phone wholesaler.
I have my suspicions that everyone is keeping their sources to themselves and i have a feeling that posting here is not going to help.

If i dont find one soon, then i think im just gonna give in as it seems useless, everyone seems untrustworthy.

Does anyone know any sources or wholesalers or manufactures that are reliable or are just genuine and not scammers.
Are there any reliable suppliers on aliexpress or alibaba?
If anyone cares to help, then feel free.

Thank You!

(i moved my post to this forum, as it seems the right place to be)

 

[Directimport]

Hi keeron,

People do keep their sources to themselves, as I am sure you would too if you found a gold mine. Safe sourcing is an important part of what I have learned through 22 years of operating an importing business before my retirement, and there is a lot more to learn other than what you will read on forum posts.

Your big problem is that you are looking in the wrong places. Just check out those sourcing platforms by searching their names on www.ripoffreport.com and you may decide to look elsewhere.

There are reliable manufacturers in China who produce the products you want, but you will find that on all of the big, popular sourcing sites the vast majority of suppliers listed as manufacturers are in fact traders. I am sure you know that if you want the best prices you have to go direct to the manufacturer.

Did you know that "verified" means that the business actually exists? Great recommendation. Did you know that "Gold Supplier" and other premium badges on the big sites means that the business not only actually exists, but they are willing to pay a lot of money to give the impression that they are a cut above ordinary verified suppliers.

Few people are aware that Alibaba recently discounted their high status fee by 90% to increase the number of Gold Suppliers, because most people will only buy from Gold Suppliers.

These are some of the things you need to know so that you will be sourcing with your eyes open. There is a lot of smoke and mirrors out there.

 

[keeron]

Hi keeron,


Did you know that "verified" means that the business actually exists? Great recommendation. Did you know that "Gold Supplier" and other premium badges on the big sites means that the business not only actually exists, but they are willing to pay a lot of money to give the impression that they are a cut above ordinary verified suppliers.

Few people are aware that Alibaba recently discounted their high status fee by 90% to increase the number of Gold Suppliers, because most people will only buy from Gold Suppliers.

These are some of the things you need to know so that you will be sourcing with your eyes open. There is a lot of smoke and mirrors out there.

WOW!, thats really helpful, thanks alot.
You gave me a clear mind for a second haha.

I know about ripoffreport and i will use it, thanks for giving me that idea i appreiciate it .

And thanks for giving me some unknown information as i did not know that about Alibaba and it reducing the fee by 90% , that just makes me less confident in buying from them

And yeah, i would keep my source to myself, i would share it with certain individuals though, but its obvious why people do not want to share their sources.

It looks like im going to have to take Risks to receive My Rewards.


Thank You for your Input, although you could not give me a source name (which i dont expect lol) i really appreciate your knowledge.

Thanks

 

[keeron]

Hi keeron,

Your big problem is that you are looking in the wrong places. Just check out those sourcing platforms by searching their names on ww.ripoffreport.com and you may decide to look elsewhere.

You hit the nail on the head. & I know that im looking in the wrong places lol!.

But the problem is, I have no idea about any other Sourcing platforms LOL.

Alibaba has a 1.5/10 rating from customers on other well known review sites.

which means that over 80% of people have been scammed, ripped-off, have been sold low quality products or are unhappy with alibaba, and 80% is a hell of alot.

And The ripoffreport website has some worrying reports about alibaba.
My problem is, i need to find a legitimate sourcing platform, ive looked on over 10 of them and havent found one yet.

 

[Directimport]

You hit the nail on the head. & I know that im looking in the wrong places lol!.

But the problem is, I have no idea about any other Sourcing platforms LOL.

Alibaba has a 1.5/10 rating from customers on other well known review sites.

which means that over 80% of people have been scammed, ripped-off, have been sold low quality products or are unhappy with alibaba, and 80% is a hell of alot.

