Field-tested advice for importing from China — from first contact to delivered goods.
Aug 28, 2026
If your product plugs in, charges or connects, it probably comes from Shenzhen. How the ecosystem really works, where to look, and how a first-time buyer avoids getting burned.
Aug 28, 2026
The same handful of scams catch importers over and over, bait-and-switch pricing, fake factories, deposit-and-vanish. Here are the patterns and the exact defenses against each.
Aug 28, 2026
A sample is the cheapest insurance in sourcing. Free versus paid samples, how to ask so you get production-representative units, and the mistakes that make samples useless.
Aug 28, 2026
Alibaba, Made-in-China, Global Sources or 1688? Each one serves a different kind of buyer. Here's how they compare on MOQ, supplier checks and buyer fit so you pick right the first time.
Aug 27, 2026
The 'importing is cheap' story leaves out the long tail of costs. A realistic item-by-item budget for a first order, so nothing blows up after the deposit clears.
Aug 27, 2026
Directories give you a wall of names and no way to choose. A repeatable system for going from 'what exactly am I buying' to a shortlist of factories you can actually trust.
Aug 27, 2026
The checklist to run before wiring a single dollar: business license checks, factory-versus-trader tells, and the red flags that mean walk away.
Aug 27, 2026
Factory pricing is built from materials, labour and overhead, so you can see where the flex is. How MOQs really work and how to negotiate a deal both sides can live with.