Quality Control
Do You Have a Quality Control Program?
Any experienced importer will tell you, the most common problem buying from China is the quality of the products. When buying from Chinese factories, product quality is by no means a certainty.
Put simply, you need to take quality control into your own hands. If you don’t take specific actions to protect yourself – you are gambling with your money.
All goods exported by EASY IMEX will go through a Quality Control (QC) inspection before they are exported. We have different levels of quality control depending on our member’s requirements and the products involved. You can read about our QC services here.
Why Quality Control is So Vital
For many reasons, Chinese manufactures can ‘screw up’ orders. The reasons might astound you:
- Maybe it’s the first time they actually made this product. Why not? They advertised it and you gave them an order!
- Or perhaps they have someone else's rejected stock lying around and they want to palm this off to you. Something more common than many imagine.
- We’ve even seen factories make a product and they didn’t know what it was used for. Sounds silly right? We actually know of a soap factory which made bottles of hand soap, yet none of the pump tops worked! No one in the factory thought it mattered because you could just unscrew the top to get the soap out.
- Quite often factories will purposely manipulate the product quality in order to save material costs and improve their own margin. That is, they substitute cheaper materials, or put in small quantities of materials to save them money – at YOUR expense. Factories are very motivated to cheapen their product quality over time.
This is why dealing with manufacturers in a developing country can cause no end of problems. And for all these reasons and so many more quality control is an absolutely essential part of the process if you’re importing from China.
At EASY IMEX we offer verification and quality control solutions to suit your needs. Our range of Quality Control Inspectors are in all the major provinces in China. They can be on any factory floor within 24 hours. This way, if there are any problems we can find out early and fix them before your goods are shipped!
In this photo, several members of the Easy Imex team are inspecting a tent factory in Jiangsu province - on behalf of an Easy Imex member. We hadn’t used this particular factory before so it was important to do an on the ground inspection. This took about 4 hours as we assembled the 20 x 10m marquee from the ground up and inspected the workmanship of the goods. The factory owner is also pictured here as Morin runs through the quality control checklist.
There are a few important rules to consider when buying from China:
- Never trust a factory’s “in house” quality control.
- While it may seem counter-productive for factories to cut corners to save a little money when it costs so much more to fix the problems – if they think they can get away with it, they will certainly try. The factory must be aware you will audit them regularly and will follow up with any problems. They must know you have some presence there to check up on them.
- Once you approve a sample as being acceptable quality, you need to hold the factory accountable to this production quality.
- The more face time you or your representatives spend in the factory – the better quality you’ll end up with.
- Do not ever ship before you approve it! It doesn’t matter how “good” your relationship with the factory is. It doesn’t matter if you’ve shipped the same thing before. It doesn’t matter how big your order is or how many other future orders rely on this shipment. If you’ve got product in your home country (and you’ve already paid for it) it’s too late to be finding out about problems now.
Quality control is not a one time event. It's an ongoing process which starts the moment you choose a supplier. Quality control is not there to fix problems, but to alert you to potential problems. The earlier you find the problems the quicker you can take corrective action. If you find problems with your goods after they have left China - it's too late.
What are Easy Imex’s Quality Control Services?
All goods exported by EASY IMEX will go through a basic Quality Control inspection before they are exported. We have different levels of quality control depending on our member’s requirements and the products involved. Easy Imex offers several levels of service.
IMPORTANT!
For orders over $30,000 USD Easy Imex will carry out “Level 1” Quality Control FREE of charge.
For orders less than $30,000 USD, there’s a small surcharge of $199 USD per day spent inspecting a factory.
For orders over $50,000 we carry out “Level 2” Quality Control FREE of charge.
Easy Imex Level 1 – Free for orders over $30,000
Level 1 – We send a qualified inspector to your factory for the entire day. They will perform a thorough examination which will result in a comprehensive report (please contact us for a sample report).
Here’s how things generally work. You pay an initial 30% deposit and the
manufacturer will produce your goods. Once the goods are completed EASY
IMEX will send a qualified inspector to the factory to assess the goods.
Once they pass inspection you will pay the supplier the remaining 70%. If there are any problems they will be fixed before the rest of your
payment is made.
