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Author Topic: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?  (Read 10356 times)

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Offline Ladine

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we all know that I have to communicate on the site Tagged. Now I really need to find contacts in China. Not for the search. I was surprised when I watched the Chinese profiles. They not have many contacts. from 2 to 6 maximum.  and Western people have a minimum of 600 and up to 10,000 contacts. What is this? more employment? or yet more realistic attitude to the internet? more than business people? I like that.
smart will learn - a fool would teach.
Никогда не оправдывайся, если ты невиновен. Если в вас бросают грязью, к вам может и не долететь. А руки того, кто это делает, останутся в грязи. Люблю вас всех.

Offline el_guero

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2013, 04:43:47 PM »
Why do you need contacts?

Is this dating, or business.

What kind of profiles do they have?  Are these business or personal profiles?

Some of the men on the board said they were experts in the Chinese culture.  Maybe they can help you with the Chinese culture.

PS - having few 'friends' is agreeable with the Asian cultures.  Friends have a built in 'debt' in most of the Asian cultures.

Offline Ladine

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2013, 04:49:45 PM »
Why do you need contacts?

Is this dating, or business.

What kind of profiles do they have?  Are these business or personal profiles?

Some of the men on the board said they were experts in the Chinese culture.  Maybe they can help you with the Chinese culture.

PS - having few 'friends' is agreeable with the Asian cultures.  Friends have a built in 'debt' in most of the Asian cultures.


I need business contacts. but I see a lot of people do not use English. It will be very difficult to make contact. I know of.

there personal profiles. only friendship. But I hope to find the necessary contacts for me.

by the way of friendship. And do not you know that friendship FSU countries there is almost no? are next only while you have money or have something to take. a hundred friends can be only one true
smart will learn - a fool would teach.
Никогда не оправдывайся, если ты невиновен. Если в вас бросают грязью, к вам может и не долететь. А руки того, кто это делает, останутся в грязи. Люблю вас всех.


Offline el_guero

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2013, 06:43:45 PM »
In most Asian cultures, if you are my friend, you owe me.

You owe me a birthday present.

You owe me a wedding present.

If you go on a vacation trip, you owe me a present.

Because of that, many Asians prefer 'friends' who are not from their culture.

English is easy.

Try Lingq.com .... it is a language site.

Offline cufflinks

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2013, 08:50:41 AM »
If it is business contacts you are after put a business profile up on Alibaba - the basic one is free but Gold is about $3K USD +/- ...

Alibaba is the new Export centered Amazon of China - Yahoo has been revitalized by its large stake in Alibaba which will be the next global mega IPO.  Alibaba is shopping IPO venues perhaps the NYSE.

If you put an interesting business profile up on Alibaba you will have more new contacts than you can imagine from China.

Offline Manny

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2013, 12:07:01 PM »
There are two Alibaba sites I think? One is a kind of eBay type site?
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline ashbyclarke

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2013, 01:53:39 PM »
Alibaba in my opinion pretty useless, it's a market place for the more unsuccessful companies, some of which are looking to make a quick buck here and there.

Generally these firms offer cheap nasty copies or poor workmanship. Often the end products isn't quite as promised.

If you're serious about any trade with China i'd suggest your local chamber of commerce, they can put you in touch with companies right for the type of product and quantity you require whilst also carrying out any due diligence on the company.

Nothing is certain out there, but its a step in the right direction, and remember china in general isn't interested in small orders.

Also you'll need an agent, someone who speaks local talk and can make sure things happen for you, without one you will be screwed!

Last point, if order quantity is small, which i'd imagine the OP's would be, no offence, then perhaps take a trip out there to one of the trade centres, you should be able to purchase wholesale.

Good luck!
I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're gonna feel all day - Frank Sinatra

Offline el_guero

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2013, 01:55:10 PM »
Why do you need contacts?

Is this dating, or business.

What kind of profiles do they have?  Are these business or personal profiles?

Some of the men on the board said they were experts in the Chinese culture.  Maybe they can help you with the Chinese culture.

PS - having few 'friends' is agreeable with the Asian cultures.  Friends have a built in 'debt' in most of the Asian cultures.


I need business contacts. but I see a lot of people do not use English. It will be very difficult to make contact. I know of.

there personal profiles. only friendship. But I hope to find the necessary contacts for me.

by the way of friendship. And do not you know that friendship FSU countries there is almost no? are next only while you have money or have something to take. a hundred friends can be only one true

Ladine,

That is like China .... so, you understand why it is difficult to make 'business friends' with Chinese people over the internet ....

