A considerable number of Amazon sellers in the US and Europe have discovered a way to ship products imported from Chinese manufacturing companies to FBA sales. And this approach has many advantages. First, they are very cheap, they can be purchased wholesale. Secondly, many intermediate links are saved, saving time and cost. But for many start-up buyers, importing goods from China to the Amazon warehouse is not an easy task. A lot of tricky problems still exist. However, the problems in the import process are complex and rich, but it is not impossible for us to solve these problems.
In the following, we will discuss how to import the core ideas and methods of the Amazon FBA Distribution Center.
1 Select products you want to sell on Amazon
Explore hundreds of product categories that sell products on Amazon FBA. What would your business choose?
This is an obvious problem, because the success of sales depends entirely on that product. Research and surveys help provide important information. Shouldn’t you sell the best products on the market? What are these products? You must identify them through market research and surveys. Then, when you identify these categories, it’s easier to import products that cost you a lot of money.
All products on Amazon.com cannot be the same, although most products are similar. In fact, some manufacturing companies in China use different labels to copy the same product. As it happens, you can find many product purchase options. If the vendor offers some incredible options, you should consider and check if it is right for you. It is very helpful to have a purchasing agent who is well versed in FBA specifications in China. Their contacts with China’s top suppliers that meet these specifications will further help prepare samples, inspect and validate products based on FBA standards.
2 Unique private label product design
With your own branded products, you can avoid the opportunity to confuse and compete with others. It’s time to make the product unique with the logo, so the products sold on Amazon are necessarily unique. Suppliers from China will help you achieve this goal. First, you need to design a logo for your own branded product, it won’t cost too much. Second, you need to register a trademark at the US Trademark Office or the European Union Trademark Office. Once the trademark certificate is approved, your brand is protected and you can have what you want. Once you have selected the logo, you will print it on the product’s carton and packaging.
Maybe you have read a lot of articles that tell you the advantages of private tags. Yes, people are keen to share their advantages, but no one agrees to add “how to” or “how much” to their products when they import products from China. Last year we supported more than 100 customers from the US. They asked us to help import from China and ship the goods to Amazon’s FBA center. Although most of them are new to online market sales, they place great emphasis on designing their own packaging and adding their own brands to each product to develop a brand strategy. Because our team has extensive experience in adding private labels to a wide range of products, we have summarized the most common ways to add tags/logo to products. In this article, you’ll learn a lot about how to add your own brand to your product.
2.1 What is a private label?
A private label is a logo or pattern of a product produced by a manufacturer and sold under a retailer brand. It represents a retailer and helps build brand loyalty. Labels are a key feature of the product. It helps to promote products, attract customers’ attention, and let customers distinguish them from other brands. Also, it provides product information such as ingredients, instructions, date of manufacture, etc.
Private labels are very helpful for consumers to differentiate your products. If your product is well designed and of good quality, consumers are always willing to pay a higher price and remain loyal to your brand.
If you want to start importing/purchasing from China, here’s a simple process: find a good product from a limited existing competitor, find a reliable manufacturer in China, privately label the product, and market the product under your brand.
2.2 How to privately label your products and packaging
Labels are a key feature of your product. Most buyers who import from China and sell on the Internet or in the local market need to label the products they want to buy. For most categories of products, you can add your own brand (your logo) to the product body or package. We have summarized 11 private labeling methods and my team offers a variety of products to our customers, as shown above.
The five methods on the left side of this figure are designed to add a logo to the product. These methods are suitable for products made of different materials. The other six methods on the right are ideas on how to add your own brand to the product packaging.
Below, all 11 methods will be listed one by one.
This is the private label method of your choice.
Screen printing (screen printing)
Thermal transfer (thermal transfer)
modeling
Laser printing / laser engraving
Machine embroidery
Sticker label
Fabric sign
label
Paper cardboard
Custom gift box
Printed polyethylene bag
For small orders, it takes more money to make a private label.
After reading this article, you will hopefully get ideas on how to self-label your products, and you will avoid being overcharged by the manufacturer. We are also trying to get you up to the estimated typical cost in China, please contact us for more information.
3 Looking for Chinese manufacturing companies
This is a thunderous question, let us correct it. You should find a reliable manufacturing company in China. Most small-volume buyers look for Chinese suppliers on the Internet. Others came to China to participate in the China Trade Fair. The cost of a week in China is about $5,000. Finding a reliable and suitable supplier within a week is not easy.
That’s why so many buyers are trying to get online. Below is a list of top B2B platforms for purchasing products and suppliers.
Alibaba is China’s most famous B2B platform, but the suppliers there are demanding high volume.
Globalsourcing.com and made-in-china.com are also great places to try.
AliExpress. aliexpress.com is better for small orders.
