China is the world’s number one manufacturing country. From everyday items to large items such as air conditioners, washing machines, auto parts to gadgets such as pencils, buttons, and even pins, you can import from China. Of course, lamps are no exception.
In terms of lamps, they may be about 50-70% cheaper than your local price. If you choose the right style for lamps, then doing the lighting business is likely to make you a lot of money.

Almost all lamps you can import from China, including commercial lighting fixtures, decorative lighting such as chandeliers, pendant lamp, wall lamp, table lamps, floor lamps,bedside reading lamps . industrial lamps such as streetlamps, tunnel lights, urban lighting, landscape lamps, bulbs, lighting accessories such as lamp heads, wires, and so on.

Why are Chinese-made lamps so competitive? There are a few main points:

(1). Demographic dividend. China has a very large population and a relatively cheap labor force. By the way, the average worker earns between $2 and $3 an hour.

(2). The competition is big. There are thousands of lamp factories in China. The competition between factories and factories is very large, in order to survive, high-quality products and relatively reasonable prices are necessary.

(3). Efficient and mature product supply chain. The fine division of labor between factories greatly reduces the cost of products and improves efficiency, which makes the competition for lamps very high.

(4). Large-scale production. Now, many factories are putting the latest machines into production, and it is obvious that the cost is greatly reduced. Well, if you want to import lamps from China, then you need to pay special attention to the following steps.

1. Do a good job of market research

Whether you are a distributor, designer, contractor, or lighting company, you must clearly understand the local market needs. For the type of lamps, you want to import from China, for example, how much is the difference between the local market price and the price in China?
The second is, what are your style preferences in the market. Take chandeliers as an example. Customers in the Middle East like luxurious, elegant, fancy, golden, or copper-colored lamps. In the European market, they prefer simple, fashionable, creative, and innovative lamps.
At the same time, you must understand your local competitors. What type of lighting company are they, what products are they selling, what are their main suppliers, and how many years of warranty they provide customers, and so on.
The most vital point is, what advantage do you have over them?
How to find a reliable lamp supplier in China

(1). Online search
When it comes to online search, it must be Google. Google has the world’s number one search engine capability.For example, if you want to find a hotel custom-made lighting supplier, you can google “Hotel lighting supplier China”; as such, you can know their website. Study more of the renowned projects they’ve done so you know if they’re the supplier you’re looking for.
In addition, Alibaba is a good way to find a good bespoke lighting supplier. You should choose the supplier with at least have 5 years experiences in Alibaba.

(2). Exhibitions

It is a relatively reliable and effective approach. You can go to the supplier’s booth and talk to their sales representative in person. Usually, you can talk to them and know a lot about it. For example, what are their advantages, how big the factory is, how many years of history, which well-known companies have cooperated? More importantly, you can learn about the quality of their products from their booths.
Generally speaking, the company that can go to the exhibition abroad, their credibility and ability will be very good.

Here-below are the top 5 most influential lighting exhibitions (excluding China)

①.Light + Building（ Frankfurt Fair, Frankfurt, Germany)
Website:www.light-building.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html
②.Light Middle East(UAE)
Website:www.light-middle-east.ae.messefrankfurt.com/dubai/en.html
③.LIGHTOVATION: DALLAS INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING SHOW( Dalls, USA)
Website:www.dallasmarketcenter.com/lightovation
④.LED Expo Mumbai
Website:led-expo-mumbai.in.messefrankfurt.com/mumbai/en.html
⑤. LIGHT Fair

(3). Visit the local factory

Depending on COVID-19, this option may be applicable over a while.
A visit to the factory is the most direct and effective, but the time and money costs are the highest. If you have a sufficient budget, consider this one. If you come to China for the first time, the speed of China’s development may subvert all your previous imaginations.
The best thing about visiting the factory is that you can truly see how big the factory is, how many workers there are, and whether the production workshop is tidy and orderly.

The best thing about going to the factory is that you see most truly how big the factory is, how many workers there are, and whether the production floor is in order.
In summary, looking for suppliers online and going to local lighting exhibitions is the most appropriate way.

2. Get in touch with Chinese factories

If you find a factory that you think is reliable and capable, then contact them next.
The most common and popular way is to contact by mail. The advantage is that each of your emails is recorded. The disadvantage is that the information is not responded to in time. Of course, you can also contact them through WhatsApp and Skype communication tools. If you can use WeChat in your country, please download a WeChat and register. Everyone has WeChat in China. Mail plus the application of instant communication tools, you will not miss any important message.

At this time, you can compare the prices of each factory. However, price is not a priority. Because the price always represents the quality level. There are no cheap and good products in any market. The price of a good product is often high.
You should focus on the fact that good salesmen are product experts, and they can answer your questions about the product very professionally. Also, are their responses timely, and whether they have strong communication skills. These are the key points you should consider.

