Hey,
To be honest, I have nothing better to do and I did a business trip to China last year and learnt alot from my experiences and just thought I'd share them. I went to China for 2 weeks and visited about 5 cities, went to
-Shenyang
-Shanghai
-Guangzhou
-Shenzen
-Foshan
The most important aspect is language, now I presume most of us dn't speak mandarin so ideally you either want a supplier who is willing to supply a translator/guide or you can hire your own. Before you go out though, its vitally important to let all your prospective suppliers know and sit down and write down your own agenda and plan (Stick to this) because once you get to China, everyone is a potential supplier but dn't waste your time visiting every single shop, determine which offers the best quality/price for your particular product. Alibaba is a great resource for suppliers but a few things that you have to look out for, dn't trust them simply because
-They have a Gold Trust Pass (it is simply something you can buy)
The Alibaba forums are really helpful, the first step should be to copy paste that companies name into google and alibaba's forum search, stick in +Scam +Fraud and see what pop's up, you'll be suprised.
Culture:
Now I hope I dn't stereotype or generalise for this and if i do, please ignore it, its not meant. When we went, our suppliers were excessively generous, you probably will be thrown off by this, they will not let you spend a penny, they'll take you out to lunch, provide a car, driver etc and it makes you feel incredibiliy guilty, its arguable whether this is simply a sales tactic or generosity but be aware of this and dn't let your business sense wane because of this. I guess, you should also get used to Green Tea, as you will be offered it every you go
. Always bargain and be ruthless in bargaining, its the only way, its not common here but regardless of what size of company your supplier is, I bet thier prices will always drop.
Business:
Always keep a camera with you but also before you take it out and start snapping away, simply kindly ask your supplier as its prohibited in alot of factories. However, if you see the product you are interested and the supplier is kind enough, take pictures of it, as many as you can as once you come back, it will aid you chose what to go for and after shipping you can also compare it with the actual product you saw. Usually the supplier has a shipping agent they use, but be aware, alot of prices are FOB not CIF, so always ask for CIF as it makes life alot easier. (FOB = free on board so basically they will load the goods onto a ship, CIF = Cost, Insurance + Freight so this is the price for shipping to england). Also, if its a large order, Bank TT's tend to create alot of hassle if things go wrong, instead I would always recommend using an L/C for all transactions. This is a letter of credit which basically means, the bank acts as a liason between you and the supplier. You pay the bank and the bank holds onto the money until the goods are recieved, once they're recieved, you give the A ok to the bank and it releases payment to the supplier. Ofcourse their is a charge for this but if you are buying from a supplier for the first time, it very helpful in reducing risks
I think thats enough for now
let me know if you have any other questions
Tips for visiting suppliers in China
Linear Mode
August 2008
