Stin Purchasing Agent Service -- Your Own Sourcing Office, Assitants and Eyes in China!

Stin Purchasing Agent or Buying Office Service means Stin company shall work as the clients' own buying office in China and cope with all the issues regarding the procurement and import of their goods in person.

  Why do you need a Purchasing Agent service in China?
  On the one hand most of the small and mid-scale factories do not have a direct Export License at present and the buyer cannot purchase legally and directly from them. Those factories will use their own Export Agent in China to protect their interests.The buyers are suggested to use their own export or import agent to protect their own interests in China in such cases. On the other hand, a qualified sourcing agent will act as your own assistants and eyes, they will help you keep sourcing better qualified factories, control the busines risks, control the quality,check the documents, arrange shipment and even offer after-sale services etc here in China, by this way the client can save much more time and cost.

 What can Stin Purchasing Agent Service bring you in China?
 Stin purchasing agent service can offer at least following work or services for their clients worldwide on the ground:
Sourcing new suppliers or factories;
Sampling or prototyping;
Verification or Inspection of your suppliers
Management of suppliers in China
Project management
Price negotiation
Delivery support (Shipping and Logistic Support)
Customs clearance
Formal contract documentation support
Quality control management
Loading process supervision
After-sale service support
Other services may be available upon request

   What the clients have to do is simply to tell STIN their detailed buying information (product name, descriptions, specifications, applications, package, quantity and quality requirements etc) and then receive and sell the goods at their end. This service is catered for project procurement and large orders. STIN staff shall work for the clients formally after they sign a Cooperation Agreement with them by fax or email. STIN is simply acting as your own eyes, assistants and office and her mission is to save you more and reduce the risks in your business in China !

How to source China buyers, importers and distributors

     China is a huge market for lots of items due to her large population and fast economic development. China has been the second largest economy since early 2016 and is expected to be the largest economy by 2030. China is not only the largest exporter for lots of items,say,shoes,clothes, furniture,and elecronics etc but also China is the largest importer for lots high-tech and raw materials, say,chips,luxury goods, wines, fruits, soybeans and machinery etc. China is a huge market but the competition is also harsh enough, if you'd like to enter China market, you can source some qualified distributors and importers via following 5 ways:

1).CIIE (China International Import Expo）
CIIE is the largest import fair in Asia, the first CIIE was held in Nov, 2018, attracted more than 3600 enterprises from over 172 countries and areas on the globe. Please have a look at their website for details: https://www.ciie.org
According to their official announcement, the first CIIE attracted more than 150,000 buyers, concluded a total import value of around 57.83 billion USD of goods, technology and service at this fair.

2).Industry Fairs
Every industry has their own industry fair in China, here an example for your reference:
CFDF (China Food and Drinks Fair) - http://www.qgtjh.com or http://www.cfdf.org/
Launched in 1955, CFDF claims to be the largest industry fair for food and drinks industry. CFDF is held twice per year and every fair, with the total exhibition area of more than 100,000 square meters, can attract around 30,000 enterprises and 150,000 professional visitors in China. Wine and spirits, traditional alcohols, food and drinks, condiments etc can all be exhibited here. For more industry fairs in China, please click here for details.

3).Internet Platform
Internet is the one of best ways for you to source buyers,importers or distributors now in China.
①. Search Engine
Google is the largest search engine on the globe, while Baidu is the largest one among Chinese communities, it accounts for nearly 80% of China searching market. With a right keyword, you can find out lots of potential buyers on Baidu or Google.
②. B2B Platforms
Alibaba is the largest B2B platform in China and they claim to have more than 10 million buyers online.
③. Social Network Platform
Wechat, a part of Tencent Group, is the largest social network platform in China, with more than 1.1 billion users as of Jan, 2019, among them 1.5 million of them are companies or suppliers, 80% of China top 500 brands have registered on Wechat.You can search hundreds of companies on wechat every day. Weibo is the second largest social network platform in China, with more than 0.45 billion users and tens of thousands of corporate users.

4).Customs Data
With a right customs code, you can find out enough importers via Customs Data. You can not only source suppliers from Customs Data but also you can find out lots of qualified buyers from Customs Data,sometimes you have to 'buy' the customs data.

