With the growth of online transactions and e-commerce, Alibaba is also trying to take its business to brilliant heights. 1688.com is one of the most reliable and famous B2B e-commerce platforms for Chinese local entrepreneurs and manufacturers, you can find products and suppliers through reliable 1688 agents. Most of the suppliers on 1688.com are direct suppliers and manufacturers. 1688 is like Alibaba.com, but here you can find more direct factories and suppliers. These suppliers offer wholesale and retail prices which are the cheapest and most affordable in China.
We have already told you how to purchase from 1688.com in our previous article (https://www.unionsourcechina.com/sourcing-products-from-1688/) The purpose of this article is to tell you what to pay extra attention to when purchasing on 1688.com, making your purchasing safer!
Pay Attention to Product Quality, Very Important!
Chinese suppliers usually sell goods and attract customers to Chinese buyers at lower prices. The main reason is not that they want to deceive their compatriots, but because they may cut costs on products, and the way to reduce costs can be reflected in many aspects (such as product weight/size/specification/packaging, etc.), so you must confirming various details of the product with the supplier before signing a contract to prevent possible product quality risks.
But Chinese suppliers also generally understand that the quality of the goods they export is often better than that offered to domestic buyers. Especially when selling to European, Australian or American buyers, Chinese suppliers recognize that they need to be able to offer higher quality products, so they usually quote a higher overall price, shopping at 1688.com does not mean So you’ll get lower prices than Alibaba.com. Therefore, you need to emphasize to the customer the country and quality requirements you need to export to.
The number of suppliers on 1688.com is beyond your imagination, and the prices/styles/quality are not the same. In order not to make mistakes in product quality, the best way is to spend a relatively high price to collect different products before purchasing. The supplier’s samples are used for comparison, which is the most effective and guaranteed.
To sum up, you must focus on product quality, therefore, you need to do:
1. Confirm various details of the product before signing the contract, such as product photo/gram weight/size/specification/packaging, etc.
2. Emphasize the country and quality requirements you are exporting to.
3. Spend money to collect samples from different suppliers (this is the most efficient) (For samples order, we don’t charge a service fee)
Pay Attention to the Real Price of Product!
In many categories of products, there will be many different prices for the same product, depending on the nature of the supplier (maybe a factory, or a trading company) and the characteristics of the product (there may be multiple sizes and types of products). For example, in the picture below, the same product has different prices because the suppliers of the product are different.
In order to get closer to the real price of the product, we need to choose which are more reliable suppliers, and in this article https://www.unionsourcechina.com/select-good-suppliers-in-1688/, we introduce how to go about selecting reliable suppliers. Quality suppliers usually have no shortage of customers, and to save time, they will put the real price on the page as much as possible. But those “newbie stores” that lack customers will sacrifice their reputation in order to attract customers with very low prices, which will waste your time.
The most direct way to find out the true price of a product is to ask the store’s customer service staff, who will usually be able to provide you with all the information you need quickly and accurately. Note that they usually only accept communication in Chinese, of course, this is the most inefficient way because you have to communicate with at least five suppliers of similar products to get more accurate information. Remember, competition in the Chinese market is very hot!
In China, most of the products of raw materials will show a year-on-year rising trend, so this year’s product prices than last year’s upward adjustment is a normal phenomenon, but usually, upward adjustment is not very high, the adjustment rate is usually within 5% (unless the international situation of the year a big change), so your last year’s purchase price up 5% is an acceptable price ceiling, you can use this standard to measure the price of products, only as a price reference, specific to your experience in your industry.
So, to get closer to the real price of the product here’s what you can do
- Choose more experienced suppliers because they are more reliable.
- Initiate consultation with no less than 10 suppliers for comparison.
- Use your industry’s purchasing experience to make judgments and estimates.
Pay Attention to Payment Security!
Payment issues are a headache for many purchases as it relates to the security of funds and transactions. Payment in international trade involves the choice of payment methods and payment currencies, here we only elaborate on the matters that need to be noted for payment to Chinese suppliers.
We mentioned above that we should try to choose a reliable provider. Reliable providers usually use public accounts rather than private accounts, and private accounts usually mean more risk. Of course, if you have a small order (less than $500 total), using Alipay/Wechat Pay all is ok (provided you pay in RMB)
If you pay in USD, I suggest you go through a 1688 agent to help you with the payment. First of all, the suppliers on 1688.com only accept payment in RMB, secondly, the 1688 agents can help you identify the qualification and financial security of the supplier, which can make you feel more comfortable with the payment. The most important thing is that the 1688 agent takes the risk of payment for you, which can ensure you can get the goods smoothly.
Don’t trust RMB payment channels on the Internet, as their funds are usually “unclean” and paying through unsecured channels increases the risk of having your account frozen, or having an account frozen. The accounts of the upper and lower levels can be frozen one after another, and the freezing of funds can ruin a company.
Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of your money, you need to do.
- Choose a reliable supplier.
- Use AliPay or WeChat Pay (RMB payment) for small orders.
- Cooperate with 1688 agents.
- Don’t cooperate with third-party payment agencies.
Attention to Delivery Time!
Delays in delivery are a common occurrence with most suppliers. If you choose to go through your own customs clearance, I suggest you confirm with your supplier that the goods are complete before booking, otherwise you will have many unnecessary losses.
Please make sure to confirm the delivery date of the product before paying the deposit. Many Ready Ship products actually have a long production lead time, so please confirm the quantity and product delivery date in advance before placing the order, which is beneficial to both parties.
After paying the deposit, please don’t just wait, please follow up on the production progress of the supplier every day, and make sure to get the production photos, because many times the supplier will put the delivery date to less in order to attract customers to place orders, irresponsible suppliers do exist, we must be more vigilant.
After the production of goods, it is best to need the inspection chart, including the overall picture and video of the storage of goods, in this regard the supplier is difficult to fake.
The best way is to cooperate with UNION SOURCE, we will always help you follow up on the production progress of the product, you just need to pay and wait for the goods to arrive!
Therefore, in order to guarantee the delivery time, you need to do.
- Have the supplier estimate the delivery time before finalizing the order
- Follow up on the production progress and get the production drawings every day after you pay the deposit
- Get the inspection video after the goods are finished
- and 1688 agent cooperation
when purchasing goods on 1688.com , we need to pay attention to :
- Pay attention to Product Quality, Very Important!
- Pay attention to the Real Price of Product !
- Pay attention to Payment Security!
- Attention to Delivery Time!
