Starting a sourcing agency in UK

[Jnone]

Hi guys,

I'm in process of starting a sourcing business in UK with offices in China as well as in UK.

This idea came after seeing in person, people getting scammed by sites like Alibaba and other sourcing agency company based in China.

The thought occurred to me that if there was a business sourcing products in China for export to the UK and Europe that had backing from an established and trustworthy UK business, would people use it?

Alongside with the service of offering a scam free sourcing we would also be available to assist with shipping and logistic required to import goods into the UK.

We are still in the process of this at the moment but I would like to see how many people on UKBF would be interested in such a service, and if so could you post below what kind of products you would look to source?

Joe

 

[GraemeL]

We are still in the process of this at the moment but I would like to see how many people on UKBF would be interested in such a service, and if so could you post below what kind of products you would look to source?

Hello Joe,

Have you really researched this idea? You are naive to think there is anything special in what you have so far said you are thinking of offering.

You will need some powerful arguments to convince anyone they should use a newbie instead of sourcing agents that are well established and have good reputations.

G

 

[Import Expert]

Hi Joe,

I'm with Graeme I'm afraid. There are many companies that use this model.

Kind regards,
Darren.

 

[Jnone]

Hi G
Thank you for your reply. What I should have mention in the last post was about me and the team.
It's our teams background what we think make us a bit special. I alone have been in the import/export industry at a young age, as well as the retail and wholesale industry, giving me over 10 years experience.

I have also work as a freelancer in the past few years, helping companies import from China. My last trip to China which was 3 weeks ago, I've helped a factory and their new uk clients translate and because of my knowlegde and understanding for culture difference, made them sign a £5 million contract.

Not to be rude, but by just looking at your website, I alone can pretty much guess roughly the whole cost for you to buy the products in, down to shipping as well the CBM.

There are a total of 5 people on the team, we are all Chinese but with a really strong background in the UK. 2 of which are BBC (British born Chinese).
With our team that have worked and started business in both countries and understanding the law of both countries I believe we do have a better understanding of the culture difference.
As you may already know doing business in China is all about Guanxi.

Joe

 

[Gabriele Miller]

Hi Joe,

I am not sure if you will have any success. Look at a company like Zaful.com I tested the products so cheap made does not fit and on top of it the terms are very hard any return of goods in 7 days only! Clear they don't want people to sent goods back. Customer Service to reach is impossible because of time zones. They had an address posted on the website in the UK this one did not exist the package came back with a message. There is no trust that is the biggest problem.

 

[40Footer]

Hi joe,

I feel there's a strong possibility of making a success out of this. I will however suggest you understudy the competition and offer this service much more differently. The market is very wide.

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[cnapec]

Hello,joe.
As far as I know,the website you mentioned is widely used in China.
But it's different to different business.
And there must be many app like this one.
You need to consider and compare them,then choose the proper one.