Finally, an easy way to send sourcing/quote requests to multiple sourcing options!
TYPES OF SOURCING CONTACTS
In the several years that I have been in the E-Com space, I have learned that one thing is constant: NOTHING is constant! In the context of this tool, my meaning is that there is not just ONE good way to source products. Some people have great success finding factories directly, some find GREAT sourcing agents, and some find great Alibaba suppliers (and of course, some have HORRIBLE experiences on Alibaba as well haha). Some people source in China, some in India, and some here in the USA! Some people love sourcing agents, and some people hate them. Some people hate trading companies, and some people love them! When I source products now, I actually try to use a combination of ALL of these options.
Here are some things I have learned over the years:
- Sourcing agents need to make money, and they usually do so by charging a percentage of the order. They often get a bad reputation for this, but they need to get paid for their time! I have also found that the sourcing agents can frequently negotiate so much lower of a price than I can, that even WITH their markup it is cheaper than I can find myself.
- Time is money, and when a sourcing agent can free up some of YOUR time, that is valuable for you!
- Sourcing agents can also often do things like consolidate samples, arrange inspections, etc.
- Never rely on just one sourcing agent! As good as a sourcing agent may be on ONE project, they may not have the same great contacts for a different material, project, or category. Keep pushing requests to multiple sourcing agents.
- Trading companies are not a factory, so you are definitely paying a middle man. Keep in mind that some trading companies can really jack up a price!
- That being said, lots of trading companies have AMAZING access to suppliers, and get great pricing! So even with their markup, they can still be cheaper than you can find yourself!
- Trading companies often have things like export licenses, where many smaller factories do NOT. So a trading company can export, where a small factory can’t.
- Trading companies often keep in contact with TONS of manufacturers. They track trends, find new opportunities, and can give valuable info to you as a client. Build good relationships with them!
- There are a LOT of factories out there that can do business with you directly, do not be afraid to jump in!
- Many factories do not have foreign-speaking staff, or even easily accessible email. So some of these factories are hard to find and work with.
- Many factories are BUSY and not interested in small orders. Don’t be surprised if they are not super interested in working with you.
- Relationships matter! Build those relationships and make sure that you are building lots of good will!
As you can see, there are LOTS of advantages to both! So when I have a new product I am interested in, I send the request to a WHOLE LIST of trading companies, sourcing companies, and factories AT THE SAME TIME!
We hope this tool to contact suppliers is beneficial to you, and that sending your own request to my personal list of suppliers helps you substantially!
– Tim Jordan, Founder of Private Label Legion
HOW IT WORKS
- If you have a specific product you are looking for, all you do is enter as MUCH information below as possible.
- When you hit SEND, your information will be sent to an EXCLUSIVE LIST of sourcing agents and trading companies.
- This list is HAND PICKED by us, based on past experiences. The list is not huge, but they are good!
- Your request will be sent to multiple potential suppliers, of multiple types, in multiple countries!
- If any of the contacts feel like they are a good fit, they will respond back to you DIRECTLY to get the “ball rolling”.
- You should expect initial responses within 24-48 business hours.
- We do NOT monitor or guarantee anything! All we are doing is passing your information to our constantly-updated list. If you do not get the responses, pricing, or service that you expect, that is not our responsibility! This is a free service that shares our contacts, but we don’t guarantee anything… IF you don’t get the response that you expected, please don’t hold us accountable!
- There is NO guarantee of privacy! Just like speaking to suppliers anywhere, you will need to share info about your product. There is always a calculated risk in sharing your product to a supplier, and that risk is here as well. That being said, we generally trust EVERYONE ON THIS LIST, and Tim would personally send his OWN requests to this entire list. If you are concerned about specific privacy, you can leave out extreme specifics on your first request.
- The more specific you can be, the better your results will be! The more info you can give, the more likely the supplier will be to answer your requests.
- There is a chance that you will send out a request and NOT get a response. This can be due to things like a low requested MOQ, a very unique product, or something overly complicated.
- Basically, any reason a supplier would NOT get excited about working on this project… You need to get them excited, while still being realistic!
- There are times when your product will NOT be a good fit for any of our suppliers, and that just happens sometimes….
Send Request for Quote
Ok, have you read everything above and feel like this is a good fit?
GREAT! Let’s get started!
As soon as you enter the info, your request will be immediately sent to possible suppliers in China, India, and Latin America!
