In this week’s article, we will discuss the best strategies for importing car and motorcycle spare parts from China.
Buying from a manufacturing company
Buying directly from a manufacturing company has obvious advantages: the selection of products will be wider (I will explain why in the rest of the article) and the prices lower (due to the fact that there is no intermediary).
However, this is not an option for most small business owners as the minimum order quantity is often too high (around 300-500 units per spare part).
Assuming you want to import and resell a wide selection of spare parts, the initial investment would then become prohibitively expensive (unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars available to invest in the project). In the rest of the article, we will discuss the only tactic that will allow you to buy from a manufacturing company even on a small budget. But first, let’s see in detail the advantages and disadvantages of importing from a manufacturing company.
Advantages
- Low prices
- Wide choice of products
- Compliance with European certification standards (when required)
Detriments
- Very high minimum order quantity (300-500 units per spare part)
Buying from a wholesale export company
The advantage of buying spare parts from a wholesaler is that you will be able to buy as little as 5-10 units per piece. The main disadvantage is that the price per unit will be much higher (double to triple, compared to the price per unit you would pay if you bought from a manufacturing company).
But the problems are not limited to the price. From personal experience I know that such wholesalers are generally disorganized. This means that, even if they have a catalog that theoretically offers you a choice similar to what a manufacturing company can offer you, in reality the number of spare parts models in stock is much lower than the number of models in the catalog.
This means that, from time to time, you will have to make do with spare parts in stock at the time of purchase. So your catalog will reflect the shortcomings of the catalog of the wholesaler you source from.
Also, while it should be faster to buy goods from a wholesaler in theory because the goods are already in stock (rather than having to be made on the spot), the reality is that they often buy many of their spare parts from other wholesalers. And this buying/selling process often results in more time being wasted than it takes to manufacture the parts.
Advantages
- Minimum order quantity more than affordable (5-10 units per spare part)
Detriments
- Higher prices (even two or three times higher than the prices offered by a manufacturing company)
- Limited product range (you have to make do with the models in stock)
- Increased risk of running into used or damaged spare parts
The reasons why the best solution is often to buy from both a manufacturing company and a wholesaler
As we have seen, both importing from a manufacturing company and a wholesaler offers advantages and disadvantages. My advice is to buy from both.
One of our former customers, an importer of spare parts for motorcycles, still uses this strategy with great results: since he has to guarantee his customers a wide range of products, he buys 5-10 units of each spare part from a wholesaler. Obviously, on such products he is forced to accept a reduced profit margin.
However, there are some key spare parts, i.e. products that are sold in much larger quantities than average. Our client’s strategy is to buy these parts in large quantities – as he knows that he will be able to sell them quite quickly – from a manufacturing company, which will be able to offer a much lower price per unit (thus increasing the importer’s profit margin).
Of course, this strategy does not only apply to spare parts for cars and motorcycles, but to any type of import business that relies on a small budget.
Common Problems and How to Avoid Them
As mentioned above, my experience tells me that buying spare parts from a wholesaler often leads to problems such as missing parts, used or defective parts. A possible solution is to have some photos of the goods sent to you before sending the payment. But, of course, the photos could be faked. The best solution is undoubtedly to hire a quality inspector (nowadays a quality inspection in China costs less than 250 Euros).
Another common problem is poor quality of export packaging, which can cause goods to be damaged in transit, especially if they are shipped in LCL. Again, a quality inspector should solve the problem.
Finally, there is a problem that is not related to the quality of the goods: some parts that contain oils or magnetic components often require special documents in order to pass European customs controls. In this case, the best solution is to instruct your supplier to pack the parts at risk in a separate carton so that, if there were to be problems at customs, the only goods arriving late would be those for which a special permit is required
Manufacturing “cluster”
Most metal spare parts such as carburetors, petrol pumps, tanks or mufflers are manufactured in the south-eastern provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. In recent times, spare parts can also be found in Chongqing, which is located inland, and in the northeastern province of Shandong. There is therefore no well-marked manufacturing cluster. In my opinion, however, your first choice should be the city of Yongkang, which is located in the province of Zhejiang.
Trade fairs for vehicle spare parts
Canton Fair, Phase 1
- Motorcycle spare parts
- Engines and spare parts
- Cooling systems
- Lubricants
- Transmissions
- Steering and braking mechanisms
- Dashboards
- Electrical and electronic components
- Maintenance products
- Decorative parts for vehicles
AAITF – Automotive Aftermarket Industry and Tuning (Guangzhou) Trade Fair
- Electronic components for automobiles
- Decorative parts for vehicles
- Vehicle cleaning products
- Vehicle Maintenance Products
AutoTronics Taipei – Taipei International Automobile Electronics Show (TWTC)
- Automotive Spare Parts
- Automotive Accessories
- Spare parts for the engine
- Frames
- Electrical and electronic components
- Vehicle Maintenance Products
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