Sourcing Products

In This Section, You Will Learn:

• • Sourcing options for Amazon sellers
• • Finding suppliers on Alibaba
• • Negotiating with manufacturers
• • Quality control
• • Shipping to Amazon FBA

Sourcing Options

• Alibaba (Most Popular):
• • Thousands of manufacturers
• • Customization options
• • MOQ negotiable
• 1688.com:
• • Chinese wholesale (lower prices)
• • Requires agent or Chinese skills
• Local Sourcing:
• • Pakistan has strong textile/sports goods
• • Lower shipping costs
• • Faster communication

Finding Suppliers on Alibaba

• Search Strategy:
• 1. Search for your product
• 2. Filter by 'Trade Assurance'
• 3. Filter by 'Verified Supplier'
• 4. Check years in business (3+ preferred)
• Contacting Suppliers:
• • Be professional in messages
• • Ask for product catalog
• • Request samples before bulk order
• • Get quotes from 5-10 suppliers
• Red Flags:
• • Too-good-to-be-true prices
• • Reluctant to send samples
• • Poor communication

Negotiation Tips

• What to Negotiate:
• • Unit price (always negotiate!)
• • MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)
• • Payment terms (30/70 split)
• • Shipping costs
• • Sample costs credit
• Negotiation Script:
• 'We're testing this product and plan to order 1000+ units monthly if testing goes well. What's your best price for initial order of 300 units?'
• Payment Terms:
• • 30% deposit, 70% before shipping
• • Never pay 100% upfront
• • Use Trade Assurance for protection

Shipping to Amazon FBA

• Shipping Methods:
• • Sea Freight: Cheapest, 30-45 days
• • Air Freight: Faster, 7-15 days, expensive
• • Express: Fastest, 5-7 days, most expensive
• Process:
• 1. Create shipping plan in Seller Central
• 2. Get FBA labels from Amazon
• 3. Send labels to supplier
• 4. Supplier ships to Amazon warehouse
• Costs:
• • Sea: ~$3-5/kg
• • Air: ~$6-10/kg
• • Factor into product cost!