Answers
Jan 02, 2021 - 04:32 PM
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Buying your FBA inventory from China? Here are some pro tips about product inspection that you should definitely check out
An inspection is one of the most important proactive steps you should take. However, be cautious when choosing an inspection company.
If you are doing private label, have significant modifications, doing unique products, or if your product requires certification, then always:
-
Do AQL inspection in China prior to shipment. This is a pre-shipment inspection. AQL is a statistical random sampling and acceptable quality level program.
-
Stipulate that your product must pass inspection before shipping, and before payment (or payment of balance if you do not negotiate terms.)
-
Make sure your inspection company is LICENSED as an inspection company.
-
Make sure your inspection company has an anti-bribery policy.
-
Make sure your inspection company rotates inspectors so that the 3rd party inspector does not build a relationship with the factory boss.
-
Make sure your inspection company does not do shipping, photography, sourcing, prepping, etc. It may appear simpler to use an all-in-one shop, but it can lead to problems. Inspection companies that do those things are financially motivated (will make more money) if they approve products of questionable quality. By law, licensed inspection companies are not allowed to be sourcing companies, photography companies, freight forwarders. Companies that offer more than inspections, such as shipping, cannot be licensed as an independent inspection company.
-
Make sure your inspection company has labs and knows what certifications are needed for products.
-
Ask to see the standard inspection template for your product. For example, pajamas may have a standard 20 point inspection. A cell phone case may have a standard 10 point inspection. An electronic drum kit may have a 50 point standard inspection. All reputable inspection companies have thousands of these templates. They simply add your own specific needs on top of these.
By the way, some certifications require 100% inspection - a licensed inspection company will know which ones do.This should cost $250-$300 per day.
If you purchase WHITE LABEL (means that you just put your logo on something, and maybe your own box) that does NOT require certifications (ex: electrical certifications, safety certifications, textile certification, FDA certification, etc.)
And if your order is less than $800 then you may have other more economical options. Consider a visual inspection. It can occur in your own home and it costs less.
Lastly, if the product fails the AQL inspection, and the remedy requires a second inspection, NEVER have the factory pay for the second inspection.
The inspection should always be paid for by you. Otherwise, you are paying the fox to guard the chickens. Instead, stipulate that the cost of a second inspection, if required, will be deducted from the balance of the order.
Reputable licensed inspection companies include SGS, Intertek, VTrust, and QIMA (formerly called Asianinspection).
You can Google these. There ARE other good ones, this is not a complete list, but I recommend these because I have experience with each of these companies and they have strong global reputations, integrity, and credibility.
Written by Arslan A, an FBA sourcing specialist.
Jan 02, 2021 - 04:35 PM
Add New Comment