Sometimes I read a really good article, and I think it will be of interest to importers. I may send a link to it or re-tweet it… or simply forget it.

To avoid forgetting about the best articles I come across, I am going to save them and publish 5-7 of them at a time. I guess this is the most convenient thing I can do for my readers.

Here are the best recent articles:

Adverse Results of Low Price in China Manufacturing

In China, the quality of an order is directly linked to the price negotiated for that order. It often comes as a shock to first-time buyers. This article explains the mechanisms at play in detail.

Guanxi for the Busy Professional

What professionals need to know about guanxi (connections in China). I feel this is an excellent summary, far from the silly “without guanxi you can do nothing in China” articles that I often come across. As Andrew says, “you shouldn’t throw away your business plan just because you know a guy who knows a guy.”

Insider’s look at Alibaba Inspection Services

I hold Alibaba in very low esteem. Maybe because they list thousands of middlemen pretending to be manufacturers. Maybe because they mislead importers with a “gold status” that means nothing. And it won’t get better, as they launch a marketplace for QC inspections relying on a good number of bottom-of-the-barrel service providers.

Managing Quality in China with 3PQ

Good basic advice for the importer who is starting to buy from China. I particularly like the advice about defining everything in detail, and the way to tell a supplier that QC inspections will be conducted on every production run.

China 101: Sourcing from China Survival Guide

If you want a basic checklist, to make sure you don’t forget anything when you start a new sourcing project in China, this article will be helpful. I wrote it with a fellow blogger collecting “China 101” articles. Part 2 is here.

China Scam Alert: The Different Company Bank Account. Again.

Nobody wants to be scammed by a supplier. Not only do you lose all your money, but you also need to explain to your customers why they aren’t going to get the products you have pre-sold to them. Read this description of a very common scam.