Shenzhen China Trade Contacts

New Year - New Trade Leads

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:06:00 +0000

Well, Yanjie and I met at the airport and retrieved my luggage. It was such a relief to have my belonging's again, I could now start to relax and focus on my stay in Shenzhen.
We spent some time together that evening getting to know each other.

We had met online, Yanjie worked for a trading company that sold mobile phones.
A month or so prior to my visit to Shenzhen, she resigned from the company because she was not happy in international sales. Because of her excellent english skills, she quickly found a job with a large home decorating store. It was because of her english that we had been able to communicate so well by Skype and telephone. So, we remained friends, though we did not do any business together.

Once situated, I started to place calls to my trade contacts to schedule times for my company visits. I should also add that not everything went according to plans. One of my contacts informed me that their company no longer had branded mobile phones, only Chinese mobile phones. This was a disappointment to me because they had advertised brands such as Nokia at wholesale prices. I was not interested in the Chinese phones, so I did not visit that company.
Another company I contacted, I had very little interaction with before coming to Shenzhen.
I included them on my list because they seemed to offer a large inventory of mobile phones.
I contacted them via Skype on my laptop computer in my hotel room.
When I told my contact that I was in Shenzhen and wanted to visit her company, I did not receive a warm welcoming. She told me to wait while she consulted her manager and I was left waiting for over an hour without a single word or explanation being sent to me.
When I questioned her as to what had happened, she offered no explanation.

What I eventually came to realize is that many of these Chinese companies are trading companies not manufacturer's; meaning that the trading companies sell products that are manufactured by factories in China. There are many trading companies that are selling the same products of the same factory.
Many of these trading companies work from small offices and have only a few items on hand as samples. They are not often prepared to have certain products available at short notice.

I did not consider this at the time, I was so turned off by how I was treated, that I never contacted this company again.

Next blog; my visits

Shenzhen 08- New Year;New Trade Contacts

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Well, I should also say that I was introduced to the Skype products by Korinna.

She picked me up at my hotel by taxi and we went to her company in the Futian district of Shenzhen.

Korinna and I had known each other for a while through Alibaba, the largest trade association in the World, we chatted often in Skype.

When I arrived in Shenzhen, I contacted her and we set a date for our meeting.It was a meeting that almost never happened; I had not yet adjusted to the time difference and was not sleeping at night.

On that particular morning, I was so tired that I wanted to postpone our meeting.
I think I attempted to call her, but she was already on her way and did not answer, so I got up and dressed for our meeting.
When I came down to the lobby, there she was, getting out of the taxi with a big warm smile and greeted me with a soulful handshake! She exuded a lot of positive energy.

It was a Saturday morning, (many companies in Shenzhen work at least part of the day on Saturday's) and her co-workers did not arrive for an hour at least, so we got to spend some time alone. She used the time to explain and demonstrate her company's Skype products and wifi mobile phones. She was also sweet enough to offer me the opportunity to take a nap, after seeing how tired I was. But, her energy was contagious, so I was able to decline her offer and enjoy her company.

We ended our meeting with a nice lunch at a Hunan style restaurant nearby.

Okay, on to my 2008 return trip to Shenzhen, to summarize:

My flight to Beijing was changed to a later flight upon arriving at Newark airport

My luggage must not have gotten the memo, it did not arrive with me for my connecting flight to Shenzhen

I missed my connecting flight

I had to report my missing luggage to authorities at Beijing airport(it was very hard and stressful finding help for this)

I had to pay for another flight via a Shenzhen airplane so that I would not arrive too late

I had made arrangements to meet a contact named Yanjie, at Shenzhen airport

I arrived after 1:00am the following morning, was scheduled to arrived about 10:00pm the night before

Yanjie was waiting at airport and she arranged for taxi to take me to my hotel and her home after she helped me file a missing luggage report.

I stayed at the same hotel as the previous year, the Golden Lustre, because I was comfortable there and liked the staff.

Yanjie called me a day after my arrival to tell me that my luggage had arrived at the airport.We made arrangements to meet each other there.

Next blog; more details on my experiences with new contacts and products.

