DH Gate is one of the most popular wholesale marketplaces in the world. There you’ll find an exceptional range of low priced products that you can resell for a profit on eBay, your own website or another marketplace.
However, a lot of retailers are nervous about buying from DH Gate: What will the quality of the products be like? Will your product even show up after you pay for them?
It’s good to be cautious when buying from DH Gate, but you could be losing out if you don’t give the marketplace a chance (check out TWF’s recent discussion on Facebook). To help you make the most of DH Gate and prevent you from having a wholesale buying catastrophe, check out our guide below which details common pitfalls of buying from DH Gate and how to prevent them.
Pitfall #1: Poor product quality
Just as PhotoShop can eliminate cellulite and pimples from celebrity portraits, it can also make physical products look a lot better than they really are.
It’s a little bit like Big Macs. On billboards, they look full, fresh and tasty. When you get one served up to you, they’re usually half the size and nowhere near as fresh looking!
Sometimes, when you buy from DH Gate, you might love when you see in the product photos, but be a little disappointed with the real life products. Clothing might be made with cheaper fabric, or the finishing might poorer than expected. Electronics can have cheap components or branding that rubs off with use. Jewellery could look tarnished.
When this happens to you, you get a real sinking feeling in your stomach. I know because it has happened to me when I ordered 500 pairs of baby shoes. They looked gorgeous in the photos but when they arrived, I just knew the quality wasn’t up to standard and if I didn’t like them, nether would my customers.
How do you prevent this from happening to you?
Order samples! Don’t dive right in and order a large wholesale lot right away. Instead, order a couple of samples from your supplier (or test a few different suppliers) and see what the quality is like. Most wholesalers are happy to sell you samples, just understand that you won’t be able to purchase them for wholesale prices – you will be paying an inflated price to make up for the fact that you aren’t buying a large volume which is what their businesses rely on to make a profit.
Remember, if a wholesaler charges you more for a sample, they’re not trying to rip you off, they’re just covering their costs!
Pitfall #2: Getting fleeced: Your products never show up
This scenario is far too common for my liking (though it’s a lot less common on DHGate than some other website and marketplaces). Picture this: You find a wholesaler offering hot-right-now products like tablets, smart phones, or designer handbags for a fraction of the retail price. You get dollar signs in your eyes thinking about the money you’ll make and you hit the Add to Cart button. 100 units, please!
You handover your money and anxiously await the product’s arrival so you can start making some sales!
... But, they never come. You’ve been fleeced!
How do you prevent this from happening to you?
This doesn’t happen a lot on DH Gate as they have security measures and a commitment to your safety in place to help prevent this from happening. However, you need to take responsibility for your own financial protection when you buy from suppliers on DH Gate. The best way to do this is to only pay for orders using PayPal, Escrow or credit card. These payment options offer you a level of protection when you pay using them. On the contrary, Western Union or wire transfers offer no protection whatsoever. If your deal goes pear shaped, your chances of getting your money back are slim to none.
Even before you go handing over any money, review the supplier’s feedback score on DH Gate and see what other sellers have said about them.
DH Gate’s feedback score system is similar to eBay’s: All buyers get the opportunity to rate their experience buying from the seller/supplier.
Safety Tip: You can also use DH Gate’s message and live chat features to suss out a supplier before you purchase from them.
Pitfall #3: Communication issues with Chinese suppliers
When you’re doing business, even face-to-face communication with someone who speaks your native tongue can be a challenge. When you throw a language barrier and a few thousand miles in the mix, things can get tricky!
Most suppliers on DH Gate a based in China and will know a little English, but it’s mostly broken but enough to get by. You have two choices here: Be patient with them and their limited vocabulary, or learn Mandarin. Hopefully you’ll choose the patience route as Mandarin isn’t an easy language to learn!
How do you prevent this from happening to you?
My best advice is to avoid rushing and make sure they understand your order requirements thoroughly before you go agree to anything. Use DH Gate’s chat function which I mentioned earliest to talk with them and prevent the back and forth that emailing requires.
You can also try using the Google Translate Tool. Type out your message then translate to Mandarin or Cantonese and paste it into your message or chat window. It often helps them understand if you need to really clarify something.
Pitfall #4: Buying fakes and replicas
While DH Gate works hard to prevent it, replicas and some fakes of branded items are still available in the marketplace. Some sellers get lured into buying these, thinking they will be able to cash in when they resell them on eBay. Other sellers actually believe they are buying the genuine item.
The hard truth is that many branded items (or items impersonating a brand, as in the example above which is alluding to the designer brand Burberry) sold on DH Gate are fake. If you buy these and import them to your country, they’ll likely get intercepted by customs who may report you to the brand owner who has every right to sue you, even if had no idea they were fake.
If you do manage to get them through customs, shortly after you list them on eBay, you’ll be asked to prove their authentic by providing a letter of authorization from the brand owner. Don’t have one? Expect your eBay account to be suspended.
How do you prevent this from happening to you?
It’s simple: Don’t buy branded goods from any China-based supplier. 90% of the time, they will be fake.
Have you ever bought goods from DH Gate? Share your experience below. I’d love to hear about it, whether it was good or bad.