5).Industry Wholesale Market
In China there are lots of industry wholesale markets,where you can find some qualified distributors or importers in person. Here are two examples for your reference:
Guangzhou Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market http://www.jnmarket.net/
Started in1994. Guangzhou Jiangan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market has been the NO.1 market for imported fruits and vegetables, it claims to have an exhibition area of more tha 400000 square meters, with an annual import of 40000 containers of imported fruits at present.

Zhangjiagang Wood Market  http://news.wood-china.com/market/3021.html

Started in 1982, Zhangjiagang Wood Market has been the largest wholesale market for imported wood, logs and timbers. The annual deal reached 2 million m³ and account for 30% of China market. It's the No.1 log importer in China.

If you'd like to market in China, you are free to ask us any question related.

How to Source Chinese Suppliers

As an experienced sourcing specialist here in China, I'd like to share some experience in sourcing qualified suppliers or partners at our end. Currently we have following major ways to source qualified suppliers or partners in China:

1).Industry Fair or Show
In China almost every industry has their own trade show or fair. So industry fair is one of the best ways for you to source and meet some qualified suppliers and exporters. Here is an example, if you are looking for Chinese fruits, you can simply attend IFRESH FAIR or Asia Fruit Logistica (www.asiafruitlogistica.cn), you will find out many qualified suppliers there.

Click here to find out more than 100 different industry fairs in China.

2).Industry Association
The next way to source qualified suppliers is through industry association, every big industry has their own industry association as well. Take CIMA (China Instrument Manufacturers Association: http://www.cima.org.cn ) as an example, founded in 1988, the China Instrument Manufacturer Association (CIMA) is a nationwide, industry-backed and non-profit social organization integrating a myriad of leading renowned enterprises and research institutions. It has 1079 members and among which there are 987 manufacturers, 44 research institutions, 21 colleges and universities, and 27 relevant societies. The total member's production capacity accounts for more than 85% of China market. This is nearly the same case in other industry associations in China, each one must have some well-known factories or brands in their field.

Here is the list of a top industry associations in China for your reference.
China Vegetable Association: www.cva128.org
China Fruit Association: www.china-fruit.com.cn
China Grain Association: www.chinagrains.org.cn
China Animal Agriculture Association: www.caaa.cn
China Cotton Association: www.china-cotton.org   
China Agricultural Machinery Distribution Association: www.camda.cn
China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association: www.cappma.org
China Crop Protection Industry Association: www.ccpia.org.cn
China Fisheries Association: www.china-cfa.org
Please click here to know more about China industry associations.

3).Internet Platform
①.Search Engine -- Google and Baidu 
Google accounts for 92% of the global searching market. Baidu accounts for 80% of China searching market. Incorporated on January 18, 2000, With the world’s largest Internet user population—829 million as of December 2018—and a long way to go to reach Internet penetration levels of developed countries, Baidu has been the largest Chinese search engine on the globe, with a daily click record of 6 billion in 2018. You can find out hundreds of suppliers via Baidu with the right key words.

②.B2B platforms -- Alibaba, 1688, Made-in-China 
1688 is the largest wholesale market on the globe, with more than 10 million registered companies or factories online, covering more than 1709 different industries in China. Hundreds of industry clusters or manufacturing bases can be found on 1688.com.

③.Social Media -- Webo, QQ, Wechat
https://weibo.com/, As of January 2019, The number of Weibo users is 337 million, among them 1.5 million are registered companies or factories in China. Currently there 1.04 billion weichat users, among them more than 30 million are corporate users, covering 50 different industries. 

4).Manufacturing Bases / Industry Clusters/ Industry Market
In China, almost each industry has her own industry market, where the buyers, sellers, factories and distributors can meet each other. Industry Market is the best place for businessmen to do market survey, source factories and look for qualified distributors etc in China. The industry market is normally located at the real manufacturing bases, for example, if you’re buying 'fireworks', you can go and source some qualified suppliers at Liuyang International Fireworks Market in Liuyang city, China, where there are hundreds of factories located.

