If you're new to importing and unfamiliar with the process with Alibaba.com, we've got you covered. This lecture will take you step by step through what's involved and how the process works.

Finding the best suppliers and doing it correctly is one of the most important phases of the process. This is the very much the foundation to the success of your product and its future, choosing wisely is essential.

How confident are you in your product and its success?

How much research have you done leading up to this point?

What is your estimated risk-reward ratio?

Making sure you have done as much research as possible on your product before researching your supplier is just as crucial. The main reasons for having a solid product knowledge before reaching out to a supplier are: -

You massively reduce the risk of failure: At least by 40% as you will have covered anything you can think of that can go wrong with your product and the surrounding logistics.

Reveal any potential flaws with your product: It's rarely good to have flaws in your product but its not the end of the world and until you speak to factories about it and how it can be overcome it should not be a reason to hold off. If you had not of done the research then you would not have known about the flaw until it was too late. 

You will have ready a detailed itinerary/spec sheet to give to factories: The devil is in the detail and when you are working with Chinese factories having as much detail as possible is essential. This will not only make life much easier for you and everyone will be working off the same game plan but it also shows potential suppliers that you are serious and have already put a lot of work into this. 

Have a much better understanding of your potential customer base: Know their pain points and requirements then build the product to that spec and easily be able to market and sell it. 

A suppliers product listing can tell you an awful lot about the supplier and what sort of service you could well be letting yourself in for.   With whats included in this lecture and the awesome tools that Alibaba.com has available you will know the good from the bad before  reaching out and wasting your time.

The free Request For Quotation service from Alibaba.com enables you to fill out one form about you intended product or project and Alibaba.com will match it with the best suppliers that will then reach out to you. This is a great time saver and lets you pick out the best options from the pack.

Alibaba does not guarantee high quality products. They will assist with services like Trade Assurance and Gold Supplier Plus but this ultimately falls on you to have great communication, get samples, contracts, product inspections etc.  As we covered earlier in the section, the best way to start this off is with as much detail as possible about your product. Have an extensive plan as to what you want including. For example: size, materials, detailed customisations, branding, packaging, shipping preferences, product bundling, colors. 

The RFQ form is a simple form to fill out but to get the best results and supplier matches you want to include as much detail as possible. This will not only help Alibaba.com match you with great suppliers but also tell the suppliers what exactly it is you want so they can give a more accurate quote. 

There will be times when you want to contact suppliers individually and won't be able to take advantage of a service like the Alibaba.com RFQ. To do this is relatively easy but to get great results and know what you supplier wants to hear you need to watch this lecture.

Every September Alibaba selects the best suppliers, with the lowest MOQ's to create quality deals in their SuperSeptember promotion. This is great time to not only start a new product line but get it at a great price with a the best that Alibaba.co has to offer. In this lecture I will give an over view of SuperSeptember, what to expect and examples of some of the discounts available. SuperSetember is also great to make some quick sales and cash due to the low prices and MOQ's.

In this section we will be covering the early stages of communication with suppliers and that suppliers are still very much in the selection process. Having a good relationship, seeing good quick communication from suppliers in the early stages is essential.

We will also be covering the samples and how important they are to the process as they are the factories best representation and a lot of different factors can be measured from that. 

What are samples and why do we use them?

Samples not only assess the product but the supplier - be sure to use the samples checklist later in this section.

Getting multiple samples enables you assess what's available on the market and compare the performance of factories. The samples process is completely variable depending on your products requirements. You might be: sourcing products with detailed packaging requirements, prototyping and making modifications or just buying stuff on Alibaba.com to flip on Amazon. All of these will require samples at different times in the process but the principles still apply and the end goal is to assess the supplier, their product and the performance of both.

Order at least 3 units but ideally 5 -10 units. - Consider bundling other samples from the same supplier into the order. 

Always try to use PayPal for samples as it gives you great protection but depending on your circumstances there is also sample options with Trade Assurance that can be used too.

Avoid Western Union & Moneygram as there is no buyer protection or security at all. If you see suppliers insisting on Western Union or Moneygram only then consider this to be a red flag.

Ask the supplier to ship "Air Express" with their courier account.

Samples usually arrive within 5 - 15 days (15 days is allowing for delays, holidays and the busy season). Take note of time taken if over 15 days and if you have to chase the sample up.

Ensure samples are sent directly to you and not FBA or a prep centre. Samples are being used for testing by you. 

Never ask/demand free samples! It looks terrible on you as buyer (trying to barter the cost of a sample does not inspire confidence that you have the money to make a large order or you are just generally going to be difficult).

Recoup some of the expense by selling the samples on eBay.

Ask the supplier to deduct the cost of the samples from your first large order you make with them. Nearly all suppliers are happy to do this.

