Many Amazon FBA sellers are sourcing products from overseas, mainly China, to meet the needs of their customers. However, depending on your business strategy, it might make sense to source some products locally and ship them in bulk by sea freight or air freight (depending on weight). This blog post will discuss how you can find reliable suppliers for your Made in USA Products that fit into this category.
Why Source in USA? Benefits To Sourcing
Let’s list down some benefits to sourcing in the USA
1. Duty benefits
You will be able to skip the duty rate on the product from your supplier. The duty rates are different for each country and can change from year to year, and guess what? There’s no such thing as a duty rate when sending from within USA.
2. Faster shipping times
Shipping from within USA means you’ll have a shorter transit time.
3. Shipping cost savings
Not only will duty be eliminated, but also the shipping costs and now you can negotiate for cheaper rates on these types of shipments as well!
4. Great for Consumables or Cosmetics
Customers usually trust companies that make their consumable products in the USA due to more stringent regulatory controls in production.
5. Made in USA
You will be able to source products that are made in the USA. And you can put that label on your product and listing to help convert more patronistic customers.
6. No worry about Trade Wars
Yeah, and this can be a big one. You are partially immune to the trade war happening between China and USA. I say partially because some of the raw components will still come from China depending on your product.
7. Get ahead of the Golden Week Rush
Guess what? You can still produce your inventory even during the golden week where most suppliers are closed in China for the holiday.
So “How do I find American suppliers?” you ask? Look no further.
Finding USA Suppliers with Google
You can use this Google search to find suppliers. Add the word “suppliers” to your query in quotes, then add a space and the words “in US” (ex: “Supplier in US”). More often than not you will get exactly what you are looking for with just these few steps.
A great example is the search for “muscle supplement suppliers in USA”. This will bring up a list of supplement suppliers that are located within the United States, with their contact information.
If you want your customers trusting you more because it shows your product has stricter regulatory controls over production then consider sourcing one of those products made in America – You may not realize there are lots of small businesses out there that are willing to go the extra mile for you.
Find US Suppliers With Thomasnet.Com
Thomasnet can help you in your search as well – Thomasnet.com is a website where manufacturers create profiles detailing their products and services, including where to find them. There are many wholesalers there too, and perhaps you can ink a deal with them.
It’s similar to how Alibaba works, except that Thomasnet is catered to Western manufacturers in the USA or Europe.
You may find the perfect supplier for your business that is based in the USA.
Minimum Order Quantities
The minimum order quantity is simply the number of units that must be ordered to get the production going by the suppliers. And usually the more you buy, the less each unit costs and this can make it worth going for large orders if your margins will support it. Typically, suppliers in the USA won’t offer discounts below 500 pieces (for lower value products) or so but some might go lower depending on their current inventory levels.
The suppliers in the USA usually have a much higher MOQ before they will produce product for you and seeing as the suppliers are usually local, they can deliver to your warehouse in quicktime.
Getting Product Samples from The USA
As it is the usual practise, it is always advisable to get the product samples from the supplier even if it’s from the USA. If you are unsure of the quality, it would be better to get the samples before ordering in bulk.
This will also help figure out if there’s something wrong with quality and whether or not the supplier is legit. If this doesn’t work for your business then I recommend just getting samples of one item at least so that you can check its quality as well as see how it holds up being shipped.
A lot of suppliers have no problem sending out small product samples since they want their products sold around the world too! Be sure to ask them first though before committing to buying anything big from them like pallets worth of inventory…unless you plan on doing some serious research beforehand because shipping costs may make selling these items unprofitable later down.
Production Prices
One of your first considerations should be production prices. This is because, as opposed to labor costs, they are an expense that never changes regardless of how many orders you get or what type of product it is and can sometimes make up more than half of your overall cost!
The most obvious way to reduce these expenses would be for suppliers who manufacture overseas to set up shop close by so they could deliver their goods without incurring high transportation charges. But this isn’t always possible so there are other ways such as: negotiating better pricing with them; getting quotes from multiple supply chains before settling on one; sourcing materials locally and making sure they’re of high quality; getting quotes for bulk orders.