What Does It Cost: This is FREE for orders over $30,000. Otherwise it costs $199 USD per man day.
Easy Imex Level 2 - Free for orders over $50,000
Level 2 – You will have an inspection early in the production run, then a second pre-shipment inspection after production. This early production inspection allows you to detect potential problems quickly.
What Does It Cost: This is FREE for orders over $50,000 USD. For orders over $30,000 but less than $50,000 it costs an additional $199 USD. For orders less than $30,000 it costs $398 USD.
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Senior Staff Inspection - $350 any time during your order
You will have a senior staff member inspect the factory for you. Please contact us for more details.
What Does It Cost: $350 per day.
EASY IMEX works in conjunction with a network of technical engineers and laboratories who can take care of almost any product testing or quality control request you have.
Using Approved Samples as the Quality Benchmark
One of the best ways to set your quality standards, is to have a production sample sent from the factory to you. This means production quality must equal the approved samples you
have received from the factory.
Once you approve the quality of this sample, this is written into your contract and Easy Imex will make it clear to the factory they are accountable to this standard.
The quality control team can compare and test the actual production batch with your approved sample.
Usually we have samples sent to our Shanghai office first - before sending them onto you. One of the big problems in China is getting a product sample which is actually from a genuine production run - not a one time, hand crafted sample. Or worse a product simply bought elsewhere!
Nick Young of Paisley Mobility Products is a gold Easy Imex member. Nick says "Trying to buy from China on your own is difficult and risky. Knowing the contract is one Chinese company doing business with another Chinese company, safeguards you and your goods, should there be a problem. I wouldn’t have bought anything from China if I hadn’t come across Easy Imex so I would now be paying double prices for the same goods here in the UK."
"I FEEL SECURITY KNOWING THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY BE SENDING LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD, YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE PRODUCT THAT YOU REQUESTED"
On one of our container shipments, we had some product damaged due to loading errors. When we received the product we unloaded it and took pictures and contacted Adam with the managed results. He credited us for the damage and also made changes in the loading procedure so this would not happen again. Everyone makes mistakes, it’s how you handle the mistakes with your customers that installs confidence.
I feel security in knowing that even though you may be sending large amounts of money halfway around the world, you are going to get the product that you requested.”
Jerry Tauzier, Lee Medical, Los Angeles, USA
“EASY IMEX DO A BRILLIANT JOB AND TRULY EARN EVERY CENT OF THEIR FEES”
When we first started on our “china experiment” as we call it we knew right away it would be naive to think we could do it all ourselves. We found Easy Imex online and quickly related to the no nonsense, factual approach they offer.
Adam and Tom (in Australia) were quick to respond to our needs and guided us through the minefield sourcing and negotiating from the other side of the world can be. When we visited Shanghai we were met at the airport - chauffeured and taken care of wonderfully for our entire trip. We learnt and continue to learn so much from Adam and his team.
Our account manager is fantastic and we would never have been able to achieve what we have thus far without her help. We think it’s imperative to have an agent like Easy Imex on your side – the language and cultural barriers alone demand an on the ground Chinese speaking agent not to mention the logistics of it all. Easy Imex do a brilliant job and truly earn every cent of their fees.
Kellie Simkin, Art From the Heart, Gold Coast, Australia
“EASY IMEX ARE A TRUSTWORTHY, EFFICIENT COMPANY...WITH GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHINESE MARKETPLACE”
Easy Imex are a trustworthy, efficient company. They are easy to deal with, very friendly and with good knowledge of the Chinese marketplace. They helped me in many ways:-
- Saving money. My previous agent was very greedy and secretive.
- No headaches with stock that is not “quite right”. No “quality fade”. This saves so much time…and money.
- Their direct contact with the manufacturer keeps the quality compliant with the TGA (therapeutic goods association). Everything is checked very carefully. I receive detailed emails which allow me to check everything before it leaves the factory.
- They support me to maintain my good reputation, which, being a small business, is very valuable to me.
