In this post I’ll focus on product categories that are a bit more suitable for startups and beginners looking for what to import from China. I begin by explaining what you shouldn’t do：

Avoid OEM / Customized Products

Products that are highly customized require higher MOQ requirements. This is simply because the supplier has to purchase components and materials from a larger number of subcontractors. Each subcontractor has its own MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) requirements and this can quickly add up to an MOQ that you cannot reach.

Instead of importing an OEM product (custom designed) you can purchase a “standard product” and achieve customization through branding, such as the following;

Logo print
Custom colour
Custom product packing
Add extra accessories
Upgrade the quality of the product (use better and more expensive materials and components)

Avoid products with certification requirements

Toys, electronics, food and chemical products are regulated and require product certification. Far from all Chinese suppliers can manufacture products that are in compliance with American and European product certification requirements. Instead I would recommend a startup to import any of the following from China：

Textile products
Wristwatches
Accessories
Furniture (certain types may require testing for fire retardancy)
Bags
Leather goods
Jewelry
Wooden products
Gifts and art products
Promotional products
Phone accessories (non-electrical)
Computer accessories (non-electrical)
Cooking ware (certain types may require certification)
Fitness products (certain types may require certification)
Sports products (certain types may require certification)
Auto and MC parts and accessories (certain types may require certification)

Avoid buying from multiple suppliers

Many small businesses make the mistake of trying to bite off much more than they can swallow. Don’t expect that you can order fifty different products from seven or eight different suppliers. Below I explain why：

You’ll be limited to products that are mass-produced for the domestic market in China. The quality standards tend to be lower than what your customers would expect.
Limited to none customization options if you buy small volumes. No manufacturer is ready to send back “off shelf” products to the production line for modification or branding of some sort.
Too much administration. Importing from China is not like going down to the local supermarket and picking a little of this and that. You’ll need to provide your supplier with product specifications, buy samples and negotiate prices. This takes time, sometimes several months. Most startups simply don’t have the time and money to manage more than one product and supplier at a time.
High freight costs. One supplier equals one single shipment, and the freight companies quote much better prices when you order larger shipments.

How I would import from China on a low budget

If you’re on a low budget, I believe that the only viable strategy is to create a brand and maximize the number of products through simple forms of customization. Below I list a few examples on how this can be done:

Carpets in the same material but in different colours and cut into different shapes
IPhone 5 cases in different colours
Polo shirts of the same model and fabric, but with different sizes, colours and with different fabric details / print / embroidery
EVA Foam Rollers, same material but cut in different lengths

Simple modifications rarely require the supplier to increase the MOQ. Try to figure out what’s complicated and time consuming for a supplier to make, and what is not.

Complicated, expensive and time consuming modifications: Large increase on the MOQ requirement. This includes new moulds, purchasing new materials and components etc.
Simple modifications: Low or no MOQ increase. This includes logo print, different cutting, adding accessories, customized product packing, and custom colour.

Summary

Don’t attempt to buy too many products from too many different suppliers.
Avoid products that require certification
Avoid highly customized products
Brand an existing product as your own
Invest in quality and pitch yourself as a medium to high-end brand. Enjoy higher profit margins and don’t try to compete on price with the big players on the market.

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Elksourcing：Secrets of Late Delivery by China Suppliers

Mar 31, 2021 Elksourcing, supplier by 露露

You found a China supplier on a trade show like Canton Fair, the suppliers looked good and professional, you gave them business, sent the payment and waited to receive the products. However, one delay after another, months on, your stock and inventory is running out, but the supplier still didn’t make the delivery.

To solve this late delivery issue, firstly we need to know why the suppliers didn’t ship the products within the time limit provided in the contract.

