What should sellers be aware of?
While drawing up a contract with Chinese suppliers it is very important to state detailed product characteristics and quality control parameters.
Most of Chinese suppliers have their own quality control team. However, you can hardly rely on its objectivity, as QC staff will be inspecting the factory’s own products.
Differences in European and Chinese mentalities should be considered as well. What we may see as a clear defect or a mismatch, in China may be regarded as a norm. They even have a special term 差不多 (Cha bu duo), translated as “almost the same”, “good enough”. For example, eyewear with plastic lenses instead of glass ones would almost certainly fall into this “almost the same” category.
This is why we strongly recommend the use of third-party inspection services. It is also highly desirable to have a QC Checklist – a document, containing detailed product characteristics, quality requirements, and a list of unacceptable defects.
The following details should be stated in the contract:
- Goods have to be produced according to samples, confirmed by the customer. Model appearance, colors, sizes must meet specification and contract fully.
- Defects couldn’t be accepted by the customer during final inspection. Goods marked as defective have to be changed on normal, non-defective units. In case of systematic defects, the customer can require rework or deposit refund.
- Tolerances for particular defects and other issues with the goods.
- Planned shipping date.
Lack of attention to these details can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts between the client and the supplier. We encountered situations, when goods did not pass final inspection due to certain quality issues. Nevertheless, Alibaba.com took the supplier’s side, because detailed product characteristics and quality requirements were not stated in the agreement.