And The ripoffreport website has some worrying reports about alibaba.
My problem is, i need to find a legitimate sourcing platform, ive looked on over 10 of them and havent found one yet.

The safe sites that I recommend are not advertised widely and in fact some of them are never advertised.

I don't publish them online because people will jump in the deep end without knowing all the factors that must be taken into account when using any sourcing platform, even safe sites.

One in particular is a website used almost exclusively by importing professionals and it is not user friendly. I provide click by click instructions on how to navigate your way through. Not easy, and only a few of my book readers actually use that site, but the rewards can be great.

 

[MOIC]

Hi Keeron

Send me an email directly [email protected]

I will be able to help you.

No upfront fees and no books to purchase.

Regards

Ron

 

[Chris Ashdown]

It does not really matter if you are looking in the UK or China for your goods, google or other sources may not be the best indication of how good a company is, maybe just great web designers have been used

Might be better going to Hong Kong and meeting a few agents who can help you, or visit the consulates who are there to help, Also things like Chambers of Commerse can assist in both UK and China

My first action would be to find the bast region who make electronics in China and then contact our nearest consulant to that region and email the commercialdepartment with your request

 

[Directimport]

Hi Keeron

Send me an email directly [email protected]

I will be able to help you.

No upfront fees and no books to purchase.

Regards

Ron

Hi Keeron,

The reference to "no books to purchase" is a snipe at me, but as you know, (although not known by those who resent my presence on this forum,) I have already helped you gratis in response to your unsolicited PM.

The term: "No upfront fees" means there will be fees at some stage. Nobody in business is really so altruistic as to never charge for their knowledge or service.

Regards,
Walter

 

[MOIC]

Hi Keeron,

The reference to "no books to purchase" is a snipe at me, but as you know, (although not known by those who resent my presence on this forum,) I have already helped you gratis in response to your unsolicited PM.

The term: "No upfront fees" means there will be fees at some stage. Nobody in business is really so altruistic as to never charge for their knowledge or service.

Regards,
Walter

Hi Walter

Your judgment related to a "snipe" at you is totally wrong. (I suggest you grow up). There are many people who offer information via books and videos.

With reference to "No upfront fees". Some agents charge you in advance for the services.

We only charge if you feel that the prices we have obtained are worthwhile and you want to go ahead.

Upto that point there is no charge.

It's quite clear and very simple to understand.

 

[MOIC]

It does not really matter if you are looking in the UK or China for your goods, google or other sources may not be the best indication of how good a company is, maybe just great web designers have been used

Might be better going to Hong Kong and meeting a few agents who can help you, or visit the consulates who are there to help, Also things like Chambers of Commerse can assist in both UK and China

My first action would be to find the bast region who make electronics in China and then contact our nearest consulant to that region and email the commercialdepartment with your request

Hi Chris

I'm not sure the relevance of finding an agent in Hong Kong is if all the factories are in China.

A Hong Kong agent will be vastly overpriced on their services due to the much higher salary and living costs there are in China (Approx 3 times)

Shenzhen is the city where the factories will be.

Its best to work with an agent that understands and communicates at the same level as the customer.

 

[AlibabaTalk]

Hello keeron,
This is Molly, from Alibaba's London office. There are a few misconceptions about our membership and finding suppliers that I'd like to help clear up for you. Due to the restrictions on this forum, I am unable to post links in this message. But if you direct message me your contact details, I would be happy to have a call (or email exchange) with you to help shed some light on finding trustworthy suppliers.
Thanks, Molly

 

[GraemeL]

Due to the restrictions on this forum, I am unable to post links in this message. But if you direct message me your contact details, I would be happy to have a call (or email exchange) with you to help shed some light on finding trustworthy suppliers.

Hello Molly,

Not sure that there are any restrictions on you posting links. Many members would be interested how you can help?

Thanks

G

 

[Directimport]

Hi Walter

Your judgment related to a "snipe" at you is totally wrong. (I suggest you grow up). There are many people who offer information via books and videos.