1) Supplier is too busy, and you are not on the top of their priority list

Many buyers try to find big and established suppliers, despite their own business size and order size. They didn’t notice that big but busy suppliers often fail to catch up the deadline of delivery.
One of my clients has been buying car mats from a decent-sized supplier from East China. They buy one 20’ every month, the order size is not big, and surely not small.
The cooperation has been good. But since early 2012, the buyers can’t receive products in time; the situation went from bad to worse in recent months. The buyer become very frustrated and puzzled, why all of sudden, the supplier can’t deliver orders in time?
We did some research on the supplier, found that they received a big contract (10 million USD) from Kmart, all their production lines are occupied to produce the order from Kmart, the orders from small and medium sized buyers have to be postponed. The boss of the factory does hope to set up new workshop to increase the production capacity, but it can’t be done overnight, they need to buy land, buy equipment, recruit and train workers. It will take years.

2) With or without a contract, it makes big difference

Most buyers underestimate the power of contract. Aside from being used in lawsuit as evidence of mutual agreement in all aspects of transaction, more importantly, contract can be used as precaution. The contract set the boundary and limit so the other party won’t go beyond too far.
With a remind of a clause for penalty of delay in contract, the supplier will think twice when they delay the delivery.

3) The supplier is trading company, cannot control the production progress of factory

On trade show, many trading companies make up themselves to look like factories, without visit, you can’t tell if they are trading companies or factories. Trading companies and factories have their own advantages and disadvantages. Good trading company can manage the supply chain and production for buyer effectively and smoothly, but bad trading company could mess it up.
In one of our cases, the trading company lost control of the factory, which causes 5-month late delivery.

4) Delay caused by China customs

Before the products are loaded to the ship, suppliers need to make custom clearance at China Customs.
I am sure that many buyers are not aware that there are risks that China Customs might not release or even detain the products, which will cause late shipping.
a. Improper categorization of HS code
For most products, the suppliers can get tax refund from the government based on the HS code of the products. The tax refund rates vary from 0 to 17%. And because of that, many suppliers may use wrong HS code when conducting customs clearance, just to get higher tax rebate rate. For example, if I export door mats, these door mats are made of rubber back (70%) and carpet top (30%), if I use the HS code of rubber, the tax refund rate is 9%, if I use the HS code of carpet, then the tax refund rate is 17%. As the products are mainly made of rubber, so I should adopt the HS code of rubber when do custom clearance, however, many of the suppliers will use the HS code of carpet when making custom clearance.
If the customs find it out, they will detain the products until the supplier corrects the HS code and pays penalty. This procedure will take months to finish; the delay will cause huge loss to buyer.

b. Intelligence property rights protection
We have exported some gift products to a baseball team. On the gifts, the logo of sponsor Toyota was printed.
When we made the custom clearance through China Customs, we were requested to submit an authorization letter from the brand owner Toyota, giving us the authorization to use the logo of Toyota. We were not prepared for it, so the products were detained due to suspected intelligence property rights infringement.
We then contacted our client (who is a gift promotion company, who got the order from a Toyota dealer), our client then tried to contact the dealer, and the dealer tried to contact Toyota, so many people in the middle.
After 10 days, we got the authorization letter, we then submitted to the Customs, and then the products were released, but we have missed the vessel time.
If you are not sure that your products will infringe intelligence property rights of third party, you can inquire on the Intelligence property rights registration system of China Customs at http://www.haiguanbeian.cn/applyrecord/.

c. Mistakes on custom clearance documents.
Normally custom clearance documents are prepared by exporter, will be sent to shipping agent, and then forwarded to the brokers at customs for custom declaration.
A mistake on the document will delay the custom clearance (hence shipping, as the products won’t be released without going through customs). If there are mistakes,the suppliers will need to correct the documents, resend to shipping agent for customs clearance.

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Elksourcing：Why You Should Not Buy Branded Products from China?

Mar 31, 2021 dropshipping from China, Elksourcing by 露露

I have recently read an post on a forum, a guy complained that he thought he could buy cheap electronics in China before he come to china as EVERYTHING IS MADE IN CHINA, but after he comes, he found electronics here are more expensive than in Europe, he is quite puzzled about that.

I bet what he is looking at must be branded electronics which is not originated from China, like iPhone, Samsung tablet, Sony Play Station, etc, it is a common sense that Foreign Brand products (including electronics) are sold in China no cheaper than in western country, if not more expensive. As the dealers/importers have to add tariff and shipping expense onto the cost of products, so in most case, the foreign brand products in china are more expensive.