Before moving on it is good practice to have a shortlist of the suppliers you're interested in working with. Do not commit to just one and put your eggs in one basket. It is best to have at least a 4 - 5 on record so that if it doesn't work out with your chosen supplier you don't have to go back to the beginning of this process.

It is also wise to order samples from all the factories on your shortlist as some of them might surprise you with the results and sway your decision.In the early stages when communicating with multiple suppliers can easily get confusing and key bit of information can get missed.

Having everything in one place is essential for the best results.  When receiving samples from multiple suppliers it's easy to get them mixed up and not know what came from where. The supplier workbook enables you to record: - Suppliers details and contact info.   Rate suppliers (communication, helpfulness, response time) - record the samples from suppliers - Sample quality - picture of sample - make additional notes. Give live example of the Logbook being filled out and explain each of the fields.

Select one of the samples from your supplier and use this as a reference unit. This unit should be used for visual inspections and then stored for future reference.

Drop test. Select another sample and test its durability by dropping it from various heights and generally just throwing it around. Why do this? When a product is being shipped it is bounced around all over the place. Having a product and product packaging that can withstand that is essential and also measures the variability of the product in general.

If the product looks good (no defects, loose parts, paint peeling etc), feels premium and is durable under stress then your winning! - Durability Test. Aside from drop testing, you should really test the strength and durability of your product. Pull it bend it to its extreme and don't be scared to break it as you want to see how much stress it can take. If possible also use the product and put it through its paces that way too.

Market Testing. The remaining products should be used for testing the market and getting as much valuable information as possible:- What can charge for it? How quickly do they sell? What's the customer feedback like?, Does it meet/exceed their expectations? 

Sell them on eBay auction style, starting at 0.99c and see how high it goes or sell to an existing customer base if you're already established. Use a discount and ask for feedback and reviews. 

Branding and adding a logo to your products combined with great packaging is a great way to take your business to the next level as opposed to just selling generic products on Amazon or through a wholesale website. You can really focus your new brand at the premium end which will encourage more customer loyalty and higher profit margins.

The key to ensuring this happens successfully is to start small. The reason for this is that you do not know what your customer wants in terms of a look and feel for the product. There are many products out there for example where the customer wants a clean looking product with minimal design. To understand what your customer wants and will react positively to, we start gradually and build with each order. Going all out with a grand design and fancy logo without any knowledge of the market or customer base can get very costly.

If you're starting a new line of products and are unsure as to how to brand, package and promote them, then it is great practice to start as softly as possible. What do I mean by soft? In the beginning, when you are still figuring out what your brand is and what your customers are going to react positively to.

Making modifications to the product like a giant logo or drastic packaging design is risky. By adding stickers of your logo and product inserts telling the customer more about your brand and how they can benefit from being a part of it is much easier, cheaper and is still very powerful. 

It may sound to simple and a little silly to add stickers in with your product or use them for basic design right? Then why is Apple still doing it with every product they ship? And they are one of the most successful brands in history. Using stickers to decorate the box or as inserts enhances the brand, is cheaper then getting a logo you don't even know your customers are going to like printed and drives down MOQs and expense in general.

Plus your customers will more than likely stick the stickers to bags, laptops, fridges etc. Stickers can also be used to shout a message that your customer strongly believes in just like on t-shirts, everyone from vegans to coding nerds like to tell the world what they're about. 

Keeping your brand and product in their thoughts, highly increases the chance of a repeat purchase or recommendations to friends and family.

The first point to remember with product inserts and with your product as a whole is you are creating a purchasing experience.

From the moment a customer makes that commitment and hits the buy button they should not just receive a product through the post but should be 'wow'd' by the experience you have created.

One of the main ways you can do this is through product inserts. A carefully crafted product insert that makes a customer feel like they're a part of your brand, has value with future discounts and enhances the experience further with instructions or hints and tips on how to get the best out of the product they just bought is extremely powerful.

When starting out these efforts will be more limited as you are on budget and unsure of the look of your brand but as you get more established and are making sales then you can really go to town with them and make your product inserts look amazing and offer huge value that exceeds their expectations. 

For you as the seller the product insert is there to get the customer to do something. Be that, sign up for your email list, subscribe to the YouTube channel, come back with coupon in hand and buy more. You can easily create multiple inserts and and send traffic to multiple areas of your brand depending on what you are trying to promote.

Whatever you are trying to achieve, product inserts are one of the cheapest and most effective ways to get customers into your business. If this is done correctly then you will not only get another customer but a raving fan who will buy again and again.

What makes a great product insert? 

Have one customer goal. I have seen loads of product inserts where the customer is asked to go to 10 different places and like, subscribe and take action. By doing this it is unlikely they do any of it. Give the customer one goal and explain what is in it for them if they do it. eg: Sign Up For Our Newsletter & Get 10% Off Your Next Order!