With reference to "No upfront fees". Some agents charge you in advance for the services.

We only charge if you feel that the prices we have obtained are worthwhile and you want to go ahead.

Upto that point there is no charge.

It's quite clear and very simple to understand.

I believe that in view of the numerous attacks on me that have been made on this forum due to the fact that I dare to charge a small sum for my book that represents my 22 years of experience, my comments were reasonable.

 

[MOIC]

I believe that in view of the numerous attacks on me that have been made on this forum due to the fact that I dare to charge a small sum for my book that represents my 22 years of experience, my comments were reasonable.

Walter

It's a forum.

Where people seek advice and are given it free of charge. (Hopefully)

Your statement........"Numerous attacks on me".............is laughable........Please dont take peoples comments personally.

I suggest you move on and keep on the thread point.

 

[AlibabaTalk]

Hi GraemeL -

Because we are a business/vendor, sometimes our messages get marked as commercial spam if we provide links to further information. I will give it a go again and see if it works. Agree that other folks will find this info useful.

First of all, we offer a sourcing service (free) for buyers that helps to narrow down searches, which is especially useful for very high-spec products. This service, called AliSourcePro, enhances the search and find functions with more competitive bidding from verified suppliers for your business and more qualified leads that are easy to compare against each other in a single dashboard. Here is the link for further information: http://sourcing.alibaba.com/buyer.htm

Secondly, we offer potential suppliers a few different tiers of membership to be listed on our site.
1 – The highest tier of supplier membership are our Gold Suppliers who must go through an Authentication & Verification check. We also require all mainland China Gold Suppliers to go through an Onsite Check. More information on Gold Supplier verification can be found here: http://www.alibaba.com/help/safety_security/products/verification_services.html
2 - The next level is a Verified Member which are suppliers who have passed the authentication and verification process by either Alibaba.com or an independent 3rd party company. This process provides limited assurance that the supplier’s company name and address are registered with relevant local authorities: http://www.alibaba.com/vm
3 – The most basic is a Free Supplier membership, which offers no authentication or verification checks on the supplier. Many sellers start out as a free member just to get the hang of it and then upgrade later on.

I know this is a lot of information, but one last reference point is to our Safe Buying tips: http://www.alibaba.com/help/safety_security/class/buying.html

And we’re always here to help, as we know there are a lot of concerns when trading internationally and sourcing from abroad. Drop us a personal message and we are happy to provide assistance.

Thanks, Molly

 

[Directimport]

The OP has expressed great appreciation for the free advice I have given, and so have the high percentage of people who have clicked on the "Thanks" icon relating to many of my posts, as well as the many who have expressed thanks in PMs..

I do contribute a substantial amount of free information to this forum, and I do not pay to advertise. Only if someone is very impressed with the value of my contributions will they consider looking at my website.

 

[Lentinus]

I am not importing for re-sale but but I have used AliExpress quite a few times and I have had no problems, especially with relation to quality.
On the basis that the supplier does not get paid until you have received the goods and are happy with them I don't see the risk. I recently ordered some ones and twos of things to use as samples and then went on to order larger quantities from the same supplier.
I suspect not many manufacturers on there (though I am reasonable certain I have had contact with at least one) but it seems a lot less "Wild West" than Alibaba

 

[Directimport]

I am not importing for re-sale but but I have used AliExpress quite a few times and I have had no problems, especially with relation to quality.
On the basis that the supplier does not get paid until you have received the goods and are happy with them I don't see the risk. I recently ordered some ones and twos of things to use as samples and then went on to order larger quantities from the same supplier.
I suspect not many manufacturers on there (though I am reasonable certain I have had contact with at least one) but it seems a lot less "Wild West" than Alibaba

I am glad you have had some success on AliExpress. Many people do, but on the other hand there are a great many who have had bad experiences.