Fast Forward-Shenzhen 08' Electronic Manufacturer Contacts

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Well, this blogging thing is hard to keep up with! I haven't done this in over a year now.
Let me just summarize my first visit to Shenzhen in 07' and move on to my second visit in 08'.
The highs and lows of my first Shenzhen visit were as follows:

Joyce was waiting for me at Shenzhen airport
My luggage was not waiting for me
Joyce spoke with airport personnel
Luggage arrived at hotel day later
Made arrangements to visit factory contacts
Was met at my hotel several times and given ride to companies in Shenzhen.
Was treated to lunch several times (customary for visiting trading partners to Shenzhen)
Had upset stomach after eating very spicy meals(I told my contacts I liked spicy food)
Purchased some sample electronic products from visited companies.
Visited 'Windows of the World' with Joyce, which is a fantastic tourist attraction, a scaled down version of the world's main attractions.
Slept on a very hard hotel bed mattress
Visited Hong Kong for shopping, sightseeing and dining
Luggage arrived back with me at Newark airport

A couple of product's of note that I came home with were:

A dual mode PSTN portable phone that makes regular land line calls and Skype(internet)calls.

At the time Skype was in it's infancy and not very popular. Now there are millions of people using Skype, including Oprah Winfrey, who uses it's video calling capabilities with her guests.

I use Skype to chat with my Chinese friends and contacts all the time.

Here is a link to my webstore to view it.

http://www.worldbestvalue.com/servlet/the-2/%22skype-phone%22-%22voip-phone%22/Detail

Another product is a small 1.5" Digital Photo Frame that makes a great inexpensive gift.

It stores up to 60 photos and has a calendar and temperature display:http://www.worldbestvalue.com/servlet/the-5/%22digital-photo-frame%22-%22gift/Detail.

I will detail my second 08" visit to Shenzhen in my next blog.

ehhcpyqefx

China Arrival

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Well during the days leading up to my flight to China, all I could think of was the long flight (about 16 hours, I actually thought it was longer) and the 12 hour time difference.
I was wondering how I was going to deal with it and how I could prepare my body for it.
I thought of staying awake the night before my morning flight so that I could sleep most of the flight.I was planning on going to bed early the evening before the flight and getting up very early in the morning. It turned out that I was so excited about this adventure that I was about to begin that I did not get to bed that early and I only slept for a few hours.
I made sure that I fulled up my Ipod(Chinese version) with music, had magazines and audio book, cd's and dvd's for viewing on my laptop once I arrived in Shenzhen.
Joyce my first contact in China and now a friend of mind, was to meet me at the airport.
I could not sleep much on the flight to Beijing, where I had to change planes.
I did a little of everything during the flight, including getting up to stretch my legs every 4 hours or so. I tried not to think of the time and did not keep checking my watch.
Once I arrived in Beijing, security for my next flight was taken up a notch.
There were several checkpoints before loading onto the plane.
I called Joyce from there and told her that I was only about 5 hours away.

To be continued: Next blog: Disaster in Shenzhen!

If you are planning a trip to Shenzhen,China or would like to visit but need a guide or translator to help you get around the city for leisure, entertainment, factory visits, etc.
I can provide these services for you through my contacts in Shenzhen.
All of them are well educated, speak English well, are friendly and have experience with international sales and business.
If you are interested, please fill out the form at the bottom of the page and I will provide you with details on this service, including the cost.

China preparations

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:38:00 +0000

While thinking that this trip to China was becoming a distinct possibility, I didn't have a clue to what was required to travel there.

I was under the impression that all that was needed was a passport and an airline ticket.

I had been researching airfares for a several months and found a good package deal to Shenzhen, which included hotel, through Orbitz.

I purchased the tickets and thought that I was ready for my trip, since I already had a passport.

It was only after discussing my trip with a friend, who told me that a visa was also required, did I realize how wrong I was.

I did some research online and discovered to my horror, that not only was this true, but a passport with at least 6 months eligibility was also required. My passport expired in 4 months.

So, with less than a month before my trip, I was in panic mode.

