Category: Supplier Management

The Common Characteristics of Chinese Suppliers
1) Mr Yes:

If you had the experience of doing business with Chinese suppliers, you probably went through the same thing: the suppliers would always say something like, “Yes/no problem/of course.”

Does that mean they understand what you mean? The answer is not really. It is part of the cultural reason that Chinese suppliers do not offend or refuse customers casually, as they always want to maintain a good relationship.

Sometimes they want to cheer up the customers, but that’s the start of the misunderstanding. In the end, you may find that the Chinese suppliers cannot catch what you mean, and that’s the reason why the situation is messed up.

2) Complaining:

If you are currently doing business with Chinese suppliers, you will likely receive a lot of complaints regarding the prices, quality level, shipment, etc.

Sometimes, they didn’t mean anything but made the customers realise that it’s not easy to handle the projects, and they did it! In some cases, that’s why they can get price-increasing opportunities.

3) Always expecting big orders:

Whether the supplier’s business scale is big or small, they hope for big orders. Chinese suppliers can provide a very competitive price to start working with you, but after everything is clear and fixed, they may set up a higher MOQ for future projects.

4) High cooperation desire at the very beginning:

Some Chinese suppliers will cooperate with you very well at the beginning. But things will change if you cannot place the order on time or always have your requests about products, testing, quality, shipping, etc.

I always think an excellent Chinese supplier should always keep the same mindset towards any customer, whether they can place the order at the current moment or for a future schedule.

5) Encouragement is needed:

What is essential to Chinese suppliers? Respect. If you respect the Chinese suppliers and encourage their work, you will get a return and win the trust of the Chinese suppliers.
3 Common Challenges When Buying from the China Wholesale Market
What are the challenges for those importers who want to buy directly from China wholesale? We list several points that may occur during the Chinese trade business during imports from China.

1) The language barrier and cultural differences

You have to notice that Chinese suppliers have different backgrounds from yours. It’s easy for it to happen that sometimes you are just not on the same page.  We suggest you repeatedly recite all your requests to your vendors to ensure they get what you mean.

2) Unfamiliarity with the resource regions and China’s leading wholesale markets

We all have experience touring a strange city or country. Usually, we have to pay a cost when exploring new territories, which may recall some unforgettable experiences.

Why? We have no idea about the new territory we are engaged in, and we don’t know how to deal with it.

It’s the same as what you need to do in China. You will probably pay more if you are unfamiliar with the Chinese wholesale markets and resource regions.

For example, if you want to buy electronic products from China. Then, you should know that Shenzhen is the best place to get your niche.

3) The difference between an “overseas buyer” and a “domestic buyer.”

When we visit a country that we have never visited, the locals might want to sell us souvenirs at a higher price than they charge local visitors. It happened all over the world.

Imagine that when you walk around the Chinese wholesale market, the suppliers can easily define you as an “overseas” buyer and then quote a higher price than usual. They are looking for more margins for their business.

It always happens if you are touring the Yiwu market by yourself. Check my post about how to find the right products from the Yiwu market for more details.

Furthermore, it isn’t easy to control the quality and production lead time when sitting on the other side of the world.