Anyone had dealings with Eastern Sports Industrial?

[pete10uk]

Morning

 

I've had a very good price to buy some drapes and a pole system form these guys Eastern Sports Industrial in China.

 

They have been sending me a price list on email for the past 2-3 years so have been on my radar for a while but I now find myself needing to buy some as the x hire charges to rent this in for a month is double the purchase cost.

 

Anyone had any experience with them for both quality and of course trustworthiness in terms if I send some money will any goods arrive? Not used to importing things.

 

Cheers

[david.elsbury]

Flameproofing of the drapes?

 

David

[pete10uk]

Flameproofing of the drapes?

 

David

 

The quote does specify that the drapes are flame retardant, however not to any specific standard. As with all things I have purchased in the past from places that don't supply a certificate I have treated myself with an after market spray product just incase. From memory a product called Nitro or something.

 

 

Just had a quick check and this is the spray I have in the warehouse Fire Spray

[peza2010]

Are you buying VIA a escrow service?

[pete10uk]

Are you buying VIA a escrow service?

 

No, they only deal with transfers via western union.

 

A quick check on google seems to suggest that this is quite normal when buying small quantities from a chinese company, it is obviously a risk hence my posting on here as they do deal with quite a bit of staging and trussing so thought someone may have dealt with them.

[paulears]

NO IT IS NOT!

 

All my dealings with new Chinese companies are done by bank transfer - IBAN numbers and SWIFT. With a new company, you'll be expected to pay for the currency conversion and bank charges. Western Union provides the recipient with cash and is dodgy. My one and only scam was using this system, and I have never used it since. All the companies I have dealt with now accept bank transfers, even the smaller ones. If they do not have banking facilities I would not deal with them. None of the bigger companies could trade without proper banking. If they only take WU, avoid them because you have no redress whatsoever, and you are dealing with amateurs!

[pete10uk]

Sorry Paul.

 

The quote also says they accept "T/T" which I now understand to be telegraphic transfer or in our terms bank transfer, is this correct?

I thought TT was a sort of cash service like western union so didn't mention it.

 

Not used to dealing with import or Chinese companies, any advice would be appreciated.

 

Cheers

[dbuckley]

See if they deal through AliExpress, who have an escrow arrangement; AliExpress keeps the money until you confirm you are happy.

 

SWIFT (ie T/T) is a safe and traceable method of money transfer, but once its gone, its gone...

[paulears]

T/T is fine. As David says, it provides similar security to a normal bank transfer, but the best the UK bank would be able to do is confirm it got there. If you are worried about it, then most will offer a form of escrow. If they are members of the usual Chinese export communities, like Alibaba - don't expect any help from them as they're really just point of contact services and their checks or inspected labels don't mean very much. If the amount of money involved worries you, ask them for a UK reference from a satisfied client. If they cannot provide this, just be wary.

 

I have to say that bar one clear scam (where I was new and a bit greedy) my dealings have been very positive - even when dealing with the smaller office complex based firms. There will be a few language issues, so make sure you are exact in your requirements, and confirm any queries. Expect strange questions. Even the biggest of these firms lag behind with their specs and details. I only buy microphones, but it's very common to have a sample, like it, order more and then get very odd questions like "Dear Mr Paul, would you be forgiving on grill colour as the factory report the gold colour is not durable, but we can supply champagne which will be long lasting". Turned out that the sample was manufactured by hand, and the gold would not bond to the mesh they had ordered in, presumably my sample used random material from a previous version. Champagne turned out to be the new colour, not a drink! A friend had some truss that had redesigned ends - physically compatible but visually different to his sample - the photos provided were all the old version. It's these kind of small things that need sorting before you pay. You may also get emails asking for payment after your bank tells you they have it. Often the Chinese banking system that has to deal with incoming funds in Dollars lags behind and allocating funds to the correct account takes time. It may take a day or two extra to reach the person you deal with. many smaller companies seem to share an international approved bank account - so the account in which the funds arrive, is NOT their bank account, just an intermediary.

 

The best advice I got was to never transfer more than you can afford to lose. On the few occasions I have had to break my rule, it IS worrying, but it's a risk that you take with strangers.

 

Oh - one last thing. Freight costs. Depending on the size and weight, ask for options. The fastest may be many times the expense of a slower service. I did have one consignment from a new supplier sent to Felixstowe docks, where their part of the deal finished. Only 50 miles, but a total pain with loads of hanging around and paperwork. Something delivered to the door is the only option for me now. I think I saved around £80 by sea freight - but it was a tiny part-container load and a pain!