Introduction To China & Customs Spitting is as common as - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Introduction To China & Customs

Spitting is as common as breathing in China, along with a laundry list of

• ther bodily functions

that ou eer ee ke eisted, so oud etter get used to it. If their body wants to release something, they believe (and maybe rightly so) that it should be released right the ad there eddigs, irthdas, fuerals, it doest atter.

The stories oue heard are ufortuatel true. The eirder the aial ad od part – the more expensive it is. if you have a usiess dier i Chia, oull e preseted ith a sorgasord of foods straight off the Fear Fator Meu…or idiaaa joes However, if you can muscle through it and take a few bites – your Chinese counterparts will greatly appreciate and respect you. I suggest a blindfold and nose clip for such

• ccasions.

Things my clients personally ingested Frog lungs Cow stomach Fish eyes Something from a pig that I could not identify and nobody could reall eplai… Snakes lizards

Think of the worst alcohol you can possibly imagine, and then add some more alcohol to it to make it worse. Something like paint thinner, nail polish remover ad turpetie all ied together… That is the best way I can describe Baiju. Chinese businessmen love this stuff, and typically have it served at business dinners. PRO-TIP! Whe dier is sered soeoe ill ost likel ask ou Would ou like soe hite ie?. Dot fall for this trik like I did! This is ot the White Wie oue oe to ko ad loe. This is Baiju traslated er poorl (bai(by) = white ju(joe) = wine). Interestingly enough if you order Hongju (Hong = Red and Ju = Wine), you do in fact get Red Wie…

Manners The Chiese are PAINFULLY polite… This eas ee if ou are latatl rog or offesie, the ot tell ou. you should do your best to be as polite as humanly possible to your Chinese counterparts. T hings like ego, impatience, rudeness, outbursts are not well received – and it will do nothing productive for you or your business to act in such a way. The best thing you can do, is bite your tongue, shake your head and smile.

DEALING WITH CHINESE FACTORIES – Things you must know

Timing: Many Western people are driven by deadlines and don’t want to adapt to Chinese standards when discussing business. Therefore, understand that when dealing with Chinese factories and when negotiating, take your time, consult internally, and slow down. This will develop a better relationship with the Chinese factory. Chinese negotiators are usually like chess players. They know how long they have to wait or how fast they have to move in order to have a good deal.

• Building a relationship will result in a better deal, in most cases. In the

western world we normally start off building transactions, and if they are successful, a relationship will result. However, the Chinese are the other way around. They build a relationship first and the transactions follow.

• Cultivate guanxi: In most cases, relationships with guanxi will result in better

deals, lower price, fast production time, and better dealings overall. Consider this example: Big USA importer compared to an Australian importer

Contract creation in China: Always ensure that a contract is both translated to English and Chinese to ensure there are no vague matters. If there is a legal matter or issue with Chinese suppliers, ensure you get a Chinese lawyer to represent you as usually they are way cheaper, and decisions and judgments are usually carried out faster when solicitors are from the same country. Having the contract in Chinese also does help considerably. The early appearance of a legal contract in a relationship is seen inappropriate, irrelevant, and can destroy a relationship with the Chinese supplier because you were doubting trust. To them, a contract is proof that the relationship has grown to a trusting level. However, more is needed to ensure sustainable import future. Translators fiverr.com and odesk.com

• They don’t know the answer themselves: Sometimes, factory needs

to query or get advice or consultation from other factories, authorities, or suppliers. For example, on some electric or motorized vehicles, complaint reports and safety reports need to be generated. However, this can take some time. Sometimes, using a sourcing agent, or having somebody on the ground on China, can assist these matters to push reports and evaluate them and send them to the factory.

• Your questions are unclear: If a factory didn’t answer your question
• r request, partly you are responsible for making your question not

clear enough for them. I advise using bullet points throughout your import email correspondence, and at the end, provide summary or action list. Therefore, that ensures you are not vague in your communication.

• Factory is disorganized or doesn’t care: Simply, the factory is

inefficient or the person you’re dealing with isn’t bothered in your

• rder. (Maybe your order is too small.)

Here are the five main reasons the factories don’t answer your questions:

• Your question is too complicated or not easy to answer: If the

contact in the factory is a low-level employee, sometimes questions go over their head, either than they don’t understand, they don’t comprehend, or don’t have the technological background to answer the question.

• Factories, sometimes, provide quotes just to get your business
• initially. Once you have paid the factory for a sample, they may

reveal to you they don’t have the technology to carry out the

• rder. If this happens, simply move on immediately to a different

factory, and only choose factories with good workmanship and have the right outlook and attitude to work for you. To avoid such factories, always ensure progress diary is set up and there is one in the handouts.

