Buying directly from Chinese suppliers: pros and cons

We all love to save money. To this end, trying to get rid of all those intermediaries may seem like a good idea. The rapidly developing Chinese market has so many options, both retail and wholesale ones. However, it is not that simple. There are too many reefs in that water.

First, there’s a huge difference between “made for the US” and “made for the rest of the world”. The former is usually of decent quality, whereas the latter is often a rigged lottery. But how can you tell what’s what?

Let’s say you are interested in wholesale dresses. Get ready for description of products in “proper” English. Then there’s an issue with all those misleading product photos. They may look quite well, but how can you be sure that the quality is acceptable, the fabric is as good as it looks, and there are no well concealed defects? Who will guarantee that, say, the dying process did not involve toxic materials?

(taken from mountainsidebride)

Finding the right size is another challenging quest: it may turn out that you need product A, size S and product B, size L for the same person. So a variety of sizes is in order. This way there’s a chance that both person X and person Y will find something that fits them.

(huffingtonpost)

Have some questions? There are sellers that respond in a matter of hours. Others take days. The best part is when a long-awaited reply has no actual answer to your question.

Shipping takes time. And a great deal of patience. The cheapest options are a serious risk: fake tracking IDs, indefinite timeframe and other unexpected surprises. Placed an order closer to the Chinese New Year? There will be a delay – that’s a fact.

You managed to safely make it through all those difficulties, so let’s get to the pros. In most cases the pricing is quite attractive. If it so happens that there are no strings attached, you may strike a good deal. Expected more? Sadly, this is one of the very few advantages.

Don’t feel like you want to take this many risks? This is what locally based companies do for you. They have reliable supply chains, actual product samples, adequate customer support and reasonable prices. The decision is yours.