Introduction
Once recognized for low cost products like toys or junk food,but China can now outsource high quality products like electronics, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and automobiles if you know where to look.
China can produce anything you want at prices lower than anywhere else in the world, China can also manufacture products that are more environmentally friendly.
An population of over one billion people enables China to provide enough wokers available to work on any project you want no matter how small or large.
China is opening new factories every day and already has around 33 million industrial enterprises so no matter what product you’re looking for, China probably has it covered.
That’s why China sourcing agents has gained more popularity in recent years. In this blog, we will share some content about China sourcing agency, do not miss it if you have intend to source product in China.
What is a China sourcing agency ？
A sourcing agency is a company that acts as an intermediary between importers and manufacturers. What does an intermediary do? They help create the relationship between two parties who may not have previously had any relationship with each other at all, or might have some sort of “adversarial” past.
What that looks like in this context is that an importer (you) might want to work with a factory (the manufacturer) but they don’t know who the factory is, or how to contact them. An agent will help you find and contact these factories so you can negotiate your deal for exactly what you want.
Two type of sourcing agency
Having someone trustworthy on your side when dealing with foreign manufacturers is incredibly important because it’s very hard to tell if something is too good of a deal to be true. It might be too good of a deal because that price is unprofitable for the factory, or it might just be too good of a deal because it’s based on misleading information ，that’s why sourcing agencies is significant.
There are many different types of China sourcing agencies, but the two main ones are trade networks and buying/selling agents.
Trade networks
Pro of trade networks
Trade Networks work on a membership basis where you pay per year for access to that network. What this means is that if you’re just starting out with importing from China, it’s almost impossible to find any good trade networks because they’re not interested in foreign importers with no experience. The great thing about Trade Networks is that once you’ve found one you like, they will help source hundreds of factories for you – which is great when you don’t have time or resources available to do so yourself.
What’s also really beneficial is your ability to escalate your business relationship directly through these trade networks working with brokers who can get past issues and help settle disputes.
Cons of trade networks
These trade networks don’t actually own any factories, so you won’t get exclusive or custom deals. Instead they generally work on a commission basis where they get paid for finding your factory and billing nothing but pretty large commissions (usually between 15-20% of all orders).
What this means is that if you choose to go with one of these networks, they’ll get the same percentage from every single order you make – which also means that there’s no incentive to give you better prices when ordering more units.
Be sure to ask how often a trade network will visit a factory in person before deciding whether or not it would be worth working with them in addition to working directly with a manufacturer.
If they’re willing to go, they’ll have a much better idea of what you’re actually getting for your money with that factory. What’s the catch with Trade Networks?
The big one is that you never own or have any control over the relationship between yourself and the manufacturer.
There are many factories that will only deal with Trade Networks because it cuts out any middle men who might try to tell them what to do.
What this means is their prices are generally non-negotiable – which can be okay if they give you competitive rates, but not so great if you find something else on their site cheaper than what they quoted you directly.
Sourcing agents
Pros of Sourcing agents
The second option is buying/selling agents (also referred to as sourcing agents).
These companies work on a buying or selling basis and will take a commission from the factory’s margin in exchange for a few different services.
What this means is that if you work directly with the buying/selling agent, they’ll pay for travel to visit the factory on your behalf, give you translation support when negotiating, and also offer some other after sales services like quality control inspections.
What’s great about working with these agents is that they usually have a relationship with your factory going back several years which results in higher quality products at better prices because there might not be any need for them to give you discounts since they already get cheaper prices than their clients.
Cons of sourcing agnecies
What’s bad about buying/selling agents? The big one would be that dealing with a company who doesn’t own a factory means that they don’t actually have any leverage in terms of their relationships.
What this means is that your relationship is only with the buying/selling agent, not with the factory. What this also means is that you’ll need to provide your own QC inspection before accepting goods and shipping, which can be expensive if it’s outside of China or involves air freight.
What’s more, agents charge extremely high rates for after-sales services like quality control – so I’d recommend avoiding these companies for anything other than simple orders where quality isn’t an issue (like pens).
Besides, there are tons of scams out there masquerading as sourcing agencies when in reality they’re just some guy trying to sell you marked up products while taking a commission for themselves. What this means is that you’ll need to do your due diligence before even considering working with any company that wants to take a percentage of your order’s value in exchange for their services.
What this also means is that it might be best to work directly with factories until you get an idea of what the general price range is – otherwise you could unknowingly start offering ridiculously low or high prices just because you don’t know what’s reasonable.
China sourcing agent you can choose for your business
Pangea sourcing
PANGEA is an Australian-based company which specializes in sourcing high quality consumer goods at competitive prices while maintaining strict environmental standards of production throughout supply chains globally through their networked partners around Asia Pacific region including United Kingdom (UK), Hong Kong SAR(HKG) &Malaysia who share same set up processes required by law With Pangea, you can be sure that your products are sourced from the right place. They have partnerships with factories in China and other markets for a faster turnaround time on orders!
JingSourcing
When small business owners are looking for products from China, they have to deal with 1,000s of suppliers. Sometimes finding a good price and quality supplier is hard because it can be difficult to filter all those companies that offer these services in Alibaba’s marketplace; sometimes the selection process takes too long or seems like an impossible task altogether.
In this case we work as partner agents helping them source their product through our friendly service which only requires $100 minimum charge – besides we provide complete cost benefit analysis before deciding where best place order overseas goods at last!
Meeno Group
At Meeno, we provide a complete sourcing service in China. Our services include and not limited to: Quality inspection; Product discovery with high quality products at competitive prices from all over the world through our network of agents who have been working for several years now on behalf of your company (over 5). We offer warehousing solutions if needed as well so that you don’t need any more space than necessary while still being able keep up-to date about new arrivals coming into stock daily! If these options weren’t enough but yet another challenge has presented itself just recently – custom clearance needs? No problem–we’ve got those covered too
Foshan Sourcing
The low service charge and access to the best suppliers are just two of many reasons why you should order from us. In addition, due to our China-based registration we comply with all regulations necessary for trade business which means that your purchasing costs will be much lower than they would if bought locally or imported yourself – not mention easier! Lastly but most importantly: customer satisfaction shines through as an important priority at this company since every Canadian gal loves having her name on boxes full o’ goodies delivered right into her home address without any hassle whatsoever (especially when there’s free shipping!).
Conclusion
If you are looking for a reliable China sourcing company to help with your business, we recommend these three. These companies offer services such as product sourcing and manufacturing in China, QC inspection of products before shipment from factories to the US or EU, marketing assistance for exporting goods into overseas markets and trade networks that can provide access to more than 600 manufacturers across 10 industries. Contact them today and see if they have what it takes to be an effective partner on your journey into international e-commerce.