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Antoni Watts got into the Amazon business after running his own sourcing company in China. He’s here to teach us how to find Chinese manufacturers for our Amazon products.
The Top Mistakes FBA Sellers Make when Sourcing from Chinese Manufacturers
Rushing to Find Chinese Manufacturers
The most common mistake sellers make when sourcing from China is rushing to choose manufacturers. It’s important to vet multiple suppliers before making a decision. This will: ensure superior products, allow you to get the best pricing possible, and it will greatly increase your knowledge of the product and the manufacturing process.
Antoni warns that choosing the wrong factory can become a nightmare. Do your due diligence. If you don’t, it can get expensive rather quickly in money and time. This can eat into your profits.
Learn How to Import from China here.
Here’s a checklist as a safeguard:
- Make a list of every supplier possible who makes the type of product you sale (via GlobalSources, Ali Baba, etc.)
- Ask for a sample of the product
- Talk to the manufacturers
- Inspect the product for quality assurance and offer feedback on improvements
Make a Trip to China
We’ve covered the importance of choosing a supplier wisely. However, it’s even better if you, a business partner, or a liaison can talk to manufacturers in person and actually walk through the factory.
What are the key benefits of traveling to China?
- Build a better relationship with the manufacturer
- Weed out much of your competition as the low-price leader
- See many more product variations available than those viewed online
- Superior quality assurance (see and feel the product)
- Allows you to see products they are making for the competition and receive firsthand tips about other items they are selling
Mistakes to Avoid when Searching for Chinese Manufacturers
Those who complete the checklist above won’t have to worry about this one. However, there are still some unwise sellers who fail to inspect goods before shipment.
Avoid this common mistake to prevent:
- Bad reviews
- Having your account shut down by Amazon (for too many items shipped back)
- Too many refunds
- Massive profit loss
Have a conversation with the manufacturer to troubleshoot problems prior to shipment. No one wants to have to ship a faulty product back overseas.
Improve Communications with Chinese Manufacturers
1. When you’re first starting out, be patient. There’s a lot to learn about products and processes. So, your communication with the supplier will likely be much more frequent. Getting a manufacturing insurance is also important since production operations are exposed to significant risks every day due to business interruptions and loss of licenses for goods.
2. Create a generous timeline to allow for learning, mistakes, manufacturing, and potential problems
It bears repeating that rushing is the worst possible thing you could do when first entering a market. After you’ve sold products for a while, you’ll become familiar with the ordering process and will be able to circumvent problems faster. It simply takes time. Sometimes it takes 6 weeks for product development. A good rule of thumb is to plan for a product launch to take 3 months. Prepare for that months in advance.
3. Set up a separate email account for sourcing to combat SPAM
4. Ask for photos of other products competitors are ordering
Quality Control
- Ask for a list of the major and minor defects that are common to a specific product.
- Have a liaison check the quality of the production early in the process.
- Give an ample amount of time to deal with these issues
- If you’re ordering a product that has fabric, see what other fabric options are available (if you foresee problems with the current option)
Watch Finding Chinese Manufacturers with Antoni Watts of Cashcow Pro Part 3 of 4
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