1. Learn
  2. Wholesale & eBay Forum
  3. Importing & Customs

I remember reading this and then forgetting where I read it. Now I found it again. This was written by a member of another forum I belong to. Credit goes to Orion.

This is written by a person who has extensive experience buying from Asia which I hope helps people here when wondering if they are getting the best deal or are going to be ripped-off.

If I were buying in a large purchase platform, this would be my bible.

DEALING WITH THE CHINESE

There is a popular misconception that a majority of Chinese sellers are scammers. I am going to try and expel this myth with my experience and my little knowledge. I do not claim to be an expert on international trade but I can share my experiences and hope some of this information will of help to someone out there!

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

This makes me sound old! I am probably not much older or younger than most users here. Now in these good old days there was no internet as such, that came a few years later. You would do all your business by phone, a fax machine and a (borrowed in my case) Global Sources publication which back then really was a bible. Some people really do not know how lucky they are now, you have everything at the end of your broadband connection!

With a little bit of courage I started importing at a young age from my bedroom in my parent house. My very first product was a mobile phone battery. Not an ordinary one though. It was a NiCad battery (all batteries were NiCad 12 years ago). NiCad batteries suffered from

Enjoyable read, nothing makes more sense than experience!

thanx for that info, i have learned so much since joining salehoo a month ago and still really don't know anything. i have always been put off on chinese suppliers, b/c of all the horror stories. glad to see another perspective on chinese suppliers. is there any tell tale signs of a bad chinese supplier, or good supplier you could share w/ me and the rest of the newbs? i really appreciate all the knowledge and experience the salehoo staff and members share w/ everyone, its priceless, best $67 i ever spent

thanx for that info, i have learned so much since joining salehoo a month ago and still really don't know anything. i have always been put off on chinese suppliers, b/c of all the horror stories. glad to see another perspective on chinese suppliers. is there any tell tale signs of a bad chinese supplier, or good supplier you could share w/ me and the rest of the newbs? i really appreciate all the knowledge and experience the salehoo staff and members share w/ everyone, its priceless, best $67 i ever spent

Well I think the the above article points one in the right direction. From what I gleaned from it is, a serious business person who is looking for a long term business relationship should consider visiting Asia.

This isn't an outright rule but would prove very helpful.

There are some basics which when added up help eliminate losses.

1. Age of website

2. Popularity of website

3. Email directed to website and not a third party like Gmail.

4. Others non-biased opinions.

5. Dealing with the business and not individuals. Meaning not just some guy you contacted but the business and then the individuals from that business.

6. Reputations

7. Credit card and Paypal payment methods.

8. Reviews by Salehoo members who have been around for awhile. Not based on a review by someone who just turned member.

9. Do not buy Vero items from Asia.

Try to always give yourself an out or way out of a deal or backup plan.

For example, your using a supplier for the first time. They except Paypal.

Use your credit card and if you have an American Express use that. That way, if you are conned you can file a dispute with your credit card issuer.

AE is instant ,other CC issuers need for you to file forms. Each way you are very likely to get your money back and Paypal has to use its funds to do so.

Set up steps for each supplier you come in contact with. And if they can't meet those steps then drop them. Its always better to not order product than to lose money.

Start setting aside loss funds. Meaning funds you can use to buy from a risky seller. 200$ would be a good amount to run test orders. Sell them and take those profits and purchase again. That way you never lose funds you need and a loss would be just a lesson learned.

When I say risky seller I don't mean buy from a seller that has red flags raised all over hell but one that is meeting a lot of your criteria but you still have concerns about.

here is an inspection company i would like to recomended to all who wants to import from China. Link hidden: Login to view

they do pre shipment inspection and supplier verification and it works well for me.

thanx again, it will be a little while till i can start buying from china or any 1 really, i buy broken ps3's on ebay then part em out and sell them on ebay. i've gotten burned on the last couple batches, they were all stripped for parts, 1 thing i've learned is not to search for those 'great deals', you'll get burned everytime. be thankful for the good suppliers you have. so its gonna take some time to get back on top. but i'm trying to learn as much as i can in the mean time, thanx again.

they do pre shipment inspection and supplier verification and it works well for me.

MAybe give us some more info about this site.

I notice most of this sites page views come from Asia and through Baido which is Asias equivalent to google.

But I dont like its page rank of over 1.3 million and I don't like it hiding its inception date.

Also, it seems funny their page visits are bigger in Asia but its servers are in the US.

Where do you live that you need to use them and for what services.

i'm looking at something on dh gate right now, his feedback is 100% w/ 62 positive fb. and im i can pay w/ paypal, so thats assuring, what kind of import fees am i going to have to pay for a purchase just under $200?

i'm looking at something on dh gate right now, his feedback is 100% w/ 62 positive fb. and im i can pay w/ paypal, so thats assuring, what kind of import fees am i going to have to pay for a purchase just under $200?

