How to Import from China Part II
In my last post, I took the opportunity to set out some of my tips and thoughts as to how to get the most successful experience from importing products from China. Foremost on my list were factors such as choosing your supplier well and not rushing into any purchase orders until you’ve really done your homework.
In future posts I am going to give you some further tips but before that I want to elaborate on one of the issues I previously raised as it generated some interest from readers. I mentioned that under very few circumstances should you pay the whole or a substantial part of the purchase price up front as you will have a very hard time getting your money back if your product is delivered late (or not at all!), or the product quality is substandard. We don’t encourage this practice at www.dhgate.com, if fact we specifically discourage it by using an escrow service as part of our Buyer Protection Plan. We also actively warn potential buyers not to work outside the escrow system as it offers them no protection.
Escrow Protection System
Some readers have asked how this escrow system works so I’ll briefly set out the basics. The escrow service is a licensed buyer protection system whereby DHgate receives and holds the buyer’s payment until the transaction is fully and successfully completed. The steps are:
After the buyer has placed a product order on Dhgate.com, they send the payment directly to DHgate and not to the supplier.
Once payment has been received, DHgate then informs the seller to send the product directly to the buyer.
The buyer can track the delivery process via the DHgate website. Once the buyer has received the product and checked that it is all correct and suitable, they confirm this via DHgate.
Only when DHgate receives the confirmation from a satisfied buyer will we release the payment to the seller.
The system works well in practice and is well-received by our overseas buyers. The other aspect of the DHgate buyer protection service is our dispute resolution process which works in tandem with the escrow system.
Dispute Resolution
At DHgate we recommend the following process to deal with disputes:
Often the easiest way is to open up a line of communication with the seller which usually clears up any misunderstandings or miscommunication.
If you have a dispute, you can use the DHgate Dispute Process to open, manage and track the dispute.
By using this process, then this guarantees that your money being held in the Escrow system will not be released until the dispute is satisfactorily settled.
If the dispute cannot be settled with the buyer directly, then you can refer the dispute to the DHgate Dispute Resolution Center.
Once referred, DHgate will immediately investigate the dispute by asking both parties to provide all relevant evidence.
In my next post, I’ll give some insight on how to ensure and maintain product quality and standards, and some of the major cultural differences in doing business with Chinese suppliers.
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