Dealing with a Manufacturer

[stand856]

So reading another thread got me thinking.
Do any of you deal with manufacturers, whether its in China or USA.
How do they get in touch with them to manufacture whatever it is you want them to make?
Etc, etc, etc..

[stand856]

somebody, anybody????

[marks256]

I am interested in an answer to this questions as well...

[HiTechGadgets]

Hi, yes i have been dealing mainly with agents and suppliers in Asia. I don't like to deal directly with manufacturers since they have a high moq for a particular product. You can find suppliers or manufacturers through Alibaba, Made in China or GlobalSources.

I must warn you!! Be very careful who you do business with especially on Alibaba. There are lots of scams on that site. Best advice i would give you is to start small and learn from your mistakes. Build relationship with your suppliers you have done business with and they might help you find other legit suppliers for another product in the future

If anyone is interested to hear more info or want to share some ideas and just brainstorm on some of the products you can import and sell here please pm me. Would be glad to help

Gluck!

[terryxu]

maybe i can give you some advice.
1. Chinese factory like T/T. they think that is safe. but you can remitt money to company account, not private
2.start small order before the large.
3.if possible, inspect this factory before do biz
4.before ship out your order, should check all goods.

[KRB ENT.]

I live in Ohio, and I do direct business with a clothing manufacturer all the time, I can give you a good connection.....let me know if your interested.....PM me

Ken

[TheBigIdea]

best is to go through a person you know, who knows somebody in china. and you make a biz trip there, always nice to visit china knowing you're staring at the upcoming biz giants. and yeah, you can still get your starbucks there

[adamwade]

Making a trip to China to qualify suppliers is the best way. I spend an enormous amount of time in factories in China.

Most of my business is helping others get started qualifying factories and selecting suppliers.

If you ever decide that you are ready to make the leap into China sourcing, give me a call.

Adam
248-341-0715

[pboychuk]

Depending on what I am looking to buy/manufacture I will normally go to chinese manufacturers first get their quotes and then go to US manufacturers to find their comparables, than work out the cost per unit including shipping.

I am willing to broker items for you as well, just let me know what you need and I will give you my best price. Because I have shipments coming out of china on a monthly basis as well as experience working with suppliers I can probably net you about the same price as you would end up paying by going straight to the manufacturer

Anyways if you have any more specific questions id be glad to give any input

[leonyu]

I think dealing with China suppliers is ok compared dealing with agents. The problem is can you find the right supplier?

Yes, finding a right supplier is very difficult, and then, you will need help from someone have sourced from China, also, better talk with some Chinese in Exp./Imp. field.

Start from small qty and then increase your quantity is a good idea.

[davidqi]

I am Chinese, here has millions suppliers, how to get the good one. I think the business is person and person's communication and business. If you find the good person, then you will find the good supplier. Even you spend lots of time with this good person, I think this is still worth. To find the good suppliers' key is good person what you find! If you find casually one supplier, maybe you will do 1 or 2 good business firstly, but when you run large, you must be very carefull, otherwise you will lose lots of money. Careful and wish you good luck!

[stand856]

But to start out, you would need to have drawings and specs of the item you want made, right?

[stand856]

Lets see if i can get more answers

[VitacapLabs]

Hi @stand856 - any luck in your endeavor to learn more about partnering with a manufacturer? Just as a side note - no matter what you are looking to make, DON'T just look at the bottom line cost - I'm sure you've learned in life that (usually) you get what you pay for, so be careful and diligent in your efforts.

Also, do some research on any certifications that are supported by some kind of governing bodies - that usually helps take the pressure off as to whether they are reliable. In our industry, vitamin and supplement manufacturing, you absolutely need to ensure your manufacturing facility is GMP-certified. Not "compliant", CERTIFIED. There are hundreds of pages of guidelines that the FDA regulates, and in order for a manufacturer to be certified GMP, there are frequent, random audits done to ensure everything is being followed properly.

If you have any additional questions, or need further guidance in this sector, please do not hesistate to PM me at your convenience.

Thanks and good luck!