I would put it the other way around, and suggest that AliExpress is the Wild West version. There are many suppliers there who offer fake brand name goods, whereas on Alibaba only a few do so. To me, suppliers offering fakes or big brand goods is a telltale sign of a worrisome site.

Only those customers in China and one or two other countries where copyright and trademarks are not well policed could buy from those suppliers without fear of having the goods confiscated.

Regarding AliExpress' free escrow service that you rely on for security, it is fine if all goes well but if it does not, you must be sure to hurry through the process of discussion with the seller otherwise you may well pass the deadline for lodging a dispute with AliExpress. Sellers have been known to delay those discussions.

I suggest you read the fine print regarding that payment method. If you do it will probably then make two of us who have.

 

[LukeF]

Global Sources is a more reliable (in my opinion) Chinese Directory. Try searching on there for the products you need. Have a look at the 4, 5 and 6 star suppliers, these pay a lot of money to advertise on here and are verified by Global Sources themselves.

No matter who you buy from, ALWAYS perform a simple verification check on them to prove that they exist and that they are who they say they are.

I've sourced a few suppliers from there before and never had a problem. The only time i tried to source one by myself off GlobalSources i had a problem. Of course that was me, maybe i was lucky. Always do your due diligence on a supplier overseas (and your own country for that matter).

Good luck.

 

[Directimport]

Global Sources is a more reliable (in my opinion) Chinese Directory. Try searching on there for the products you need. Have a look at the 4, 5 and 6 star suppliers, these pay a lot of money to advertise on here and are verified by Global Sources themselves.

No matter who you buy from, ALWAYS perform a simple verification check on them to prove that they exist and that they are who they say they are.

I've sourced a few suppliers from there before and never had a problem. The only time i tried to source one by myself off GlobalSources i had a problem. Of course that was me, maybe i was lucky. Always do your due diligence on a supplier overseas (and your own country for that matter).

Good luck.

Global Sources do only a very small amount of verification work. They cite a couple of third party organisations including Dun & Bradstreet, whose role is simply to check that the business is registered,

Global Sources themselves "visit or call" 3 times to check the business details "and products"??? Does that verification process make it any safer to deal with a verified supplier? Marginally.

The star rating system seems impressive, but when I read what it involves I am unimpressed. As for credit reports, they are nothing like what we are used to in the West.

Regardless of where you source, due diligence is a must, but I prefer to start off on a site that I know I can rely on.

 

[Maple Sourcing]

There's a good post on GlobalSources: http://www.globalsources.com/NEWS/SIC-verified-sourcing-QC-inspection-agencies-China.HTM

 

[stender]

Aren't there trade fairs in China/Hong Kong? I thought about jetting out there for one.

 

[businessnewbi]

I have a very loyal rep in China, if you need help locating anything in China, or for that matter located anywhere in the East.

PM me.

 

[Directimport]

Aren't there trade fairs in China/Hong Kong? I thought about jetting out there for one.

Yes there are quite a few, but don't think it's as easy as just jetting out there, visiting a trade fair and finding a reliable supplier.

Before going, you need to do your homework. Contact suppliers that you think may be suitable. Conduct discussions with them on a slowly, slowly basis in the hope of getting some idea of what kind of people they are.

It is never a good idea to make commitments on first meeting suppliers at a trade fair. Do you know how to tell if the people you are talking to are manufacturers or traders? You quite possibly can't imagine the massive profit difference between dealing with manufacturers and traders.

A good starting point in finding reliable suppliers is to use a safe sourcing site where what you see is what you get, but they are few and far between.

 

[stender]

I'm a step back from that. I'm looking for products first.

 

[GraemeL]

Aren't there trade fairs in China/Hong Kong? I thought about jetting out there for one.

Hello stender,

to answer your question, there are lots. This gives you a list:-

http://www.biztradeshows.com/china/

G

 

[colinzhong]

Why don't come to China, attend the exhibition , make some Chinese friends, it may help.
What you see by your own eyes is much more reliable than the information on the website.
Alibaba such B2B website is useful , but not reliable , most of the golden suppliers there are just small trading company.

