u/Call9wanwan

My apologies, I have no other way of sharing this without mentioning that I work for a company that does this; however, I want to extend this invitation to use any inspection service. In other words, please do not consider this as an ad but rather an educational post. Thank you.

After Canton Fair, one of my clients asked me to contact his potential supplier for some samples. Nothing out of the ordinary; not heavy, bulky, or that would be considered dangerous goods. The price for air freight has gone up astronomically, and sending a sample went from a bit less than a thousand USD to over two. It simply did not make sense financially to spend so much on checking if a product met the requirements when it wasn't a technical piece.

I suggested a product quality inspection. These are pretty standard in the business, but they tend to be underutilized since buyers tend to prefer to see and touch the products they intend on buying; makes sense, right?

For a fraction of the price of sending cargo via air, you can tell all of your concerns and specific requirements to an inspection company (e.g. that the logo of your brand is perfectly centered on a bag, or the weight resistance on a panel meant for construction), which along with the inspector's knowledge and experience can get you a report in less than a week (I have asked other inspection companies and most of them can also generate a report within 5 days).

You know now one of those "off-menu" items that no one knows about. Save yourself the hassle. Trust inspection companies to do the job it would cost you a small fortune to do yourself.

Does anyone have any experiences using inspection services? How was it?

During the last Canton Fair I met a Peruvian couple who was buying machinery from China for the first time. While they had worked with freight forwarders before, they were looking for options. As an FF myself I offered them my services, but I was surprised when they asked me "where else can I find FF companies here at Canton Fair?" and they had just come from area C. For those who don't know, area C connect to area B through a very wide bridge; most people take the shuttle that connects both areas, but this bridge has freight forwarding and shipping companies on both sides.

I suggest checking out how they promote their services and connecting with them. It becomes very evident which ones have been around for several fairs, as they have freebies with their logos (free advertisement!).

Also, kudos to the ones that bring Spanish speaking sales staff! There's nothing better than communicating with clients in their own language.