How to select good suppliers in China

When we want to import products from China, usually we first have to select good suppliers. Do not think your existed supplier is the best choice, if you know Chinese Culture, you should know there is a saying called "Killing Familiar" (sha shu in Chinese). China has a totally different culture from your country, especially in Business. Some approaches that worked in your country might not work well here. Then here is the question - How to select good suppliers in China? Here are some tips:

• Specialized is not always good. Here we take printing industry for instance. There is a place called "Ba Gua Ling" in Shenzhen, it is located in the center of Shenzhen, and have more than 100 printing factory. The costs of making printed products there is much cheaper than other places in Shenzhen, even those factories have to pay higher rent. The reason of this phenomenon is because some factories may not specialized in making one particular product, but they can find other factories which can do it with much cheaper price. So, to sum up, finding a networker is better than finding a factory, because a product is made by different parts.
• Do not contact salesman or staffer, but contact the boss of the factory. Usually salesman or staffer needs extra money from the commission of the order. The boss just wants the order. This can save your huge money when you want to import products from China. If you cannot find the boss of one particular product, then go to Linkedin, there is a lot of Chinese networkers there and they usually speak English and waiting for business corporation.
• The factories in Southern China can offer cheaper quotation, but it is not absolute. The costs of living in Southern China are much higher than other places in China. So taking your eye from Southern China to Northwest China and you can find more opportunities.
• Never use Alibaba and such kind of B2B website. The truth is, any company as long as they pay money to Alibaba, they can get better position on the search result. That's why EASTHV Business Consulting are very proud that we never use Alibaba, because it is not reliable!
• The last but not least, finding a good business partner who do not "kill familiar". A good business partner can be your eyes and ears. It is very important for importing and exporting from/to China. A good assistant will serve as a “How-to” guide, and will show you how to get win-win option, as well as ways to reduce your purchasing costs.