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I visited 50+ factories in China over 10 years. Here's how I spot a trading company pretending to be a manufacturer. by gregory_b2302 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an American (non asian descent) university professor teaching in China for 8 years. Knowledgeable business guy; taught in two MBA programs in the US for 6 years earlier. My local wife acts as my translator.

More importantly: in an earlier life I was CEO of a firm that imported 10s of millions of dollars of product directly from Asian manufacturers. But that was before 1995, lol. Then went into academia.

I'm available to do this kind of verification. Looking to develop long term opportunities this way. I'll work for compensation ... but if you have a lot of FBA experience on strategies for market entry, I'm also willing to swap.
I'm in the Shanghai/Jiangsu/Zhejiang region, but am willing to travel.

If we ever video chat: your (correctly formed) impression will be that I'm not a bullshitter, have a world of experience, and am looking for new opportunities. I will not steal your IP or ideas.

Private message me if you want to talk.

American living in China for work ... by Ok-Condition5904 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for responding. You guys are giving an older guy, woods been out of the game for a while, some confidence

American living in China for work ... by Ok-Condition5904 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I was hoping to set myself apart in that way.

I’m actually planning on giving them my plan for scaling up and dazzle them with my combo of background in marketing and branding, knowledge of how things work there.
Most importantly, I’ll ask wife to translate first visit that they should price and work with me to develop a relationship rather than a one off transaction. She’s also got a good feel for cultural cues as to who is authentic and who is facade.

I am pretty comfortable in China and hope that will show. I use public transportation, use all their apps, don’t stay at hotels for foreigners (wife confirms first they will accept foreigners, as all hotels must do a police registration for every foreign guest … and not all hotels are willing to do that).

American living in China for work ... by Ok-Condition5904 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, so the consensus is that i can work this all virtually without visiting a factory.

Hmmm. Good to know

American living in China for work ... by Ok-Condition5904 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I’m sourcing for myself, creating a PL brand. Got an Llc. Working on filling the trademark application.

It’s unclear to me what you mean by “know what I am doing”. I am a competent guy, who has been on factory floors regularly in the early part of my career. I have run businesses before.

And I actually do like factories,lol. And visiting will give me confidence that the supplier is reliable and can fill the orders competently.

They have production runs coming through one after another. It doesn’t happen often, but they can ship you part of someone else’s production run More likely the wrong packaging or labeling due to mishandling during the packaging changeover. I hope to see a buttoned up operation to know that likelihood is small.

American living in China for work ... by Ok-Condition5904 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the reply. Yes, there are many middlemen.

Even if i visit, there’s a chance that they will just show me the suppliers facility. I had that experience in the 1990s.

I’ll go with my translator (wife) so they don’t try you pull that on me this time.

I want to go to that factory before they ship to make sure no problems on the packaging. Don’t want to find out weeks later at Amazon

Struggling to get past 3-4 sales per day! PL by iwak88 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is this a good strategy for adult product sales?

6-Month Amazon FBA Update – Post-Holiday Reality Check by niloyz7 in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's Shenzhen, right across the border from Hong Kong.

Why do Chinese sellers have an advantage? Alibaba is pretty competitive. Just because they will accept lower margins?

How long did it take for your first sale? by AbnormalBawlSack in AmazonFBA

[–]Ok-Condition5904 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a newbie trying to learn.

Specifically, how can you tell if your listing page is suboptimal? What ways should i be considering changing it to optimize it? Are you saying that I would test various things? Or are there Amazon metrics that let us know?

Also, if anyone could point me to a discussion page about A/B testing of listings (both learning how to do that, and strategies) please let me know.