May 9 (edited) • SellingOnline.com
🚨📣Physical Products – Our Struggles and What to Pay Attention To!🚍🚩
This has been a long journey. Months of sourcing, testing, and setbacks until we finally saw the (candle) light.
I want to share the reality behind our physical product journey: the mistakes we made, the lessons we learned, and what I wish I had known earlier—especially if you’re sourcing from overseas.
We decided to source internationally to achieve the best profit margins for our luxury candle brand. It was our first time navigating this process, and we ran into trouble right away.
Lesson 1: Always use a credit card when paying suppliers abroad.
It’s your only real protection.
We were fortunate to get our money back, but not without losing two months, countless hours, and a lot of frustration.
In mid-February, I began sourcing manufacturers on Alibaba with my husband and a partner who held 20% equity in the business. She’s family, and I’m the one who brought her in. I chose her, and that responsibility was mine.
She shared that she had experience with sourcing, and I trusted her. But the truth is, we were both inexperienced.
We moved too quickly, contacted only three suppliers, and didn’t vet them properly. No background checks. No reviews. No verification. That’s on us.
That’s when the supplier manipulation started—and trust me, they’re good at it.
Especially when it comes to shipping, where many suppliers profit if you’re not paying attention.
We heard the typical lines:
“Oh honey, shipping prices are through the roof right now.”
“Sweetie, I got you the best rate possible.”
They claimed items were in stock but wouldn’t send photos. They were always “in a meeting” or “not at the office.”
The result? We paid $1,000 for just 8 lbs of material.
The fragrances weren’t what we ordered (even though they were labeled correctly), and half of the glass jars were broken.
I knew that couldn’t be the standard.
That’s when I decided to take full control of the process.
I began researching shipping costs, supplier tactics, and common red flags. It quickly became clear: we had been taken advantage of.
In real life, I’m a problem-solver. I don’t wait around. I act.
So I got to work.
That night, I wrote a message outlining exactly what I needed and sent it to 50 different suppliers. I didn’t sleep until 5 a.m.
I followed up with everyone who responded quickly and appeared reliable.
Out of those 50, only 3 suppliers stood out and they were solid.
I ordered samples from all three and made my final choice based on quality.
Letting the other two go was tough, but I knew I needed backups.
And surprisingly, sample shipping from all three combined cost less than $270 a massive improvement from our earlier mistake.
Around this time, our partner decided to step down from the business.
It was a difficult moment. She’s family, and I care about her deeply.
But I respected her decision, and I knew it was important that the business moved forward with full focus and alignment.
Once we finalized our number one supplier, everything changed.
Communication improved. Timelines were met. Product quality was excellent.
We did face some language barriers, though.
Lesson 2: When communicating with Chinese suppliers, use simple, clear English.
Avoid long explanations or complex phrasing. Clarity is everything.
To protect our order, I hired QIMA for a Level II inspection a standard random inspection.
They were on-site all day and charged $300.
They were professional, thorough, and absolutely worth it.
If you need third-party quality control, I highly recommend them.
Now, after another two months, our products are finally here.
Everything from the wax to the jars to the fragrances is exactly how we envisioned it.
We’re incredibly happy with the results and the suppliers we chose.
We’re not selling just yet.
We’re still waiting on the final packaging elements: boxes, labels, stickers, and more from another supplier.
But we’re close. I can feel it.
And I’m so excited to finally launch.
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
If you’re currently navigating your own sourcing journey, feel free to reach out.
I’m happy to share more and will continue updating this story if it helps anyone.
Let’s stay honest, learn from our experiences, and keep building something real.🥳
Sending you all the good energy.🦾🔥🔥🦾
9
6 comments
🚨📣Physical Products – Our Struggles and What to Pay Attention To!🚍🚩
skool.com/prime-mover
Discover the secrets of how to Sell Online and step into your calling as a Prime Mover with Russell Brunson!
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
🔥
+417
2
🔥
+330
3
🔥
+302
4
+191
5
+181
Powered by