Source Amazon products from China with Ash Monga of Imex Sourcing - a podcast by Michael Veazey

How to Source Products from China for Amazon

with Ash Monga of Imex Sourcing

When sourcing Amazon products from China, do sellers/retailers need to have  staff on the ground in China?

Do you need to have a native Chinese speakers and contacts?

If so, how do you know who to trust?

When you source products from China for Amazon, it does make a huge difference if you have native Chinese contacts - the majority of QC issues are down to communication issues.

Communication is not just language, it’s culture and expectations as well.

Having people on the ground does help.

In low-trust countries like China and India, people like to do business with people they know.

Trust in the legal systems is lower.

Going to suppliers and presenting yourself and showing you have an established business.

Price and credit terms are often improved. Suppliers like to visit offices - esp. those running small to medium sized factories.

Their due diligence is knowing you in person and making a judgement call.

How can you tell who works directly for a factory and who is an agent when you source products from China?

Again due diligence is the key and being on the ground makes a difference.

Imex also does this as part of ad-hoc company verification.

When you source products from China, verify an individual to see if a person is actually employed in China when you source products for Amazon (or any other marketplace).



* They just call the factory.

* In the early days, one guy sat somewhere trying to convince someone is the boss

* Someone also claimed to be a manager but nobody recognised him!

* Factories have great relationships with trading company



Does it even matter if someone is an agent?

Yes it does, but if you’re a small buyer, it might not make a difference.

The trading company does add value - eg speaking English

Does it make a difference to price?

Yes it does make an impact on pricing

Does it affect quality?



For Imex, it does make a difference to quality control

How to source Amazon products from China Yourself

Do I need to visit China?

There are different views on this. Traditional importers are big on doing this.

It comes down to ROI - for a $5000 order, there’s no point in spending $5000 on flying in and hotels etc.

As volume increases, it makes sense.

However these days you can do a lot online.

What are the best ways to source from China online?

Do due diligence - ad hoc supplier check from Imex $200-300

25 pages, supplier’s IP, financials etc.

Put contract in place

Have a solid QC

As a minimum



* Have a Pre Shipment Inspection

* Get a carton of random products pulled out and shipped to you



It adds a week or two to your supply process, but you keep control.

How do you deal with contracts?

Anything that goes wrong eventually translates into the contract - have 25 pages.

It’s a great negotiation tool- Imex has a good track record of recovering money from suppliers when things go wrong.

An English contract is better than nothing at all.

Is it more powerful to have things in writing?

Yes, it is a better negotiation tool.

Send 5 page contract to some suppliers and it’s returned within 5 minutes stamped, so they don’t really read it unless things go wrong.

Is it possible to get a lawyer draw up a Chinese contract?

You can draw these things up online.

If your goal is just to get the supplier on the same page, a simple contract in English.

How should Amazon sellers outsource their sourcing from China?

It’s very fragmented.

Further episodes of Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners, and other e-commerce sellers and digital entrepreneurs.

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