Someone will argue that most brand maker have set up a manufacturing base in China or have a manufacturer partner in China to do the OEM for them, so could that possibly make the branded products cheaper in china? The answer is NO. The brand company will sign a contract to prohibit the local manufacturer to distribute, sell or resell the branded products locally, and / or disclose any confidential information to third party before they enter into cooperation relationship. So the local manufacturers are not qualified and dare not to sell the branded products publicly or secretly as that such act could risk to lose the big customer and business. Also the brand companies are not silly enough as to set up a pricing strategy that their products are sold at extremely low price in China that even after they are exported to western country they still enjoy great price advantage.

However, there are so many “venders” on Alibaba and so many ecommerce sites in China (well not only in china) sell brand products at extremely low price, how could they get original brand products at such a low price? The answer is very simple: they are counterfeited or refurnished. Search UKBF forum or other forums, you will find that those who try to buy branded products from china end up either being scammed or receiving counterfeited products.

Facing the increasingly pressure and critique from western countries, China customs are taking serious and strict methods to inspect and detain counterfeit brand products. So if you pay the money and still don’t get your products, other than being scammed, chances are your products have been detained by China Customs.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：How to Get a Better Price from Your Chinese Supplier?

Mar 31, 2021 Elksourcing, price by 露露

Many importers will always try to get a better price from their Chinese suppliers, but how? You need to know some tactics to try to meet this target. Here are some tips:

#1 – Buy larger quantities

This one might seem fairly obvious – buy more and you’ll get a lower unit price. However, many importers tend to buy from more suppliers than necessary – and thus lower the quantity purchased from each one of them. Orders can easily be concentrated on a smaller amount of suppliers if you base your product selection on what the suppliers has to offer, rather than selecting a number of suppliers on a predetermined product list.

#2 – Streamlined usage of Materials & Components

A product is a composition of materials and components. Your supplier needs to purchase these materials and components from their subcontractors. A large number of various components and materials results in a higher amount of purchases that needs to be made, and thus higher costs. The best way to avoid this issue is simply to reuse the same materials and components in several products. A positive side effect of this approach is that you might also be able to lower the suppliers Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) requirement.

#3 – Avoid unnecessary product customization

Customized products often require customized tooling, such as injection moulds. While an injection mould can be used for a very large number of units (often counted in the hundreds of thousands) it’s in general paid for by the importer. Thus the more customized products you order, the higher the tooling cost will be. If you’re specifically importing unique products that have no equivalent on the market, then you can stop reading. However, plenty of importers fail to understand that even the slightest change in a design may lead to dramatically increased tooling costs. I list my suggestions below;

The importer is usually expected to pay for any additional tooling. Avoid product customization unless it’s essential.
Limit the product customization to components and/or materials that doesn’t require expensive tooling.

#4- Reasonably lower your quality requirements

I’ve seen plenty of situations where the importer requires a quality standard that simply cannot be matched by the supplier. This could be dimensional tolerances that are too narrow or other product specifications that are all but impossible for the supplier to comply with. From the supplier’s perspective, quality requirements that are very hard to reach increase the waste and the risk of a total loss. The end result is that the supplier is forced to raise the price in order to compensate for the increase waste and risk. If a supplier clearly communicates that your requirements are hard or impossible to reach, you should do any of the following;

Look for another supplier
Accept a price increase
Adjust your requirements according to the supplier capability.

#5 – Ship by sea

Many importers tend to waste money on not so cost efficient transportation. Sea freight is in general much cheaper than Air Freight, something that can have a big impact on the unit price. Especially if we take customs and VAT into consideration, both of which are added on top of both the product price and the freight cost. However, Sea freight is slower and takes around 30 – 40 days to reach most ports in Europe and North America. Thus it requires the importer to have some foresight and place the order well before the existing stock runs out. It’s rather common that importers end up wasting their profit margins on highly expensive Air Freight because they “simply cannot wait 35 days” for the cargo to arrive. This is what I advise you to do;

Place your order at least 3 months before you expect to run out of stock.
Ask your supplier to quote you a C&F price that includes shipping cost.

