We have to admit that the international business is full of risks, filled in much more challenges when a buyer is choosing his supplier. We also admit that the fraud cases actually happen everywhere including in China.
I have been an international salesman for nearly 13 years, meeting lots of complaints from various customers who were cheated one time or several times by Chinese supplier, the cheating ways is quite “funny”, such as getting money without shipping, or delivering low quality product or even delivering quite different product. As a supplier myself, I totally understand how the feeling is if somebody has lost huge payment especially when his business just starts or he is a green entrepreneur, the lost must be huge striking to him, and we have to admit that to get the money back is also quite impossible, the smaller the amount is, then the few possibility he will take it back. Because once the cheater got the money, he will try to disappear, it is much difficult for a foreigner to find him. To send him a case also takes too much time and energy, at least in my opinion Chinese policeman seldom touched such cases as no law supporting.
Below are my suggestions to help finding a true supplier in China, please pay attention that as I am only involved in chemical business:
1) Check his website, if they don’t have their own homepage, take caution. If they have one, but website is quite simple, picture is stolen from other places, no flash or no any other advanced design, and even mark them as manufacturer, congratulations, those are cheater’s website typically features.
2) Ask a Chinese friend to check it, after all, Chinese people can easily distinguish it than a foreigner, he can check the register license and other license, even take a visit there.
3) Get some information about this supplier from your current reliable suppliers or your competitors, you can also find valuable information through custom data, because frequent business data don’t lie.
4) You have to be more professional and confident in your product price, especially in Chinese market price. If the gap is too large, you should be careful a lot, take my product as example, if somebody gives me price with 50 USD/MT than market level, I will absolutely reject it. So don’t be greedy.
5) If a company has established for more than 5 years or more, it should be trustworthy. But it doesn’t mean a new company is not trustworthy.
6) Go there to check it by yourself.
As a PVC supplier, my experience is:
1) Usually the cheating locations are: Henan Province, Hebei Province, Zhengzhou City, Shijiazhuang City, and some area in Tianjin City. If you find a company that started in those areas, be careful.
2) Price, price, price, this is the most important, don’t be greedy. Force yourself to be processional as much as possible.
Post time: Feb-16-2023