The Wholesale Forums

[Man_]

Hi Everyone

I found this website today and it seems to be a fantastic site to aid what i plan to do in the near future

After looking around i realised, that although im quite new to everything i may have been scammed already...I recently paied 300$ around 154GBP to a chinese supplier for a mobile phone (this was a sample, and im just testing to see if this all goes well to buy more in bulk), i then realised after readig some stuff here that this guy could be selling me fakes....

I went and asked him and he supprisingly said yes, they are fake as the real products would cost lots in china, its a new mobile phone im after, although he didnt tell me this when i first decided to do buisness with him, i told him to send me a original one or if i was sent a fake i would like a full refund (paied using moneygram, his english is quite poor but he still did agree to this after i got the message across), Now i have to wait in anticipation until moneday when he gets the payment and ships the item, its most proberly a fake mobile so ill ask for a refund and see what happens, im glad i didnt buy 2 or 10 from this guy. lol

I just have some questions really. 1) Are most chinese suppliers fakes? and/or scams (no offense to the chinese), i find most suppliers (i found soem from tradekey selling the product i want averaging the same price) are from china who have competitive prices which i know after doing the calculations i could made good profit of as long as i have a good genuine supplier.

2) Why is everyone saying western union is a bad payment method? I used moneygram and that seems to be good, but if WU is non traceable then what other types is there which would be safe, t/t would take a while and is fairly expensive i think, but maybe not if the amount sent is right

3) When buying from places such as china would we need to specifically mention to them if they have UK manuals etc and uk charge adapters (not the 2 pins which they use, but the 3 pin plugs that we use here) or assume they are UK standard. The mobile itself can be changed to English version itself i belive, i think im correct in thinking that

4) This is the main issue; How can i gurantee that a said supplier is legitimate and provide good buissness, i.e there products are original and authentic and they are not scammers? Because sites such as tradekey and alibaba have gold membership but im correct in thinking this does not mean they are scam proof right?
Is there any other way you have learnt from experiance in finding wheather a supplier is a scam or worthy of long term buisness?

I really need help on this question ^ As once i find a supplier (i have found many but need to find ones with authentic products and service) i will be in the correct period to do good buisness.

Until my current order is complete, and im pretty sure its a fake so if i dont get a refund ill have lost out, i have found more and more suppliers/companys who supply the products i want but i just need to find out if they are legitimate companys.

I found this image on alibaba with a suppliers company profile:

Does this mean they are trust worthy? And also any other methods of find good suppliers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks alot for your time and reading this, all help would be fantastic

[shreveyboy]

1) Sadly, yes. Since labour is so cheap in China, there are many factories making goods of all kinds of products(hence why almost anything you buy says "made in China"). Because of this, it is easy to make fake products for little cost. Also, China has a lot of fakes because their government is a lot more loose on copyright laws. If someone is caught producing or selling fakes in America, Canada, or the UK, there are often harsh legal penalties.

2)Western Union is bad because there is no insurance covering your money. If you pay with credit card and are unhappy with a purchase, you can dispute a claim. You cannot do this with W.U. Instead, W.U. uses what is called "wire transfer." A wire transfer is literally the same thing as handing your money over to someone. With credit cards and at least paypal, there is a middle man who will hold that money until both parties are happy.

3) That is a bit of a technicality that you would have to work out with your wholesaler.

4) Your only guarantee: READ THIS FORUM RELIGIOUSLY! If you want to know if a wholesaler is authentic, do a search for the company on this forum. If a search brings up nothing, make a post. Most people on the forum are kind enough to provide help with all the resources they have. Once you learn the methods that other members use to authentic wholesalers, you can try them out yourself.

Because sites such as tradekey and alibaba have gold membership but im correct in thinking this does not mean they are scam proof right?

You are correct, this means nothing. Please remember that there is never a 100% secure transaction. This business is hard to get into. I'm sure you've heard, "if it was easy everyone would be doing it." Same rules apply. There are plenty of risks involved in this business, but you must make the most educated and calculated risk possible.