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Elksourcing：Tips for Managing Relationships with Chinese Suppliers

Mar 31, 2021 1688 dropshipping service, Elksourcing by 露露

Managing the relationships with Chinese suppliers is not easy, the cultural difference, the language issue, the communication problem, different social system, different business culture and practices, etc.

But, managing the relationships with Chinese suppliers is not that difficult at all, if you can answer the questions: How do you define the relationships with Chinese supplier? Do you think your relationships with the supplier are equal? Do you think your order is a blessing or giving to the supplier? Do you often threat the supplier that if they don’t do this or don’t do that, you will change the supplier, as you said there were many qualified suppliers lining up for your order?

The relationship should be equal

We recently read a story on the leading international trade forum fobshanghai.com, a Chinese supplier complained how their big buyer behaved arrogantly and how it was indifferent to the benefit of their suppliers, The buyer often canceled orders without prior notification, which had caused huge money loss to the supplier as they had already started production. The buyer did not give any reason and refuse to compensate the supplier for the monetary loss.

The relationship between the buyer and the supplier is not equal. The buyer might think that their big order is a blessing to the supplier, so the supplier should do whatever they are asked to do to please the buyer, fair or not. However, in the end, the supplier refused to supply to the buyer any more. The buyer maybe thinks they have plenty of backup suppliers to replace that supplier, however, if things go on like this, the buyer might develop a bad reputation among Chinese suppliers.

Even many small and medium sized buyers are as arrogant as this buyer. Gradually they will find the relationships with the suppliers become intense and tough.

Vice versa, it is very common that big suppliers belittle small buyers, we are helping a big importer find Chinese suppliers, out of the vast suppliers we contacted, a few of them are very arrogant, they even don’t have interests to answer the telephone, reply the email and try to learn our inquiry. We also help small and medium sized buyers verify Chinese suppliers, oftentimes we heard the suppliers says they are too busy, too many orders, and they don’t care if they buyers buy from them or not. Our advice to the buyers is “dump those arrogant suppliers”.

We are partners.

Companies need to cooperate with upstream and downstream companies, suppliers, service providers, distributors, logistics companies, etc. You need the cooperation and support from other partner companies in your supplier chain to improve your competitiveness; otherwise your company will achieve nothing.

As partners, we should try to share market intelligence with suppliers, we help them grow, we give them feedback and suggestion to improve their products, we let them feel we not only buy from them, we see them as partner, we help them grow. If the R&D ability of the factory grow, if they can lower their price and improve the competitiveness of their products, in return, that will help the buyer’s company grow.

Communications

The language issue causes most miscommunication, English is not native language of your Chinese supplier, so they are always struggling to express and understand things in English. You will agree with me if you have visited Canton fair. The salesmen there are elite salesmen, however, at most booths, you will find you will only be able to communicate with them in very basic English, especially, many of them will have problem with speaking and listening, writing is somewhat easier for them compared with speaking and listening.

To avoid language barrier, here is some advices I would share:
1. Use simple and easy to understand English
When you write an email or converse on instant messengers, try to use simple and basic English to express yourself, if your supplier didn’t respond to your questions, which you think is important, explain that question, and ask again, they might not understand that question at all.

2. Write instead of Speak, if it is important

Calling the supplier can speed up communication, however, in most cases, you will find it much more harder to communicate on telephone (in spoken English), than communicate in email (in written English).

So for important matters, try to write in Email, then make a call to confirm if they have received it.

The knowledge, expertise, and experience of salesman might be another reason that causes communication barrier.

Managing the relationship with suppliers is not easy. Miscommunication can lead to dispute, misunderstanding destroys the chemistry between the supply chain, misinformation causes improper decision and bad results.

The question is not if, but how! How should we communicate with Chinese supplier effectively?

Be patient

Most suppliers are factories, especially when you dealing with small to medium sized factories, you should be aware that things might not go as well as you planned. Factories mostly locate at remote locations, so the workers in factory, in many cases, are under-educated. So be patient, teach them, guide them, and lead them to right direction. Don’t take it for granted that every supplier will be capable and experienced enough as to deliver your products in a professional way without any issue.