First, I found a local passport office (luckily in my neighborhood post office) and payed an extra fee for expedited processing. I was fortunate to receive my passport in about a week.

I then went to the Chinese Consulate office in New York to apply for my visa.

I again payed for the expedited service after arriving when the office opened.

I was able to receive my visa later that afternoon. The gods were shining on me!

This China trip was meant to be!

When it became clear that I was indeed going to be coming to China, I told my China contacts,

Joyce and Shirley(pictured) that I was on my way.

Trip to China?

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:12:00 +0000

All of those late night chats with my new found friends from China, got me to thinking.

"What if I went to China to visit these companies and brought back samples, instead of the arduous task of ordering a sample here and there". Then I could meet my contacts face to face.

We had often joked about my "Grand Tour", when I did come to visit. It was mostly wishful thinking on my part, though the desire was there to see this new world that was opening up to me.

I started to subscribe to China airfare alerts via email, to see what the current fares were and to look for any price drops.
The more I thought of the idea, the more excited I became.
I started to gather as much information as I could on China. I read books and magazine articles.
I tried to learn a few Chinese words and phrases, without much success.
I was beginning to believe that this trip to China was becoming a real possibility.

More China Business Tips

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:17:00 +0000

Here are a few more tips from Mr. James Chan,Ph.D of Asia Marketing and Management.

Avoid certain colors- White is the color of mourning in the Chinese tradition. People in packaging should avoid too much white background. Red, suggesting power, prosperity and authority, is the preferred color.

Avoid giving a green-colored hat to a Chinese man- "Wearing a green hat" in Chinese means that someone's wife is being unfaithful, a shameful thing to admit in public.

Never give a Chinese person a clock- The phrase "to give a clock" rhymes with another phrase that means "to attend someone's funeral". It is all right to give a wrist watch, but not a clock.

For more insightful tips from Mr.Chan, go to www.Asiamarketingmanagement.com

While continuing to research and sample Chinese products through market research and trade association leads, I was able to narrow my focus to a few products.
'ipod-like' mp3 players, Skype Voip products, PDA phones.

I will further discuss these products in future blogs. To see what is currently available in my online store go to: www.worldbestvalue.com

Next blog: meeting my Chinese contacts, the journey!

Important tips from China expert

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:05:00 +0000

Last week I attended a seminar by the US Commerce Dept., called "China Smart".
The focus of the seminar was on exporting and doing business in China.
One of the speakers present was James Chan, Ph.D of Asia Marketing and Management(AMM)
Mr.Chan has been doing business with the Chinese for many years and is a dynamic speaker.
Here is a summary of some business practices when establishing relationships with the Chinese.
Respect their business cards- the Chinese consider exchanging business cards the same way we consider a handshake. They exchange business cards the moment they greet you.
Don't put the card away immediately. Place it on the table or hold it in your hand for some time.
Make friends first, do business later- The Chinese enjoy small talk and pleasantries.
They want to learn more about you. Initial meetings are rarely expected to produce results.
Chinese salespeople like to wine and dine prospects before they sit down to do business.
Let people save face, especially in public- An American behavior that perhaps irks the Chinese most is someone probing into their affairs. The Chinese are not accustomed to revealing much about themselves, especially in public seminars. Avoid forcing people to tell the truth in public against their will. Try to get the person alone "one on one", where they are more direct and straightforward.

These are just a few of the tips outlined by Mr.Chan, I will be including some more in the next blog. His website is : www.asiamarketingmanagement.com

The Chinese Cost

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:53:00 +0000

Shirley and I continued our online Skype chatting, discussing her company's product line.
We also got a chance to get to know each other and develop a relationship based on trust and understanding.
I was beginning to get an understanding of the way of life for the factory workers of China.
These young people had worked hard to get a university education, which enabled them to get what is considered one of choice jobs as an international salesperson.
Yet they were being paid very little for their efforts, since the profit margins for the Chinese factories is very slim. Most of the profits go into the production of these products; material costs and the manpower cost of hundreds and maybe thousands of workers.
Taking all of this into consideration, China is still able to produce these exports at a fraction of the cost other countries can. The low wages paid to their huge workforce is the main reason for this.
Shirley and the multitude of other's like her were feeling the pressure of trying to succeed in the competitive and cold world of international sales, with the dream of returning to their hometown's and family's, having achieved a certain level of success. To warrant the ultimate sacrifice of seeing their families about once a year.

