/biz/ - Business & Finance

[Anonymous No.55755858]

does anyone here have experience vetting vendors from alibaba (or similar) i have a product idea that fits a niche that is bizarrely unfilled. i have the money for prototyped but my gut says dont trust the chinese. anyone do this? do you have to go in person? are there any similar marketplaces for american manufacturers? about how large of a prototype order do you have to procure to work through a concept?

[Anonymous No.55756126]

>>55755858
Yeah don't trust Chinese or indians

Don't pay up front

[Anonymous No.55756157]

>>55756126
so then how do you negotiate getting sent an initial proof of concept? theyre not gonna be like 'here let me just go fire up my assembly line' for free

[Anonymous No.55756266]

>>55756157
Meet with them in person so they know you're serious and show them your big American penis to assert dominance and they will do what you say

[Anonymous No.55756314]

>>55756266
ok well youre no help. anyone else?

[Anonymous No.55756446]

>>55755858
i should have guessed asking a business question on a business board was doomed from the start

[Anonymous No.55756478]

>>55756446
What's your stupid idea anyway

[Anonymous No.55756483]

>>55756314
no he's not wrong you have to meet with them in person and talk to them and dont come off as a retard you have to sound confident and that you know what youre doing. the penis thing was probably his way of saying dont be looking at the ground when talking to them.

[Anonymous No.55756608]

>>55756478
why would i tell you? its way too easy to snipe. id basically just be trying to squeak in before im inevitably rolled by bigger names. also, manners

only thing ill say is it isnt perishable and its a consumer good

[Anonymous No.55756615]

>>55756608
well you know to go in person and talk to the people you need 2 and get things in order. best of luck with this anon.

[Anonymous No.55756621]

>>55756483
thats basically what im thinking and i have no problem communicating but im more looking for guidance from someone who has experience with getting the initial talks started. how much of this shit can you get hammered out before you have to go bust balls in china?

[Anonymous No.55756636]

>>55756608
bee urself, got it.

[Anonymous No.55756652]

>>55756636
for>>55756615

[Anonymous No.55756660]

>>55755858
Hello, my name is Name and I’m the Lead Purchasing Agent of Company Name.

I was looking at your store and I am very interested in creating a long-term business relationship with your company.

Our store specializes in selling Category of Products and we are currently selling # orders per day and I believe that we can increase our sales by creating a long-term and beneficial working relationship with your company.

Before proceeding, we have a few questions we were hoping you could answer:

Do you offer Blind Dropshipping - or without sending an invoice and any associated marketing materials including in or on the packaging.

Do you offer Bulk Dropshipping - our store’s current selling volume is too large to place orders individually.

Do you have a MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) required for any of your products?

Are you able to send an invoice for the whole bulk dropshipping order at once on Alipay?

Are you able to apply my company’s logo on the products?

Our company would like to send you an Excel Spreadsheet (CSV) file with each customer’s information (full name, email, address, product, etc.) and have you process each order individually by sending each customer their appropriate product.

You would then send our company a full invoice for the whole bulk dropshipping order, which we would gladly pay via Alipay.

Please let us know if you are interested in forming this mutually beneficial, long-term business relationship with us.

Also, please add us on WhatsApp and send us a message there promptly
-> WhatsApp Number

We look forward to doing business with you for many years to come.
Sincerely, Company Name

[Anonymous No.55756692]

They all use WhatsApp, you could use WeChat as well but I wouldn't bother. Tell them you will pay for a single item mockup to see the quality and finished product, if that is up to standard then you will place an order with them.
Make sure to only go with a supplier that's been in business for at least two years, preferably at least 4 or 5. Less than that they're just waiting to pull a fast one on someone and for them to try and get lawyers involved because fun fact - fraud is only a civil offence in China, so they'll just shut up shop, declare the company bankrupt and open a new one. If you get into a long term agreement, make sure the deal is negotiated on neutral ground like under UK or Singapore law.

[Anonymous No.55756744]

>>55756660
even if this is just chatgpt this is pretty helpful, thanks.
>>55756692
wow thats just crazy. cant believe china is a manufacturing supergiant with all the bullshit they pull. its good to know you can request singles but if you go for a final order and they dont deliver on spec are you just eating that cost?

[Anonymous No.55756765]

>>55756157
You pay for a sample. It’s not that complex, really

[Anonymous No.55756789]

>>55756744
Don't forget the penis part

[Anonymous No.55756803]

>>55756744
>ChatGPT
Nah, it's just a proforma I got off someone a few years ago. Got plenty of responses then, should still be fine.
>cant believe china is a manufacturing supergiant with all the bullshit they pull
The larger companies are normally pretty legit but for little guys like us that can't afford to do $100k worth of orders every month we need to deal with smaller suppliers, which is where you start running into the conmen. Again, pay close attention to how long the companies you're looking at have been around.
>if you go for a final order and they dont deliver on spec are you just eating that cost?
That's why you want to find out if they have a MOQ. Some of the time you can negotiate them down to 1, but a lot of the time they'll want you to order 100+ for economies of scale, of course.

[Anonymous No.55756808]

>>55755858
Split the mold into 2 units from separate manufacturers so they can't figure it out/copy it

[Anonymous No.55756882]

>>55756808
pretty good idea but im basically ripping an idea thats tried and true but with minor tweaks for usability sake. that being said id love to just move the whole thing to usa if the idea actually becomes successful.
>>55756803
nice, thanks again.
>>55756789
my penis was blown off in a 4th of july accident

[Anonymous No.55758811]

>>55755858
>>55756608