Alibaba, Global Sources, Made in China Maybe the best B2B platform for buyers to find their own Chinese suppliers. In order to save time and save money, getting help from a Chinese purchasing agent would be a good choice. If you do an accurate investigation, there will be a big difference between them. Your goal is simple – find reliable products at a low price and sell them. This is the only thing that makes you big money. Otherwise, you know what will happen.
4 How to get your product samples
After negotiating with two or three suppliers, you can apply for a sample. They are then evaluated for quality, appearance and performance, and you can generally get an accurate report. In general, people will choose a lower-priced product, but this is not a good idea. If you want the customer to impress your product, the praise is still bad. In the end, the above problems will appear in your mind. You need to determine what kind of product you will be selling on the market. Let your conscience help you make a decision.
Also, if the sample does not match the specific content you requested, you only need another sample. It is necessary to choose multiple suppliers. How can you be so sure about suppliers? You should never give up the chance of other choices.
5 Negotiations for small batch orders
A small number of buyers mentioned that each individual who requested to purchase less than $50,000 was just adding a portion of the person who started the new business (I specified the start).
Small order orders are those orders that are less than $5,000. This article will pay more attention to those purchases.
Based on our experience and transportation costs, we strongly recommend that if you want to import a small amount of products from China, it is best to choose:
High value products
Small size product
I have the opportunity to purchase a customer in the form of a small business in the form of a small business of $5,000-$50,000 (calculating various types of goods). According to this amount, most shipments range from 5CBM to 40HQ. This quantity usually reaches the minimum order quantity of the factory and can be purchased directly from them.
Regular 4 to 5 CBMs will be the most reasonable minimum for LCL (less than container loading) transport. If not, the average cost per item will be high.
6 Product manufacturing and quality control
After you verify the quality of your product and determine the price, you can continue to pay for the manufacturing. In the next phase, outstanding quality control measures are required. Obviously, if the import volume is too low, you can’t check it yourself, because it will cost you a lot. Instead, you will have a third-party company to conduct product inspections. Keep in mind that all of this must happen before the goods arrive at Amazon’s designated warehouse. Fortunately, Etailer Sourcing Company provides quality control and inspection services to make your job easier.
Why is pre-shipment inspection always necessary?
Exporters and importers usually ask this question. And why aren’t they? It is always an important part of verifying products that meet approved specifications. Quality control is not a form that takes place on the supplier side, but rather a rigorous process of evaluating the product before it reaches its destination.
Our recommendations for pre-shipment inspections are straightforward. In fact, when the quality of the product is checked, the problem can be quickly identified and resolved. This, in turn, makes the event faster and resolves the possibility of all failures before the goods move for 30 or 40 days.
Indeed, many Japanese or Western buyers hire experienced Chinese purchasing agencies to manage key businesses, including R&D, quality control and business development.
In fact, when you evaluate these companies, you will find some best practices from these companies that you always want to see. Whether it is WIP tracking, document management, standard operating procedures, etc., at the end of the evaluation, you will be satisfied with the performance of these companies compared to the average Chinese supplier.
7 Get help from FBA freight forwarders
Do you know the freight forwarder? You have to know one. The freight forwarder is your dry agent. Bringing products from one country to another is a daunting task. Because these freight forwarders understand international shipping laws, they are the best candidates for logistics arrangements.
Don’t forget the capabilities of Chinese suppliers. Yes, they can help you find a reliable freight forwarder. If you are not allowed to export or import from another country, this is not a problem because the third-party recipient agent can do this for you. Whether it is Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Ningbo, Shanghai, or any other city, a reliable Chinese purchasing agent will seek help from the best Amazon FBA freight forwarders.
7.1 Global Express and Air Transport
Global express delivery is suitable for goods under 300 kg, while air cargo is suitable for more than 300 kg. Despite this, air cargo requires a similar form of import and fare as sea cargo. You also need to get a payload at the aircraft terminal.
Dangerous items such as liquids, power supplies and items with batteries cannot be sent by air.
7.2 LCL company
This LCL company is the best choice for small batch buyers. They often spend a lot of time in specific ports or areas and offer a full range of price delivery services. They will handle all customization and delivery processes.
7.3 Integrate goods/products and ship them together
If you buy products from various suppliers, you can consider combining them and you will save on shipping costs.
It bodes well for shipping goods. If you import five unique items from 5 suppliers, 0.5CBM per item, then you can consider consolidating them by LCL shipping. By doing so, the shipping cost will be 80% less than the courier.
So you need someone to merge your goods in China. One arrangement is to find a reliable freight forwarder with its specific distribution center. Another solution is that you can choose a reliable supplier and let other suppliers send all the goods to him, at which point the freight forwarder can concentrate the goods in one place.
Since freight forwarders ship goods through different modes (aircraft or ships), it is important that the packaging meet Amazon FBA requirements before loading. It is worth noting that freight forwarders can also provide this service. It includes checking products for Amazon rules and regulations.
8 How to ship goods to the Amazon FBA warehouse
You don’t have to worry anymore, because here you will get all the information about how to ship your products from China to Amazon. We will show you the pros and cons of each approach. I hope this information will help you complete this import game. let’s start.