Payment Terms & Turnaround Times
One of the biggest misconceptions about sourcing from the USA is that it’s going to take a long time and be expensive. This couldn’t be farther from the truth!
Most of the suppliers will accept the industry standard of 30% down payment first to get the production started. And once they have passed the 3rd party inspection process, the remaining 70% of the payment will then be due.
The turnaround times can also rival that of China’s suppliers as well. In some cases, it can be as fast or faster!
One of the best parts about sourcing from the US is that all products are designed to meet Amazon’s standards for FBA and they will come with instructions on how to package them up so you don’t have to waste time doing research yourself.
Not to mention, the delivery time to get into Amazon FBA or your warehouse, if you have, is so much quicker too. If you compare sea shipping the inventory from China to USA which will usually take about 30 to 45 days, you can get your inventory into Amazon FBA within a week! That’s a sharp competitive edge over your competitors who still source from abroad.
Tips For Reaching Out To Suppliers
You want to reach out to at least a couple suppliers before settling on one. The more you contact, the better your chances of finding someone who can work with what you’re looking for and is just an easy process overall.
Also avoid the following mistakes that many make when contacting USA suppliers.
Avoid Long Emails
Short and concise questions, bullet points and avoid asking for a specific number of customization options. Emails should also not include too much detail at first especially if the supplier is just trying to understand whether or not you’re serious about business development.
I’ve noticed that people reach out to them all the time with ideas and intentions but never actually follow through. “Can you customize my products without having them shipped, or are there other ways for me to do it?” types of question usually do not run well on your first contact.
If you’re looking for a proven excellent template to contact any supplier, check it out here!
Build Long-term Relationship
As with any other type of business, it is important to build long-term relationships when sourcing products for an Amazon FBA business.
This might involve finding suppliers who have a good reputation and are known by other sellers on the platform. Another way to ensure that you’re working with reputable companies is to ask for samples before committing yourself as this will also allow you to check whether the quality matches your requirements.
A good tip to say that you really care, is by simply giving your supplier a simple gift!
I recently realised that my supplier loved basketball and that he’s a big fan of Lebron James. So I went online to Ebay and bought an autographed basketball card for him. Yeah, that thing cost a bit (About a hundred or so), but you cannot beat the value of this gesture in the long term.
You can expect better service and better prices from that supplier once you have won their heart.
Of course, you do not have to spend hundreds to impress them. A simple handwritten “thank you” card will also suffice. You have set yourself apart from the rest of their customers already.
Build Trust With Suppliers
And the next tip that we’re going to share with you today is: Build trust with suppliers.
First and foremost – make sure that you are clear in what you want from them! If they don’t know exactly what it is that you need or expect, then there’s no way for them to meet those expectations!
You should also be very specific when talking about deadlines, quality standards (you may even want to have contract stipulations), packaging information etc… So many things can change during shipping which could lead to major problems down the line if not specified!
It really helps if both parties come into conversations over the phone (not just email) so that there is no misunderstanding or miscommunication.
In addition, your relationship with them will not only be more enjoyable but they’ll also want to work harder for you if it feels like they’re a very important supplier in the business!
They are an integral part of this process and should feel as though their input matters – plus we all know how much better people do when they feel appreciated!
So make sure that every step along the way that you’re talking with suppliers about what’s going on and keeping them updated on any changes in plans etc…
Choosing A Supplier To Meet Your Long Term Needs
China is the world’s factory, but it’s not always right for your needs. When sourcing from China or another country with language barriers due to cultural differences, communication channels need to stay open so that everything goes smoothly!
Homegrown products are becoming more and more popular these days. This means there will be a lot of competition in this sector – so make sure you have an idea on what you want before going out looking for suppliers. Who knows? You could end up earning yourself some American pride along the way!
Conclusion
So for whatever reason that you may have for choosing a USA supplier, you now have a list of places to start. Just make sure that you’re choosing for the right reasons and that your supplier will be able to meet all of your needs in the long term – without any major changes!
It is a good strategy to diversify your supplier pool to make your Amazon FBA business more resilient to the ever volatile world we live in.
To your great success!