Trust is important

Company is not a bloody cold organization, it is a group of people with character. So dealing with supplier, in essence, is dealing with people, or to be precise, dealing with Chinese businessman. Don’t disguise yourself in business English, cold contract, promise, deadline, conditions and terms. You will find some casual greeting, care, love bring you closer to the supplier (the key persons).

Sign a contract

A contract, not a relationship or anything else can protect your benefit. Be careful with every clauses and terms. Hire a legal expert to draft and review the contract. But remember, contract and legal action is the last resort, it will be costly to file a lawsuit in China, time and money wise. So the best way dealing with Chinese supplier is to get the contract signed at first, try to communicate with supplier to get any issue solved in a friendly way, don’t threat to go to court for tiny mistakes from suppliers.

99% businessmen are not scammers

Most people are decent businessmen, they try to grow their business in a legal way, not try to scam people. Some people are scammed when trying to buy branded products or others, but generally, like the people in China, most of businessmen here are friendly and nice as well.

Prepare for mistakes

International trade is complicated, any mistakes with specification, production, packing, shipping, communication and language translation can cause problem. The process of international trade is about how to avoid mistakes and when mistakes happen inevitably, how to solve them in a friendly way.

Due diligence

There are tiny percentage black sheep hidden out there, waiting for chances to cheat you. Due diligence is like covering insurance — it is all about probability. You don’t risk your business by taking chances.

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Elksourcing：Interesting Q&A about China Culture

Mar 31, 2021 China Culture, Elksourcing by 露露

Business is about culture. It is extremely important to learn and understand the culture, logic and thinking of your business partners especially when you are talking about international business.

THE QUESTIONAIRS

Social life in China

1. Q: What are taboos in Chinese society: subjects that I should not talk about?

A: We talk about everything except sex, we talk age, income, politics, religion, etc.

2. Q: Are there any expressions that I must avoid while speaking to a Chinese person?

A: I can’t think of any specific expression you need to avoid, generally, be polite, be nice, don’t be rude.

3. Q: Is it acceptable to talk freely about your private life?

A: Yes, it is acceptable to talk about private life, especially with families, friends and people we know. But we don’t talk private life with strangers. We feel more comfortable to talk about the privacy with someone you know and close to you.

By asking some general private questions people try to know each other and get closer, for example ” how old are you”, “where are you from”, “what do you do by occupation”, so on and so forth. We normally will answer those questions if the people who ask are not so annoying. So in the other points, don’t feel be offended if your Chinese friend asks about your privacy. It is just like he/she is trying to find a topic and interested in knowing you more in person.

4. Q: If you want to make friends, do you consider any difference between men and women?

A: Not really.

5. Q: What is the distance that you must respect while talking to a Chinese person? And in this case, are there any differences between men and women?

A: Depends on the relationship between the speakers, more intimate relation, closer. You sit side by side with friend, but don’t want a stranger to sit side by side with you. Also you will leave some space if you are talking with your boss.

Generally the distance between men and women depends on the relationship between them. The differences is China is a conservative country, so you need to leave a bit more space if you are talking to a person in opposite gender. Don’t kiss. Wait the female to reach hand first when shake hands. People here don’t touch each other much.

6. Q: Do you keep eye contact while talking with someone older than you?

A: Yes.

7. Q: Do you consider interrupting someone while speaking impolite or it doesn’t really matter?

A: Very impolite.

8. Q: How can I express politely my agreement or refusal?

A: The thing is to let people know you agree or refuse without making them unhappy or misguide them. In daily life, better be clear; in business, better be clear and also diplomatic.

9. Q: Does the Chinese society respect a certain hierarchy or degree of formality?

A: Yes.

10. Q: Do I have the right to express my feelings or should I hide them instead?

A: Do express yourself. The key is expressing your feeling without make others unhappy or misguide them.

