For eCommerce resellers, profitability hinges on sourcing products with healthy margins. While American manufacturers appeal for their domestic appeal, China consistently offers lower production costs. This advantage stems from cheaper labour, fewer regulatory constraints, and access to affordable raw materials.
Despite the appeal of “Made in America,” price remains a significant factor for consumers, and product sourcing China is always a preferred choice to maximize profit in online retail.
If you want to source your products from China, then it is important to follow these steps:
1. Do your homework
When exploring suppliers online, exercise caution and thorough research. Start with Alibaba and Global Sources for mass-market products, but verify delivery capabilities, budget alignment, and expected quality.
Conduct background checks via LinkedIn and company websites for professionalism and legitimacy. Use Skype for product demonstrations and WeChat for ongoing communication, trusting your instincts to gauge trustworthiness. Avoid upfront payments and disengaged responses.
2. Meet face-to-face
To ensure supplier sincerity and trustworthiness, attending trade shows like The Canton Fair in Guangzhou allows for in-person verification of capabilities and communication. Face-to-face interactions offer clarity that online research may lack, helping in securing reliable partnerships for your business’s success.
3. Negotiate price
In China, negotiating prices is crucial for securing favourable purchasing contracts. Unlike in Western countries where fixed pricing is common, adopting a bazaar mindset allows buyers to capitalize on potential discounts and terms adjustments, essential for competitive pricing and profit margins back home.
4. Get Professional Help
Engaging a Chinese sourcing agency like Maple Sourcing, who can streamline your product sourcing process by handling supplier contacts, sample arrangements, and negotiations, ensuring protection from scams for a fee.
Agencies can act as your direct supplier, managing the entire supply chain, or provide consulting to aid in supplier selection and management. However, relying on an agency adds costs and limits direct supplier relationships, making it ideal for initial foray into Chinese outsourcing.
5. Build Relationships
In Chinese business culture, success hinges on cultivating guanxi, or relationships, which surpass mere contractual obligations. Unlike Western practices focused on legal frameworks, guanxi emphasizes trust, respect, and mutual benefit nurtured over time.
Developing guanxi requires investing in both professional and social connections, honouring moral obligations, and understanding the nuances of “giving face” and reciprocity.
It is a complex interplay where relationships extend beyond business into personal realms, shaping long-term partnerships based on mutual trust and shared values rather than written rules alone.
