How to negotiate for better quality with Chinese suppliers

Naiyuan Mart
January 14, 2022

How to negotiate for better quality products with chinese suppliers

First time buying from Chinese suppliers? Or you are buying in low volume (less than $5000). Well, you need to know that everyday, Chinese suppliers deal with high-volume clients and considering that you don’t have a lot of negotiating power due to the volume of your order, it may be difficult to negotiate without the skills and hacks you will discover in this article.

The point of negotiating is to make the business transaction to be fair to both parties (the buyer & the seller).

Before going into the hacks around negotiating with Chinese suppliers, you need to know that one thing you should never do is BEAT DOWN THE PRICE!

First, this is putting your business at risk considering that Chinese suppliers have different quality models, beating down the price will put the quality of your product at risk because the potential of getting low-quality product is high if Chinese suppliers sees that you are beating down the price, it shows them that you don’t have enough budget for premium quality. So, never beat down the price!

Here’s what you should do to get the best out of your transaction.

1. Ask for defect rates

Asking the factory for defect rates will show that you are concerned about your product quality and they will be careful when it comes to production of your order. A defect rate is the percentage of output that failes to meet quality target. The formula for defect rate is the amount of defective products observed divided by the number of units tested. For example, if 10 out of 200 tested units are defective, the defect rate is 10 divided by 200, or 5 percent. Once your suppliers confirm the amount or units of defect rates, ask that they include it in your order to cover for their mistakes. This comes at no cost.

2. Avoid making full payments until your order is inspected

Letting your factory know that you are concerned about your order and that you will pay the balance upon quality inspection will put them in the right path of creating a high quality product for you. This is to ensure the factory knows the final deposit will not be paid until the quality control inspection passes.

3. Agreeing that they will be your sole supplier

It is not always easy but sometimes, factories go ahead to bend the rules a little when you give an assurance that they will be your sole suppliers now and in future. This means that you can tell them that this order is to test their quality and thus, it makes them put in effort.

4. Include Product Label and Expiry Date

Insist that each of your order comes with product label and manufacturing dates shows that you are concerned about quality and if something happens to your order especially because of the defects, it is always easy to get a chargeback, refund or new product exchange for the defected ones.

Now that you have learned the hacks of negotiating for better quality from your suppliers, we need to add that you should also not negotiate for impossible things.

For instance, do not ask or negotiate this things:

Beat down the price

We highlighted this above, we are saying it again here just for you to know how important it is to take note of this advice.

Confuse the suppliers

Sometimes, buyers negotiate so much that they confuse their suppliers and this allows suppliers to avoid transacting with buyers. Considering that many Chinese suppliers do not understand English, it is important to be straightforward with them and not ask for a lot of things to the point where it confuses them.

Negotiate when you are not ready to buy or place an order

This is a no-no! Don’t negotiate or even chat up if you are not ready. Chinese suppliers are very busy and they attend to lots of buyers everyday. If you are not ready to place your order, do not negotiate.

Understand that they are out to make profit too

Don’t negotiate to the point where their suppliers won’t be able to make profit. Just like you, they are business owners too and their goal is profit so, do not negotiate to a point where they would think you are callous or ridiculous.

Do not expect too much

While you negotiate, it is important to keep in mind that asking for too much may make your supplier feel that you are trying to outsmart them. Once your supplier feels insecure, he may end the transaction.

Above all, we encourage that you negotiate wisely and consider that your suppliers are also business owners out to make profit. Meanwhile you can get a verified suppliers list for your business niche here.

Niayuan mart can also negotiate on your behalf and do the quality inspection for you before shipping takes place. Reach out to us via WhatsApp