Find out an easy way to buy wholesale artificial plants in this step-by-step guide!

As a business owner who has decided to buy artificial plants from Chinese factories, there is a process you have to go through. Imagine you just going into the art of importing these goods without the basic knowledge of what it entails. That would be disastrous and could lead to a loss or even worse. This means that you need to be guided, mostly if you’ve never done this before. I am here to help you!

There is one thing I need you to know before I dive into the main point. All businesses are unique! And all factories are also outstanding! This means that the factories may have different requirements and models at which they operate. They will all vary. And it becomes your responsibility to tell apart which the best one for you is. So, as you go into buying artificial plants from China factories, you need to understand this. By so doing, you will be able to communicate effectively with them in their unique ways.

Through research and experience in dealing with people who have sought advice regarding this, here is the sharp division of the several steps we will discuss. I promise you won’t be disappointed in this journey. Okay!

1. Prepare your budget and create room for inventories.
2. Source for the artificial plants’ factories
3. Researching on the factories, you have found.
4. Send an inquiry to the eligible ones.
5. The worthwhile selection  
6. Confirm your order

So, these are the appropriate steps you need to follow without ignoring any of them carefully. Let’s go into them in detail!

Step one: Prepare your budget and create room for inventory.

I usually advise all business owners, no matter the product they specialize in, always to prepare a reasonable budget before anything else. If you want to ensure that you make a dutiful and worthy purchase, your prepared account will have to play a massive role in that.

To prepare a budget, you will have to estimate the quantity of the artificial plants you intend to purchase and weigh it with the prices they are gotten for in retails. If what you estimated can’t get you enough of the products, you would most likely have to increase the budget, so you don’t have to waste extra expenses on importing regularly. And so doing, that leads to the room space needed; the room for inventories.

Inventories and stock can do you a great deal of sound as an importer. In the case of artificial plants, which are not likely produced in all regions of the world and would require you to import them, it would be best if you had a lot of room to store the bulk. This would save you the hassle of running importation always, and this way, you will always have enough to resell.

Step two: Sourcing for the artificial plants’ factories in China

Like I briefed on earlier, before you should begin hunting for suppliers, you should briefly analyze your business. You need to understand your market strategy, model, and the required quantity of artificial plants you intend to purchase. You need to do this because it would determine the type of factory you get to buy your wholesale products. Choosing a factory that suits your preferences only becomes easy after doing that. Then, you can source for the factories.

Leading us to this, there are other wholesalers of artificial plants that are not factories. They may be trading companies or drop shippers. However, we would focus mainly on factories that produce wholesale artificial plants and how you could find them.  

In terms of buying artificial plants, the manufacturers or factories will offer the best rates amongst all the suppliers you would find. But there are two types of factories you will find in China. They are; factories with English salesman and those without their English salesman.

Those who don’t have their English salesman usually cooperate with other domestic trading businesses like trading and sourcing companies to sell their artificial plants to foreigners. At the same time, those with their English salesman deal with foreign customers independently without the help of other companies.   Of the two types, you will get the best prices from those who do not have an English salesman of their own. So, I was hoping you could note that as that is a pro tip from me!

Now, onto sourcing, you can find wholesale factories of artificial plants in China in different ways and techniques. You can find them online or offline. However, as a foreign importer, the best way to source for them is online, so let’s focus on that.

a. E-commerce platforms

There are many eCommerce platforms I would recommend to find reliable factories and suppliers for artificial plants. Most of these factories and businesses have their online stores on these platforms to find more buyers than they can get offline.  

Some of these platforms include Alibaba, AliExpress, Global Sources, and many others. However, you would find more professional ones on Alibaba, one of the biggest marketplaces for factories and wholesale suppliers.

b. Google

Google is the first thing that would come to mind sourcing for whatever you want. Just a click on Google will provide you with hundreds of artificial plant factories where you can buy your wholesale products. Most of these factories have websites where you can connect with them through the contact addresses they provide.

This seems like an easy way until you have to sort them out yourself as they don’t have a regulatory body that monitors their activities like Alibaba. Therefore, you need to be careful when trusting or dealing with them.

c. Social Networking Services (SNS)

Social media is a comprehensive medium to pass information of all sorts. Some independent factories in China are very good at putting up advertisements on social media as that an easy way to call attention from viewers.

