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o meet the demands of today's market, businesses have prioritized the need to work with agents who speak the buyers' language, have local knowledge, and can be trusted regarding finances. In China, where most of the products are sourced, many people buy online through www.1688.com, a wholesale online marketplace. By integrating with a Chinese agent, buying parties increase the chances of successful within-China transactions and the many benefits that come with it.
It is undeniable that language can be a barrier. Buyers can hardly make any sense of the 1688 site in Chinese, and customer service staff could be necessary for extra help. However, a Chinese buying agent understands both the 1688 site and its customers, and the following propositions are offered: they advertise, they negotiate, and they assist in understanding the complex issues of contracts and agreements.
Purchasing goods from 1688.com may come with the problem of shipping, logistics, and delivery. Agents are said to have the transport system very well established by contract with several delivery companies to ensure the dealers' goods reach the required destination as fast as possible, with safety being the priority and a given cost. They take care of the export and import issues, meaning the buyers will only get involved with the whole business at the buying stage.
It's no secret that 1688 is a subsidiary of Alibaba.com, focusing on the domestic Chinese market. Although both platforms attract the attention of many business owners, they are completely distinct, and each has its own peculiar characteristics. For instance, 1688 is primarily focused on wholesale purchases and deals with local Chinese suppliers. It is continuously characterized by numerous small, medium, and large local markets and plenty of local products compared to the marketplaces on the international stock exchanges.
By cooperating with a Chinese buying agent, foreign buyers use the advantage of local knowledge and experience. He keeps in touch with suppliers, monitors the quality and the delivery time of the ordered goods, and knows the current trends and price policies of the local market.
When some people say they are coming from a different country and culture, the issue of trust arises as it is very hard to do business. Having a Chinese purchasing agent in the 1688 that one can buy from is kind of 'localized' working with an agent because he knows well the suppliers he is working with, and he is likely to give them money or somehow checks the transaction if he attests to financial trust.
There are several precautions a buyer should take when working with an agent from the 1688 website. Although there may be some precautions that a buyer may take when purchasing online, there are some general considerations that an agent will have to address when purchasing online in the future.
If one wishes to employ a 1688 agente compra, the first step is probably the hardest: choosing the right one. It is understandable that the experience of the agent in the sphere of e-commerce and the number of positive comments are telling us about his/her ability to realize the project successfully, but there is always a shadow of uncertainty. Because the pool is so big, it is necessary to conduct some surveys to come up with some measurable, so it's safe to say that only proven, tested agents should be picked up for the job.
One claim that might be raised is that the purchasing agent will probably have more experience in working with suppliers than the buyer, and the buyer is likely to accept that all the information provided by the agent is correct. However, it would be good to prove that some of the things that are hard to believe might be actually true – asking any agent to provide the supplier's legitimacy certificate would be at least a reasonable solution.
Chinese purchasing agents working with the 1688 site might be somewhat convenient when it comes to hidden or additional costs. All the costs are certainly worth discussing at the very beginning of the cooperation – commission fees, the costs of delivery, custom fees, and sometimes even packing. It would be better to write all of the agreements down and avoid oral agreements because of the possible misunderstandings that could happen later on that aren't as clear-cut.
Working with a Chinese buying agent, a client must be sure to use some form of a secure payment method to avoid any possible financial complications. It isn't right to consider that since the agent is well known in the business, agent payments would be made in cash – using dedicated online payment services or bank transfers would be a good solution. The payment method must be agreed upon before making any prepayments, especially for the first orders and deals.
In the case of working with an agent, it would be inappropriate to leave any blank spaces in the contract – to be precise is a must. The aim of this agreement is to be clear on all of the details of the business: what products are needed, what time frame should deliverables be in, and what milestones of the project should be paid for in advance. It would be helpful to have another clause in the contract that would specify what consequences would follow in case one of the two parties fails to meet the agreement.
The purchasing agents in China that are working with the 1688 site have an endless pool of buyers, and it's important to understand that some characteristics are highly appreciated by the buyers, and some are not at all. Only considering these moments will lead to the choice of a perfect purchasing agent, and in this case, collaboration will be efficient and productive.
