Choosing a Product – Part 3

Choosing A Profitable Product To Buy From China- Part 3.

In Parts 1 and 2 of this report we identified 2 main strategies that may be considered when choosing products to directly buy from China. We then looked at some of the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.

In this report we look at a few things you can do to help minimise the risks while you buy from China directly.

If you are following strategy 1, you need to take into account that you will have a lot of competition and most likely your competitors are more experienced, have a bigger customer base, and are already able to buy from China at much lower prices.

So how can you compete with this? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Make sure you stay up-to-date and be the first to bring new releases to market
2. Reach as many customers as possible. Local, Australia or world-wide
3. Make sure you buy the most appropriate quantity to get the lowest possible price.
4. Analyse your competitors marketing strategies, and improve on them.
5. Provide quality pre-sales and post-sales support (from within Australia)
6. Provide faster delivery and better communication
7. Offer better overall deals (lower prices, free gifts)
8. Warranties & guarantees
9. Promote to previous buyers
10. Better documentation on product use (English instead of Chinglish)

Most of the above will also apply if you are following strategy 2. Some additional things you will need to take into account for strategy 2 are:
1. You will need to create your own marketing instead of just piggybacking on what’s already available
2. You will need to develop your own pricing strategy and see if it meets customers’ expectations
3. Keeping ahead of the pack is likely to involve frequent trips to overseas Trade Fairs
So, which is the best strategy to directly buy from China – follow or lead?

This is a decision you need to make for yourself, but maybe a combination of the two strategies will work well.

Consider the current market and what’s selling really well at the moment. Does the word iPhone ring a bell? We all know they are selling like hotcakes, but the market is dominated by mobile phone companies such as Optus, Telstra and Vodafone who are offering great package deals. However there are many market-related products that are also selling really well, but not available with the purchase of the iPhone. These include accessories such as cases, screen protectors, speakers, car chargers and many others.

There are also many alternative mobile phones that can be sold for a fraction of the price of an iPhone. Decide what is the main marketing feature of an iPhone (is it the touch screen) and find an alternative that has that feature.

In this case you identified iPhones as hot sellers, but you are not selling iPhones – instead you are just profiting from the popularity of iPhones. This sort of approach, while you buy from China, would let you ‘play safe’ while still being ‘ahead of the pack’.

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