Import help needed

[dalia]

Hello everyone,
my name is Dalia, i am new here and i hope to learn as much as i can about pearls from the experts on this forum.

Me and my husband are thinking about importing pearl jewelry from china, mostly fresh water(AAA) and a bit akoya, as we are beginers and want to start slowly.

The biggest problem i see so far in my research is finding reliable suppliers with good quality pearls.

i saw some companies with nice products on alibaba but i don't know what is the real quality of their pearls and are their prices fair or not.

What do you think is the best way for a beginer importer to find the right suppliers? Is it to search the web and attend a Jewelry show like the big one in Hong Kong in March and make some connections there,
or to try to find a chinese or foreighn pearl expert who knows the chinese market and suppliers and will be williing to act as a buyer?

Thank you all in advance,
any kind of help would be wormly appreciated....

Dalia

 

[KAC]

i saw some companies with nice products on alibaba but i don't know what is the real quality of their pearls and are their prices fair or not.

Stay away from Alibaba, that place is worse then ebay with the junk and false listings.

You really need to purchase your pearls in person, even then there is no guarantee that what you purchased in china will actually be the product that arrives at your door.

You'll need to really know your stuff before you attempt to go to a show or china to purchase and expect to make a few bad purchases. Even low grade pearls will look decent under indoor lighting.

Its not going to be easy but can be done, good luck!

 

[knotty panda]

I might help if we knew more about where you are trying to import your goods.

 

[dalia]

The pearls destination is the middle east

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Dalia
Are you in the Middle East too? I'm curious where.

Some countries like Bahrain don't do cultured pearls except at the big selling event. Dr Tom Stern wrote about that in the last month or so. Maybe you should plan to go there next time it is held.

We have some "trips to China" in threads here. I think Nerida has a thread about that from a couple of years ago. She may even have a few ideas about where to shop in China.

We have a forum member in China- Amrita. You can go to her. She's not Chinese, she's from India, but has lived there for a while and has a pearl business. She also exports. I think people here have used her with happy results. Check out her pearl website.

What you want to do is doable, but the more you know about pearls and bargaining, the easier it is. Be prepared to make a few mistakes in the beginning. It is a steep learning curve.

Use the google in the upper left hand side to search within this site. You can pick up a lot of tidbits here.

This is going to be a Quest, so good luck and a happy ending!

 

[dalia]

Thank you Panda and Caitlin, i will follow your advices and definetly contact
Amrita and Nerida, as well as dig in the forum's history.
I am in Israel btw...
The only thing i am still not sure of is what is the proper way for importing according to
your experience? First option is trying to find a local partner who knows the chinese market and work through him and only if that fails do it on your own, or it's best to do it by yourself from the begining and to take into account that you might do some bad deals in the begining, but overal it will be a learning experience that will eventualy benefit you?
What's the right order of things for an importer as you see it?

Again thank you for your kind answers...

Dalia

 

[pearlescence]

Do you know anything about pearls?

 

[dalia]

i am a beginer so i guess that the answer is no, but i have been learning about pearls the past 2 months and i intend to do the GIA Pearls Graduate Course as soon as posible.

 

[Nora]

Hi Dalia,

Welcome to the P-G. That's the best place on earth to learn about pearls.

I also sent you a PM.

 

[Miriam Reed]

Hi Dalia,
Welcome to the world of pearls! You'll learn a lot of valuable information here in the forum and make some good contacts. Glad to have you with us.

 

[Caitlin]

Israel. Thanks. I see Bahrain is entirely inappropriate. Sorry.

I learned so much about pearls here, I never felt the need to take the courses. They are great if you want a credential. I don't, but I am pretty sure I could test out of the pearl course! I could do it based on learning here and a very few great books. And looking at a lot of pearls.

My assignment for you is to search for and read as much as you can on the site.

and Ask a lot of questions.

 

[Amrita]

Hi Dalia! Welcome to P-G! This is the best place to learn about all kinds of pearls.
Look out for my PM.

 

[pearlescence]

Thanks for your answer. My advice would be to wait until you know more about pearls and about what you are going to do with the pearls you want to buy.
Buying pearls is really easy. If you want a business selling them is the tricky part.
Even if someone did recommend a source in China (and having good sources is a substantial business asset so I'm not going to) you will, if you have no plan from then on, be left with the wrong pearls which you cannot sell.

 

[KAC]

Even if someone did recommend a source in China (and having good sources is a substantial business asset

The thing is, even if someone gave you a very good source that is no guarantee you will get a good deal. You must negotiate and you must know what you are looking at, even the good sources will sell you crap if you don't know what you are doing.

But make good friends with the search function of the website and you will find lots and lots of good advice.

 

[Nerida]

Welcome Dalia - I am a bit slow to chime in here sorry...


My advice? Learn as much as you can before you even think about who/what your sources will be. Read everything you can here, and get yourself to where you can touch and feel as many pearls as possible - you simply will have no idea what you are selling otherwise! No shortcuts, otherwise you, and your future customers, will get burned!

 

[Rainui]

Hi dalia,
I'm glad your interested in the pearl market. But like everyone mentioned above your best bet would be to do your research first before investing in this. I sent you message with some information.