​Do you feel like they speak in Chinese? Here is a glossary of terms that will clarify everything.
Quote – the price offer from the supplier which contains the details of the plant, the terms of the offer such as EXW / FOB, as detailed below, a port close to the plant, the terms of payment, quantities of production, etc.
Best price – usually the first bid of the Chinese supplier is not the lowest bid he can really give. The Chinese make sure they leave enough room for profit and therefore, if there are serious intentions to work with the supplier, you can ask him for a new quote with the best price.
MOQ (minimum order quantity) – minimum number of units per order. In most cases, the factory will give you an MOQ that will make the production worthwhile for them. Usually, ordering a bigger quantity of pieces means that the price per piece will be lower, since the set up costs are the significant ones.
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) – usually refers to an original product that was invented or designed by the customer and that new molds or assembly lines are required to be prepared for it. The factory makes all the changes required by the customer.
ODM (original design manufacturer) – refers to a product that a specific factory specializes in, distributes, and makes changes in, according to the customer’s requirements.
EXW (ex work) – a term referring to the price of the product at the entrance to the factory. In terms of EXW, we mean that all shipping costs, control and responsibility are in the hands of the customer (the importer) only, and the factory finishes its work when the product is ready and packed. Suppliers like to send orders at this term because it represents a lower cost, but it comes at the expense of shipping and warranty.
FOB (free on board) – refers to the product’s production cost, including its shipment to the nearby port and loading it on a ship in a container. Usually it also refers to the responsibility of the factory for any damage to the product until arrival at the port, but sometimes it can have a different meaning so it’s best to discuss it with the factory.
B/L (bill of landing) – is a document provided by the shipping company to the importer (sender). It contains details about the shipment, such as port of shipment, volume, contents, shipping dates, etc.
RMB (renminbi) / YUAN – Renminbi (the currency of the people) is the official name of the Chinese currency. Its traded unit is the yuan. The uses of both terms are equally common.
C&F (cost and freight) – another term that refers to the amount of warranty applicable to the carrier in the shipment. This term means that the carrier has the obligation to arrange the shipment to the port in the destination country, and it is also his responsibility to provide the importer with the necessary documents regarding the shipment so that the latter can show them at customs.
The term CIF includes all that is stated in respect with C&F and, in addition, the supplier’s obligation to purchase minimum insurance for shipment.
POD (port of destination) & POL – is the final destination port to which the shipment should arrive. In accordance, the POL (port of loading) is the port where the goods are loaded on the ship before shipping.
ETA & ETD – ETA is the estimated shipment’s time of arrival to entry port, and ETD is the estimated shipment time from the port of origin.
FCL (full container load) & LCL (less container load) – FCL refers to a 20 “or 40” container filled only with the product of one importer, while LCL refers to a container whose volume is divided among several importers; this is done in order to save the freight cost of low volume shipments that don’t fill a full container each.
Factory audit –refers to a service of supplier’s examination process which is usually provided by a third party and checks various aspects of the factory so that an importer can understand whether it is capable of supplying the required product and meet its requirements.
Product inspections – in order to avoid product quality failures, which result in economic losses, many importers hire the services of a third party to determine whether the product meets production requirements. The types of product tests can be divided into three:  checking the production line definitions prior to the start of mass production, inspection during production, and post-production inspection that includes supervision of the storage and loading of the product.
Freight Forwarder / Courier – refers to firms that specialize in the organization and coordination of shipments. Usually couriers offer a variety of services, including tracking of the shipment, storage, preparation of documents, insurance of the shipment and more.

Before importing your goods and to prevent likely problems in the clearance of your merchandise, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the Customs and Border Protection of the United States. When your products arrive from their foreign destination, you have to shepherd them through customs, as an importer. This is usually be done through a customs broker. This is because you can’t take your merchandise through customs unless you possess an import license (which requires taking a government-administered test). Therefore, you are required to get acquainted with some tips, which will be provided here.

Know the customs rules
Each country has distinct customs regulations. It is required for you to get yourself familiar with these rules before engaging in any import process. With this knowledge, you will know what items you can import. The United Kingdom, the United States, and European governments provide customs information on their websites.
Entry process
Upon the arrival of a shipment to the United States, the importer (or customs broker) files entry documents for such products or goods with the port of entry’s director. The CBP then authorizes delivery of the merchandize, after the payment of estimated duties.
Examination
The shipment could either be examined or its examination waived. Shipment may get conditional release authorizations upon its departure from the origin country and up to just five days before its landing in the United States, for instance. The shipment is released when no legal or regulations violations are detected.
Entry for warehouse
If an importer wishes to delay the release of their shipment, they may have the cargo placed in a CBP-bonded warehouse for up to five years from the date of importation. During those years, the goods could be exported overseas without any need for duty payment.
Compliance testing
Certain items are always examined to ensure their conformity with legal safety standards. For instance, some foods and beverages may not pass the examination as a result of the standards in place by the Food and Drug Administration. The rapid increase in portable devices, for instance, has made quality inspectors to carry out some tests such as substance, EMC, or electrical safety. For instance, substance regulations, like REACH in the European Union restricts certain substances in some consumer goods. Such substances include cadmium, phthalates, lead, and formaldehyde, thus, making compliance testing mandatory. An importer, therefore, may select the extent to which its products shall be tested. The cost charged by testing companies depends on the number of substances and the number of variations (such as coating, colors, and component) of the materials.
Going through customs is often an unavoidable process while importing products; therefore, these are the few tips that will save you the time you would have spent with the customs officer. Overall, ensure you employ the service of reputable and experienced customs brokers, and test your products at a certified, respectable laboratory.
Importing and distributing non-compliant goods often result in a forced recall, major fines, or even litigation.
So just make sure you know all there is to know about customs and regulations.
Good luck!

