Ordering and Importing Your Samples from China

Ordering samples from China enables you to physically compare the products from several suppliers in China and there Factorys side-by-side to make the best business decision. This is the last information that you will gather before taking the biggest step by placing an order for the product that must exceed the expectations of your niche customers.
Evaluating the samples is not about price and quality alone. There are many things to consider. Working through Step 6 teaches you the ins and outs about suppliers’ samples.

How you satisfy your niche market influences what type of sample you are ordering. In turn, the sample type influences what you should expect to learn from the samples. Generally, sample products can be categorized three ways. Standard products are already engineered by the manufacturer and easily available for shipment. You may request the Chinese supplier alter an existing product by adding a new feature or including your brand. This means the Chinese supplier will need to make a special effort to meet your needs. In addition, there is the prototype, which may need significant engineering or at least, manufacturing a test product from scratch.

A supplier’s standard product might be the best and least expensive solution for your niche market. These can include products not currently available to your customers. Because China is the world’s workshop, they manufacture to meet the needs of a diverse global marketplace. A product currently only marketed to the Chinese or another part of the world can be the perfect answer. MP3 players make a good example. Wal-Mart and other big box retailers buy huge quantities of MP3 players and yet only offer about a dozen distinctively different models. In China, you can find 100s of different models being manufactured to satisfy many cultural needs and desires. These are already being sold in other corners of the world. Yet, these standard products will be unique to your customers.

Standard products are also the simplest for suppliers in China to provide. If the products are not prohibitively expensive, the supplier will have extra product on hand and can ship it with short notice.

Larger retail chains and established buyers may easily obtain a couple of dozen samples for analysis by marketing departments and even test market to real customers. First time buyers are usually limited to only one or two copies of the sample.

The Chinese supplier may not stock expensive products. You might need to wait until the supplier can include your sample in someone else’s production run. In this case, you will want to allow plenty of time between placing the request and expecting delivery. In all cases, you want to know that the sample is manufactured under normal conditions and not specially made as a sample. You need to be sure the sample represents what you will receive with a large order.

Packaging your Chinese Imports is another consideration to keep in mind with a standard sample. If you plan to have the product packaged in a unique manner, now is the time for the factory or supplier to repackage the product. Also, make sure any instructions or accessories are included with the basic product. What you receive should represent exactly what you intend to deliver to your customers.

Having the product altered beyond a new packaging scheme creates different expectations. If you want the product to carry your specific brand this is the time to work out the details. Brand is more than just a symbol or name. Brand can include anything that makes your product line distinguishable from similar products in China. Is it as simple as a unique color scheme used across a product line? Or is it more technical in nature, like multiple electronic Chinese products that work well together? Whatever your branding strategy, you can see that the supplier needs more time and will go to more trouble than simply taking a sample off the shelf and sending it.

You are going to need to be very clear about what you want. More than just verbal descriptions are often needed. Diagrams and blueprints are required for technical changes. The supplier might have an engineering department capable of making design changes from your written instructions. Full color diagrams may be suitable if only an emblem or brand name is involved. Another example is providing illustrations with exact measurements for a customized carrying case.
Expect it to take more time and money if you choose making a major alteration to an existing product that best suits your niche market. Altering an automotive accessory intended for a sports car so that it fits onto a pickup truck is going to take some work.

Are you going to do the engineering work or have the supplier perform it? In either case, details need to be worked out and agreed upon. Resizing a product or a major alteration can required new molds and manufacturing tools. At some point, changes become a completely new product that must be prototyped.

Before we get to the prototypes, think about what you will learn from a sample of a branded or altered product. Quality is certainly part of it. However, the sample is not built using only normal manufacturing processes. Instead, a finished product to will be taken from the assembly line to a research and development lab. There, the best technicians and craftsmen will alter it. Realistically assess if the changes can easily be incorporated into the production line and the associated cost. Ask the supplier to explain how this will be accomplished.

You will learn a lot about the supplier’s capabilities along with their willingness to work closely with you to make the changes. In the end, the supplier will go to a lot of cost and work. This is another reason you need to be exact in your specifications. Also, expect to pay the supplier’s costs connected with creating your unique brand and meeting your custom needs. It can be cost effective to have several variations made at the same time if you are not perfectly sure about your final product. More about costs shortly.