5 Reasons Why People Failed as Goods Importer from China (It’s Way Out)

January 25, 2021

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Everyone wants to become a successful business owner, but very few people know the reason why they fail over and over again or lose a huge sum of money. Here are 5 Reasons Why People Failed as Goods Importer from China and the solution to success

Are you a mini or big importer from china? Do you speak zero Chinese but import from china? Do you pay an agent for making orders and packaging your goods? Or are you part of a WhatsApp group where you buy Chinese products at wholesale prices? Are you a potential trader who dreams of becoming a CEO just by trading online and because so many people seem successful at it? Or are you a researcher who is not scared of reading or hearing the truth? Hey, this blog is for you if you fall into any of these categories!

Table of Contents

Then You Need to Know Why People Failed as Goods Importer from China

Going by the present economic situation of Nigeria, a white-collar job isn’t what anybody is wasting time on, entrepreneurship is the latest song chanted by many. “eeeh! entrepreneurship lo sure ju (Yoruba slang)”. In the years I’ve spent interacting with several graduates and lived in China, I have often been bombarded with the demands of helping the cause of importation from China.

Meanwhile, some people have engaged several agents to help in the purchase and sending of goods to Nigeria while some self-acclaimed experts have engaged Chinese sales representatives directly. How can you be a more “exposed Nigerian” or a “slay mama” if you don’t use an imported products? What can even be more worthy to brag about if you don’t import stuff by yourself (no third party involved)? Chances are if you are fully involved in the business of this nature, you have either lost a huge sum of money (but you chose to hang in there due several mind-boggling ted talks you’ve listened to on business growth) or you are at the verge of ruining your business and future or worse, you have a lot of money that you don’t even bother to care about profit-loss margin- a very unhealthy business practice.

Goods Importer from China (It’s Way Out)

However, when confronted with risks of this nature, most of us beat a retreat while some of us move ahead with a depressed mind or with the mindset of half bread is better than none. In the same vein, some of us overly charge our customers to make up for the money lost – this in no time will kill your business. So, calm down and let’s get started! Below are the 5 major reasons why your business; sucks, is low-yielding or has failed, and a probable solution. Read it and make a decision!

#1 Your business is suffering because you don’t know your market

Over the years, my problem has always been that of the purse of my potential customers. Having lived in China for three years, I understood fully what many refer to as “Chinko products”. China is a country where you get what you want with any amount, but many are not exposed to the reality of quality-is commensurate-to-price. You get the quality of what you pay for. What you, yes you, don’t realize is that Nigerians want cheap but high-quality products. The only way to satisfy this quest is to make yourself go bankrupt by supplying them high-quality products at subsidized rates or deceive with them fake branding, the latter giving expiry date to your business.

What you should understand is that you can’t solve both problems with the same customer; offer high quality Chinese goods at a low price (say 3,000NGN)? Smiles, you must be kidding me! Another nerve-racking factor is the high exchange rate between the two currencies (Chinese Yuan to Nigerian Naira).

For example, to an average Chinese, 100 RMB is enough to purchase a good product. As at today, that’s about 8,000NGN – to an average Nigerian, what’s that? I’m sure you know better. Anything you get for less than 100 RMB should not be complained about. As an entrepreneur, can you relate to this example? Stop tagging 30 RMB worth of product as a high-quality item, that is not only soiling the integrity of Chinese companies but also playing on your customer’s trust.

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#2 You want to be a boss (CEO) at all cost

Yes, that is who you are, an unqualified CEO, a self-acclaimed boss! Apology not rendered. Not everybody is qualified to own, run, lead or manage a company, but everybody might be eligible. It’s a free world after all. Ok wait, the point I’m making is that just because you didn’t get a job doesn’t predispose you not to work under somebody, or that you do everything by yourself.

Importing by yourself doesn’t make you a smart chap, instead it makes you an ignorant novice trying to fly with claws. Ok, let me break it down for you, you don’t understand Chinese, no you don’t. You know nothing about Chinese culture, that’s for sure. Very few Chinese understand English- the few that do are not the sales rep you chat with. You don’t have an efficient method of exchanging currencies, or do you think those guys operate legitimately? or are rendering services for free? Sorry, far from it my dear. If your answer to most of these questions are not in the affirmative, then you are not qualified to be your own boss. Well, maybe you are qualified to be in Nigeria context- CEO-naija (haha). Get your ass off the couch and learn buddy!

#3 You are not relating to the right body

For somebody who can’t speak to customer service agents (e.g. in case of lost items) in the language he does understand or somebody who doesn’t have the contact of the relatives of or even recognize the guy exchanging currency for him or even his niche, it should not be surprising if the business of such a person crumbles. I was once a victim of a lost item, I had to contact up to 5 different people both in China and in Nigeria just to locate my lost item (I had to switch between Chinese language and English for efficient communication). Well, you would say luck was on my part, I doubt if that was the only reason, I was able to speak for myself without hindrance and you’d be surprised of the info I gathered.

1. Chinese customer care providers detected the cause of the loss (well the item was abandoned in the warehouse because contraband was contained in it) but couldn’t reach out to me because they were too shy to speak English. Or was it that they couldn’t speak at all? Anyways, they did not contact me.
2. Many items belonging to foreigners (non-Chinese speakers) are always untreated because of the sole reason of language barrier!
3. Language translator app sucks, both parties always end up misunderstanding each other
4. On this same issue of language barrier, the avenue created to entertain questions from buyers and to be able to return bad commodities are always left unexplored as a result of the said problem (you don’t understand Chinese, too bad).
5. Descriptions written on goods (that can sometimes be shouting don’t-buy-me-I’m-not-suitable-for-your-country) are often left unnoticed or misinterpreted by translators. You see why in your mind and eyes you’ve ordered for a high quality product but upon receipt, you are disappointed? Yes, you didn’t or couldn’t pay attention. Even if you did, it was too cheap to turn away from.

Let this sink, IF IT IS TOO CHEAP, IT CAN’T LAST LONG. 太便宜了, 哇靠! 你想什么呢？要可以用到10年的但是只有50块钱，你崩溃了吗? 哈哈. Ok, ok I will stop now, but FYI I can speak and write more. And yes, I am proud because I can speak for myself and save myself. The language barrier that is impeding your growth is what I HAVE at my disposal.

Are you ready to be saved? The choice is yours! Don’t get me wrong, language is not the only thing you need to know as an importer from China, you need the culture too. Well, I have that; I lived with Chinese for 3 good years! Sounds cool or scary? Well, that is not all. You need more skills. You need to acquire skills before you can become your own boss. You don’t become an expert in a day, quote me anywhere. So, a quick one here, I work for Stocean trade! Check us out on Facebook

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Instagram @Stocean_trade.

Oops, I guess I’m boring you too long with an uninteresting post, let’s save mother earth then (my own SDG goal for this year, lol) and meet somewhere else. If you would like to read the remaining two reasons, kindly indicate your interest by sending a message to this email [email protected] or [email protected] (just a “Hi” would do).

We got this! You can be successful at anything you do, so far you are ready to learn from others (particularly their mistakes). Even the richest man on the earth and probably on the planet Mars is still learning from others, so why won’t you? Let’s meet there!

See you when you sign up for the full post!
Till then, Stay Safe, Stay Happy
Muinat A. Aliyu
Stocean Trade International,
Nigeria. China

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