So you just put the MOQ FOB offer in front of a buyer, and you are shooting for agreement on need. Out come the objections, which you must overcome.
Here are two I recently heard about.
A buyer asserted the Chinese consumer is far more impressed by packaging than content, the opposite from the USA. The practical problem is after all of the costs of landing goods in China and taxes etc are added, the perceived value of USA goods, based on the packaging, do not command the prices necessary to sell in China.
Overcoming the objection: USA seller offers a sleeve (plain) packaging for the Chinese to reinsert into China-centric packaging. Since plain packaging costs the usa seller less for packaging on the export side, he passes the savings on to the Chinese buyer. Not a novel solution.
But what about traceability is the packaging is redone in China? Whatever the exporter was going to put on the package is incorporated in the production of the packaging in China.
But then won't there immediately be pirating of the USA product, if they do the packaging?
No.
Who pirates unknown packaging?
Traceability trumps piracy. It does not matter where the traceability is introduced, only that i tis effective.
I wish people understood that piracy is never a problem for the USA seller, only the Chinese consumer. I realize that almost all Americans believe piracy in China is a problem for Americans, but that is just social conditioning. It simply is not true.
Another objection: The buyer won't buy without free samples.
Then they are not a buyer, because they are not ready willing and able to take your offer. Your offer does not include free samples. But let's go a bit deeper. What often happens with people who give free samples is by the time an exporter actually gets an order from one company, they are still net deficit for the expense of all the free samples they have sent out to various companies. Having fedexed 100 samples at $75.00 each all in, for a total of $7500 over say a year, and finally get an order in which you net $5000, well, you are still underwater. Better to have no business than that business.
The alternative is "no free samples" and go after real importers looking to test new products.
Of course one can set up BS filters and take the time to vet each inquiry for free samples, but that is a time killer alone, checking out 100 companies to find the one to which you will send out free samples. Better to stick with no free samples.
Update: If you are in the SF Bay Area late February, I'll be Foothill DeAnza College is hosting an all-day import-export startup course.
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You may enroll here....
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
1 comments:
"Then they are not a buyer, because they are not ready willing and able to take your offer. Your offer does not include free samples. But let's go a bit deeper. What often happens with people who give free samples is by the time an exporter actually gets an order from one company, they are still net deficit for the expense of all the free samples they have sent out to various companies. Having fedexed 100 samples at $75.00 each all in, for a total of $7500 over say a year, and finally get an order in which you net $5000, well, you are still underwater. Better to have no business than that business."
I have made this exact fatal error myself.
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