Hello!

My name is Colette Marshall. I am the Business Development Manager of eBay Certified Solution Provider WorldwideBrands.com. We are a fully-staffed Product Sourcing Research company that has dedicated over seven years to finding and qualifying genuine wholesale suppliers who are willing to work with home-based Internet Business Owners.

Our job is to do the very time-consuming research it takes to find genuine wholesalers who are willing to work with eBay Sellers, so that you can spend your valuable time where it’s needed most; running your eBay business instead of searching for suppliers.

In today’s workshop, I am going to walk you through the top 5 questions that we often get about importing. From the why to the how, we’ll cover topics such as finding qualified suppliers, quality control, and understanding shipping options. By understanding some of the basics of importing, you’ll find that importing is not as complicated as you think.

The next question sellers normally ask is WHERE to I find reliable overseas manufacturers?

As communication overseas has become easier over the years, so have the means for finding reliable suppliers. The three most common methods of finding international manufacturers are through trade magazines, trade shows, and the internet.

Trade Magazines will provide you with information in a particular category where suppliers will advertise the goods that they manufacture from finished goods to unfinished goods. To find some good trade magazines for products found in China, visit www.globalsources.com. Their categories include Electronics, Underwear & Swimwear, Gifts & Home, and more.

Just like Domestic trade shows give you the opportunity to meet suppliers in person and to get a hands on experience with their products, International Trade Shows also provide you with this opportunity. As you build your importing business, it also gives you the opportunity to visit the factories in person. The China Sourcing Fairs in October and April of each year is example of a large international tradeshow that you can meet a large number of Chinese manufacturers. There are also US and European tradeshows that you can attend that will have suppliers from other countries represented. By attending international trade shows you can identify new trends and new ideas. You can also be a step ahead of your competition or identify some of the opposition that you may have in the marketplace.

The internet is much more difficult place to find reliable supplier sources. Whatever tool you find for finding suppliers on the internet, you will want to verify that the company behind the database or directory has a qualification process for confirming the validity of the manufacturer. WorldwideBrands.com offers you the ability to buy imports directly, and we also research international suppliers. We also recommend a company like Global Sources, because we know that they have a process where they visit factories a minimum of three times before they will allow them to be a part of their database.

As a seller the next question you should be asking is,
HOW can I guarantee quality products?

Quality Control is a keyword that needs to be a focus for all sellers who import products. There are three options that you have for guaranteeing quality:

1) Supplier provides quality control – Under this arrangement, the supplier will handle all quality control for the product. The supplier will normally have preexisting quality checks in place. However in your negotiations with the supplier, you need to make sure that there is a quality inspection process implemented not only for the final product but also for the unfinished goods. For example, if your product consists of multiple part assemblies, you want to make sure there is an inspection process for each assembly.

2) Hire a 3rd party to handle quality control – Hiring a third party to visit the factory and conduct random inspections may cost you a few hundred dollars but it’s a method to making sure that quality control is always top notch. Keep in mind that you will need to be able to specify the exact pass/fail criteria for your product (s).

3) Do it yourself - If you plan to do the quality control yourself, then it is recommended that you plan to visit the factory so that you can inspect the quality control process yourself. Normally in this case your orders will be much larger, and you definitely want to plan to be at the production for the 1st production run review. Your relationship with your supplier needs to be very strong so that you can solve any issues at the beginning of the process instead of at the end when delivery is expected.

Remember as the seller, you are also responsible for making sure that all government regulations are met with your product. To get an idea of some of the regulations that are required for your product idea, take a look at similar products and see what regulations are listed in the manuals and on the product boxes. You can also ask the supplier if they currently export to the US or other countries that you are interested in selling to. In your process plan, make sure to include receiving inspection to check product when it arrives at your storage location so that you can find product damaged in shipping or product that was not inspected properly before shipment.

WHAT are the first steps to getting started?

Understand your product – Whether you’re sourcing a new product from overseas or you are sourcing a current product that you carry from overseas, make sure to understand your marketplace and your product. Sales volume, lead times, market trends, government regulations, customer expectations, customs requirements are just a few examples that will drive when you make import purchases and how you confirm the highest quality products.

Learn about payment terms and shipping options – Take the time to learn about incoterms and what the options are for shipping arrangements before you start talking with international manufacturers. The International Chamber of Commerce has many books that have been published about a variety of topics on importing including incoterms. For books on incoterms, visit this site: Link

Start with sample orders – When you’ve decided what products you want to import, start with a small sample order. A sample product purchase will give you the ability to understand the importing process from ordering to payment to shipments. As you develop your relationship with your supplier, increase your order quantity as needed. Don’t forget though to keep in mind other manufacturers and continually research the trends in the marketplace to identify new niches and project sales appropriately.

How do you go about handling counterfeit? I know fashion goods have a lot of knockoffs, but electronics also have counterfeit or extremely poor quality goods (e.g. unreliable quality control).

What do you do when the supplier sends you a real authentic sample, but then sends you fakes afterwards?

Do you have advice on importing by air or sea?
What's the disadvantage and benefits to either?

How do we find someone that speaks good English?

Welcome and thanks for joining us today!

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Cheers,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

reply to post 10:

Great Questions, bidapenny!

When you select your supplier, you should ask questions such as "Have you exported to the US before?" When you work with suppliers, they always have a representative who will speak English or can translate for you. Actually you'll find that many suppliers actually speak English as a 2nd language. By using the methods mentioned in post # 3, you'll be able to find the suppliers who can meet these criteria.

As for counterfeit concerns, in your negotiations and product selections you need to specify very cleary in your agreements that their will be no product that may be misconstrued as counterfeit. As the seller, you make the product selections, so it is your responsibility to make sure that you are not purchasing possible counterfeit product.