Buying from China is not an easy task, especially for the newbies. The importing process can be extremely complex, confusing, and costly. Expected gains can often be erased by long transit times, rising or fluctuating delivery costs, regulatory fees, and unexpected delays.
Here are 7 tips for how to buy goods from china, and what you can do to make the process smoothly and efficiently.
1. Plan your import objective
Before embarking on the actual importation process, be clear about what you want to achieve. Choosing the wrong products will make the business lose sufficient time and money. All successful importers know the importance of choosing the right products for reselling. Therefore, be sure to gather sufficient informationabout your goods of choice. Also, obtain descriptive literature, product composition, and samples before making a final decision. This is crucial in furthering your understanding of the products as well as what you will get in return. Once you have sufficient information about the products that you want to buy, learn about how they can be imported. As you will be shipping in bulks, outsourcing the work to a freight forwarder is the cheapest way to go. However, if your packages are small and for personal use, courier delivery service will work better in comparison to the use of big shipping agencies.
2. Familiar with all rules and regulation
Before buying goods from China, research on the rules and regulations that you need to comply with. Usually, import rules often depend on the type of products that you are importing. For instance, children’s products such as toys have regulation on packaging and credibility.
3. Choose reputable Chinese suppliers
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that the importer is liable for all the goods that they choose to buy. As such, any compliance irregularities will be directed towards you, not your supplier. To avoid any discrepancies, ensure that you work with a reputable Chinese supplier. Also, make certain that the supplier equally complies with all set regulations.
4. Negotiate the right deal
Understanding your supplier’s priorities as well as your own strengths and weaknesses will allow you to negotiate the right deal. For instance, you could offer to pay your suppliers more promptly in exchange for better prices. Chinese suppliers believe in building goods business relationships. As such, they will be happy to avail products to you regularly.
5. Have a clear contract in place
As with any other business transaction, importing goods from China should also involve a clear contract between you and the suppliers. Clearly, state the payment and delivery terms that you have been agreed upon, the currency and payment method used.
6. Understand all commodity codes
Buying from China requires using the right 10-digit commodity code for your goods. This will assist in filling out the paperwork accurately and even looking up important information such as duty rates and restrictions that apply to your goods.
7. Be conversant with taxes and duties on imports
All traders who buy goods from China have to pay a Value-added Tax (VAT) and import duty before being cleared for entry into their country of choice. However, this is usually dependent on the classification of goods. Follow these steps and you will benefit from importing goods from China. Whether you are a first-time importer or have been frequently using this process as a line of trade, these tips will always be applicable. They are exactly what you need to make your business thrive.