Then look through the top sellers and put the products into 1 of 3 categories. Product I can improve Product I can piggyback on Product I can private label

Improvement: Go look at what products are selling and check

• ut the comments, what are people

complaining about. Quality, Design, Color, Etc, there are a million things people complain about with a product. I click on the 1 star, 2 star, and 3 star reviews : So after reading the comments I found a lot of

• ets saig…

Blah Blah Blah, it stopped orkig… I sa this comment at least 75 times

PIGGYBACK RIDE! Another option is piggybacking on an already existing product, so creating a product that assist you in using an already existing product

• r helps to make it better

Private Label/White Label

The last thing I look at is Private label or white label options. Amazon and eBay have a lot of competition, so products like the magic bullet might have hundreds of sellers. How can you stand out? Easy… Just change the name, it will be listed in the same product category, but instead of being listed in a group of 20 + sellers you will be listed in your own little category.

Use this template for your emails, it is to the point and easy to understand: “Hello, Hope you are having a great day. I have a few questions:

• 1. What is the MOQ for the Mini Blender
• 2. What is the cost per piece at this MOQ
• 3. Can you do OEM?
• 4. What is the OEM MOQ, only change would be a simple logo.
• 5. What is the OEM cost to add a logo to blender and box.

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to working with you.” Alex Ryan Managing Director ABC Imports Pty Ltd ABN: 32 5656 989785 PO BOX 1234 Nowra NSW

Send this out to at least 10 or 15 suppliers and then sit and wait…. Just KIDDING! Go find more products! I usually try to keep these organized in excel.

Things to know about samples:

• 1. Samples usually come from a

batch ordered by a previous client. So if you get a sample that you love and you tell the factory that you want to order the sae thig, you could receive a product the varies to a small or LARGE degree from the sample in your hand. Why? Well, because the factory may or may not know exactly, which sample that you have in your hand and this sample was based off of another clients specs. Takeaway: Make sure you always have clear specs and a sales agreement before ordering any product.

• 2. You almost always have to pay for samples. You

definitely have to pay for OEM samples and depending on the price tag on the item you may have to pay for standard samples as well. However, if you sweet talk them a bit and the product is in the $10- $75 range you may be able to get a free one, but you will definitely have to pay for shipping. Takeaway: You always pay shipping fees on samples

Sales Agreement It a soud orig ad too serious, ut get oe. Beliee it or ot the legal sste i Chia is quite strong and most of the problems that do arise are from newbies, lazy people, or stupid people, who do not get a proper sales agreement and confirmed sample. if something does go wrong, these two things will be your defense against anything the factory might say to the contrary and I assure you that 99% of factories do not want to go to court over a signed sales agreement because they will lose!

Transferring money Transferring money can be done in a number of ways. Some really safe, some pretty safe, and then some just outright stupid ways. Really Safe Paypal: With paypal you have the ability to dispute charges, especially when they do not deliver goods or do not deliver what you agreed upon. Furthermore, it is much cheaper than buying a plane ticket to China so that you can go through the legal system. Credit Card: Same as above Alipay: The paypal of Asia, extremely safe way to transfer money, but you need a Chinese bank account to open it, the easiest way to do this is open up an HSBC account. Pretty Safe Bank Transfers: When you start making larger orders you will most definitely have to do a TT or Wire Transfer. This is the standard way of transferring money and typically fatories are ot lookig to rip people off, ut it does happe. I ol sa prett safe because if something does go wrong, your bank cannot actually get your money back, but it can be used as a good tool should you have to go to court. Pro Tip: Make sure you put your PI (purchase invoice) and basic terms in the little box that sas What is this trasfer for he ou trasfer our oe.

NOT SAFE Western Union: Anyone can pick up this money as long as they have an ID and the transfer # that ou proide the. Fake IDs a e ought o eer orer i Chia ot to etio that it is extremely corrupt, so bribing someone without an ID would not be very hard to do either. How to get what you ordered

• 1. Use a sourcing company: Sourcing companies take care of everything from finding the

product, inspecting the product, transferring money, and shipping.

• 2. Use an inspection company: Inspection companies are independent companies that will

inspect your order and send you a VERY detailed report about your goods before they leave the factory.

Order Production and Inspection

• Wholesale markets are great if you

cant meet the MOQ or the Minimum Order Quantity of a factory; however it’s good to at least fill a 20-feet container, even it’s from different factories or suppliers.

• Your relationship with wholesale

suppliers is very different from factory suppliers, with the relationship being short, instead of being long-term.

• There are wholesale markets for

every industry including furniture, building materials, lighting, kitchen supplies, ceramics, fabrics, clothing, hotel apparatus, leather, gifts, toys, stationery, watches, beauty and cosmetics, glasses, and many more.

Wholesale Markets in China