Avoid Working With Yiwu Shengjin Arts&Crafts Co., Ltd.
Let’s start with the conclusion. Check your supplier list to see if there is a company called Yiwu Shengjin Arts&Crafts Co., Ltd. If yes, avoid working with them.
What’s wrong with this company? You may ask. No hurry, you’ll get the whole story in a few minutes. Today we’ll cover a real-life case study of the risks involved in finding a supplier in China and what to do when you have a quality issue.
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How did we find Yiwu Shengjin Arts&Crafts Co., Ltd.?
A few months ago, we received a request from a British buyer who wanted to import a batch of Christmas decoration stockings from China. The first trial order was 3,000 pieces.
After background checks of candidate suppliers, our sourcing team finally selected a few suppliers for the sample confirmation stage.
Eventually, Yiwu Shengjin gained our trust because of two major factors: time of establishment and price. Although we now know this supplier was irresponsible, there was nothing wrong with the selection criteria of the candidate suppliers at that time.
What kind of company is Yiwu Shengjin?
Yiwu Shengjin’s full name is Yiwu Shengjin Arts&Crafts Co., Ltd. established in 2011 and is an 11-year member on alibaba.com. They mainly deal with Christmas decorations and pet supplies, like Christmas socks and pet clothes, etc.
What was it like working with Yiwu Shengjin?
The quotation and sample preparation process was relatively smooth initially, and we were in communication with Sophie Zhu of Yiwu Shengjin at this stage.
But when we were ready to pay the deposit, things started to change, and the salesperson we were dealing with was no longer in charge of our project, but another lady named Susie Su took over.
Although Susie told us that she and Sophie had already had a handover, it was clear from subsequent communications that Susie had no clue about our project requirements. Our sourcing team had to explain production requirements and other details to her again.
What are the quality problems with the Christmas stockings produced by Yiwu Shengjin Arts&Crafts Co. Ltd?
As the buyer’s eyes and ears in China, we ensure the buyer receives the goods they paid for. Once the goods are manufactured, our experienced quality inspectors go to the factory to conduct pre-shipment inspections according to AQL standards. This Christmas stocking order was no exception.
According to AQL, the inspector sampled the goods and eventually found visible pinholes in the entire batch of socks. Such obvious pinholes on the fabric belong to the major defects, will significantly affect the products’ sales.
How does Yiwu Shengjin handle major quality issues?
After the inspection, we sent the inspection report to the buyer on the same day. The buyer said such a defect was unacceptable and had to be reworked. Also, it needed to be done within 25 days. Otherwise, it would not be in time for Christmas sales.
We communicated with the supplier based on the buyer’s comments and all the defects found in the inspection, but we were surprised by their response.
Susie Su of Yiwu Shengjin said they could not rework the pinhole problem and would not re-produce a new batch because they would lose money. If the customer could not accept it, they would have to cancel the order. And they won’t refund the 30% deposit as well.
What do we do with a quality defaulting supplier in China?
One thing to note is that when you manufacture overseas, you are likely to encounter product quality issues, whether in China or another country. You will discuss a solution with your supplier (if you encounter a situation like the above), but your supplier is not always reasonable.
According to our legal department, in this case, Yiwu Shengjin Arts&Crafts Co., Ltd. has clearly breached its contractual responsibilities as a supplier.
The next step? We will pursue legal liability against Yiwu Shengjin. According to the deposit principle in China, the defaulting supplier needs to compensate more than 2 times the deposit. We will continue to update the latest status of the case later.
If you read to the end, there are some key points for you.
- You must inspect the goods before paying the final payment
- Don’t put too much faith in the supplier’s promises, even if they seem credible
- If you are going to manufacture your product overseas, try to find a third party company to oversee the production for you