What Would it Take?

[Hockey4Life]

I have been thinking... You know all those no-brand electronics and other gadgets that come out of China at dirt cheap prices? They don't sell well, partly because they are no good, but mostly because they have no set brand name such as Apple, Sony, Microsoft, etc... The products have no warranties, and many don't even have English manuals.

But in my opinion, many things that come out of China have some potential, and so do the people who make them. Heck, they are currently copying iPhones that people are claiming to be better than the real thing! Now, what if you could take all this manufacturing ability and talent and turn it into a company with a name and its own unique product line, complete with English manuals and warranties!

What would this take? How would I go about branding my items coming from China and worrying about copyright protection for myself? Also, how much money do you think this would take? I remember talking with some a while ago and they said they could do anything with a minimum order of 100 units.

Would I have to make trips over there to do research and sign contracts with manufacturers?

What do you think, is this feasible? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

[Mega B]

A nightmare i would think,i am just changing a site over that i have built up over this last year to selling solely Sony products after i applied and was accepted as a affiliation customer for North America and that will be changed over at the end of the this month.All i have to do then is promote the site and the Products will sell themselves.

This is a project that i am really looking forward and it will be a very sound business move

[Hockey4Life]

A nightmare i would think,i am just changing a site over that i have built up over this last year to selling solely Sony products after i applied and was accepted as a affiliation customer for North America and that will be changed over at the end of the this month.All i have to do then is promote the site and the Products will sell themselves.

This is a project that i am really looking forward and it will be a very sound business move

Is this in response to my post? If so... I'm lost!

[Mega B]

Your idea sounds feasible but i would think it would be a nightmare to setup and i am not sure on how you would go about doing it,what i was trying to say i guess is that a established Brand name would be easier to start of with that that no one has heard of before.

[Hockey4Life]

Your idea sounds feasible but i would think it would be a nightmare to setup and i am not sure on how you would go about doing it,what i was trying to say i guess is that a established Brand name would be easier to start of with that that no one has heard of before.

Oh, alright. Yeah, that's true, but if done correctly, an affordable line of electronics could prove VERY profitable.

[Korzhik]

no one is arguing with you about how profitable it would be, but the thing is....it would just take a super long time, unless you have the tools and resources to put into promoting your new brand. this said with the fact that the product will be reliable.

[Mega B]

What worries me about this is the safety issues regarding the electrical items,we have all heard about the recent toy problems with lead paints and build quality from these chinese products that have been assembled for a Large US toy firm and this is going to be a major problem confincing the US public that these products are safe to use and meet certain standards.

[Hockey4Life]

Those are good points. But I think China is the way to go, as much as I dislike giving them as much business as our country does, they are the dominant force in the trading world.

Even something such as a clothing line would be safe and a bit more cost effective.

[jack1887]

if you idea is a little bit like that model of NIKE,but the differences is that NIKE designs its shoes , and asks the chinese manufacture to assembly they , then ships the shoes back to
US ,or other places .in short , NIKE designs and markets its products. if you wanna to develop your brand , i think you should learn something from NIKE first ..

[byzantium]

Try an Ebay store. Look in the dark corners of Ebay, you'll find tons of cheap Chinese electronics for sale. A lot of it is sold in the US under brand names at twice the price. The Ebay guys are Chinese, speak the language and know the culture, and have direct lines to the Communist Party and the factories. That's what you need to make this work. China is still in many ways a closed society. Ethnic Chinese do the best there. Indeed, people from San Francisco's Chinatown, whose ancestors immigrated from southern China when it was a backwater, have suddenly found themselves making a fortune off Hong Kong and Shenzhen factories. If you're not Cantonese, employ people who are.

[tazman9r]

The whole reason for doing business with China is to get the most quantity for the lowest price. I actually think you idea has a lot of merit. It's an industry solution to what could become a more stringently government regulated issue, that being the quality of Chinese products. The problem is cost. The trick will be in the method you use to accomplish this goal, and then getting the factories in China to comply.