More Skype Contacts

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:05:00 +0000

While keeping in contact with Joyce through Skype, I continued to send inquires to other Chinese electronic's companies. I found a company who's products seemed to be a good match to my main product line, which was computer's and related products.
This company sells wireless internet cards for notebooks and mobile phones.
I received a response to my inquiry from 'Shirley', she also became a Skype contact of mine.
One of the problems with communicating with China is the 12 hour time difference, while it is morning there, it is late night here in Northeast United States. So online 'chatting' with my Chinese contacts meant staying up rather late at night.
While 'chatting' with Shirley, who was new to the company and not too long out of school, I placed a 'Skype call' to her, to demonstrate the VOIP capabilities of the program.
She was thrilled to be able to get a chance to talk to an American, as she welcomed the opportunity to practice her English. Her English was surprisingly good and was tinged with a slight English accent. When I later brought the English accent to her attention, she said that at her University she was taught the standard English pronunciation.
Shirley loved the English language and said that she was at the top of her English class at school.

Trade Leads

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:04:00 +0000

Once you join a Trade Association you can sign up for Trade Leads, which is a notification by email for whatever product's you are looking to sell or buy. As mentioned previously there are certain restrictions that may apply according to your level of membership.
Trade Leads match buyers and sellers by product category.
You could receive a large amount of inquiries or company profiles from Chinese factories.
The next step is to contact these companies to request price lists and compare prices.
I also did not hesitate to ask as many questions as I could think of. Many of the contact's will not have all of the answers right away. The good companies will have someone around that can get you the answer's in a reasonable amount of time. Beware of companies that shy away from your questions or never really answer them.
The problem with some of these companies is that they are 'sales machines', constantly looking for the next sale or new customer. They are inundated with sales inquires and often overlook customer service with their regular customers.
That is why establishing a relationship with your contact is important.

Trade Associations

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:06:00 +0000

Trade Associations are a great way to get in touch with supplier's around the world or to get your product's out there.

Most of them have a basic membership level, which requires no membership fees.

There are some restrictions for the lowest level of membership, such as the amount of Trade Leads you can receive during a period of time. Another restriction could be the ability to see contact information of a Trade Lead.

The higher up you go in membership levels, the more functionality you will have to advertise your business and contact Trade Leads.

Be forewarned that there are many scam artists that lurk around these associations, masquerading as legitimate companies.
Most of the scam artists can be spotted by observing their company profile/contact information which contain obvious errors or conflicts with zip codes, area codes, grammar,etc.

Almost all of the Chinese companies I have contacted through Trade association leads have been legitimate companies. A company website is a good indicator of a real company.
Another positive sign is the response time to your initial inquiry to their company.
A fast response is a sign of a professional organization and could be an indicator of future business dealings with that company.

First Business

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:12:00 +0000

There were a few gliches with some of the Ipod's software.
I mentioned these problems to Joyce and she told me to return the problem Ipod's so that she could take a look at them.
I shipped them back to her, she detected the problems and promptly exchanged them for working units. Joyce also reported the problems to the factory so that corrections could be made.
I have not had any other problems with any of these mp4 players, they perform all of the functions of the Ipod Nano, for a fraction of the cost.I have given some to family members as gifts.
What could have been a negative experience was a positive one because of our prior communications and the level of trust that Joyce and I had built.
She knew that this was my first order and how important it was to me and our future business relationship.

Some of the Trade Associations that I have used are : EC21.com; ttnet.net; made-in-china.com
and globalsources.com. I will give others in future blogs.

First Order of Business

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:53:00 +0000

After corresponding with my first contact in Shenzhen, named 'Joyce', from a company that manufacturers Ipod-like mp4 players, memory cards and other electronics.

