Shop Online from China but Get the Goods from Your Local Warehouses

If you want to purchase something from China but you have too many concerns to start the venture, I would encourage you to consider some overseas programs launched by reliable online Chinese shops such as Dinodirect.com (reviewed here), Focalprice.com (reviewed here) or Priceangels.com (reviewed here).

In recent years, more and more online wholesalers or retailers based in China rent overseas warehouses by cooperating with local partners who help them manage the warehousing and shipping. This is definitely a win-win solution to suppliers and buyers.

How It Works

Generally, the Chinese online shops that use such a program are international retailers or wholesalers targeting small and medium-sized merchants. They sign contracts with the warehouses positioning in the overseas land and use the most cost-effective shipping method – ocean shipping to send a ton of different items to the warehouses first. After the goods are stocked there, the stores start to list them online for sale. Once you order an item that is available at the local warehouse, their partners will manage the delivery within one business day and you will get it in a few days only.

Pros & Cons

Shopping things from Chinese suppliers’ local warehouses has much more pros than cons. The biggest disadvantage is: the variety or the quantity of products is usually very limited. When you browse the catalog of products available at the overseas warehouse of some website, you often find that it is not that easy to find exactly what you want. This is due to the fact that suppliers only select the hottest-selling products for the overseas warehouses in order to minimize risks or costs.

Now let me list the pros of purchasing items from the local warehouses of the Chinese shops instead from their China-based warehouses:

• You can receive the goods very fast and you don’t have to wait for weeks or months before your order arrive at your door.
• You only need to cover the domestic shipping fee or in most cases, you don’t have to pay any shipping fee as free shipping is offered!
• The quality of the overseas-warehoused products is more dependable as suppliers want to minimize risks of exchanges or returns.
• Returning or exchanging goods is easier and faster. Sending the item back to the warehouse will take only a few days. And more importantly, you don’t have to worry that they refuse to accept the returns as you may drive to the destination and argue the case with them face to face, lol.
• For merchants who purchase items for re-sell business, you can be confident in the popularity of the products. As I mentioned above, suppliers only send best-selling products to the overseas warehouses.

Trusted Overseas Warehouses

Many China-base online shopping websites have one or more overseas warehouses, mostly based in the UK, US or some European country. Below are some of the legitimate sites where you buy things that are stocked in their overseas warehouses. Note that they may use a totally different domain name from their main sites for items available at their overseas warehouses.

• Focalprice.com UK Warehouse: Apple accessories & other electronic gadgets
• Priceangels US Warehouse: Tablet PCs, cell phones, RC toys, security cameras, three-way-motion chairs and more.
• Dinodirect.com Overseas Warehouses (you can select the nearest warehouse based in your destination): fashion, electronics, baby & kids, home & garden, car accessories and lots more.

As soon as I find a new reliable overseas warehouse belonging to a Chinese supplier, I will add the information to the above list. Just check back regularly here for the updates.