| I'm a product design engineer! So rare that I get to have any input on HN. In answer to your questions: 1. How does the factory quote / understand what is required? Typically you send a 3D CAD file of the product you want to make and a bill of materials to a selected factory and they send you a quotation. For some products the factory may be able to quote based on a prototype, but this is less typical for totally custom / new products. 2. How do I choose a provider? I recommend any of the following: a. Leverage any personal connections you may have b. Search for similar products / the product category on Alibaba c. Either go to trade shows (the biggest for Chinese factories is Canton fair) or review the vendors exhibiting at a trade show online d. Panjiva.com (the best option if it works) Panjiva aggregates public import records for anyone importing products into the US. Both the importer (think US brand) and exporter (think Chinese factory) are listed for every shipment. Use Panjiva to search for a company that is selling a similar product you want to make in your market (for example, if you want to sell headphones in the US, you might search "Bose" on Panjiva). If a factory has made a bunch of similar shipments to reputable brands in the US they are likely a good factory. Getting a good factory to take you seriously is actually quite challenging for a fledgling company. Quoting a product takes a good deal of time to do properly and is expensive for them. They get a surprising number of tire kickers. To increase chances of success, highlight anything that makes you more credible when quoting (investment, awards, personal track record, nice looking website, photos of prototypes, etc.) |