Ask the Experts Q&A
Sourcing from China: Tips for Australian Buyers & Importers
In this blog post, we use the Q&A format to explore the unique set of challenges and opportunities that Australian importers face when importing directly from China. Australia China Sourcing: Australia buying from China The content below is based on an interview conducted by Felicity Quigley of Australia’s Fashion Equipped with China Sourcing Veteran Mike…
Read MoreWhere’s my money? Dealing with the Supplier’s “Chinese New Year Excuse”
Chinese New Year is a time of year when: ⦁ workers in the cities of China head home to the countryside to enjoy the long vacation. ⦁ Factory owners send them off with a big banquet, pockets full of “lucky money” packets and the promise of a “month #13” bonus when they get back. Chinese…
Read MoreWhy Deb in Canada is pissed off at the supplier directories
Why Canadian buyer is so mad at Alibaba and made-in-China.com Debora in Canada writes: Please help to refer me and my associate to legitimate suppliers for USB flash drives. We have used other suppliers before but they closed down and the last each of our company used (2 different suppliers) both scammed us. And we…
Read MoreWhat to do when supplier breaks the contract and blackmails your deposit
Chinese supplier ignored the contract and holding my order hostage. Tom writes: Hi Mike, We met at your Global Sources conference in Hong Kong. One of the criteria for safe trading, as you mentioned, was to have the red stamp/chop, to make it legally binding. This is something I have. My problem is that the…
Read MoreChinese Supplier got my Deposit, now Ignores me. What to do?
Supplier didn’t ship the order and kept our deposit. What to do? Rajvansh in Dubai asks: We have placed an order to a Chinese supplier for Paper Bags. The supplier is located near Qingdao. We have made the advance payment to them as per the agreed terms. We even paid the balance for the first…
Read MoreWhy would you pay a factory an agency fee to import?
Is it legit for the factory to request buyer pays agency fee? Mohamed in Egypt writes: I’m import artificial grass from a China company and they offer me agency for product in Egypt and declare all products will be covered. They ask for 10,000$ for agency insurance/fee. Should I pay it? I don’t know…
Read MoreScams in China – This Online Supplier is Just Too Friendly…
Is the online supplier being “too friendly”? Importer from Ireland writes: This may seem like a trivial/silly question but I’m trying to source a supplier in China via Alibaba and I’m often surprised by the number of vendors addressing me as ‘friend’. I’m not sure if this is common practice in China and harmless or…
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