Promotional products are items that are used as corporate gifting items. These products successfully boost your brand image and recognition. Using these products is an age-old marketing tool that has offered several positive benefits to any business. Keeping this in mind, every marketing and sales department distributes these promotional items among their business partners, B2B customers, wholesalers, retailers, vendors, suppliers, media, and end customers.
For most companies, acquiring these promotional items is always a task. They expect to cut down on the cost as much as possible but want to maintain the highest quality standards. Well, this is only possible if you buy your promotional products from the largest promotional products manufacturers in the world – China.
Promotional products from China stand apart for two major reasons:
1. They are manufactured at an extremely affordable rate.
2. They are of excellent quality.
When you plan to directly source from China and sell in your local markets, then there are many questions which come to your mind. One of the most common issues is that people are not aware of how to buy promotion products from China directly from the factories. Another major cause of concern is to find a reliable Chinese factory which may sell you the products.
Before you decide to source goods from China, there are a few things that you must confirm. Let’s discuss them:
The first step to start your business of selling your Chinese imported goods in the local markets is to ascertain the type of goods that you want to do business with. When you import the wrong type of goods then you waste resources and a lot of precious time and effort.
It is very important to know about the law, which regulates your business. You must study and become aware of whether you have the right to import the goods that you are planning to import. You can do this by making a query at the customs department or asking a customs broker.
3. Finalize the right Chinese factory
Take for instance that you want to buy promotion products from China for doing business. You must start by shortlisting the factories based on the factor sizing. If your order is of small size, then you may place an order through a China buying agent.
This procurement agent in China will then place your order with a tier-one factory and will also analyze and regularly check the manufacturing.
China is home to all the different types of products. If you are planning to buy promotional products from China, then you will be able to find tons of them and similarly, if you are planning to buy cheap quality products, you will easily find them as well in China. Let’s discuss some of the pointers that you must look for while buying products from China:
1. Collect a list of Chinese factories
Finding the verified suppliers for your products can be a daunting task. This is especially because you are an alien to the Chinese land, and you have little clue about the functioning of the Chinese markets. The best way to get the right factory is to break the task into smaller tasks. Here is what you should do:
Go to Chinese trade fairs – trade fairs are the home of Chinese manufacturers and product suppliers. The factory owners bring their products for exhibition at the Chinese trade fairs. In such trade fairs, you can easily find the right manufacturer for your promotion products made in China successfully.
Find the supplier online - if your resources are limited and you cannot afford to fly to China, then the best and most convenient option is to find suppliers in China. This will allow you to get in touch with Chinese suppliers with a few touches on the screen.
There are many China online sourcing platforms like Alibaba, 1688 sourcing and Made in China which allow the manufacturers to list on their platforms. The buyers who want to get manufactured products online can then get in touch with these manufacturers and discuss the modalities and formalities, which need to be fulfilled.
Go to some wholesale markets in China- there are many wholesale markets in China which allow buyers to select from a wide variety of products. You will be surprised to know that the Yiwu market is the largest in the world for wholesale products.
2. Audit the Chinese manufacturers
It is very important to be aware of who you are doing business with. You must ensure that the person is a legit and genuine buyer who is trustworthy. You must check the qualification of these manufacturers. One of the ways of doing this is to go on their website and do all the research about them.
Checking their certificates, audit reports and trade assurances is one of the ways to start your research.Alternatively, you can directly find a China product inspection services to assist you with factory compliance audit.
3. Write an effective query
After you have shortlisted the prospective and probable suppliers list, you will more likely be exposed to the transaction and customization requirements. It is always advisable to write an effective and clear query so that the message is communicated to the other person.
Your priorities while getting promotional products from China must be set and communicated to the manufacturer in the clearest terms. The more detailed your query is, the more likely you are to attract the sellers. You should ask relevant questions to make sure that the manufacturer is right for your business.
4. Negotiate confidently with an upper hand
To avoid any dispute in the future, the negotiation of MOQ needs to be communicated with the manufacturer at the beginning. Further, it is very important that throughout the conversation, you remain polite and gentle and maintain professionalism at the same time.
If the MOQ is 1000, then it would be very unprofessional to ask for a very low order like a quantity of 100 pieces at a wholesale price. The right number to start the negotiation is between 300 and 500. This will give the seller a sense of professionalism and he will be more likely to budge from his position.
Similarly, this principle is followed at the time of negotiation of the price as well. If the price at which the seller is offering is $15, then starting the bargain at $5 will be inappropriate and you will not be taken seriously by the seller. Start from a more reasonable price and this will make the seller think that you know the business and are a serious buyer.
Back-and-forth negotiations are inevitable, and your first offer is likely to get rejected. However, you must reach a deal which is conducive to both parties.
5. Request samples from the shortlisted supplier
After you have concluded shortlisting a particular supplier and then the next step is to ask for samples from the finalized supplier. Although the supplier may send you photos of the sample or may show the sample on a video call, that is not sufficient.
The best option would be to place an initial trial order of a small quantity. This would be an investment to ascertain the quality of the products which you will buy if they withstand your quality assessment. These samples will allow you to form a qualified judgment about the final product that you can expect from the seller.
6. Negotiate on the payment method
After the negotiation on the price of the product and the MOQ is done, the next thing that you need to do is to negotiate the method in which the payment will be executed. This is very important as it would help you avoid any future misunderstanding. The common payment terms is bank transfers, you may also pay via PayPal if the amount is low.
7. Prepare a down payment
The standard form of operation is that the manufacturers would ask for 30% of the finalized amount upfront in advance. The rest of the amount will be transferred after the transaction is complete and the goods are shipped. Although this is a very risky task, many suppliers will not even look at the order without down payment.
The number one concern of the buyers is that what if the manufacturer does not ship the products after he has received the money? In that case, your money is lost, and you have been scammed. Online platforms like Alibaba have a mechanism to prevent this from happening.
Alibaba has a “trade assurance” system, which guarantees the return of your money if the products do not reach you or the quality of the goods is not what you expected.
8. Place the order
While placing the order, it is important to drop away with all your assumptions. You must not assume that the supplier knows anything about the product quality that you need. You must be specific and communicate all the relevant details. Besides that, always maintain a level of mistrust for the supplier.
This will allow you to see things that you would not see in ordinary circumstances, and you would communicate even those details, which you would not have done otherwise. It is better to be safe than be sorry. After reaching and concluding the details of the agreement, you may place the order.
For buying promotional products directly from China, the quality is crucial. In those cases where the supplier is located overseas, it gets very difficult to manage the quality. If you place a big order, you should hire a third-party inspection company to inspect the product quality. For about US$200, you can get a quality inspection before the product leaves the factory.
While following the above tips, and test the water with a small amount of money first, you will soon learn the importing practices and be more confident in the promotional product sourcing from China.If you still feel inexperienced in procurement, as a reliable sourcing company, Maple Sourcing will provide you with professional global sourcing service to meet all your reasonable requirements.
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