Hello gilesdude-ga,
I hope you manage to make a very successful business deal here, but I
would certainly advise that you proceed with caution regarding
San-Shang.
I did NOT turn up any adverse information on this company. But, I
didn't turn up anything positive either. Outside of their website,
they do not have a substantial presence on the internet, and that in
itself is a sign to take extra care before committing your resources
with them
The most well-known site for international sourcing activities is Alibaba.com at:
http://www.alibaba.com
San-Shang is listed as an international supply company at Alibaba.
You can see their actual listing here:
http://www.alibaba.com/company/10126233.html
and an additional bit of information here:
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search/2i0ptyf0chms/San-shang.html
Note a few things about the listing:
--Their company description does not mention any existing business in
the UK, so there is no contradiction with what they told you:
"We supply various kinds of textile products, ranging from bathrobe,
shirts, pants, shorts, jackets, t-shirts for men, women and children.
The fabric can be cotton, polyester, silk, linen, rayon, nylon, and
all their combinations.
Our company has established good trade relations with customers from
tens of countries and regions, including those from the us, japan,
western european countries, australia, hong kong."
--They do not offer a great deal of company information -- no
executives are listed, for instance.
--MOST IMPORTANT is the Alibaba message at the bottom of the page:
"This product is NOT posted by a pre-qualified supplier. Alibaba
recommend "Gold Supplier" and "Trust Pass" members as they have gone
through an authentication and verification process."
==========
In a nutshell, companies can opt to have Alibaba "certify" their
authenticity, to provide an added degree of confidence to potential
buyers. San-Shang has opted not to do this.
This doesn't mean they're bad guys...they may just not have wanted to
pay the fee involved to be certified. But it does suggest that you
proceed with caution on your transaction.
If you haven't already, certainly call the Denmark contact and find
out about their experience with San-Shang. Since they testify to
other business relations in Western Europe and the US, you might want
to ask for a few more references.
Let San-Shang know of your concerns regarding absence of any
verification, and see how they respond (perhaps they will elect to
become verified, which should go a long way to alleviating any
concers).
Alibaba also offers additional advice on "How to Trade Safely" at:
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/servlet/page/static/safetrade/index
I've excerpted one of their "Ten Tips" here as an example, but
certainly read the whole page:
=====
Protect Yourself Against Payment Risk-You Are the Buyer
If you are a buyer, sometimes a supplier may ask you for a deposit
(usually 30%) before he accepts the order. While this is not unusual
between long-standing trading partners, if you are doing business with
the supplier for the first time, make sure you have done sufficient
background checks on the supplier before you agree to the deposit, or
ask for a different form of payment, such as a letter of credit . If
the seller seems more focused on payment than any other issue, or
indicates that cash payment must be made urgently, more caution should
be given to the transaction. Be extra cautious when the seller asks
you to send money to an account whose real owner cannot be traced; for
example, you cannot trace the real name of the person behind an
account with a wiring service such as Western Union
=====
By the way, there are a number of of other sites similar to Alibaba,
such as Made-in-China.com:
www.made-in-china.com/
but I did not see San-Shang listed at any of the numerous sites I
checked, other than Alibaba.
I hope this information helps you get the level of verification you
need before going forward (or NOT going forward) with San-Shang. If
it doesn't happen for some reason, keep in mind that Alibaba is a good
resource for identifying other potential suppliers.
Let me know -- before rating this answer -- if you have any questions
or concerns about the information I've provided here. Just post a
Request for Clarification and I'll be happy to assist you further.
Best of luck with your business ventures.
pafalafa-ga
search strategy: Used bookmarked sites for Alibaba and other overseas suppliers |
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
26 Mar 2004 11:43 PST
Hello again,
I'm glad to hear the information I provided was useful to you. Let me
try to address your additional points as well:
>>does it seem strange that this supplier has no presence? or do you
think that there are just so many little manufacturing plants in that
part of the world that some will enevitably be starting up and not
registered with the appropriate bodies<<
This company DOES have a presence in terms of its web site, and
listing on Alibaba....there are many, many companies for whom you
couldn't even find that much. It's not strange at all...many
companies are still climbing the learning curve in terms of dealing
with international markets, and using the internet to best advantage.
Don't dismiss them as con men, but don't assume their above board yet,
either. Without a strong information presence, it becomes incumbent
on you -- the potential buyer -- to gather up as much background
information as you can.
>>secondly for a tip of $5 could you list as many such manufactures in
the far east that would undertake the production of my bespoke design
of beanbag...and for another tip of $5 an equally extensive list of
manufacturers closer to london, i.e. in england, europe and other less
distant
locations (so that i could theoretically visit and pay face to face
and inspect the production)<<
This type of information MAY be available, but would take a
considerable amount of research to gather up. I would suggest posting
these as separate questions, so that all the Google Answer researchers
could take a shot at answering them...be sure to provide some
additional information on what it is you're having manufactured.
Also -- if I may speak frankly -- this is a lot more effort for a
researcher than can be justified by a $5 price tag...you may want to
reconsider the pricing. For instance, have a look at these similar
sorts of questions for a bit of guidance:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=316193
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=303830
>>also how do i tip?<<
Tipping is never necessary, but of course, always welcome. The
instructions for tipping can be found on the Google Answers FAQs page:
http://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html#tipping
How do I tip my Researcher?
When you rate your answer, you can also tip the researcher who
provided it. Just enter an amount between $1 - $100 in the tip box
next to the rating. The researcher will receive 100% of the amount you
tip them; Google will not take a percentage of the tip. Tips are not
refundable. Thank you for tipping your researcher! They appreciate it.
==========
Thanks again, and best of luck.
pafalafa-ga
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