So, you might get lucky enough to come across a reliable artificial plant factory on a social media page. Most of them even have social media accounts on Instagram, Linked In, or Facebook, where they attend to customers and conduct a business transactions. You can find them on such platforms by searching using SEO keywords. However, I don’t feel too comfortable with this method because finding and testing their authenticity can be very difficult. That means there will be a higher risk of getting scammed.

d. Sourcing agents

Another online technique to find wholesale factories to employ the services of a sourcing agent. I would classify this as an online medium because it would be best to use one who knows about China’s business market. And that would be a domestic sourcing agent in China.

I know you are wondering where you can get such, so here’s a tip! You could get one on freelancing sites. They are readily available to get to work, and they are either paid hourly or at the end of the projects. Freelancing sites like Upwork and Fiverr are none to have the most reliable sourcing agents.

Like I hinted, you could also choose to find them offline by traveling to China. It might cost you money and time, but it serves as a guarantee that you trust whoever you choose. While in China, you can visit trade fairs, which are prevalent business events that happen. There you will come across many factories that offer what you need. But a pro tip; you will come across more big trading companies than factories. They could still link you up with the leading factories.

Step three: Researching on the factories you found

 Research! Dig in! Find it! When you have compiled a list of the artificial plant factories, you can go ahead to find out more about them. You need to find out their business model as related to yours and get information on how reliable they are.

To do so, you can also use Google. Google might provide hints on how legit the factory is. You might again come across cases of a scam, which you should look out for. You will be able to get their contact address where you can reach them.

Reviews! Feedbacks! I suggest you pay more attention to this. You need to ensure that the feedback from other customers who have dealt with them is mostly positive as that will serve as a guarantee of what’s to trust. After all, that, compile a list of those with suitable facades and reach out to them.

Pro tip: Do not put your eggs in one basket. Try to gather more than one so you can reach out to all of them. By doing so, you can compare and get the best based on some criteria of the type of artificial plants they produce.

Step four: Send an inquiry to the eligible factories

After you have sort out the feed from the shaft (no pun intended), you can go ahead to send an inquiry to those you have found ideal. When sending an inquiry, there are a few ways to do that. It seems more professional to contact them through their email. But sometimes, that may be time-wasting as it can take a long time to get a reply. So, consider giving them a call.

When calling is not an option, you could chat with them. This is only possible if they provide the details or it is through an eCommerce platform. Other than that, use the email and wait for a reply.

When you have gotten a hold of them, there are relevant questions you should ask them. You will need to ask them;

• The type of material they use in fabricating their artificial plants.
• The price of the faux plant.
• Whether they offer potting services.
• Shipping and packaging methods
• Warranty of the product and other questions best known to you.

Step five: The worthwhile selection

I know the first criterion that comes to your mind when selecting a factory or business partner is the price. Well, it’s a big NO! Although it should be compared, I love to focus on communication. Why? That’s because it is a long-distance partnership and effective communication needs to be prioritized.

To know a reliable factory, they should be efficient at the rate they communicate. They should be able to get back to you in due time to hasten the transaction. Also, their customer services should be reliable. Other than this, you can compare the prices, quality of their products, and shipping methods. All these will take part in ensuring that the one you have chosen is ideal.

Remember to choose an artificial plant factory that has a business model similar to yours. Also, ensure that their price, quality, and the result are what your target market expects from you. Okay?

Step six: Place and confirm your order

When you have chosen a factory with whom you can work after all checks, you can place your order. Provided that you can meet up with the discussed Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) of the factory, you can place your order. You will be informed about the production time and the shipment procedures.

All the necessary documentation will be done and stated in the contract. All-time and estimations should be clearly stated, which will help in the time of disputes. When that is done, follow up on your order and do your business!

Now it’s your turn!

 Hey! We’ve come to the end of this post, and I have informed you about what it entails to buy artificial plants in bulk from factories in China. If you already know this, I would love to hear from you. You can give your suggestions or ask questions. My team and I are always willing to hear from you.

However, if there’s more to this, it’s your turn. I do hope this article finds you well and proves helpful. Thank you for reading! Have a fantastic experience! Get the right plant today!