Most of the Amazon sellers are sourcing products from China but at different prices and qualities from different manufacturers. Having a great supplier is a competitive advantage in a very competitive marketplace of Amazon, and its not even easy. Therefore, sellers hire Amazon sourcing agent to find the best suppliers from China.
Below we have shared 6 tips to find the right sourcing agency for your Amazon business.
1. Get Initial Product Info:
First step to find the right Amazon sourcing agent or company is to do the product research on Alibaba on your own. Note down product pricing, features and the manufacturer’s location. Try to get more information product quality and all the basic terms according to your need. Once you have all the important info on hand then it will be easier for you to communicate everything with product sourcing agent.
Before you share all the product information and your specific requirements with the sourcing company, it is highly recommended that get them sign a non disclosure agreement to safeguard your interests.
2. Choose an Agent Near Your Manufacturing Base:
When you shortlist a few Amazon sourcing agents or choosing the one, make sure it has good sourcing experience of your industry. This will ensure that the agent will have better understanding of the product and he can well plan the quality checks and cost. They usually have good contacts within the industry that give them the leverage to negotiate the better pricing.
Other important point is to make sure that the agent is located close to the manufacturer. This will make it easy for them to handle any undesirable situation quickly and it will also keep the cost low for you in terms of travel and transportation.
Related: Guide on International Freight for The Amazon FBA Sellers
3. Communicates in English and Chinese:
This is very important that the selected sourcing agent can speak English as well as Chinese language well to avoid the chances of misunderstandings. Clear understanding of products’ specs and features is essential when you communicate in English. Similarly when they communicate with the supplier sharing all requirements in Chinese is equally important. You should also communicate through call and Skype serves well this purpose. This will save you lot of time of composing an email and then waiting for the reply.
4. Interview Thoroughly:
Key to find the right Amazon sourcing agent is to interview them from all angles. Ask them industry specific and product related questions to make sure they understand your product and also know the best practices.
Few questions you should ask:
- What is the mode of payment?
- How often will they visit the manufacturing process?
- Can you provide referrals or testimonials from satisfied customers?
- Will you control product quality or some specialized third party?
- How often will they update about the production?
- Is the manufacturer located close to them?
- Do they offer any discount for their services for the repetitive orders?
5. Business References:
You may also need to ask them for few references of their previous sourcing projects done recently. This will give you the idea how professionally do they work and what type of sourcing they have done.
It would be great if they have already sourced different products for other Amazon sellers in U.S and Europe. Having that experience, they would know how to pack and ship the products directly to Amazon’s fulfillment center. It will reduce the shipping and packaging time at your end that you might have to spend on your own, otherwise.
6. Sign a Contract With Them:
Now that you have scrutinized and finalized your Amazon sourcing agent the one last step in finalizing is to sign a contract. If you are just verbally closing the things then there’s a good chance that you may not get what you expect. With the written contract both parties will have clear understanding of the deliverables. Written contract will protect your interests in case the products are not delivered as agreed.
Conclusion
Now that you know the 6 tips or steps to find the right Amazon product sourcing agent in China, you should hire a sourcing company to start off with your first order. Only the legit sourcing services will allow you to coordinate with the supplier, after signing the contract.
When you have more than a few products then managing the sourcing tasks is not possible for a seller. You need to hire a sourcing agent in China in order to save your time for other strategic business decisions. Over the time you will see how helpful an Amazon sourcing agent can be when your online business is expanding.