What Every Buyer Needs to Know

Issue	Response
What can I do if my goods are not delivered after full payment and how do I avoid this problem next time?	In the opinion of Sophie Mao of www.chibridge.net, lawyer in China, "The best way to protect yourself is to structure your payment terms so that payment and quality of the goods are linked. Make sure to keep the deposit as small as possible and do not make the remaining payments until you or a third party inspection agent has checked the goods." If you have the following items in place, then there is a decent chance of negotiating a resolution that is acceptable: A signed or chopped contract that defines clearly the acceptable level of quality. A clear paper trailing showing proof of payment. The seller named on the contract matches the receiver of the payments. (With so many trading companies out there it is a common mistake to have a contract with a supplier but pay a trading company). Your supplier has physical and financial assets (small "one-man-bands" disappear as soon as they feel a lawsuit is on the way). The jurisdiction on the contract matches the location of the supplier's assets at a city, province or country level. It is always nice to have future orders you can leverage as well.
How do I make sure the quality of goods received is according to contract?	1.    Ensure the supplier can actually achieve your desired  level of quality in the first place:       Physical inspection of the factories and a review of actual production samples.       Recruit independent agents that can assist with this qualification and analysis process. 2.   Always see an actual production sample from the actual supplier. 3.   Ask the supplier to provide their internal QC documentation.
How do I pick a supplier?	1.   First, identify the qualities of your ideal supplier would look like:      access to a certain raw material,       are they ISO-certified,       are they verified suppliers,       do they have X number of employees,       do they produce X amount of goods per year and so on       their product country of origin 2.   Compare the website or brochures from your list of potential suppliers against the attributes of this "ideal supplier" and create three piles: "No way," "Maybe" and "Looks good." Generally speaking, the websites and brochures offer you a best case scenario in terms of capability and experience of the factory. Sales and marketing people anywhere in the world tend to overpromise and underdeliver. 3.   Only at the final stage of choice do we bring in a key factor: price. Knowing the tendency to favour a cheaper option, price should only come into consideration once a handful of quality choices are available for choice. *Thankfully for you dear buyer, the hassle and pain of going through a pile of brochures and endless websites can be eliminated with Socialwalk’s business matching service.  Not only do we save you precious time, we reduce the risk of undependable and unreliable suppliers Through us, you will meet serious buyers, quality suppliers and credible partners.
How do I know if a supplier is legitimate?	You should contact the suppliers and conduct the RFQ or request for quotation. Their feedback should allow you to narrow down the list further to only the top two or three based on pricing and non-price attributes. There are professional service providers available that conduct these types of verifications at very reasonable prices. Contact us for free one-to-one session at kelly@socialwalk.com

Source: Answers written by Mike Bellamy, an Advisory Board Member & Featured Blogger at the not-for-profit China Sourcing Information Center. Mike is also the author of "The Essential Reference Guide to China Sourcing" and founder of PassageMaker Sourcing Solutions

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