[jasaunders]

What do you think Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Hitachi, LG, Nokia, and other big name electronic brands do? Do you think they manufacture their products in expensive countries? No. They are getting their products built by the same manufacturers in China. They use low cost manufacturing for their products as well.

Why then are their products more expensive?
1) They are designing the products. They spend money on R&D. Your no-name chinese manufacturers are copying products, are not first to market, and often times violating intellectual property laws.
2) SG&A - It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to sell the products
3) Safe and reliable products. The companies ensure the products meet international safety standards and as such get them certified by third party test laboratories. In order to sell your products in certain markets, you have to have certain certifications. For example in Europe, you would need to meet all applicable EU Directives. For phones this might include the low voltage directive and EMC directive, if the product could be used in a hazardous location, this would include the ATEX directive. The companies make sure their manufacturers produce quality products by obtaining ISO 9000 registrations. And more recently, produce environmentally friendly products by obtaining ISO 14000 registrations and meeting EnergyStar requirements.

[rogercbryan]

I have been thinking... You know all those no-brand electronics and other gadgets that come out of China at dirt cheap prices? They don't sell well, partly because they are no good, but mostly because they have no set brand name such as Apple, Sony, Microsoft, etc... The products have no warranties, and many don't even have English manuals.

But in my opinion, many things that come out of China have some potential, and so do the people who make them. Heck, they are currently copying iPhones that people are claiming to be better than the real thing! Now, what if you could take all this manufacturing ability and talent and turn it into a company with a name and its own unique product line, complete with English manuals and warranties!

What would this take? How would I go about branding my items coming from China and worrying about copyright protection for myself? Also, how much money do you think this would take? I remember talking with some a while ago and they said they could do anything with a minimum order of 100 units.

Would I have to make trips over there to do research and sign contracts with manufacturers?

What do you think, is this feasible? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Questions:

If the min order is 100 units and the price per unit is $300 per unit: Do you have the $30K to get started?

Do you have the warehouse space to store the products?

Do you have the shipping arrangements (and money) to get the products shipped to you?

Have you developed a warranty plan for customers who get a product that does not work or that breaks after 90 days?

Do you have the infrastructure to support this business (website, call center, customer service, accounting, and legal)

If the answer is yes to all these (and maybe more) questions then I think you should give it a try. I made this post to point out it is not as simple as just buying items from China and then selling them. There is a lot more to it. If you have actually developed a plan that addresses these issues then I see no harm in giving it a try.

[Hockey4Life]

Questions:

If the min order is 100 units and the price per unit is $300 per unit: Do you have the $30K to get started?

Do you have the warehouse space to store the products?

Do you have the shipping arrangements (and money) to get the products shipped to you?

Have you developed a warranty plan for customers who get a product that does not work or that breaks after 90 days?

Do you have the infrastructure to support this business (website, call center, customer service, accounting, and legal)

If the answer is yes to all these (and maybe more) questions then I think you should give it a try. I made this post to point out it is not as simple as just buying items from China and then selling them. There is a lot more to it. If you have actually developed a plan that addresses these issues then I see no harm in giving it a try.

Who's saying I'm going to be making products that cost $300 to manufacture? I'm not building laptop computers here! I will have $10k to invest within the next few months and I think that could be a solid start.

As far as your other points, I have no arguments, that will be tough. I am going to have to do my research, this was just a thought and it's going to require TONS more. Though I am definitely confident that with the right business plan and resources, this could turn into something big!

[adamwade]

creating private brand products is not out of reach. the most important part is being able to chose what is a good product vs. a bad product.

Either you need to spend a ton of time on Alibaba, and have people send you samples or you need to go to a trade fair in China.

Think about going to the Hong Kong electronics fair and also the 1st session on the Canton Fair in Guangzhou.

Spending time at a fair will allow you to see the entire spectrum of whats available for your private brand.

next set of trade fairs is in October, send me a PM if you are interested in attending.