Offline Ladine

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2013, 02:12:44 PM »
Try Lingq.com .... it is a language site.

Thank you.
smart will learn - a fool would teach.
Никогда не оправдывайся, если ты невиновен. Если в вас бросают грязью, к вам может и не долететь. А руки того, кто это делает, останутся в грязи. Люблю вас всех.

Offline Ladine

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2013, 02:22:42 PM »
Thanks Guys. I want to say that I learned Sites aliexpress, and many others. also studied Taobao. I only stopped on alibaba. it gives very low prices but wholesale purchases. But this is a very good site. all other sites are intermediaries. I'm not interested. So I already know their attitude towards our people. Slavic  people are very respected. Our Slavic people there are in great demand and success. especially white girls. yes they are very cautious. They do not believe in friendship. it as well as we have. Some people think that our friendship is only gifts and duty.
smart will learn - a fool would teach.
Никогда не оправдывайся, если ты невиновен. Если в вас бросают грязью, к вам может и не долететь. А руки того, кто это делает, останутся в грязи. Люблю вас всех.

Offline Ladine

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2013, 02:27:39 PM »
There are two Alibaba sites I think? One is a kind of eBay type site?

I know Manny but I have a profile on eBay and Amazon. it all sites intermediaries.

smart will learn - a fool would teach.
Никогда не оправдывайся, если ты невиновен. Если в вас бросают грязью, к вам может и не долететь. А руки того, кто это делает, останутся в грязи. Люблю вас всех.

Offline Manny

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2014, 03:06:59 PM »
Off topic for here perhaps, but you never know: I think its time to develop one or two after-market products that are 'our own' that are sourced from China. Rather than buying from a middle man. The genre bridges home appliances and simple electronics if that matters. Probably a simple appliance filter or a photovoltaic sensor will be the first product, to test the water.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Does anyone do business in China? Specifically, commissioning and sourcing manufactured products from there? From sending an original sample out [and who to] to having a copied 2000 on the doorstep is the learning curve I need.

I have started Googling, ordering a few books on the subject and reading. I get that it is a big subject and not for the faint-hearted. I get that you may lose a few quid to the unscrupulous while learning (same as anything in that regard). And I get that travelling out there is a must - I am not shy of that. My Russian visa place does Chinese ones too. I am up to speed on import duties and what goes on this side of the water from my experience importing cars from the US in the past.

Anyone can find alibaba.com, taobao.com and madeinchina.com - but I need the skinny from folks in the know about letters of credit, finding an arranger, how to source a good factory, quality control, prototypes, and getting a new item into production and making sure that every man and his dog isn't selling it for $1 on Alibaba next week on the back of my tooling.

Is there a specialist forum someplace that covers manufacturing and importing from China?
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline AkMike

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2014, 04:06:15 PM »
No help from this end Boss.

 But I have eaten at Chinese Restraurant's before!  tiphat
Thomas Jefferson Quotation, "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."

Offline NS1

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2014, 04:31:01 PM »
So you no longer want to pay middle men for the junk, you wish to buy and sell the junk directly  :chuckle:
There is nothing permanent except change.

Offline Halo

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2014, 04:51:22 PM »
I have a client who does this, though the manufacturing is not electronics.  You need a Chinese partner.

After the fall of communism, the biggest mistake Boris Yeltsin's regime made was not to disband the KGB altogether. Instead it changed its name to the FSB and, to many observers, morphed into a gangster organisation, eventually headed by master criminal Vladimir Putin. - Gerard Batten

Offline Slumba

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #15 on: February 25, 2014, 04:56:55 PM »
Quote
Anyone can find alibaba.com, taobao.com and madeinchina.com - but I need the skinny from folks in the know about letters of credit, finding an arranger, how to source a good factory, quality control, prototypes, and getting a new item into production and making sure that every man and his dog isn't selling it for $1 on Alibaba next week on the back of my tooling.

Good luck with that... the guys that did Crocs http://www.crocs.com/ , ended up realizing that they needed to buy their own factory in China and run it, in order to have 1 or 2 years of runway before the clones came out.  They had to go to court to sue many of the manufacturers making fake Crocs (which they call "croc-offs" as a fun variant of "knock-off").

Cisco wasn't able to stop it, you won't be able to either... so you will need to plan around it in some way.
Anchors Rewoven

Offline AJ

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #16 on: February 25, 2014, 05:05:26 PM »
Quote
Does anyone have any experience of this? Does anyone do business in China? Specifically, commissioning and sourcing manufactured products from there? From sending an original sample out [and who to] to having a copied 2000 on the doorstep is the learning curve I need.