Here is a list of some TOP and best industry markets in China:
Food Industry -- Jiangsu Jiangyin Food Market 
Website: www.jiangyinshipin.com
Food Industry -- Cixi Zhouxiang Food and Groceries Wholesale Market 
Website: www.cixishipin.com
Food Industry -- Zhejiang Jiashan Business Centre
Website: www.jssc.zj.cn
Seafood Industry -- Zhoushan International Aquatic Products City
Website: www.cfm.com.cn
Vegetable Industry -- Shandong Shouguang Vegetable Market
Website: www.sgvbot.com  or www.vegnet.com.cn
Agricultural Product Industry -- Changzhou Lingjiatang Market
Website: www.ljt.cn
Fruit Industry  -- China Fruit Wholesale Market
Website: www.cnfruit.com  or  www.guo68.com  www.agrosg.com
Agricultural Product Industry -- Zhangjiagang Qingcaoxiang Market
Website: www.zjgqcx.com
Foodstuff Industry -- Jiangxi Jiujiang South China Cereal Trade Market
Website: www.cereal.com.cn  or  www.chinagrain.gov.cn
Foodstuff Industry -- Zhengzhou Grain Wholesale Market
Website: www.czgm.com

For more China industry market information, please contact STIN sourcing team for details.
5).Customs Data
The suppliers sourced at 'Customs Data’are mostly very qualified as they already did the right business with their clients worldwide. Say, with a right keyword, you can easily find out the top 100 exporters for agricultural-products in China. You have to buy 'customs data' in China sometimes. NO free data is available at my end.

Copyright: STIN Sourcing Team (www.chinabizservices.com) 

How to use Industry Cluster information to faciliate your sourcing in China

 If you are importing or sourcing from China, you’d better learn more about China Industry Cluster first for better results. The Industry Cluster, also known as competitive cluster, business cluster or Porterian cluster, was introduced and popularized by Michael Porter in The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990).

 The Industry Cluster here refers to the phenomenon that factories, companies, sellers, raw materials and technologies from the same industry are concentrated in the same area or region. If 99% of the factories are making the same product in the same area, that is called Industrial Cluster. For example, if you are looking for fireworks, you can simply come to Liuyang city, which is the ‘home of fireworks’ in China, where more than 400000 people engage in the fireworks business, covering raw materials, prodution, technology, shipping, package and quality control etc. The ‘Liuyang-made’ fireworks account for more than 70% of China market and nearly 50% of the global market at present. You can find out hundreds of companies here for fireworks there. So a right industry cluster can make your sourcing in China easier and faster !

    Among the top 100 industrial clusters, around 80% are located in the coastal provinces. Most of them are located in Zhejiang, Jiangsu , Guangdong , and Shandong provinces, these 4 provinces account for 60% of the top 100 clusters. Sometimes for the same product there might be different industrial clusters with differnt quality levels, say, for Safety Shoes, China has 3 industryl clusters .Guangdong ( highest quality ), Wenzhou (medium quality) and Shandong ( low quality). For hair products, there are more than 3 different industrial clusters as well, Qingdao (high quality), Xuchang (middle), Yiwu (low quality). For clothes, you may find out more than 20 clusters all over China.

Here are some top industry clusters for your reference:

