If you are considering sourcing indoor lighting from China but don’t know enough about the market or how to choose the right supplier, this article will help you solve those problems.
Sourcing indoor lighting products from China is a strategic move that involves understanding the market, selecting suppliers, evaluating quality and price, and paying attention to packaging, transportation and payment methods.
This article provides a detailed guide to help you make the best decisions when sourcing from China.
1. Understanding the Market
China is the world’s leading producer of lighting products with comprehensive category coverage, including chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps and LED lighting. With extensive manufacturing capabilities and an efficient production system, it keeps the overall cost of its products low while maintaining a high level of quality, which gives Made in China a more competitive edge in the global market and therefore makes it a very good partner for international buyers.
- China is a large manufacturing country with a mature logistics network and a complete supply chain, these factors greatly reduce production and transportation costs, thus making the overall cost of lamps and lanterns lower.
- As the second most populous country in the world, China has enough human resources to engage in manufacturing. For decades, products made in China have been exported to all over the world, and our efficient and professional productivity is worthy of your trust!
- There are many manufacturers of indoor lighting in China, leading to fierce competition, which makes suppliers pay more attention to research and development and quality, through technological innovation, to improve product quality while reducing costs, so that they stand out from other manufacturers.
2. How to get in touch with Chinese suppliers
You can efficiently find suitable suppliers and establish cooperative relationship through the following ways:
2.1 Offline trade shows
By attending large-scale industry exhibitions, such as Guangzhou Light Asia and Hong Kong International Lighting Fair, you can directly communicate with many suppliers face-to-face, learn about the latest products and market trends, and establish direct cooperative relationships.
Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (HKILF)
Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (HKILF) is an international lighting fair organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). The fair gathers exhibitors and buyers from all over the world, covering all kinds of lighting products and lighting solutions, and is held twice a year, in April and October, making it one of the largest lighting fairs in Asia.
Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE)
Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE), also known as Guangzhou Light Asia, is one of the largest lighting exhibitions in the world. The exhibition covers all aspects of the lighting industry, from raw materials to finished products,design to production, and comprehensively shows the whole picture of the lighting industry. Organized by Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Exhibition Co., Ltd, the exhibition is held annually in June at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou.
Frankfurt International Lighting and Building Technology Exhibition (Light + Building)
Light + Building is one of the world’s largest lighting and building technology exhibitions, held every two years in Frankfurt, Germany. The exhibition focuses on lighting, electronic building technology and building automation.
2.2 Online B2B trading platform
Alibaba:
Alibaba is the world’s largest B2B e-commerce platform, founded in 1999. Alibaba is highly recognized globally, and it has the largest and most comprehensive resource of Chinese manufacturers.
Made in China:
Made in China is one of the leading B2B e-commerce platforms in China, founded in 1998. It caters to global buyers and offers a wide range of products made in China, especially in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
2.3 Browse the official website through Google
Through Google search, you just need to enter your product or industry keywords and add the phrase “manufacturers in China” to find the official websites of Chinese manufacturers to visit.
3. Where to buy indoor lighting in China
3.1 Zhejiang
Indoor lighting produced in Zhejiang, China is known for its low price, if your market favors low-end and low-priced products, we would recommend you to choose suppliers in Zhejiang.
3.2 Fujian
There are a small number of interior lighting manufacturers in the Fujian region, but their main production items are vintage and craft fixtures, so if you are still considering purchasing these types of fixtures, you may want to choose a supplier in Fujian.
3.3 Guangdong
Guangdong is the core region of China’s lamps and lanterns manufacturing industry, and also has the largest number of indoor lamps and lanterns manufacturers, mainly in Dongguan and Zhongshan, with about 13,000 lamps and lanterns enterprises in these two regions, which have long been supplying products to the international market, and have the most complete lighting manufacturing supply chain, and supporting services, which can satisfy all the needs of the medium-low-end and high-end market, and is the best choice for you to import indoor lamps and lanterns from China.
3.4 Our recommendations
- If your market consumption power level is not high, and product quality requirements are not high, we recommend that you choose suppliers in Zhejiang, Fujian region.