Adam is just so nice to deal with. A great, caring communicator. He is also very accommodating when I want some changes made. Nothing is a hassle. I feel confident that he will fulfil my needs in the future as he has done in the past.
Barbara Elkins, Wisdom for Living, Central Coast, Australia
"THE QUALITY WAS SUPERB. EVERY BIT OF FEEDBACK MENTIONED THE QUALITY OF THE GOODS"
I was worried when the goods came the quality wouldn’t be up to scratch. Such worries were unfounded. The quality was superb. We started from scratch and we sold all of our products in 7 weeks with a mark up of around 50-60%. We have 100% feedback on Ebay and we got Top rated Seller status in 11 weeks. Every bit of feedback mentioned the quality of the goods and the value. Put simply without Easy Imex we would still be scratching our heads. With Easy Imex we now have a profitable business running that will only grow.
John Huntington, Homes For Pets, UK
“WORKING WITH EASY IMEX HAS ALLOWED US TO FOCUS ON PROGRESSING OUR BUSINESS IN THE UK WITHOUT HAVING TO CONSTANTLY CHECK ON OUR MANUFACTURERS”
When we travelled to Shanghai to meet with Easy Imex and conduct a quality control trip, Adam and Jin greeted us personally at the airport and took us to our hotel. During our stay Easy Imex was extremely accommodating, working round the clock to meet all of our requirements. By the end of the week we had secured contracts with our current manufacturers and production of samples was underway. Very impressive work on their part and we would certainly recommend Easy Imex to any start-up or established company.
Working with Easy Imex has allowed us to focus on progressing our business in the UK without having to constantly check on our manufacturers. They take care of all shipping requirements taking the hassle out of importing. It is like working with a company in the UK.
Andrew Hayworth, Stay-Dri Limited, Edinburgh, Scotland
“THEIR EXPERIENCE IN THE MASSIVE IMPORT ARENA HAS BEEN OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANT, TO HELP MY BUSINESS MOVE FORWARD AND GROW”
We’re up to our 7th order with Easy Imex. And recently we asked Adam and the Easy Imex team to help us source a varied range of commercial hygeine products. I know this was a time consuming process, as this whole area was new to us. But we've just received our first order of these products from Easy Imex . So our drawing board ideas were brought to reality by the Easy Imex team. Well done guys!!
Their experience in the massive import arena has been of the utmost importance, to help my business move forward and grow.
Easy Imex have always been trustworthy and reliable in ALL their dealings with our company. We appreciate that Adam and the Easy Imex team conduct their business in this way. As importing is a business that has to be built on Absolute Trust.
I have learned there can be some quite disreputable operators out there – thank god for Easy Imex.
Peter Thompson, Verma Rid Manufacturing, Hawkesbury Heights, Australia
“DURING MY INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH ADAM I SOON REALISED I WOULD BE DEALING WITH A PROFESSIONAL”
I was very apprehensive dealing with a business in China but understood that it was necessary to take this course of action if I was to achieve a successful end result. After viewing Easy Imex on-line video and listening to Adam explain how easy it is to import from China with a company that has the expertise and history I left immediately, my worries were over.
During my initial conversation with Adam I soon realised that I would be dealing with a professional and someone very experienced in the field of sourcing and exporting from China. The fact that he actually lives in Shanghai and employs locals, fluent in English, as his Account Managers pleased me immensely because it meant that when it came to conveying my needs to my suppliers I would be in safe hands.
Sharon Sprenger, Belle and Rose, Brisbane, Australia
“I STARTED OUT DOING SMALL MIXED CONTAINER LOADS AND NOW I’M ORDERING FULL CONTAINERS”
Easy Imex is incredibly helpful. They’ve been a huge lifesaver for my business! I started out only doing small mixed container loads and now I’m ordering full containers. They deal with every little detail of the importing process. Now I have more time to run my business instead of trying to communicate with Chinese suppliers! Huge help, I definitely recommend using them!
Sourcing and importing products from China is a complicated task so I’m very grateful to have professionals doing it for me. Thank you so much for all your help!
Cheryl Anderson, My Simple Savers, Sydney, Australia
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We welcome all enquiries so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. A team member will respond within 24 hours.