I decided to place a sample order of a few Ipod's. Our communications had been very friendly( her written English was very good). I have a sister Joyce, so we hit it off pretty well from the start. I was to learn some time later that Joyce was not her real name.

The Chinese contacts use American names to establish a rapor with their customers and to keep things simple. They choose names that they are fond of and even seem to assume the persona of that name full time. Their collegues will call them by their American names during the day.

'Joyce' and I had brieflly chatted in Skype via our computer's, with headsets/microphones.

I received the order several days later as promised. The first thing I noticed is that these were not the real Ipod nano's but Ipod-like player's.

I should have known that they would not be Apple Ipod's because of the prices, but I just assumed that they would be. Well, as they say about assuming...! I never asked in advanced if they were the original.

Joyce was very apologetic when I brought it to her attention, informing me that all of these products coming from China are "Ipod-like" players.

She stated that she felt bad because she did not inform me of this fact before I placed the order.

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:08:00 +0000

Almost all of the contacts I made in China were from companies located in the city Shenzhen, Guangdong province in southern China.
Shenzhen was declared China's first Special Economic Zone(SEZ) in 1980. It was believed that it's location near Hong Kong would attract money from businesses there and foreign investors.
It has since risen from a fishing town to a bigger city than Paris, Montreal or Los Angeles.
It's population has grown from 70 thousand to 7 million in a quarter of a century and the fourth largest city economy in China.
Shenzhen is one of the few cities in China were the women far outnumber men.
They are sought after for factory jobs because of their patience and temperment.
These factories are making China the world's leading manufacturer in several catorgories, including televisions. These factories are huge, some with tens of thousands of employees.
My Chinese contacts work out of offices that are separate from these factories.
The sales offices are staffed with workers that work long hours and sometimes 6 days a week.
The offices are located in Shenzhen, while the factories are located on the outskirts of town.
Shenzhen has 5 star hotels and luxury boutiques, while the workers earn on average $72 a month, according to 2002 government figures.
It is one of the youngest cities in the world with an average age of less that 30.
Almost all of the population come from other cities to earn a living, leaving their families behind.
Most will only get to return home during the Spring Festival holiday, once a year.
During that time there is a mass migration out of town and the trains(if you can get a ticket) are packed to the hilt.

(statistics, info: China Inc. by Ted C. Fishman)

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 01:36:00 +0000

After narrowing my focus to a few Chinese electronics supplier's, we continued to communicate by email. The communications were very friendly and we even exchanged photo's.
As I studied one particular photo of a young lady in her office, I took notice of a window in the background. The view from the window indicated that the office was in a tall building.
This surprised me a little, because most of the images I had seen of China were of ancient architecture. I was ignorant to the fact that there now is a modern China( at least in the large urban areas) that is growing at an alarming rate.
I happened to notice that my contact had a Skype Id. I had never heard of Skype, but was assured that it was a good instant messaging program.
The free program was an easy download and turned out to be much more than a instant messaging program. Skype is a program that uses VOIP technology, to send cheap calls over the Internet. It is a great tool for people that do business overseas and are on a tight budget.
You can even have " Skype-In" phone numbers with foreign area codes so that your international contacts or relatives can contact you while making a local call.
http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2439731-10423079 see Skype for business for more information.

Introduction to Chinese business

noreply@blogger.com (ngtravis) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:35:00 +0000

First of all, I am not proclaiming to being an expert on doing business with China. I am just attempting to share my personal experiences and give some perspective on what I have observed.
My experiences are from dealing with companies in the electronics manufacturing
and sales sector of China. Other business sector's may do business differently.

I got introduced to doing business China through membership in several international trade associations. I was looking for sources of computer and electronic products.
After making inquiries with many companies, I received responses that included pricelists and product information.
The Chinese companies had a contact person that could speak and write English. Their skill in the English language ranged from fair to fairly good.
Almost all of the contacts were female university graduates that had studied English and International Trade. It seems that the women had an easier time learning English or the men preferred to stay in the background and let the women handle the communication tasks.
I found that if you are patient enough to open communications with them beyond just email, they are thrilled to get a chance to practice and improve their language skills.