How to Import from China?
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The Importing from China Process
The China Import Process was developed by Lindy Chen Author of "Importing From China" and Award winning Business Woman, learn from her experience to achieve the best results for importing from china and dealing with Chinese suppliers.Almost anyone can make huge profits being an importer, if you follow the right steps in the right order. Firstly, you should research into the process of importing and answer the following questions:
- What product should I import from China?
- How much should I order from China?
- How do I know if it's feasible for me to import from China?
- What specs do I give potential Chinese suppliers?
- What does it cost to import from China?
- How long does it take to import from China?
- Do I need to give my Chinese supplier a sample or prototype?
- How do I negotiate with my Chinese supplier?
- Should I get a sample from the Chinese supplier?
- How do I choose a broker for importing?
- Inspect Before Shipment, or Not?
Lindy Chen
Author of "Importing From China"
and Award winning Business Woman
What product should I import from China?
Where To Start, you may currently be in one of two boats:1. You know what you want to import, or
2. You're not sure what to import
If you know what to import - Great! Your next step is to determine the quantity of products you want.
If you don't know what to import, then look for a gap in the market, or extra value you could deliver to differentiate your product or service from the current offerings.
Hint: Identify areas that people are feeling pain.
Different people have success with different products. You need to be able to sell the product out when it arrives, so do some market research first. That is, ask your potential customers what they want and how much they'd be prepared to pay for it.
Then develop a marketing, sales and distribution strategy. E.g. be a wholesaler, have a bricks and mortar retail store, an online store, sell through eBay etc.
China is considered "the world's factory" so there's plenty of products to choose from, for some ideas consider:
- Steel Products
- Housing Products
- Furnishings
- Equipment
- Textiles
- Plastic Products
- Chemicals
- Other non related products
You can get some ideas from the product categories section of our website.
But don't restrict yourself to what you can buy 'off-the-shelf'.
The Chinese are excellent manufacturers, and they'll custom make just about anything to your specifications.
To keep it simple and low risk, stick to only one product category that you can get from a single supplier in China.
Buying different products from more than one supplier and getting them in the same container starts getting a little more complex.
Not impossible, but for newbies, it just increases the risks.
Some ideas for what product to import:
1. Ask your potential customers what they want and what they're prepared to pay for it.
2. See if the manufacturing capability exists in China for your product. Contact us if you get stuck.
3. Develop a marketing, sales and distribution strategy.
The important thing is to get into action, identify your product and have a business plan.
Products To Avoid When Importing from China
These items are:
1. High value, requiring a great deal of capital to buy a small amount of stock
2. Constantly go down in price, therefore your stock may be worth less than you bought it for
3. Are quickly superseded
4. Competitive to re-sell
5. Low margin
Also, keep in mind the product must comply with your country's electrical standards.
And if you're after brand name products e.g. Sony, Apple etc, there is a good chance they have existing exclusive distribution agreements in place.
People more suited to importing consumer electrical goods are generally experienced importers who know how to deal with the Chinese, and have good distribution channels for these products in place already.
Next: How much should I order from China? |