Good on the Paypal thing. When you get to the payment screen there should be a link to pay with a credit card. Make sure to use that link and pay with a CC. Don't take the funds from your Paypal balance or backup funding source. Paypal would most likely not cover you in the event you get conned.

There may or may not be customs, depending on how the package is shipped and what country you are in. You may want to ask the seller what you might expect.

Oh yea. Final note. Have you had any contact with this company? Make sure you exchange some type of correspondence and not buy blindly. If they send you a gmail email, ask why. If that is the case the little bumps on the back of your neck should start to stand up. If they give you a business email, you just eliminated about 10 to 15 percent of the risk factor.

Just because you pay through Paypal with a credit card doesn't mean you can be foolhardy. After so many bad purchases, your credit card company may start to wonder why.

Also, take a look at this link : Link hidden: Login to view

If you haven't already, read it. Member voodootwothree gives a very good accounting of his experiences on DH Gate.

thanx planes, i have read that thoroughly. paypal wouldn't protect me in that situation? i have no cc, and no credit card company in their right mind would give me 1. why wouldn't paypal protect me?

Link hidden: Login to view You can purchase smaller minimum quantities from this site and most of the traders take Paypal and some even offer free shipping. I've used two suppliers from here and both supplied and delivered to Australia within ten days. Due diligence, as always is advised. Easier to deal with than DHgate or Alibaba.

Link hidden: Login to view You can purchase smaller minimum quantities from this site and most of the traders take Paypal and some even offer free shipping. I've used two suppliers from here and both supplied and delivered to Australia within ten days. Due diligence, as always is advised. Easier to deal with than DHgate or Alibaba.

Do you mind sharing the names of those two suppliers since they are so reliable?

Regards

i'm looking at something on dh gate right now, his feedback is 100% w/ 62 positive fb. and im i can pay w/ paypal, so thats assuring, what kind of import fees am i going to have to pay for a purchase just under $200?

more than likely nothing... i cant remember the exact figures but $200USD is way under what customs usually even looks at. Also, invoices on anything that low are marked 'gift' and also miss the customs. it may sound crooked but it is US policy, not China's so take advantage of it.

Hi customersplanet ..... I would prefer not to mention the names of the two suppliers I have used, suffice to say they supply health and beauty items! There are thousands of suppliers on that site and if you wish to try them out, please exercise the contact options available to you on the site. I have found I received fast responses from any supplier I contacted before making small purchases. I have now received larger orders and a larger discount - larger than mentioned on the supplier listing, just by asking nicely!!!

Be aware though that there are, as with all China B2B sites, many fake branded products advertised there. If you stay away from well known brands and just look for popular products that don't come with brand names, you should be okay. Some will also manufacture products with your own brand if you want it.

Have you ever considered starting your own sourcing directory Maureen, seriously.....no one can find supplier information quite like you!

thanx planes, i have read that thoroughly. paypal wouldn't protect me in that situation? i have no cc, and no credit card company in their right mind would give me 1. why wouldn't paypal protect me?

Paypal protects eBay customers in the majority of cases. SO much so that they have created a new group of eBay fraudsters. That being the buyer.

Outside of eBay their history of protecting buyers is very poor. Several member here have not been protected. I don't remember which threads but you could find them through search.

From my readings on other forums I have found this to be the case as well.

I am not saying not to but don't say I didn't warn you.

See they have to take the money out of their own pockets when someone is scammed. On eBay, they have to because, well, they are eBay and do so to make a safe buying environment. But outside of eBay-buyer beware.

thanx for the info, since i have bad credit, its gonna be paypal for now, i'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. the seller im im looking at seems legit, i'll update when i go ahead w/ my purchase, have to wait for some stuff to sell 1st

thanx for the info, since i have bad credit, its gonna be paypal for now, i'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. the seller im im looking at seems legit, i'll update when i go ahead w/ my purchase, have to wait for some stuff to sell 1st

You might want to chime in with Paypal and ask specifically how you are protected.

Really, this isn't a deal breaker. Your just eliminating 99% protection of you assets.

I will warn you though. If you are buying from an individual and not a business I am scared for you. Especially in Asia. And if you are buying from an individual, I hope its money you can do without.

But do let us know how your transaction goes.

Further, if your buying from a place like DHGate or ALIBABA, I hope you were referred to a website. And then checked the website for when it was made and exchanged emails and saw an email hosted on the domain.

I hate to harp on this but I have seen my share of scam reports on this forum from similar buys if that is how you are doing it.