Field notes.
Articles drawn from real work in China — not just sourcing or shipping, but how the whole process actually behaves. Less a guide than a way through the maze of myths about doing business with China: what affects cost, risk, and timing, and where buyers tend to misread the situation.
No magic formula, no overnight wins — just field notes and practical takeaways for doing real business with China, whether you’ve been buying here for years or are planning your first order.
No magic formula, no overnight wins — just field notes and practical takeaways for doing real business with China, whether you’ve been buying here for years or are planning your first order.
Why you won’t hear “guaranteed” from me
Because I prefer to take words apart before I use them. A guarantee has an expiry date.
Being right was available
100% prepaid, contract signed, supplier already buying materials — then the client changed his mind. The full refund, documented: eleven days, to the cent.
What answering for your own words costs in numbers
A $1,530 motorcycle, a $500 Bill of Lading correction, and the sentence I answered for.
Why bigger orders break reliable suppliers
The supplier didn’t get worse. Your order got bigger — and in China, that’s a different project than the one you started with.
Why “we agreed” is not enough in China sourcing
“But we agreed.” Maybe you did. The question is what was recorded — and who’s accountable now. Why basic discipline can look strange in China sourcing when weak practice is the norm.
The sourcing decisions in China that quietly turn expensive
Not every problem in China purchasing starts with a bad supplier, a failed shipment, or someone making an obviously poor decision.
In China sourcing, confirmation is the easiest thing to find
A fast reply, a low price, clean photos, a reassuring word. At a distance these confirm what you already believed — not that the purchase is under control
What China sourcing advice gets right — and what it skips
Visit the factory, build the relationship, close over dinner. None of it is wrong — it just skips what decides the result.
Looking for the “Top supplier” in China? You’re chasing a myth
There are no “best” or “worst” suppliers in China. That’s simply not how it works here.
China isn’t a theatre play. It’s a system.
In China, deals move on signals and real movement — not etiquette. Learn to read the system, not the props.
Before you pay a supplier in China, make sure you can export it from China
Logistics reality doesn’t care that you negotiated a great price with your Chinese supplier. Customs has its own rules and regulations.
Are you sure the factory you’re visiting in China is a real one?
A quick look at “factory-theater” in China manufacturing — staged factory visits, outsourced production, and the “fake it till you make it” mindset.
Battery-powered goods from China: where shipping reality shows up
So, instead of focusing only on price negotiation, check with the supplier whether they can handle and support the export requirements.