 

[Alex1712]

Hi,

Maybe your not interested in branded phones, but in my opinion they sell better, so if you are interested , this company is very good to buy the latest smart phones from, either 14 day returns or grade A.

Bad points about them , most of their phones come in generic box's and the delivery can take up to 7 days in the UK , so international might be even longer.

but they are trustworthy and better then Chinese fake suppliers , anyone interested should check them out. (a-1wireless.co.uk)

 

[keeron]

Thanks for all the posts, comments and Help guys.

 

[Conglomer Group]

Hello Keeron,

Anyone who wants to run a successful business would need to buy goods from reliable and reputable suppliers. This will enable the person to sell quality goods to his or her clients through the internet and to make some profit out of this.You need to spend a little bit of intention, time and also put in a lot of effort to find the reliable and trustworthy supplier to support your business.

The following are some the guidelines that will provide you an insight to judge if supplier is trustworthy and reliable.

1. Credibility Check
2. Check His Network
3. Financial Health
4. Know Product Policies

these points should be kept in mind to beware of unknown business entities (Spammers / Frauds) etc. The main thing here is that the branded items cannot be shipped overseas without any Import License.

• As the branded items carry a fixed market price, no one will be able to sell the branded products at lower prices and hence dealer prices for branded products would always be the same.

As far as fraud is concern you can secure your transaction by letter of credit agreement.

Good day !!

Regards

 

[Maple Sourcing]

It takes time, I'd suggest you visit China and see some suppliers, then you will get better ideas.

 

[Conglomer Group]

It takes time, I'd suggest you visit China and see some suppliers, then you will get better ideas.

Well I think its more convenient to evaluate supplier online as compare to go china.

 

[Import Expert]

Although Alibaba has its issues and I for one have had a few run ins with it, its not quite the demon that it often comes across as. Remember that for all of the scams you read about on the interweb, there are probably 90% odd more that go through without issue.

Look for companies on there that have been active for some time and if you are looking to source a fairly generic product then perhaps skip the first page or two of results - These companies get many, many enquiries and you might find you get a better service from some of the others that might be a bit more eager for your business.

Money talks in this world of ours and this is especially true in china - Until a supplier thinks you are serious, they will not take you seriously. They get so many enquiries from people along the lines of 'I'm thinking about importing such and such' who have no real clue or idea about what they want or what they are doing. Everybody starts somewhere and I for one help a lot of new importers by 'holding their hand' but new importers need to do their research before they start asking for prices.

Alibaba is a great avenue into s suppliers office, as are the other platforms mentioned, but as has been said before do your due diligence, whoever the supplier is, in whatever country (even your own).

Also, try searching the internet for suppliers without going via Alibaba - you might be surprised at what you find.

The alternative is to use a trusted sourcing/QC company like Ron's (myofficeinchina).

Good luck to you.

 

[MOTI Service]

Hi Keeron

I can help you for that. Try to contact Gfive mobile manufacturing co. Ltd in SZ. I have a friend employed there as a sales engineer actually.

Best regards,
Ward.Zhang
Skype: ward.zhang79

 

[Robert Boppona]

Last month, my manager and I went to China Import and Export Fair in Shenzhen. We want to outsource part of our tasks to Chinese vendors. However, we were not sure which one has ability to produce high-quality-designed products facing 40+ vendors at the fair.

My manager found a way that using chinese company credit report to check up vendor’s the intellectual property licenses information. And the report price is affordable for our company, around 70$ per report. And I believe the information is true and it worked for us at least.

 

[TTC]

Oh come on Robert. The China Import and Export Fair is in Guangzhou as I was there last month. And never heared about any chinese company credit report. But I suppose, if they can charge you for a $70 per report, they can also creat a report for any factories or traders, with certain amount of charge, if they are not something governmental.
PS: Don't dig old graves from 2013...