Alibaba Group has evolved over the years into a global scale leading company in the online and e-commerce sector.
Today, Alibaba conducts world-class wholesale and retail online trade marketplace.
Placing an order on Alibaba is quite difficult. This is because of the bad services provided by some suppliers. Due to the problems encountered, it is very essential to identify the right suppliers.

Problem Faced While Looking for Good Supplier

Good Samples, bad product
In a lot of the cases, the supplier sends excellent samples of the product , in order to convince the buyer to seal the deal . But- after the buyer places the order, and gets the shipment, he realizes the quality of the final products is very poor. This way the buyer can suffer from bad product reviews while his business goes down the drain.

Counterfeit
In a wide variety of orders, the products supplied are not a genuine model of what you order. According to the official Xinhua news agency More than 40% of goods sold online in China during 2014 were either counterfeit or of bad quality.

Money for nothing
In this particular case, you send your money to the supplier before you get the final product, And you never hear from them again. This means you receive NOTHING in return for your money. of course the financial damage could be immense, depending on the quantity and the kind of product.

Extra payment
Few days after paying for your order, your supplier contacts you and ask for extra payment to cover customs fees. If you refuse to pay, they say your goods can’t be exported out of China.

What can you do to prevent this?

Finding a good suppliers can be a little rough and give you real headache if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are several things you need to pay attention to when identifying a supplier on Alibaba.

Look for Gold suppliers
Gold suppliers are those suppliers that pay some fees to Alibaba. When you search for some product on Alibaba, you tend to see products from gold suppliers first. Alibaba also does some verification of these suppliers to check their legitimacy.

Make sure details are Verified
On the homepage of the supplier, make sure the supplier’s location, business type and year of establishment are verified by Alibaba. The more verified the information of a supplier means the more you can rely on the supplier.

Check the response rate
The response rate of suppliers is very important. It must always be above 70%. If suppliers are less responsive, then their businesses are not their priority which means they are not serious about it. You should be careful in dealing with these suppliers.

Factory audit
A factory audit is a test that verifies the information given by the factory. When you go to the factory and see the work protocol, get real contacts information, and see that this is a big and serious factory, you can be sure you should work with this supplier.

Now , that you’re familiar with the process, roll your sleeves up , and go look for the right supplier!
​Good luck!

Poor Quality Products from Chinese Factories
How will you feel if you order, for instance, a hand-blown Christmas tree ornament and get the whole container delivered, but only to discover that the small ring needed to get the ornament hanged from a tree is missing? As a retailer, this may ruin your business and make customers give you bad reviews if such a problem persists.
The fact that China is an advanced country does not rule out the possibility of their factories – particularly small scale companies – delivering products of low quality or standard. While your direct supplier may wish to get things right, the factory may just refuse to comply with the wish, probably because they don’t know you or they just have no reasonable reason to trust in long-term business.
China OEM factories agreement is based on five key issues: price, quantity, quality, date of delivery, and payment terms. Many of them only show concern for the price of products at the expense of the other four issues highlighted. When you do not clarify or emphasise the importance of the five fundamental manufacturing issues to the Chinese factory, you may end up getting products of poor quality. This, when not detected early, may result in customer complaints, loss of sales, and incurring of additional expenses. Early detection of quality problem before shipment is much better than an after-delivery detection.
Therefore, tackling this problem requires you to state clear quality requirements into the contract, with clear penalties upon the failure to meet such quality benchmarks. Usually, a factory has to support any of its claims by written documents.
Also, at the preorder stage, select a supplier that approves the factory of production to ensure delivery of the right quality of product at the right time. This is otherwise known as factory audit. Usually, it is done upon the screening down of potential suppliers to a few serious ones. The auditor typically verifies incoming materials, products that are in process, and finished goods. With this, the quality system of the factory, as well as their reliability, is assessed.
However, caution has to be taken at this stage. This is because factory audits seem to follow a scientific approach and as such, favor larger manufacturers. These manufacturers tend to pay little or no attention to small orders. To be on a safer side, ensure the pre-qualification phase of audits is oriented in the direction of suppliers of a suitable size. With the observation of the highlighted tips, your product’s quality assurance is certain.
Summarily, though some Chinese factories constitute the black sheep, other factories produce products of high quality. Good or bad quality products can emanate from any country. Therefore, it’s up to the brand which will take up the credit or blame for good or bad quality products to exercise due diligence in ensuring that its products are not only of good quality but also up to the standards. Thus, when you order any products from Chinese factories, remember to pay attention to quality.