Sourcing & Import from China Tips and Guide

Perhaps one of the most intimating actions is how to negotiate with a Chinese retailers when you stumble across some un-resistible products that captured your attentions.

Almost everyone who ever did bargaining before had encounters of being taken advantages of. Almost immediately you thought you had made a killing, you knew you were paying too much at the next shops but it’s too late at a non fixed price market place. No refunds, no exchanges, once cash exchanged hands, that’s it.

Women tends to bargain a lot better than man due to their delicate and aggressive nature, I believed women derive extreme satisfaction even close to an organism when they successfully clinch the best deal of all and when they hysterically shared with their friends. In fact, most shopping places will have their business closed down if there aren’t women shoppers around spending either their but most of the time their husband money.

We must understand how these Chinese businessman established their retails networks, They had probably dealt with hundreds of tourists buyers like yourself on a daily manner. They had seen it all and had shared insider information with their competitors. Basically they way they operate is adopting dollar averaging selling tactics. They treat most foreign buyers as big fishes, trying their best to lure you to their baits and tug the line in slowly for the final kill.

They assess you for your spending power and age group, how keen you are interested in their wares and just try their luck with an asking price of few hundreds if not thousand percents of the cost price. From previous experiences, they knew the conversion rate, meaning how many people will actually pay for that prices without any negotiation.

The ball will be on you to bargain, most didn’t dare and even felt embarrassed to go too low and will be extremely thrilled if one able to make the kill at 50% discounts and go tells everyone about it. As a matter of facts, 9 out of them had already been ripped off and will never knew about it. However, when the Chinese retailers countered some hard balers, they will then settle for less, leveraging on dollar averaging selling, a certain level of margin model can be sustained.

Sure, business needs to have profit margin to thrive. Depending on the rental and thus the location and volume, some managed to achieve decent margin, some at extorsive levels.

Unlike in Japan, where all the products are fixed with listed prices, China businessman tends to be more scheming or perhaps enterprising. Following are some of the tips to help you to negotiate effectively even with just a calculator, hand gesture and some serious acting.

1. Snoop around on your favorite items and persuade your friends or other members on the tour to join force to increase your bargaining power; group buy.

2. Team up with your friends to distract the Chinese businessman when you are
Delivering your punch lines. (See illustration below)

3. Downplaying the value of the merchandise by commenting on its disadvantages, such as the lack of options, colors, defects here and there and offer a 25% of the asking price.

4. Referring to repeat purchases by your friends who had bought for 25% of the asking price. You might just hit the jackpot, He probably cant recall as he dealt with hundreds of sales enquiries daily.

5. If you senses you are cornered by high pressure selling tactics, you need to get out of the situation as soon as possible, stay cool and be very persistence, no, no, no, no,. no, no. it’s a patient game, they wear you out until you give in. Most resorted to dig their way out by compromising by paying a hefty premium on the products of which cost a tiny fraction across the street. Another effective way is to plead your way out. If needed, cry and tell them your sorrows. Practice before you go

6. Consult others, ask your tour guide, how much is the reasonable buying price for common souvenirs. Check online on internet of these merchandizes, there are tons of forum and discussion blogs out there to use as references. With the figure in minds, you can bargain effectively.

7. Visit the local wholesale markets, you will be surprised how much money you can saved with just the mild negotiation with the wholesalers. The rule of thumb is not to buy anything in tourist centers and high end establishment areas.

All the best on your bargaining with the Chinese Merchants, remember, this is your hard earn money, make it work harder for you. You entitled the right for a fair deal.

Sample illustration:

You: How much each?
Him: RMB$200

You: Too expensive
Him: How much do you offer ?(this is the moment with great challenges)

You: How much can you offer?
Him: RMB$190

You: Too expensive, my friend bought it for RMB$40 last week
Him: No. no. impossible, I lose money selling at this price

You: Its true, you see, this one had some defects here, didn’t look as nice. Gibe me more discount
Him: RMB$180

You: You got to be kidding, I offer you RMB$50
Him: No, no. too low, I lose money, RMB$170

You: RMB$60 for 5 of the same items, deal? I got to go, quick. (Give him pressure and had your friends distracting him with interest on appearing higher value products)
Him: Okie, Okie,. 5 for RMB65. (He wanted to go attending your friend and didn’t mind making less on this lower priced items)

By David Foo
Author is the founding member of the of the
Free China Manufacturers Directory
http://www.chinawholesalesourcingguide.com/
http://www.singapuraproperty.com/