How to ship from China to the Amazon FBA warehouse? Amazon FBA sellers always have to make a choice:
A. Direct delivery to the Amazon FBA warehouse.
B. Shipping.
8.1 Do you want to ship the Amazon FBA warehouse directly? Introduce advantages and disadvantages
If you ship directly from China to the Amazon FBA warehouse, this will be an advantage.
You won’t have any delays. Therefore, direct transportation will be completed in a faster manner.
It saves you money because you don’t have to pay extra to store your product.
You will be tension-free because the factory will supervise your product. They will meet all the necessary shipping requirements for Amazon FBA packaging. In addition, they will also do FBA labels, FNSKU labels and so on.
Reducing transportation means reducing damage to items.
Now let’s focus on the shortcomings:
You must ship the product to multiple locations or warehouses as required by Amazon.
Amazon does not pay any fees. Therefore, you must pay all customs duties and shipping costs yourself.
You will find all the details below.
Multiple locations/warehouses in Amazon
Purchased in China and shipped to Amazon
If you ship directly to Amazon, this is the biggest drawback you will face. Amazon always wants you to send products to different warehouses. You can quickly resolve this issue by enabling inventory placement.
For example, if you send four boxes to four different locations, it would be more expensive to ship the four boxes to one site. You have to spend almost twice the amount to do this.
Therefore, the best way is to open the “stock placement”. You can finish it quickly. Just click on Settings and then click on the “Amazon Fulfillment” option. Simply select the warehouse you want and you can send the item directly to the distribution center.
When should I ship directly to the Amazon FBA warehouse
If you want to ship a small parcel, you can send it directly. For example, suppose there is only one carton.
You can try this shipping option if the product is worth $800 or less.
If you want to get the job done as soon as possible, try this option when you already have experience with suppliers.
Your supplier is familiar with Amazon FBA packaging requirements, or you have used a purchasing agent with extensive Amazon seller assistance experience in China.
8.2 Do you want to ship first? Look at the advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of shipping to you:
A comprehensive package from China can be broken down into several goods around you.
Question/disadvantage:
You need to spend extra money to pay for the work of the warehouse and the workers.
FBA will receive your shipment after a long time.
You have to deal with everything from packaging to shipping specifications. Even if you have to put a FNSKU label on the gift box yourself.
Spend more time than direct transportation
If you want to ship through an agent, or if you want to ship the goods first, you will need more time to get to the FBA. After receiving your inventory, it will increase it by 6 to 8 days to prepare it. Another option is Amazon’s partner. Shipping time also takes 9 to 13 days. In short, your shipment will take more than three to four weeks to reach the Amazon FBA.
More expensive than direct shipping
If the product is shipped to you first, you will be charged an additional fee instead of shipping directly from China.
When should I ship to you first?
If you are working with a supplier for the first time, the supplier has less experience in shipping to the Amazon FBA warehouse.
This is also a cheaper option as a combined shipment will be shipped from China.
8.3 Understand detailed packaging and shipping requirements
Before sending FBA through DHL, FedEx or UPS, people usually focus on labeling requirements and packaging. But if you want to paste Amazon’s barcode, it is also called FNSKU. Amazon needs to scan this barcode when it is in the warehouse. It is more important than anything else. Beyond that, don’t forget to put Amazon’s shipping label on the outside of each box’s carton.
Things often get more complicated if you ship a complete container of goods or pallets.
8.4 Pay all customs duties and freight in advance
One thing to remember before shipping, that is, your product must be a delivery tariff or VAT, because Amazon does not pay any fees to accept it. You must be very careful. If you try to send your product by paying $300 for air shipping. Later, if Amazon still has to pay $30 to receive it, they will expel your shipment without wasting time.
If the shipping cost is $800 and you send it to the Amazon FBA US website, you will be exempt from all customs duties because it is below the minimum tariff limit of $800.
In my opinion, if you are unfamiliar with the entire import process or Amazon FBA process, you should be very careful to work with Chinese purchasing agencies, who will guide and assist you in how to work directly with the factory to ship to Amazon FBA.
9 Start your Amazon business
The above procedures seem too tedious, but believe us, when we say they will bring you substantial benefits to you and your business. With a good reputation, your brand will win customers loyalty. All of these are done to ensure that we can provide our customers with the highest quality products and maintain a friendly relationship with our suppliers. Amazon always sets a higher standard for product sales quality on its website. The seller’s performance goal is an example.
Percentage criteria set for Amazon FBA:
The order defect rate should be less than 1%.
The pre-performance cancellation rate should be less than 2.5%.
The delayed delivery rate should be less than 4%.
Failure to achieve these goals of the seller’s performance will cause you to suspend the seller’s privileges.
If you have any questions about importing from China and selling on Amazon FBA, you are welcome to contact China’s best purchasing agent for help.