Button and Zipper Industry -- Zhejiang Qiaotou

Website: www.niukos.com 

Sweater Industry - Jiaxing

Website: www.gjmsc.com

Fireworks Industry -- Hunan Liuyang

Website: N/A

Children Clothing Industry -- Zhejiang Zhili

Website: www.huzhouqingfang.com 

Food Industry -- Jiangsu Jiangyin

Website: www.jiangyinshipin.com 

Food Industry -- Cixi Zhouxiang Food and Groceries

Website: www.cixishipin.com

Silk Industry -- China Wujiang Shengze   

Website: www.cesm.com.cn

Wool and Sweater Industry -- Zhejiang Jiaxing Tongxiang

Website: www.chinamzz.com 

Tel: 0573-8818300 or 8817336

Textile Industry --- Shaoxing

Website: www.qfcgroup.com    www.qfc.cn 

Leather and Fur Industry -- Zhejiang Haining

Website: www.chinaleather.com 

Auto Parts Industry --- Zhejiang

Website: www.auto518.com

Others: www.ec0724.com  or www.zgqpc.com 

Flooring Industry --- Jiangsu Changzhou

Website: www.chinafloor.cn

Ceramics Product Industry -- Foshan, Chaozhou and Liling

Website: www.fsctc.com  or  www.ceramicschina.com 

Textile Industry -- Shaoxing China Textile City

Website: www.zgqfc.gov.cn  or

www.qfcgroup.com  or  www.qfc.cn 

Textile Industry -- Guangdong Xijiao Textile City

Website: www.gd-textile.com  

Seafood Industry -- Zhoushan

Website: www.cfm.com.cn 

Tie Industry -- Shengzhou China Tie City

Website: www.chinatie.com  or  www.tie56.com 

Hardware Industry -- Zhejiang Yongkang

Website: www.hardwarecity.com.cn 

Dangerous Chemicals Industry -- Tianjin and Shanghai

Website: www.tjwhsc.com  and  www.shjsw.gov.cn 

Electronics, Phone and Digital Industry -- Shenzhen

Website: www.shhuu.com, www.okhqb.com 

Electric Element Industry -- Shenzhen

Website: www.szdz.com.cn 

Watch Industry -- Shenzhen and Guangzhou

Website: www.chinawatchnet.com  or www.sbw.net.cn 

Stone Product Industry --- Shuitou

Website: www.shuitou.com  or  www.stone139.com 

Mold Industry -- Ningbo China Mold City  Dongguan 横沥

Website: www.zgmjc.com   or www.mojuw.net 

Wig and Hair Product Industry -- Xuchang, Qingdao, Shaoyang

Website: www.51wig.com  or www.tohair.cn 

Furniture Industry --- Foshan Lecong

Website: www.newjiaju.cn or www.rata-china.com 

and     www.shunde-jiaju.com 

Vegetable Industry -- Shandong Shouguang

Website: www.sgvbot.com  or www.vegnet.com.cn 

Agricultural Product Industry -- Changzhou

Website: www.ljt.cn 

Fruit Industry  -- China Fruit Wholesale Market

Website: www.cnfruit.com  or  www.guo68.com  www.agrosg.com 

Agricultural Product Industry -- Zhangjiagang

Website: www.zjgqcx.com

Foodstuff Industry -- Jiangxi Jiujiang South China Cereal Trade Market

Website: www.cereal.com.cn  or  www.chinagrain.gov.cn 

Foodstuff Industry -- Zhengzhou Grain Wholesale Market

Website: www.czgm.com

Hotel Supplies Industry -- Guangzhou Nantian Hotel Supplies Wholesale Market

Website: www.1628gd.com 

Chinese Medicine Industry --- Hebei Anguo East Medicine City

Website: www.ortcm.com 

Chinese Medicine Industry --- Haozhou Chinese Medicine Trade Centre

Website: www.zgycsc.com  and  www.yaocai8.com 

Pearl Industry -- Zhuji Pearl Market

Website:http://www.zhuji.net/sc/pe/

Audiovisual Product Industry -- Guangdong Guangzhou

Website: N/A   Guangzhou

Pacakge and Print Industry -- Guangdong International Package Market

Website: www.packgd.com  

We have rich experience in sourcing all kinds of products here in China, please feel free to ask us any question related. More industry clusters, please click here: 

1688 - the largest wholesale and sourcing market on the globe

Lots of foreign clients ask us where local Chinese source suppliers in China at present,the answer is definitely 1688.com. According to the recent market survey conducted by STIN company,92% of the small e-store Chinese sellers on Aliexpress, Amazon,Ebay and Taobao etc will source from 1688, the rest will source from the small factories owned by themselves or their relatives, 98% of Chinese sourcing specialists or buyers will source the suppliers on 1688, especially for small orders.

1688.com, which is a part of Alibaba Group, formally launched in early 2010 in China, has been the largest wholesale and sourcing market for all kinds of raw materials, industrial products, clothing, home appliances and other general commodities on the globe.

