Forum

Sourcing suppliers for electronic items and computer accessories
 

Hi guys,

I am new to this world so please be gentle!

I have a store on eBay and have been successfully dropshipping small items for the past few years, making some extra pocket money but nothing thats guna make me rich!

I thought I'd try and take a step up in the eBay word and start buying wholsale items such as hard drives, digital camera's etc.

I made the mistake of creating an account on global sources . com and made an enquiry to over 100 suppliers thinking I may hopefully receive up to 5 replies.

Ive now received at least 60 replies from all different suppliers all promising great products, good prices, good service etc.

They all have websites, None of them accept Paypal or credit card and all ship using the same methods.

I have been scammed in the past and am extremely weary of EVERYBODY!

Does anyone have any tips on how I could weed the trustworthy suppliers from the scammers out of my list of about 60?

Has this happened to anyone before?

My brain is about to explode.

Any advice would be much appreciated :help:

Welcome to the forums - all the best as you read. More people will post as time passes.

Thanks for the welcome! Ive done alot of reading and theres so much great info on here! Just hoping someone can help me with this specific issue.

Please see my second post in this thread: http://www.aspkin.com/forums/wholesa...ing-china.html

It will teach you how to identify/avoid the fockers and avoid being scammed again, when using such inquiry sites. The first and most important thing to look for is any reference to your inquiry (for example, the supplier replying to it directly, so you see your inquiry below their reply); if there is none at all (not even the title matching that of your inquiry's, for example), you can be almost certain that they are phake. But the other points in the post can also help you in the process of weeding out the bad guys.

You sound very much like I was not too long ago, selling items here and there, making some extra spending money but nothing that would replace a day job. Then one day I woke up and decided that I would turn it into a full time job, so started looking for suppliers. I was once scammed also and like you, was extremely wary of everyone and even considered forgetting the whole eBay business idea, but then I learned the tricks of the "trade" and have only dealt with legitimate suppliers since. It really did open my eyes though and I will never let it happen to me again.

Can I pay with PP to chines supplier?

Ask your supplier first .

geneally speaking, ebay seller(locate in china,hongkong,etc.)accept pp
taobao.com can't accept paypal (they accept alipay,it's like paypal),and they only sell items to China address not worldwide address.

well,find third person(who accpet paypal) buy from taobao.com and send it to your address for trial order

the advantage of taobao.com are :
1,Cheapest price :thumb:
2, MNQ: 1 :thumb:
disadvantage of taobao.com are :
1,can't accept paypl :>
2,can't send it to worldwide :>

I've been burned paying Western Union, but I've also had genuine suppliers as well. Just start small with a sample order, and even after you get your order you should gradually increase your order quantity. MOQ really is hard to avoid when you need custom products though. (OEM)

Some make you think their genuine suppliers - by building trust for months or years even.

These con men are getting smarter - i'm starting to think your only safe when using sites that protect you when buying from suppliers or safe payment services which actually protect you for fraud - don't get me wrong i'm sure you can some great suppliers that use WU.

I'm a strong believer that you can source almost every product you want, something which you can't obtain online for example - maybe easier to obtain on a business trip to the country - may even find better products - you actually get to meet people face to face - cutting the middleman if you want and having the advantage of viewing and testing the product - may have to watch out and read any small details if you are signing a contract.

I think that what makes a real business man compared to your average online seller - always trying to stay one step ahead of everyone.

I remember a time when no online selling platforms even existed, i wonder what entrepreneurs used to do. :rolleyes:

Do you think some of the sellers on these so called chinese sites have REAL items & not just ph..akes :dance:

Depends or how you go about it

It takes good time before trusting your suppliers and i never ever give an order over £10,000
I would use two or three suppliers so i can spread the money.

I have 2 suppliers that i can heavily trust in everything
They have sent me items even before i pay.

Very true. Which is why you have to limit the amount you spend to what you can afford to lose. For huge orders I recommend getting an agent, or booking a flight there. Some orders are too risky

Thank you so much for all the great advice!!

I do agree that I should only do small sample order first and only send as much as I am willing to lose.

Do you know how these people would have gotten my email address in the first place? I mean, I sent an enquiry to 36 verified suppliers through Global sources and received way more replies and not one had any reference to my original enquiry. Its so strange.

I have deleted most of them and am down to about 3 suppliers as there websites did look a bit more legit and after doing a search on scamadvisor.com I found the websites were over a year old (the rest only a few months)

I told a fib to one of them and said I have a friend in China who will come and see the factory and she agreed to it. She also offers to do a sample order for $70 which I thought I could afford to lose, however has anyone even been through all of this only to make the first big order and then be scammed?

Let me share my opinion, and give you all some advice.

From 1999-2002 these were my worst supplier days, I ran to several but almost hundreds of resellers claiming to be honest, and about 60% were scamms. Nothing simply worked. Evidently, I was able to crossed-out those bad apples from the good and made very good money which is now invested. I buy from the source now because eventualy I made the capital for it. There are small-mid organized companies who are simply looking to sell overstock, NGF, returns all sorts of products expired by manufacturer or out-of-date and no longer sellable.

Advise: Ask for name, get Tax ID (EIN #), ask for address, resellership account contracts, get a resellers certificate from your accounting firm. Ask for a reseller certificate from your supplier, verify with the secretary of state and commonwealth, or VAT in european and Uk countries. Get a valid drivers or goverment ID. If they ask you for what? It's simply for verification, google the company. Do a real search and on a business before you go into business. Remember, is your money and you decide who you do business with, any company that declines this information isn't legit and buyer beware. Always pay with a credit card (shuffle credit cards and watch out for to many charge backs), never pay via WU or MG. PayPal is not going to help you in this case, many people loose money using paypal for buying wholesale. Think Google Wallet/Moneybookers or a processor. Ask who there processor in case you may want to call them and verify (e.g Mercury Payments, techdata, iPayments). Always as for a proforma invoice not be confused with a commercial invoice use for exporting. Shipment date, shipment carrier forget drop-shipping is not real and many people get scammed. Upfront inventory = On hand product = real money. Always ask for tracking is very important and fulfillment should have within 48 hours of you asking for it no excuses. Contact the supplier by Skype (best method) or phone, get in-touched and no whete you always are with the products.

"Samples" - they do not exist and no big player will waste their time sending one product. Ask fo MQO (Minimum Quantity Order), theres no such thing of "100 iPads", Tech-Data has a hard time selling me 100 iPads and not to say I carry a reseller certificate with Apple, I have to go to softchoise. When importing from when ever china, usa, Uk... think FOB cost of goods + transportation + insurance + unloading, importing/exporting requires documents and customs, VAT & Fees! Do not let a supplier prompt you the "I will ship gift via usps" - be very professional, and ask yourself who would do that!

Hope this helps you, I have some good suppliers I deal with occasionally just pm me if you have more questions.

Cheers!