Identifying the Difficult Products to Source
Sourcing from China can be a highly lucrative and rewarding adventure. Billions of dollars of product are exported from there annually. However, not every product is easy or even possible to source.
Here we will go over some of the more challenging products to source from China, why, and if there are alternate solutions.
Products with Chemicals
Any products that contain chemicals can be very difficult to source. There are often very strict regulations associated with most chemicals, and rightfully so. Many countries may not even allow certain chemicals to be either imported or exported depending on the substance, and will require strict testing depending on how dangerous it is.
Even when it is possible to source products that contain chemicals, many shippers will want you to rent out an entire container, even if your shipment doesn’t fill that container. This is in case if there is a leakage, other shipments won’t be damaged.
Firearms
Similar to chemicals, firearms are heavily regulated and many countries won’t even allow the export of them without strict regulations. China does not allow individuals to export firearms, and most of their global arms trade is from government to government.
Most of China’s arms trade is done with their neighboring countries. Certain firearm accessories such as holsters can be sourced. But if it’s an attachment to a gun, it will likely be regulated.
Fragile Products
Products that are easily breakable can be a challenge to properly source for obvious reasons. If the packaging for fragile products is not up to snuff, then you might experience breakage with some of your products.
Your product will have to go through many hands before it gets to yours. From getting shipped across on a boat or plane, to being unloaded at port, to being reloaded onto a truck, and finally to your door, there is some potential for your product to encounter unforeseen impacts. This is why proper packaging is so crucial to the process.
High End Electronics
Some high end electronics can be difficult to source. This is largely from the fact that high end electronics require highly specialized expertise and materials. For example, Taiwan sources 60% of the entire world’s semiconductors, and over 90% of the world’s more advanced semiconductors.
While it’s true that there are many companies that have assembly plants in China such as Apple, Nvidia, and Intel, these are licensed products we can’t source. There are a wide variety of electrical products we can source, but the advanced electronics are often difficult to do.
It is not impossible to source many of the products on this list, however each will come with their own challenges. That’s why having a team that can go directly to China on your behalf is so important. We take great care to walk you through getting your product successfully and mitigating risk.