A few days ago, I got a nice email from a reader. This was not just a “congratulations, very useful articles” message. It also pointed to some crazy stories that many importers want to believe:

Very very well done! I have been importing from China for 15 years and it is very refreshing to actually read the stuff in my head!

The day that I first found your blog I had just sat through a meeting where I heard the “I have a friend who knows someone who knows a factory – we should buy from them” story. Almost as famous as “the factory is allowed to make X% of a famous brand item after hours and sell it for a fraction of what the branded item is worth – and it is exactly the same”

My point is that there are very intelligent people who believe that crap and need to read your blog! You should charge subscription fees.

I entirely agree, these stories are widely believed, and they are very dangerous for importers.

And I can think of a few others:

“Do not send QC inspectors in a factory. Do not ask your supplier to sign a contract. Do not set late penalties on your purchase orders. It will be interpreted as proofs that you don’t trust them, and it will be detrimental to business.”

“In China, the most difficult is to find a supplier with the right sample in hand, and to negotiate a good price. After the order is issued, we just need to wait for the delivery.”

“If a supplier offers a price that is really lower than the others, it must mean he is the real manufacturer. All the others buy from him and add their margin.”

“What Chinese factories are looking for is real partners, so they can give good quality, good service, and good pricing, and in return they will benefit when the importer’s business is flourishing.”

Any other crazy stories?

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UPDATE to clarify what I meant by this: “If a supplier offers a price that is really lower than the others, it must mean he is the real manufacturer. All the others buy from him and add their margin.”

Here is what sometimes happens: a buyer asks 10 potential suppliers for a price: 7 of them are around $5; 1 of them is at $8; 2 of them are at $4. These last 2 guys are trying to attract customers. How will they make money? Maybe they will raise the price later (especially after a deposit has been wired), and benefit from the fact that switching from one supplier to another is long and expensive. Maybe they will use cheaper (and substandard) product components, and hope the buyer does not notice.

It has nothing to do with the nature of their business. Some traders and some manufacturers play this game.

Related reading: Should you tell China suppliers about your target price?