Pick the lighting factory that you think is the best. At this time, you can place a sample order.
In general, whether decorative lamps such as chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps, or commercial lighting such as downlights are charged at double the price. The shipping costs are also borne by the buyer.

One thing to note is that if it is a chandelier, the shipping cost may be higher than the cost of the sample itself.
Through a sample , you can clearly know if the supplier’s ability to control the delivery time, communication skills, product quality, the quality of the packing. If the samples you received satisfy you, then this supplier will most likely be able to satisfy you in mass order.
Be special here, be sure to pay attention to the voltage standards of your country. For example, if you are from Europe, your applicable voltage is 220-240V, and the wires and lamp holders must comply with the European CE standard. If the lamp includes a plug, the European plug is a 3-pin round plug.
If you are from the United States, the voltage is 110V. Similarly, wires and lamp holders must pass UL or ETL standards, and plugs are American regulations.

Generally speaking, wires and lamp holders will have CE or UL labels.
These points are related to the safety of lamps and lighting, so you must communicate clearly with the supplier.

3. Payment method

Upon the price and delivery time are agreed, then it is the choice of payment method. The use of payment methods depends on three factors.
1. Amount 2. Whether it is an emergency 3. How much of the handling fee.

Paypal.

If the amount is small and the time is tight, PayPal is a good choice. PayPal arrival time is generally immediate. It is important to note that PayPal has more stringent conditions for account security. If the vendor is a new PayPal account number, PayPal will require authentication when a new amount is credited to the account.
At the same time, PayPal exchange rates and fees are very high. Large amounts (over 500USD) are not recommended for PayPal unless they are really urgent.

TT.

This method is the most common, safest, and relatively low commission method. Generally speaking, the handling fee is between 1-3%. The date of arrival depends on which country you are in. It usually takes 1-5 business days to arrive at the account.
When you have completed the remittance, be sure to ask the bank to give you the transaction receipt. Please send this transaction receipt to your supplier. In this way, you can also track where the money is at any time.

LC letter of credit.

This method is only suitable for super large amounts because the process will be very complicated.
In addition to the more mainstream payment methods above, there are other methods: West Union, credit card, etc. You can choose the most suitable method according to your situation.

4. Inspection

In general, the product delivery period for decorative lamps (for example, chandeliers) is 30-60 days (depending on the complexity and quantity of the lamps). Commercial lighting, such as panel light, will be much faster, usually about

20-30 days. To the near delivery time, how should the customer check the goods to determine the maximum possible production of lamp quality is good or qualified?
1. Ask factory take the photos of the g

oods for your inspection. This approach is fast, effective, and the least costly. If the goods are inspected in this way, it is important to request the factory take as many detailed HD pictures of the different angles of the product as possible. Save the picture and make a comparison when you receive it.
2. Send someone to the factory to inspect the goods. This approach minimizes nonconforming products but is also the most expensive. If you are a large company, you can set up an office in the area and hire a special inspector to inspect the goods.
Hiring a third-party inspection company to inspect the product also minimizes nonconforming products.

5 Transport

There are two ways of transportation. One is by sea, and the other is by air.
If the volume of the cargo is very large and the time is not urgent, then sea freight can be considered. The advantage is that the freight cost is low, but it usually takes a long time. For example, from Shenzhen Port to Dubai, the transportation time is about 20-25 days.
Airfreight is suitable for customers who are small in size and have requirements for timeliness. Airfreight usually takes about 3-6 days to reach the destination.
If you want to arrange the transportation yourself, you can ask the factory to send you the packing list in advance. Then you can ask your local transportation company for the price.
The advantage of arranging the freight yourself is that you can monitor every step of the transportation. The disadvantage is that the price may be relatively high.
Of course, for convenience, you can also let the factory arrange transportation. In gereral, the factory has a local transportation company that has co-operated and may get a relatively lower price. You can also require the work to do the DDP clause, that is to say, you only need to pay a one-time shipping fee, then just wait for the receipt of the goods. The cargo company helps you clear customs and pay local customs duties in the local country. While DDP is limited to certain regions or countries, it requires you to communicate with the factory in advance.

6.Conclusion

If you want to find a reliable supplier, you have to compare it on the Internet, from different dimensions such as product, corporate image, scale, and professionalism of salespersons.
ZANFI Lighting is a manufacturer specializing in bespoke hospitality lighting. Specially designed for hotels, villas, clubs, restaurants, shopping malls for chandeliers, wall lamps, table lamps, floor lamps, art installations customized. With more than 10 years of experience, there are more than 500 cases worldwide.

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