Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

INTRODUCTION.
Through my eBook on safe sourcing and easy importing I have helped hundreds of people in 35 countries learn how to enter the high profit world of importing. Their questions through my support channel provide the subject matter for alt of what I plan on posting here.

There are myths and misinformation in abundance on forums everywhere. I am here to dispel those myths and correct the misinformation that I see being published daily in business forums.

A bold claim? Yes, but all you need do is ask me some questions about sourcing and importing and you will soon find that because I have been there – done that for most of my long life, I do actually know what I am talking about.

Disclaimer: I do not pretend to be expert at online marketing. There are plenty of others who have far more experience than I in that field. I am well on my way through reading all 40 pages of Ecom man’s thread, but I already see that he can offer some good advice on the product selling side.

I have been self-employed since 1967, and I started with just enough cash to buy a typewriter and some letterheads. My first job after college was with a big shipping company. Eleven years after I started that first business in 1967 I began exporting my products to Asia/Pacific countries including China which I have visited on countless occasions.

After selling that business in 1987 I began importing from countries including China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brazil. This new business sold products B2B. I had no retail sales. Business boomed and soon I ran out of family members to employ, so I expanded by selling franchises until I had franchisees operating my importing business in 4 countries.

Heart surgery a few years ago forced me to sell that business but my brain won’t slow down so I wrote my book and am now having more fun than ever helping new entrepreneurs get a safe start into importing.

Fire away with your questions.

Thanks for doing this, and making the forum a better place to be.
Your value add is much apprecated. Rep+++

So to fire things off...

Since you've been on both sides of the equation, exporting to Asia/Pacific, and importing from Asia Pacific, what differences do you see?

What are 3 cardinal rules you NEED to know about importing to/from Asia Pacific?

Also, which one do you prefer, exporting to Asia, or importing from Asia, and why?

The big difference is that regulations for those importing goods to most Asia/Pacific countries are still bound up in a lot of needless red tape, but importing from those countries has been greatly simplified.

3 cardinal rules would be:
If exporting to Asia, find a good agent in the destination country. Don't try to export direct to commercial end users. A good agent will have "cousins" in business and that can be the start of a good network.
When importing from Asia Pacific countries carefully attend to due diligence. Part of the need for this is cultural differences. For example Chinese business people will rarely say no. If they say yes, it could mean maybe, possibly, no, or even yes. Because they sometimes say yes when they should say no, don't be annoyed, just frame your question so that a yes or no answer is not required.
Get everything in writing. Dot every i and cross every t, so that there can be no misunderstandings.
Importing from Asia Pacific countries is easy once you understand the process, but exporting to those countries can be hard work even when you do understand. I prefer the easier life of importing.

Walter

I highly recommend the book Walter wrote on importing, if you are interested in importing from China it's a must read.

I placed an initial order with a supplier that is extremely slow. They initially quoted me about 20 days to manufacture the products, after about 15 days they told me it would be MUCH slower. They then set a new timeline of about 20 additional days which is approaching soon and I don't believe they will meet.

Do you have any tips on becoming more of a priority to manufacturers you can tell will be slow? Could monetary bonuses for meeting deadlines be effective? I have no interest in placing another order with this manufacturer but I could tell early after placing the order that it would be very slow to get my product and wonder if there is a way to possibly increase the speed if a similar situation occurs again.

Payment arrangements can have an effect on speed of dispatch but if it is early days in your dealings with them that will not apply this time.

In the case of this current order there is little you can do because you have probably paid a deposit. If you like the product well enough, when placing your next order I would insist upon a smaller upfront deposit with the balance payable on proof of dispatch.

If you begin dealing with other suppliers in future, one of the best tips I can offer is to communicate with them frequently before placing an order, and see how quickly they respond. Slow responses on the sales side of things are a warning sign. If you order a sample and it is slow coming that is a bad sign also. I would also try to negotiate a smaller deposit from the outset.

Walter