Manny, as a motorcycle manf- I do have some electronic components and other parts made in China, as well as Taiwan.(mostly Taiwan)
(ECM/CDi's, stators, rotors, AC regulators, DC regulator rectifiers, wiring harnesses, silicone rad. hoses ,engine covers,trans gears, etc)
  That said: I'm not sure i can be of all that much assistance, as i have specific vendors established. As such it's as easy as set specifications, send drawings or sample, get quote and a few prototypes, work out any issues,
 place/confirm  order with established quantities and delivery date.
 wire payment,receive product.Customs clearance is easy,,and no issue..

So it really is no  different than using my local vendors.
For what its worth, the vendors I have there, were met through going to related industry international trade shows and directly contacting the company  reps there after reviewing products on display ,and a bit of word of mouth within the specific industry.

It seems your main hurdle is simply finding a manf that already works in the field of what you've interest.
  I did not wish to go the internet route to establish this type of working relationship,so the trade shows were a great resource.

 I receive  emails often from manf in China attempting to gain business, and assume they are proactively searching the net for potential clients/customers.
I am sure there would be a way for you to appear on the net searches for manf of products in you area of interest as one option.


or
 I can forward that spammy mail i get,  and one might just fit the bill? 
 :chuckle:


 

Offline AJ

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #17 on: February 25, 2014, 05:08:29 PM »
Important note:

 There are many trading companies that specialize as *go betweens*
More than a few seem UK based actually.

I wanted more direct contact, but for someone looking for an easy in, and time saver of tracking all that down , for a fee that's their specialty.


Offline kievstar

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #18 on: February 25, 2014, 05:11:32 PM »
Couple risks - you need a JV partner in China otherwise someone will steal your idea and you will be out of the market (even if you have a patent).  Your not an American so you can use a Chinese government tied company - no foreign corrupt practice act to worry about.  I would encourage you to have a JV partner tied in with the government.

The hardest thing is how to find a JV partner.  In the area you live now see if you can find people who are doing this already.  They may give you leads.  You may also consider Indonesia or Malaysia as many companies have or are moving there as better than China on cost. 
 

Offline AJ

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #19 on: February 25, 2014, 05:25:21 PM »
Intellectual property risks is high ,a concern,
but also realistically the worry about such is overblown.
Way over blown for a small manufacturer in what is typically small quantities (world market wise)

 If you really make and effectively market some innovative product successfully enough to be worth copying.
Nothing would stop any number of Chinese manf. from copying it no matter where you first made it. :D
Actually its the sincerest form of flattery, and generally by that points you've established the branding and name well enough, as well as distribution ,
that if copies become your biggest concern, you wont be asking or need  advice here?  :biggrin:

If anyone actually thinks making it first in China , radically increases that risk, then I  have a bridge to sell them.

The increased risk of being cloned by manf in China,
 comes from the  success of the product,not where it was first manf.
 :hidechair:
 
The real hurdle is generally one of consistency and quality.The QC departments there still seem to  be struggling with the concept.



 


Offline WOVO

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #20 on: February 25, 2014, 07:01:37 PM »
I have been buying elegant dresses from China  (I am in the fashion business)  - found them via alibaba.com    It wasn't easy finding the right one, but all the hard work, and research work - was worth it.   Mind you that many of them have lack of customer services skills.

Offline Dogsoldier

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #21 on: February 26, 2014, 12:19:25 AM »
How about contacting the Chinese Embassy commercial section. They should be able to provide info on or links to some business hubs for a start?

Offline Chris

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #22 on: February 26, 2014, 12:54:44 AM »
I like many have bought from China, and have looked into manufacturing there, many moons ago, (its a minefield) I also know people who do it now,  haven't time to go into things now, but one of your first stops might be your local Chamber of Commerce, pick their brains, seek trading partners and facilitators, you will need them/one.
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Offline Manny

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #23 on: February 26, 2014, 01:25:19 AM »
So you no longer want to pay middle men for the junk, you wish to buy and sell the junk directly  :chuckle:

Exactly that.  :chuckle:

Thanks for the replies up to now, and the couple of very useful PMs.  :)
Read a trip report from North Korea >>here<< - Read a trip report from South Korea, China and Hong Kong >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline ECR844

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Re: Anyone have any China manufacturing/sourcing/importing experience?
« Reply #24 on: February 26, 2014, 04:30:01 AM »
Get on a plane (just like you did for the FSU). The personal relationships made and first hand knowledge is invaluable.


 

 

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