Patrice,
Try: www.GlobalSource.com

They have global information and manufacturers.

Gladys

Gladys,

Thanks for the link. Did you have a contact with a foreign manufacturer that you established yourself?

They e-mail me everyday showing the new products that have showed up on the seen. You choose the products that you want to follow. I check out the faucets and the showeres that are available for manufacturing in china and other countries.
Gladys

Hi Patrice:

I heard that if you don’t have an official commercial website, then they don’t take you seriously.

I think that’s how they screen out the possible “tire kickers” that aren’t serious businesspeople.

Do you have a website- that they can access for viewing??

~Paul

Hi Paul,

I never thought of that? I don’t have a website, I just have a blog. I could make up a free website I guess? But if I did, what kind of website would it have to be in order for them to take me seriously?

That would be funny if I made up this website just so the Alibaba people took me seriously and then I started to get all these orders from people! Haha, I would be like ok, now what do I do? hehe

Can I get some suggestions on the products that I sell? I do have a pay pal account. I would just have to make up some fake merchandise..

Gosh, the hoops I must jump just to get some action!

Patrice,

You could set up a very small website that essentially includes a home page, contact page, and an about page. Many large companies have websites that don’t go much further beyond this. As long as it looks professional, it should be enough to establish enough credibility.

I’ve had the same problem with Alibaba. I contacted several companies to inquire about glassware. I received few responses and lots of emails concerning products I was never interested in to begin with.

Good luck!

Globalsource is a good site, but I found that looking for bamboo I got emails with everything else as well. I think a lot of it is language barrier and that they are perhaps desparate and want to sell other things too so they send you emails with things you werent even searching for. I typed in looking for bamboo and the next day I got a hundred emails. the kicker is if you dont reply to them they keep sending emails and will even call you. I think much of it has to do with the companies that they may be so diversified that they will try to sell you anything. But you kind of have to take the chaf with the wheat i guess.

I do not know if this is much help…But I deal with several of those sites on a regular basis…

www.alibaba.com
www.tradekey.com
www.globalsourse.com

And honestly, the thing that I have discovered in dealing with them is that you have to keep things simple…The language difference is so different, and it is my understanding the simpler you put things, the easier to converse with them…

I am not expert, but I get great results when I just make it short and sweet!!

For Instance: I have product idea, I need manufacturer for this product, do you offer these services?

Instead of: I have this product that I would like to find a manufacturer for, and I was wondering if you offer this type of service.

That is just an example, and I hope this helps some….I have had better luck with www.tradekey.com than alibaba. You may give that one a try, and see if you get better results….

Good Luck

Hi PC:

Susan E’s suggestion sounds good. Do as much as you can on your website to show you are a solid business entity.

Paul

Yes, that is also a good idea…A good website says a lot!! It shows you are a solid business in a since…..Good Luck!!

What are you trying to get quoted? Maybe someone know a contact in China that you can use.
We have been to China twice & Taiwan once.
We need to know what your category is in order to help?

Thanks everyone for your advice. I could easily slap up a free website no problem.

The areas I am looking in are

bags
Christmas tree garland
book covers

Thanks!

Hi Patrice!

I would like to offer some advice. I am in China currently. I was here working for a product design company but unfortunately that term has come to an end. However, this has given me the opportunity to see how things work in China first hand. I’ve been lucky enough to visit many Chinese factories while i’ve been here, organized quotes with many prototypers and manufactuers.

There is a some truth to what Paul said, sometimes they do not take you seriously if you do not have a website. But that is not always the case and defiantly not the only reason why they might not have taken you seriously! Another factor could be your MOQ (min order qty) – many factories have a set MOQ. They will not bother with a request if they think it is too small. However, certainly setting up a small website might help.

Another way to make things look more professional, is if you have a Chinese friend, get them to translate your request into Chinese and send them the English version and Chinese. It looks as if you put the effort in and they tend to appropriate that!

Also, txyellarose is 100% correct! The cultural difference not to mention the language barrier makes thing 150% more difficult especially if your not working through a middle man. The best way is to keep things short and simple. Try to use words which could not be misinterpreted in any way possible. I saw a lot of requests coming back because they need things clarified.

Another tip while i’m here:
Chinese manufactures like to think of things as a business relationship. Find a factory you’d like to work with and stick with them! Build on the relationship, the more you build the more they will like you. They like to help, in some cases i have heard of factories suggesting new markets/places to sell too – the more you sell, the more business they get too so it’s win-win for them.

If you need help check out this website:

www.getyourstuffmadeinchina.com

They specialize in helping guys like you get their stuff made in China. There are tools there to help get quotes from Chinese manufacturers. If you email them they will help you translate your requests into Chinese.

Alibaba has been an excellent resource for me to price out components. I identify the companies I want to work with then send them requests for quotes. I request quotes in minimum quantities of 10,000 units. Keep in mind if your invention is successful, you will need quotes in 100,000 units. I have a personal email address and a business email address. I always use my company email address. I also request samples of products I am interested in. I give them my Fedex number and they send samples at no charge. I get responses about 80 per cent of the time and usually get samples when I make a request. Good luck.

jkl,

I have been having the same exact problem with alibaba.com. Thank you for posting this thread. I think I need to make a website (I could use advice on how to do it for free as some people mentioned – thanks). Also will write simple e-mails. I noticed that when I say that I need small quanitites at first they loose interest. It’s frustrating, because I don’t want/need big quantities right away, I don’t have any place to store it and I need just 100 or so to try to sell them. If it works, then I plan to order more parts and make more products. Sigh.

I don’t think this is a current thread. Seems like the person who started it—Patrice, or someone, had their account closed. Don’t think you’re going to hear from her Alice.

Oh, I see, thanks Chuck! I think I will start a new post about this.