By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: How do you think my boss's business concept?
He charges a lot when customers request sample, I tried to persuade him to sell sample at the price we give to customer for the bulk order. He disagred and saying a sample should always cost more than the bulk order unit price, otherwise the customers will think it does not cost much to produce the product and would doubt the quality. and can't sell the product at a good rate when comes to bulk order.
What do you think of his business concept? I disagree with it. I will tell the customer that I am not going to make any profit on sample for having the chance to start cooperation with him if the customer complained my sample offer is too expensive.
It depends on what you sell.
If you sell fidget spinners, they should be free.
If you sell aircraft carriers, maybe not.
Vacuum pumps... erm. Less than ten bucks a piece, free. If they are designed for integration into mass produced products that is. If they are stand alone units the customer should buy.
It should be your job to make sure potential customers can find your product and buy it local to them. Export it to agents, get your product out there. Get a stock into your market place and list it on engineering suppliers sites. Or even ebay. Find western agents who are selling a similar product, send them a sample, and do a deal for them to take stock and list it.
Better than sitting on this end of allibaba waiting for someone to order by the container load.
It depends on what you sell.
If you sell fidget spinners, they should be free.
If you sell aircraft carriers, maybe not.
Vacuum pumps... erm. Less than ten bucks a piece, free. If they are designed for integration into mass produced products that is. If they are stand alone units the customer should buy.
It should be your job to make sure potential customers can find your product and buy it local to them. Export it to agents, get your product out there. Get a stock into your market place and list it on engineering suppliers sites. Or even ebay. Find western agents who are selling a similar product, send them a sample, and do a deal for them to take stock and list it.
Better than sitting on this end of allibaba waiting for someone to order by the container load.
Your bosses sample pricing attitude is one of my pet peeves in China. We price our sample at our 1,000 unit price because I want a potential client to see our quality and value as expeditiously as possible. We have often not done business with Chinese suppliers when they typically try to charge us an extra 30% for a sample. Another irritating part of the Chinese sample approach is the samples are usually of poor quality because most Chinese manufacturers/suppliers don't carry stock. They tell us the final product will be of high quality and to trust them. My admittedly western biased approach says if you don't care enough to show me your best effort, then you're not the kind of business I want to do business with.
Viki87:
I completely agree with you, my boss is exactly the type of Chinese supplier you are mentioning about.
I really see myself as a smarter business person compares to most Chinese business owners.
One day, I will go run a real company and do the business the way I want.
The guy is a complete idiot if he wants to do business internationally.
I had a friend who was looking to do exports to the UK on small stuff - stickers, dangley things for bedrooms, etc.
Suppliers all charge for a 'sample'.
Meaning two things. First, they don't think their product's quality is good enough to encourage buyers to purchase in bulk. And secondly, they're tight-arse scum, who desperately need each and every mao they can get their hands on...
If the quality is good, then you send the sample for free - because you can be confident the buyer will purchase! 'Westerners' are not usually such tightarses as to take a sample, and then find a different supplier to copy it (unless, of course, the price is exorbitant! If it's a little more expensive, better to go with the original supplier who has shown the quality, than to risk going with someone else who hasn't shown the same level of quality).
Samples are a form of marketing, and thus should be included in expenses - same as any other expense (including the business lunch with the client).
Samples are NOT for profit...
If your boss is scared of losing 180RMB, and losing the chance to get potentially tens of thousands of rmb - he's a moron!
Viki87:
Shining, he's a Morton. I studied hard in this new industry by asking the boss, by search on Internet and by asking company's customer. I I just wait to save enough money to start my own. All I need is learn this industry better, save more money, and build the supply chain.
what do you think of my boss's business concept? your english is getting better vicki.
The problem in China is he may give the sample to a competitor to see if it can be reversed engineered at a cheaper cost, the mentality of short term gain over a quality business relationship. Typical Chinese thinking, cut off your nose but save your face.
Viki87:
I understand him for not want to offer sample at bulk order price to some customers because some customers truly will think the product doesn't cost much and wouldn't want to pay good price when they place the order.
But what I found it stupid is he would not want to lower the sample price to the minimum bulk order unit price while the client required. I do not see it hurts the business of selling a sample at minimum order unit price.
ambivalentmace:
He should at least offer to discount the sample with the first bulk order or refund the cost in full as a credit against the first order.
I thought samples were generally given for free
Viki87:
It depends on the sample right?
it is so easy for an employee to say give the sample for free because an employee doesn't really consider all the cost of running a business. When you own the business, you may not want to give them out for free.
If they are so cheap costes less than $10 maybe for free. But some products are not cheap stuff. Will you give a machine to any people sent inquiries on alibaba for free?
My ship model costes around 700rmb, shall I give them for free?
I run a startup model business, if I give all of them for free, I may end up going bankrupt before I can make them place me order.
For those products cost hundreds, at least I will get them pay some money. Unelss it is a regular old customer, I will offer a model costes hundreds for free. Offer a model worth thousands to a really big old customer.
Peasant businesses that charge for samples will never be anything other than a peasant business and that is obvious to a customer dealing with money-grubbing peasants.
Viki87:
Ther's no rigid rule.It really depends on the value of the product.
You do not have to products to eveyone who wants for free. Sometimes have to be selective. Will you give an expensive jewlery for free as a sample to everyone by working in the jewlery company?
Viki87:
I can either sell a sample at the bulk order price for the purchasing order quantity the client mentioned or offer the sample for free, but not sell the sample less price than the bulk order. Why? Because the client may not want to pay the bulk order price I charged if I sell sample cheaper than that.
For instance, if the client wants to buy 100 pieces and ask for a sample, unit price for 100 pieces is 24USD. I can sell a sample at 24USD. But not less than 24USD.
If the client wants 500 pieces, 500pcs's unit price is 19USD. I can sell the sample at 19USD, but not less than 19USD.
iWolf:
If someone is ordering 500 units of jewelry, then yes, they would recieve a free sample. Something totally unique and quite expensive would incur some cost to cover tooling but to attempt to make profit on a sample is just sad. Duh....a sample is provided not as a marketing device but as the deal closer. You know, if the quality meets the criteria they have specified in advance then they agree to place the order.
Real thing is if you are running a trading business and a supplier askes 1500rmb on making a customized sample. Will you cover all the 1500rmb for all the customers who want to make the customized sample as a startup business wthout a lot of fund supporting?
I suppose most of us won't.
In reality, one of my suppliers did that to me, luckily the client paid bulk order fee to avoid sampling cost and lucky me. Maybe after I made a lot of more money to stablize my business, I would cover half or all the 1500rmb sampling fee for a client who I see big potential on the upcoming order.
I think the sampling fee is ridiculous, the product only sells at 10USD to my client. But when comes to reality in business, you sometimes have no better choice if there are not factories want to be very supportive.
My best supplier who charges about 700rmb on a customized sample with customer's design. I usually just promise the client that the sampling fee will be refunded when order is placed. If I see the client has big potential, I would probally cover half sample fee myself.