11. Q: When I am eating something, do I have to invite my friends to share it with me?

A: If we eat something alone with a people we know around, we think it is very impolite not inviting. The idea here is we treat others as well as what we treat ourselves.

12. Q: What kind of gifts can you offer a Chinese person to make them happy?

A: Depends what they like and what the occasion is. Normally we buy cosmetics/novelties/something else they like to women, electronics/wine/something they like to men.

Professional life in China

1. Q: At work, how do you say hello?

A: Nothing special. Good morning/good afternoon/how are you? Etc. Chinese will ask, “Have you eaten lunch/supper yet” etc. as a greeting, just like you guys talk weather to start a conversation.

2. Q: Are there any differences between men and women?

A: not really.

3. Q: Do you have any dress-code?

A: Dress professionally.

4. Q: Describe manners at the table?

A: Vary. China is big. The people in the north drink a lot, the people in south not. The host normally will invite the guests to eat first when every dish is served.

5. Q: What kind of gifts can you offer when a Chinese person invites you to dinner?

A: Check what they like beforehand. For example, if they drink, it would be great if you bring a French wine.

6. Q: At work, do you consider your partner as a friend?

A: Depends. Some yes, some no.

7. Q: Do you express feelings freely?

A: In business, better politely and diplomatic.

8. Q: What is the distance that you must respect while speaking with your co-worker?

A: Closer with co-worker, a bit more space with people you respect.

9. Q: At what hour do you start work?

A: At 8, 8:30 or 9 depends on region.

10. Q: How long does the lunch break last?

A: 1 to 2 hours depends on companies.

11. Q: Do you drink alcohol during the lunch?

A: No, except you are accompanying a client.

12. Q: Is there any behavior that I should not have when I visit China?

A: Nothing special. Don’t “streaking”, don’t break the laws, be nice.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：How to Contact with Chinese Suppliers Properly?

Mar 30, 2021 Chinese suppliers, Elksourcing by 露露

Due to the language barrier, cultural different, time zone difference, unfamiliarity with Chinese business manner, many buyers find it very difficult to get a reply to your inquiry. In many cases, you find a supplier online, you send an email or submit an inquiry form online, you wait for weeks but get no reply, then you call them, surprisingly, you found it is difficult to understand their English, or they don’t speak English at all. So how should we do to get prompt answer from the supplier when you contact them and how to communicate with them smoothly? Here are a few tips we want to share.

How to write a good email that makes sure the Chinese suppliers give you a proper answer?

– Use company email account.
Don’t use email account from free email provider like yahoo mail, hotmail, aol mail. Using free email account will harm your company image and is considered very unprofessional. In practice, many suppliers are indifferent and arrogant to the inquiry using free email account.

– Complete description of the specifications
Try to give details about the items you are looking for, try not to be too general. An email inquiry with detailed specification normally will be seen as firm inquiry, the supplier will give their best attention to give a prompt and professional reply. A too general inquiry will make the suppliers think that you are an outsider or newcomer to the industry rather than established business. They will even think you are business spy trying to gather their trade secret, in that case, you will receive a slow and unfriendly quote (more expensive price and higher minimum order quantity).

– Signature
A proper and professional signature including name, title, company name, contact information and address. Email without a signature or a complete signature is considered unprofessional.

How to use telephone and instant messenger like MSN, Skype to speed up the response?

Email communication, in many cases, is very slow, mostly due to the time difference. You can use telephone or instant messenger to speed it up.

– Telephone
You will need to make sure that the contact you are calling speaks good English (spoken English). The fact is that many salesmen in Chinese companies don’t speak good spoken English even though their written English maybe seems perfect. So try to speak slowly on the telephone, write an email to confirm the conversation on telephone if it is really important.

– Instant Messenger

Instant Messenger is really popular and convenient to use. Chinese people use QQ more than other instant messenger like MSN, Skype, YM, AOL Messenger, Google Talk. For important issues, you will need to write an email to confirm the conversation on instant messenger.

Contacting suppliers on Alibaba.com

Download Alibaba trade manager (an instant messenger like MSN) for better communication with suppliers on Alibaba. If the supplier is online, the status of the trade manager icon will turn light. If they are offline, it will turn grey. Trade manager can also be used to transfer files.