When selecting an 888 buying agent, it's worth looking at their reputation in the online community – reputation is the best way to consider something. Agents need special survey sites to be evaluated and compared, and the analysis of the reviews left by the customers seeking similar agents is more than enough for the reputation of some to be well deserved and of others quite disputable.
The operational experience of an agent in a certain area of the market relations business is of no small significance. Agents who worked with customers in the past with similar kinds of products or businesses would be able to easily solve potential problems, address issues with suppliers, and provide valuable insight into the market.
It is obvious that cooperation with an agent requires high speed and effectiveness, especially with regard to the responsiveness of the agent. Nominal or average time-to-response questionnaires should be administered and analyzed for agents in particular to rate their enrollment and proportion of acceptance of each specific item. It would be inappropriate to discount this aspect because feedback management and readiness are crucial in fast-moving business environments.
As far as service provision is concerned, it can be stated that the range of offered services by agents can vary significantly, for example, from simple order placing to full business support. Those agents who are planning to enter the market of servicing foreign customers will probably pay much more attention to legal aspects, delivery services, customs affairs, and product quality. One of the foreign buyers' needs is to request agent services in advance so that there is no ambiguity when it comes to the order placed.
The following step involves defining all the issues concerning the future collaboration with the purchasing agent from 1688 Buying agents should have clear and obvious contracts having well-defined clauses regarding the costs, delivery time, and other important details to avoid possible disputes in the future.
In the course of the last couple of decades, the Chinese e-commerce industry has grown exponentially, and, therefore, the business practices of the 1688 buying agents have made it necessary to outline several implications for the foreign partners willing to place orders online.
Due to the high competition on the market, the purchasing agents have to work harder to get the attention of the clients. As a result, with regard to the agents, there are two parameters that have to be defined: the area of specialization. In the current situation, it seems to be more practical to focus on some product groups or branches of business because of the fast growth of the agents who are specializing in certain products or certain business types.
Another impact on the purchasing agent's business was caused by the development of technology, which has changed the nature of the relationships between buyers and suppliers. Present-day agents take advantage of various information systems for order processing, logistics management, and communication with customers. GPS and other modern logistics technologies allow tracking of shipments and delivery times, enhancing the efficiency and transparency of the business transactions.
The increase in order placement from Western countries has raised the need for ensuring product quality by bringing sporadic attention to quality control. Aside from having a strong emphasis on the quality of the products, purchasing agents implement additional control measures, ranging from preliminary inspections to the collection of samples and test reports before the shipping of the items. Such focus on the quality of goods helps prevent disputes in the future and build trust with clients.
With sustainability becoming a global issues, agents in China also pay closer attention to this aspect of doing business. This should be dealt with when choosing sustainable.working with suppliers who follow ecological and fair trade standards, making use of green packing and transportation – all these practices are going to promote sustainability and win the market today.
As the purchasing and selling activities via the internet continue to grow, there will be a legal framework for regulating this sphere. New regulations will be oriented at protecting the interests of foreign customers and standardizing business relations between purchasing agents, suppliers, and buyers. Such tendencies will facilitate clearing of the issues related to order placement, delivery of the goods, and payment for the goods, which makes purchasing agents more responsible for the affairs of their business.
When choosing an agent, one should pay attention to his or her working experience in the chosen industry, the number of references and feedback, working speed, and the range of offered services. Reputation, experience, and provided services are usually the main selection criteria.
Agents may help with communication with suppliers, negotiation, shipping, customs clearance, and quality control. Agents usually give information on the local market, feedback on the suppliers, and help with the paperwork and shipping.
Probably, there might be additional costs like agent fees, shipping costs, customs duties, and taxes. Buyers have to discuss all the costs with their agents to avoid misunderstandings.
Many agents provide services of product quality checking and inspection. Before shipping the order, it is possible to ask for pictures or set up an online meeting with an inspector who will check the goods in person.
Buyers are recommended to use reliable online payment systems or bank transfers to avoid possible financial troubles. Everything concerning the payment has to be discussed before the first order.