Use both sides of the insert. Again there are too many sellers only using 50% of the insert if your customer is reading the insert they naturally look on the other side for more. Give it to them.

Grab the customers attention. The insert should be the first thing the customer sees when they open the box have sat on the top of the product and not under the product or even worse under the box filling. Ensure that the insert has an attention grabbing headline or feature that will get the customer attention and make them look. Remember, the customer is only interested in what's in it for them so add that to the headline eg GET FREE ICE CREAM HERE! I would look at that... ;)   

Make the inserts On-Brand. Ensure that it has your colours and branding and logo on it, this will make the customer more of a fan, inspires confidence and enhances the overall value of the product.

Be engaging. When writing your inserts please don't beg for reviews on Amazon or write sales copy type text. You want it to be engaging, funny like you are talking with friends and most of all you want the customer to remember you.   

Aside from product inserts another great way to enhance and validate your brand is through product freebies.

Here few key points to freebies, why use them? and making them successful: 

Freebies can add a massive amount of perceived value to your product listing and a lot of times beat out the competition. Remember that customers are only interested in what's in it for them and the best deal. A lot of times just by offering more stuff can get the sale and get another ran of your brand.

Product freebies need to be cheap but look premium or just cool/quirky. Having a piece of tat as a freebie is not going to inspire a customer to purchase and may even do more harm than good as it will look like your trying move some surplus stock or even worse it will cheapen the look and feel of your new brand.

Freebies need to be related to the main product or at least inline with the brand. If your main product is a tyre changing set then having lipstick as a freebie probably isn't the best option. Having a freebie that compliments and even enhances the use of the main product is a very powerful marketing tool, especially if it makes sense to the customer.

Try to source your freebies from the same supplier as your main product. This will cut down on shipping costs, save you a ton of stress with logistics and time. You may well consider trying to get a better deal with the supplier too if you are ordering more from them and they will be able to help you if they are already supplying freebies for other products in their line and other customers. By using the same supplier you will be able to get them to add the freebie in with the main product saving you time and expense.   

Bonus freebies examples are: stickers, storage cases, free gifts etc.  Remember to think about your target customer, the main product and what their requirements are.

Using soft branding is not only a great way to get started but also to get established. A vast majority of online sellers use the soft branding model and stick with it. Its cheap, powerful and works. If you just repeat this with multiple products and if you are not already then get on Amazon you will have a very successful business. In the next lectures we will cover advanced branding strategies and how to work with factories to get your product looking great and something that is now validated and your customer will love. 

When starting out with a new brand, your logo is completely untested and to be honest doesn't really matter too much.

Yes I just said that!

The reason for this is that a customer is very unlikely to buy your product because of the design of your logo.

Having an simple easy to make or source logo is really all you need to get started and as you your brand develops over time you can add to it and change as you see fit. This is what large and small companies do all the time and eventually you will find something that fits.

The key point to take away here is not to put too much thought into it! I have seen so many sellers over the years spend way too long on something that really, at this time, matters very little.

Get a logo - get it out there - and get selling!

Product packaging is very dependant on what you are selling, where you are selling it, where you are in the branding process and your budget.

We are going to list the main ways to package your product that cover the cheapest right up to some more premium solutions. The great thing about packaging is that it can be as easy and simple as you like and all of can be found/manufactured on Alibaba.com and sent straight to your factory if they don't already do it on site.

Keeping anything packaging wise made in China will really reduce the cost and not compromise on the quality. Also seeing as your products are already over there getting made you may as well have the packaging made there too.

Once you have decided on your packaging you need to establish if the supplier is going to do it or if you are going to bring in a third party. These decisions will be made based on the type of packaging you are going for, your current suppliers capabilities, or if the product is being combined/bundled with other products from somewhere else, what will be the logistics.

If you are just starting up the brand and everything is unproven then starting with minimum packaging will probably be the way to go and a polybag with a sticker is a good start. Especially if you are selling on Amazon where customers will see the product on the website as opposed to retail where packaging is everything.

Some suppliers will already have packaging pre-made and all you need to do is change the design, if there is no reference to this on the Alibaba listing or in communication the  feel free to ask them if they have any details or box layouts. This can save you a lot of time headaches if the measurements are already done for you and all you need to do is sent the box template off to the designers.

One of the most popular and cheapest ways to get your product packaged that looks good is the polybag with card topper. This is pretty much one up from polybag but enables to have some branding on display and a printed barcode.

Communicating with factories on colors for products needs to be precise. One person's idea of 'green' will be completely different to others. It is for this reason that we use a universal color code chart called Pantone.

Alibaba.com has developed an awesome set of tools you can use to communicate with your suppliers. :- Direct Inquiry, Instant Chat, Dictation, Translation Tool, Video Chat (coming soon).