*Also, my advice from experience: Stay clear of alibaba. The place is swarming with scammers. Unless you want to sell products that people don't fake or scam (stuff like paper, generic housing items, gardening, etc.), stay away from alibaba.

Good luck with your search. As long as you remain honest in your endeavors, you are amoung friends on this forum.

[ndod]

i'll say the same thing for alibaba...
full of scammers and not only that - alibaba DOESN'T make any diligence to proof if some company is real or not, but the forum there is quite good
so - it's up to you to make the whole work

[greedyboy]

Originally Posted by ndod

i'll say the same thing for alibaba...
full of scammers and not only that - alibaba DOESN'T make any diligence to proof if some company is real or not, but the forum there is quite good
so - it's up to you to make the whole work

Incorrect. Alibaba probably contains less than 10% scammers. However the all circle around the same products. These products are what you and millions of other people are trying to source, branded electronics. I spend tens of thousands of US dollars every month with suppliers with no risk. A few of these supplier also happen to advertise on Alibaba, made in china etc.

You can not build a reputable and sucessful business selling branded electronics unless you deal directly with official distributors, networks or the manufacturers and have sufficient volumes which is way beyond the means of a new business, and established businesses. You would need a few million and even then you would be lucky to see a 20% margin. That is a fact.

I have said it before and will say it again. Stay away from branded electronics!

[Man_]

Thanks alot chreveyboy and ndod Really helped me out

Greedyboy is it realy approx. less than 10%? That seems like a good amount, although i have seen that without these 'branded electronics' i dont belive you can make a large profit unless your orering something in quite large quanitity, am i right?

And by 'branded electronics' im assuming you mean items such as the latest phones/consoles etc.

Could someone also tell me what OEM items are? i think they are the fakes which seem to be getting sold in china for the very low prices

[greedyboy]

Originally Posted by Man_

Thanks alot chreveyboy and ndod Really helped me out

Greedyboy is it realy approx. less than 10%? That seems like a good amount, although i have seen that without these 'branded electronics' i dont belive you can make a large profit unless your orering something in quite large quanitity, am i right?

And by 'branded electronics' im assuming you mean items such as the latest phones/consoles etc.

You can quite easily make a lot more money and establish a sucessful long term business by NOT DEALING in branded electronics! For example you can buy products for only a few dollars and sell them for £30, even on ebay. I am not talking about MP3 Players, console accessories, mobile phone accessories. Believe it or not, there are a couple more items manufactured and a few other markets out there!

However these products do not fall on your lap, and that is where 'starting a business' comes in to its own. You can not wake up one day and say 'I am going to start a business'. You need to position yourself first, the rest follows naturally.

It is time people realised that starting a business does not revolve around ipods, consoles, mobile phones etc etc etc.

[Man_]

I see Thanks alot for your help - Im glad to see there is nice people aroudn here quick to help me out, unlike some places i have been to...

I think i need to go and research some of the items which i would find like that

O and, is there any other means of finding if a supplier is genuine or not? Other than browsing the forum and directly talking to the supplier.

[greedyboy]

Other members and I can only take you the water, you have to decide for yourself if you want to drink it or not. Afterall, if all this buying and selling lark was that easy - everyone would be doing it.

All I can say is spend as long as it takes to research, days, weeks even years. Once you are up and running and made a few quid, believe me it becomes so much easier.

A few hours on Alibaba will open your eyes to the possibilities of what you can actually source other than consoles and ipods.

I feel an artical coming on...

[Man_]

Thanks greedyboy Yea i think i need to do some more research really.

Where can i post a website i would need verifying? To find out or get opinions on the company. Thnx

[MustHaveMobiles]

Originally Posted by greedyboy

It is time people realised that starting a business does not revolve around ipods, consoles, mobile phones etc etc etc.

Thats probably one of the best pieces of business advice you can get, I know its like double standards coming from a mobile phone seller but it really is reflective of the current marketplace.