On their official website (www.1688.com), 1688 claims to have a number of 120,000,000 registered users, more than 10,000,000 companies (factories and wholesalers), with a wide range of 49 different industry sectors registered with 1688.com, attracting 12,000,000 daily visits online.

We used to source or wholesale from local wholesale markets or factories in China but now you can wholesale almost any item online by simply clicking your mouse on 1688.com. Of course when come to a large order, you have to verify or audit your suppliers first as there are still lots of scammers online. 1688.com is only a platform and they are not responsible for your losses in case you meet a professional scammer there. By the way if you would like to buy directly from 1688.com, you may need a local agent to help you out as it's only for domestic users at present.

How to effectively source from multiple Chinese suppliers simultaneously?

    For the big buyers or importers, it's not difficult to purchase from multiple suppliers at one time because each supplier could at least fill up a 20 ft container, the customs clearance and logistics are comparably easier. But to those start-up companies,they usually test the markets with small orders, indicating that they need to purchase different products from different suppliers with trial orders at one time. In such cases, the domestic logistics management,lead time control, delivery time control, stocking, warehousing, and customs clearance etc are rather complicated.So how do we make an easier and more effective sourcing from different Chinese suppliers simultaneously when the order is not big enough?

    First of all what we need is a reliable and experienced Chinese partner or purchasing agent like STIN. The ones with direct export license will be much better as they can export and clear the customs directly upon request. An excellent partner or agent can well consolidate all your shipments at one time, coordinate the lead time and delivery time, arrange domestic logistics, control the business risks, arrange warehousing and clear the customs on time etc.

     Secondly, it's vital to control the lead time and delivery time of each shipment. The ones with longer lead time should be paid earlier. All the consolidated shipments shall be delivered to a designated warehouse in China. Any delay of one shipment will result in the delay of whole order, which may cause an unexpected stocking or warehousing cost in China as well.

    Thirdly, all the documents for customs clearance have to be prepared in advance for consolidated orders, each shipment may require different documents for customs clearance. For example, some products are made from wood, then a special fumigation certificate is required in order to clear the customs.

    Last but not the least it's necessary to choose the appropriate transportation way, whether to ship by sea, air or express, depends on the total shipping cost and the specific need from each client. STIN has rich experience in sourcing and consolidating different shipments for her clients in Mainland China, please feel free to ask us any question related. 

What do you have to know while inspecting a supplier in China?

Some clients were scammed and lost lot of time and money even if they had inspected them in person before placing the orders. What do you have to know when you are inspecting a supplier in China? Here are the tips:

1.Take a photo of their Business License, then check out their business scope with local officials in China, by this way you will find out whether they are the real factory or not. On their Business License, you can also find out who the real boss is and what they can do in China legally. 90% of the suppliers you met online might be typical trade companies, if you know nothing about Chinese, any trade company, individual agents or even scammers can take you to a factory that has nothing to do with them in China. On their Business License, you can also find out their company size, business address, business scope and legal representative etc.

2.Take a photo of their factory gate and write down their factory address, then you have to check whether their registered address on their Business License is the same address you inspected in China. This is also very important as when you have to take any legal action against them during any future trade dispute, the first step is to confirm their business address and business scope here in China. If they use a 'fake’ business address, then you cannot sue them in China, please be careful on such cases.

3.Check out the local market price and confirm the right FOB price with them in person, if their price is too low to be true, then you have to forget it.
Also please note that you cannot buy any international brand of items from the factories in China directly. For example, all the Apple iphones are made in China but you cannot buy iphones from their factories directly and you can only buy from their authorized distributors at your end. This is the same case to any other international brands, say, Sumsung, LG, Sony etc.

4.Inspect their equipment and facilities.

The advanced equipment and facilities is a kind of guarantee (prerequisites) for high quality product here in China.

5.Check out their quality control measures in written form
Lots of Chinese suppliers only offer you ‘mouth quality measures’and very few suppliers have quality measures in written forms. Please bear it in mind that any qualified supplier must have a good QC system in China as well.

6.Check out their export experience and export qualifications
No supplier will tell you their customer information but the client can ask them for their Export License, if their Export License was issued 10 years ago, I'm sure they have enough experience in exporting in China. 

