If you are an experienced buyer and import regular from China, you may know the business ways and the business culture in China are flexible and negotiable. As Chinese are flexible.
1) price:
The prices can be negotiable when you are mean to place an order
Some suppliers quote the prices which you think it is high.
When you tell them the price you got from their competitors, they will requote the prices by using 2 ways.
a. lower their profits
b. lower their production cost by using the different cheap material or different workmanship
For example, I have an order from my buyer for the glass lamps based on his designs.
I collected the quotations from several suppliers after contacted.
Then i provided my buyer with all the quotation i got for comparision.
He chosed the cheapest one to work with. (this is another story i can write later)
Later, other supplier tried to get the feedback from me, i told them my buyer didn't choose them as their prices were too high and they understood it was an real order. So they wanted to know what prices i got from their competitors. I told him.
They said they can do that price if we place the order with them while using the different material.
Nowadays, the profits bewteen each supplier don't make much different as the competition is so strong.
The reason to cause the prices different is the production cost or different quality.
Big factory have big production costs.
Besides this, different material or different workmanship can effect the prices a lit.
Somestimes, the different material don't make the quality much different, even the looking are the same.
But every factory has their regular supply chain for different materials and accessories.
2)Moudling cost:
If you want to have your own designs produced in China then most of the products need to moulding.
If your order quantity is big enough, the factory will quote the unit price including the moulding cost.
When your repeat orders can cover their moudling cost, they will refund you.
If your order quantity is small, the factory will quote the unit price and the mould cost separately.
But sometimes, if you are a big importer, some factories will open the mould free to set up long term business if they feel you are serious and will be their long-term buyer.
3)Certificate cost:
Same as 2)
Most of the suppliers marked their products have several kinds of safety certificates.
But actually they don't have the safety certificate for all of their products.
So when you place an order with big quantity, the supplier will have the certifitate done, which the product price should be include the expenses of the certificate.
For example, I had an big order from my Australia buyer for the big size lcd tv.
He required some certifite, like ASNSZ60066, MEPS, C-tick. So i searched and contacted the suppliers with these requirements.
But actually, i found this didn't make sense.
When i went to the Canton fair, i asked the factories if you have these certiciates, they said yes.
They do exported to Australia markets as they were very familiar with the certificates and quality standard level.
But when my buyer wanted to place an order, my buyer still had to pay a lot of money on these certificates.
As refresh rate of the panel he required is 120HZ not the normal panel, plus he also required some additional functions.
So he can't use the factory's original certiciates.
Certificate issue is a complicated issue. You may need the certificate for the important part of a product, or you may need a completed certificate for a whole one product. For example, when you want to import lamps from China, the factories may have the certificate for the cables, sockets, not the completed lamp.
These are what i can come up so far.
I will consider more and add the supplements if i can later .
Re: Tell you how to source in China--Chinese way is flexible