Sending message through inquiry form on Alibaba. Make a call too if the inquiry is urgent. You know, many suppliers don’t check their defaulted email of Alibaba account very often, in some extreme case, they never checked it. Make a phone call to back it up.

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Elksourcing：Product Certifications You Should Know

Mar 30, 2021 Elksourcing, Product Certifications by 露露

New importers sometimes may be puzzled by so many certifications, such as UL, CE, FCC etc. You may wonder: what are these product certification standards? Which countries and product categories they apply to? In this article, we will give you a complete guide of the major products certifications.

The CE marking (also known as CE mark) is a mandatory conformity mark on many products placed on the single market in the European Economic Area (EEA). The CE marking certifies that a product has met EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements.

Countries that adopt UL certification: EU countries.
Which product categories UL apply to: Examples of European Directives requiring CE marking include toy safety, machinery, low-voltage equipment, terminal equipment and electromagnetic compatibility. There are about 25 directives requiring CE marking, the link of the 25 directives is http://www.newapproach.org/Directives/DirectiveList.asp
Official CE website: www.ce-marking.org

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is a U.S. privately owned and operated, independent, third party product safety testing and certification organization. Based in Northbrook, Illinois, UL develops standards and test procedures for products, materials, components, assemblies, tools and equipment, chiefly dealing with product safety. UL also evaluates and certifies the efficiency of a company’s business processes through its management system registration programs. Additionally, UL analyzes drinking and other clean water samples through its drinking water laboratory in South Bend, Indiana. The UL Mark does not carry any legal weight beyond that of any other trademark. In this sense, it is different from the CE Marking or the FCC Part 15 requirements for electronic devices, which are required by law. In practice, however, it may be extremely difficult to sell certain types of products without a UL Mark. Large distributors may be unwilling to carry a product without UL certification, and the use of noncertified equipment may invalidate insurance coverage. It is common practice in many fields to specify UL Listed equipment or UL Recognized materials. Local jurisdictional authorities, such as building, electrical and fire inspectors, may be reluctant to accept a product for installation in a building unless it carries a recognized third-party compliance mark such as the UL Mark

Countries that adopt UL certification: U.S and Canada
Which product categories UL apply to: Electrical Enclosures, Industrial Control Panels, Industrial Control Equipment, High-Voltage Industrial Control Equipment, Power Conversion Equipment
Official UL website: www.ul.com/

A-Tick

The A-Tick is a compliance mark produced by ACMA for telecommunications equipment. It gives consumers confidence that a telecommunications product meets the safety and technical standards set by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Telecommunications products must have an A-Tick or display the labels of previous labeling schemes such as the Telecom Authorization or AUSTEL permit. Products without an A-Tick or the previously accepted labels may be unsafe and cause damage when connected to the network and cannot be connected to a carrier’s network.
Countries that adopt UL certification: Australia
Which product categories UL apply to: telecommunications equipment
Official UL website: http://www.acma.gov.au

CCC

The CCC (China Compulsory Certification) Mark is a mandatory safety and quality mark for products sold in the Chinese market. It is required for products in 19 groups, divided into 132 product categories in total. UL-CCIC, UL’s joint venture in China with CCIC (China National Import and Export Commodities Inspection Corporation), has been approved by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA) as a registered CCC agent to assist domestic and overseas clients with CCC certification applications.

Countries that adopt UL certification: China
Which product categories UL apply to: 132 product categories.
Official UL website: http://www.ccc-mark.com

GS Mark is a voluntary mark. It can be used on products such as household appliances, laboratory equipment, luminaries and IT/AV equipment. Products are evaluated according to the German Equipment and Product Safety Act (GPSG). The evaluation is based on harmonized European standards for the safety testing, some product may require additional testing according to other standards e.g. ergonomic testing. The validity of the certificate is maximum 5 years.
Countries that adopt GS certification: German
Which product categories GS apply to: household appliances, laboratory equipment, luminaries and IT/AV equipment.

Month: March 2021