7.Check out their after-sale measures
Some clients only focus on lower prices, however, safety, price, quality, and after-sale service play the same role in doing international business in China.

8.Try to meet the "real boss" in person during your inspection
Do not forget to check out their Business License and meet the real boss in person, then all your trade terms, lead time and payment terms etc can be guaranteed.

STIN has rich experience in sourcing and auditing local suppliers from China, any question is welcome.

The Top 10 China Sourcing Websites or Platforms

         According to STIN sourcing experience, here is the top 10 sourcing platforms or websites for foreign clients in China.

1.Alibaba 
Website: www.alibaba.com
Headquarter: Hangzhou, China
 
If you know Chinese, you can find more real factories on their Chinese version: www.1688.com

2.Made-in-China
Website: www.made-in-china.com
Headquarter: Nanjing, China

3.Global Sources
Website: globalsources.com
Headquarter: Hong Kong

4.DHgate
Website: www.dhgate.com
Headquarter: Beijing, China

5.HC360
Website: www.hc360.com
Headquarter: Beijing, China

6.GongChang
Website: www.gongchang.com
Headquarter: Zhengzhou, China

7.China Suppliers
Website: www.en.china.cn
Headquarter: Beijing, China

8.HKTDC
Website: www.hktdc.com
Headquarter: Hong Kong
 
9.DIYTrade
Website: www.diytrade.com
Headquarter: Hong Kong
10.ECVV
Website: www.ecvv.com
Headquarter: Shenzhen, China

STIN is striving to be the largest sourcing service company and her mission is to save you more time, cost and energy, reducing the risks in your business in China !

Tips for drafting a formal contract in China

We just received a report from a potential Brazilian client this weekend, complaining that they were cheated by a Chinese company below and lost more than 150000 USD:
Inner Mongolia Topstar Chemical Co., Ltd

We found that the key business proof -- the formal purchase contract signed between the client and the Chinese supplier was a fake one. It is almost impossible for the client to take any legal action against this supplier with such a fake contract in China.

How to identify and sign a formal contract with your Chinese partners ? Here are the tips for your reference:
 
1. Verification of the contracting parties.
We found that the supplier address on their contract signed was NOT specific and it does not exist in China. It’s very important to verify whom you’re going to deal with in China before the signature of any formal contract. The full company name and address on the contract should be the same from their Business License in China. Here is one of the typical Business License issued by local government authorities in China:

Their registered full name, address, business scope and legal representative etc can be checked out on the Business License in China.
 
2. Paging seal
All the important formal contracts have paging seals to prevent the change of pages. Here is the example of paging seal:  

Paging seal (cross-page seal), also referring to the seal on the perforation, is an official seal spanning across the contract pages, the purpose of cross-page seal is to prevent the unilateral change of the contract.
 
3. Verification of the signatory
In China, the right signatory of any legal contract must be the legal representative of the company, if it’s not signed by the legal representative, then the authorization of the signatory must be verified first. The legal representative name can be checked out on their Business License as well.
 
We noted that lots of clients signed the contract with some ‘none-exist’ guys here in China as some Chinese suppliers normally use ‘fake names’ to sign the contract and then they will have trouble when come to any trade dispute later. For example, over 60% of the small exporters used the created English names to sign a contract in China when they sign a contract with their clients, say, Lucy, Simon, John, Lily, Leo etc, please note that only Chinese names can be regarded as legal in China when come to lawsuit.
 
4. Verification of Company Seal
In China, all the legal contract must be stamped with a formal Company Seal.
All the legal company seal is in round shape and red, here is the example:

But some professional scammers normally use a created company seal to sign the contract, say, this one:

5. Verification of contract terms
All the terms, covering payment, quality control, order details, lead time, package, shipping terms, after-sale terms etc must be well stipulated before the signature of the contract.
 
6. Language issue
China is NOT an English speaking country, if you are going to take any legal action against your supplier in China, you’d better consult a local consultant here in China and sign a bi-lingual contract if your order is very big.
 
If you have any question regarding doing safe and smooth business in China, please feel free to ask us any question related. Our mission is to save you more and reduce the risks in your business in China !