- If your market is comprehensive, whether it is a large volume purchase, or small projects such as bars, restaurants, offices, etc., we recommend that you choose suppliers in Guangdong.
4. Quality and price selection
There are different prices and qualities for the same kind of products, you can choose different suppliers according to your own customer localization, but we, as professionals in the lighting field for more than 20 years, suggest you – quality is more important than price!
Price should not be your only concern, for example:
If certain accessories or raw materials are too expensive, they will opt for cheaper or defective alternatives without taking into consideration the appearance and safety requirements of the product, and certain Unscrupulous manufacturers may even do something to cut corners, which may ruin your business somewhere in the future! So quality and safety should be your primary concern!
5. Certificates
When selecting a manufacturer, you can take the factory management system certificate as the first barrier to screening, common certificates are BSCI, ISO9001, etc.
Of course, don’t forget the product certificates, most countries and regions have their own standards for electrical and electronic equipment, to ensure that your products comply with the standards of the market where they are sold, such as the European Union’s CE, RoHS; the U.S. FCC, ETL, and so on.
In MPLT we have all the common certificates, is your trustworthy best partner, want to know more about the lighting equipment certificate information, you can read this article-Rechargeable Table Lamp Certification Guide (2024)
6. Packing and Transportation
Most suppliers in China usually use EPS Foam（Polystyrene Foam） packaging in order to save cost, which causes a lot of trouble to buyers when they receive the goods, with foams flying all over the place and environmental pollution.
However, at MPLT, we pay great attention to the user experience, the internal packaging materials usually use “Egg Crate Foam” or EPE Foam（Expanded Polyethylene Foam） to protect the lamps and lanterns, the color box or white box uses one-sided coated white cardboard (C1S White Cardboard);The outer box is made of Double Wall Corrugated Board (DWCB), which consists of two layers of corrugated core and three layers of top paper for higher strength and compression resistance., and is printed with your brand, company and product information, and wooden frames and pallets can also be provided according to your requirements.
For Initial cooperation suppliers, we recommend you to arrange a third-party inspector to conduct one or more quality checks before delivery because you need to make sure that the final product is consistent with your confirmed samples; but at MPLT you don’t have to worry about this at all, because we have:
- Professional quality service team, providing complete and timely inspection reports to ensure that the quality of goods meets your standards.
- Professional after-sales service team, if you have any problems after receiving the goods, we will help you in 24 hours.
- Professional shipping service team, no matter which mode of transportation you choose, we will make timely updates to ensure that you receive the goods at the first time!
7. Payment Methods
Telegraphic Transfer (TT):
Telegraphic transfer is one of the most common international payment methods. Generally, the advance payment is paid first and then the final payment is made, the advance payment usually accounts for 30% of the contract amount, and the rest is paid after the shipment of the goods to see the copy of the bill of lading, this way of the buyer and the seller have a certain degree of protection.
Credit Card:
Payment by credit card is a convenient and fast payment method, especially suitable for small transactions and e-commerce. Credit card companies usually offer some protection for payments, such as refunds in case of fraudulent transactions or non-receipt of goods. We recommend that you use one of the internationally recognized credit cards like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and others
PayPal:
PayPal is an internationally recognized online payment platform that supports payments in multiple currencies. The payment process is convenient and fast, and buyers can also apply for a refund within a certain period of time. It is suitable for small and medium-sized transactions, especially in the field of cross-border e-commerce.
Alipay:
Alipay is one of the most commonly used online payment platforms in China, supporting both domestic and international transactions. It has a good user experience and fund protection mechanism, suitable for transactions with Chinese suppliers, especially popular for small and medium-sized transactions and cross-border e-commerce purchases.
Letter of Credit (L/C):
L/C is a kind of payment guarantee provided by banks to ensure that the seller can receive the payment for the goods after complying with specific terms.L/C has certain protection for both buyers and sellers, but the handling fee is higher and the process is complicated, which is suitable for large-value transactions or first-time cooperation between the two parties.
8. Conclusion
By understanding the market, choosing the right supplier, ensuring the quality of the product and adopting the appropriate payment method, but you need to pay attention to the details in the procurement process to ensure that the selected supplier can meet your needs. Hopefully, this article will help you succeed in finding the right supplier from China!