Learning import negotiation skills might way down your ‘to learn list’ but it doesn't need to be. Having the right skills and mindset from the beginning will pay dividends once you gain more experience over time.

This tutorial covers the seven core subjects to good import negotiation skills so next time you are communicating with Chinese suppliers you will better prepared to get the best possible deal.

Many sellers online, be it Amazon or eCommerce, will always go for the lowest price when communicating with suppliers. This is the obvious choice of negotiation as that is where the bulk of the money will be spent. But did you know there are many other things you can negotiate with Chinese suppliers? In fact, if done right, the other points that we will cover in this tutorial will have a much bigger impact on your bottom line than the price of the goods.

Many beginners get through the product research process, find the perfect product then strike a crappy deal with the factory. This I put down to two newbie seller fears.

The first is that they have just put their heart and soul into finding the product and are worried that by negotiating they will upset the factory and the deal will fall through.

The second is a fear of saying the wrong thing and the supplier being offended.

Both of these fears are natural. Supplier negotiation is something that most new and seasoned sellers will admit is not in their wheelhouse and they are far removed from their comfort zone. **S.S.S Negotiation Guide**

Negotiation is an art that every entrepreneur should have a firm grasp on. Great business deals and offers have been made at the negotiating table or through Alibaba, enabling many firms to grow and thrive.

However, like any other art, there are the wrong and the right ways of conducting a successful negotiation. You should know when to negotiate, what to negotiate on and who to negotiate with. Below are seven deadly mistakes you should avoid during a negotiation.

Alibaba.com has made it more secure and easier than ever to make payments and ensure the correct product on time with a 30 day money back guarantee. In this section we will cover your payment options and what to use and what to avoid. We will also go over the Alibaba.com Trade Assurance Service that is highly recommended for a complete end to end solution. 

Trade Assurance is a free service provided by Alibaba.com. It provides complete protection for the buyer and the seller throughout the entire transaction by acting as a middleman. You will make your Trade Assurance order and Alibaba.com will take your payment and hold it.

The supplier will will make the order in the agreed time frame and ship it to you. Once you are happy with the order and everything is correct Alibaba.com will release the funds to the supplier. If it is late or the incorrect you are eligible for a refund up to 30 days after the transaction.

Although it might seem complicated and daunting, for a buyer shipping is as hands on as you want to make it. It is in this importers experience to let the experts handle it whilst you manage your business.

In this section we will cover the shipping options available to you, shipping terminology and and services that will not only take care of the entire process but can actually save you money by getting way better prices.

Shipping terms more commonly known as Incoterms are used to distinguish between different types of shipping and where the liability for the shipment is from seller to buyer. There are loads of different types of Incoterms but ,thankfully, only a handful are commonly used.

In this lecture we will cover what they are and mean to enable you to communicate your shipping needs to your supplier or shipping agent more effectively. 

There are three main options for shipping. The first is doing it and arranging it yourself:

Please don't do this. The internet is full of horror stories of people who thought they could save some money by handling their own shipping. There a huge amount of procedure and paperwork in moving large quantities of cargo from one place to another and shipping agents that work in that field have years of experience. My advice is to do what you do best and outsource the rest.

This brings us nicely onto option 2 - Letting the factory/supplier arrange the shipping. There are some pros and cons to this. The cons are that you might not be getting the best price as they will call up their shipping forward (whoever that is) a price will be quoted and that's it. The second con is that they are using a shipping forward (which we will get in minute) and that is just adding another middleman into the equation.

The pros are -  Its easy. Nine times out of ten they will handle everything and it is completely hands off. The next is they might have a good deal with their shipping forward or company and be able to get a good shipping price although this is not always the case it is common. The final pro is you can eventually use the cost of the shipping as leverage. As your orders get bigger, deal can be negotiated where the factory will reduce or even pay for the shipping as part of the deal. These are for large orders by sea but if you maintain a good relationship with the supplier could well happen.

The final option is to use a third party service like a shipping agent or Alibaba.com's Shipping & Logistics Service. The cons with this are: Firstly, it can be hard to find a good agent with a good reputation you can trust. And Secondly most shipping agents have a weight and size minimum order of usually around 400 - 500 kg so if your orders have not reached this size yet then pickings can become slim.

The pros are: Its in the shipping agents best interests to get you the best price so you come back work with them again, it's completely hands off and they will take care of everything. You develop a good relationship. This might sound silly but just having one phone number to call and shipping is taken care of is great and knowing and trusting that person will look after your goods makes life much easier.

If you are looking to go with a third party another great option is the Alibaba.com Logistics service that integrates with with your Trade Assurance order, is still a shipping agent so will get you the best price and is completely hands off.