Buyer questions
The questions importers ask first
Minimums, terms, sampling, private label printing, packing and paperwork. Everything below is answered from what the factory and the export desk actually do, with no figure that is not on file.
Ordering and terms
How a first order starts, what the quotation needs, and how a mixed catalogue is shipped.
What is your minimum order quantity?
The minimum is set per model and per packaging, not per company. Send the models you are quoting and the export desk returns the minimum alongside the price, so a mixed catalogue order is quoted line by line.
What do you need from us to quote?
The model code or the category, the quantity, the packaging you want and the market it ships to. If you have a target price or a competitor sample, include it, because either one changes which model is worth quoting.
What are your payment terms?
Terms are agreed per order and written into the contract. Ask the export desk for the terms that apply to your market and to a first order, since those are often not the same thing.
Can we mix models in one container?
Yes. Mixed models and mixed ranges are consolidated into one container out of Ningbo, which is how most distributors order a full catalogue without splitting it across suppliers.
Where do you ship from?
Ningbo. The production base is in Yuyao, inside the Ningbo manufacturing belt, and FOB Ningbo is the standard term.
Products and range
What the plant builds, and how to find the model that matches your market.
Which sensing types do you make?
Bimetal, capillary, gas-actuated and electronic sensing, all built in the same plant, so a mixed order does not need a second supplier.
What temperature ranges can you supply?
The range is fixed by the model rather than by the plant, and the catalogue lists it for each one. Tell the export desk the temperatures your market actually uses and the model is picked from that.
Do you make kitchen and household instruments as well as industrial thermometers?
Yes. Kitchen, household and industrial thermometers plus refractometers leave the same production base in Yuyao, so a buyer covering several aisles orders from one desk.
Branding, samples and packing
Private label work, the sample that comes before tooling, and the carton that reaches your customer.
Can you print our brand on the dial?
Yes. Dial printing is in-house, so layout, logo, units and language are printed in the plant, and the carton print can carry your brand as well.
How does the sample service work?
Send a drawing, a competitor sample or a model code. A sample instrument is built and shipped to you, and the sample you approve becomes the reference for the production run. Tooling is committed only after that approval.
Can you pack for retail shelves?
Yes. Instruments can be packed shelf-ready with your print and labels, or in plain export cartons if you repack at your own warehouse. Either way the packing is agreed before production starts.
Compliance and documents
What is on file, what can be issued for a specific model, and how to check it before you rely on it.
Which certificates do you hold?
The compliance register on the quality page lists what is on file for the production base and the range. Certificates and test reports are available on request, and the export desk confirms the current status of a document before you build a file around it.
Can we get a test report for the model we are buying?
Yes. Name the model and the standard or laboratory your buyer accepts, and the report is issued on request.
Do you have a social compliance audit?
A BSCI audit of the production facility is on the register. Ask the export desk if you need the audit file for a vendor screening, and it is prepared with the rest of the order documents.
Not on the list?
Ask it directly. The export desk answers model, packing and paperwork questions from Hangzhou, and a question that comes up twice tends to end up on this page.