Disadvantages of Factory Direct Buy
We all know, when you sourcing in China, that buy from a factory can usually get a lower price. But do you really want to buy from a China factory? Here’s the tips.
1.You don’t really talking with a manufacturer.
There are a lot of pretend manufacturer on line, with a wonderful English website showing their facilities, their work shops some times, their workers, their customer lists or even their licence, their certificates. It’s almost too nice for you to cooperate with. But, all these are so easy to make a fake. Download and PS pictures from anywhere then a factory comes.
Tips:If you want to make sure this, send a native China sourcing agent to have an on site audit. Make sure they are native Chinese, only this they can point out the fake ones.
2.You don’t really matching the manufacturer you are talking with.
If a manufacturer have an English website and bilingual overseas salesman, they usually bigger that the one who don’t have(not always). For such big manufacturers, small buyers usually don’t get enough respect from them. So, your order don’t have a priority on their planning. They also tend to make your order with poor materials especially your price is low. I’ve been working for an emergency lighting manufacturer who could be say a leader in his industry. I have following up one customer like this, even if I try my best to push the production dept. to make the products good and on time, I can’t get support from any where even my boss. “Such a small customer, just make him to know this is the last order!” He said.
Tips: Sometimes, when you are small, buy from a sourcing agent is better choice. Factories usually gets more respect to a buyer who have a agent here in China. They will tend to image you are a big buyer, even if you currently don’t placing big order to them. They will more likely to make your orders better.
3. You don’t really have control on the manufacturers.
There are thousands of reasons that may impact the quality of the products except you. E.g.,you may have already buying from a manufacturer for many times and you are sure you are a Very Important Client to them. So you rely all on their in house quality control. You just imagine they will do their best as usual but you don’t know their QC manager just abdicated. And a noncooperation movement is spreading in their QC dept.. You don’t know nothing about this and you failed on this order.
Tips:Always have a native alert guy stand 100% on your side to see what’s happening in the manufacturer’s work shop in every detail. Triple your vigilance when something abnormal appears.
To buying from a factory is just like play with a dog, but it could be a wolf if you are not capable of control it. So find some guy to be your dog chain.
