Importing direct from China

Has anyone had experience importing direct from China to renovate or build? Is there significant savings and what are the issues/pitfalls. I am looking to build on my PPOR and wanted to get a higher spec at a lower cost but am not aware of anybody doing this, the quality of the products and whether it was worthwhile. Would be interested in your thoughts

 

The biggest issue for items like electrical cabling ,pipework for gas/water and fittings is getting products that do not meet Australian standards, or not getting the product that you think you have ordered, ie its been substituted.
Pipes and fittings are one area that inexperienced people struggle with and then engage a tradie to fit them and then find out its non compliant.
But its quite easy to find another tradie that is willing to do the work.
One of the biggest issues here is the possibility of elevated lead levels(water contamination) on cheap knock off products.
Or getting electrical cabling that is not up to specifications, It does not become obvious till 5-10 years later when it breaks down and becomes a safety and fire risk.

 

Really wouldn’t trust Chinese materials there cheap for a reason
Australian houses are built to a national standard to get the building approved what more do you you want?

 

Quality is atrocious and unless you actually able to test and quality check majority of samples I wouldn't even come close to it. You being a tiny client that is known not to be able to test quality there is a likelihood supplier will cut corners in a way that would become very very costly.

Note that it might impact any future insurance claim if the insurer becomes aware of such a job.

 

What on earth are you even talking about read the op

 

Talking about quality of materials when imported. You do need to be able to test/QA otherwise how would you know the quality.

 

Here is a link

China Import Directs | China Import

This is my g/friend who is a developer in Perth.

She has taken years and many trips to China to work this out and get the right suppliers.

She has mentioned many times to me that if you don't know where to go you will buy inferior product. Key is sourcing the correct suppliers

Also amusing many Australians go China with the wrong attitude wanting huge discounts, where Chinese deal in volume. That's another story another day.

I have seen the final product on this project, excellent, high spec, and she did make a killing on this project, one sold for $1.29M and other $1.4M

reiwa.com - 15 Barlee Street, Mount Lawley

I am not here to promote her business, everyone needs to do their own homework.

China Import Directs | China Import

 

Google recalls for building products - even the major Australian importers get it wrong.

Some Plasterboard, fibre cement products contain asbestos.

If you deal with the 'right' manufacturers, you can get anything you like stamped on the materials.

Previous thread

 

Thanks all. Sounds difficult and issues with quality and meeting standards as well as time and effort. Will have to find another way to get the specs I am looking for on the new house

 

I buy a lot of china spec stuff that has already been imported here so the quality, standards, warranty, customs, shipping, GST and hard yards is already done. Yes I have to pay a premium on those goods for all the effort and work but that is fair exchange for all their work.

For example most of my tiles are made in China not Italy. They are good looking tiles for a lot less. If I choose well then I can't tell the difference between the 2 except for price. Practically every single tile shop in Perth will have both in their ranges

 

Friend of a friend is doing a duplex and they went to China to source the kitchens and all the shiny stuff - taps, sinks, vanities, lights etc. Saved a lot of money, but needed to be on the ground to do it. Everything went into a container that has sort of gone missing. It's out there somewhere, but nobody knows exactly where - it was not on the ship that lost a few boxes off NSW last week. The builder of the duplex has had to down tools and move onto another job because he's run out of stuff to do.

 

Also beware of hijacked containers....Chinese supplier can use your import to bring in drugs / chemicals. A retail client has had two containers "taken over" by drug gangs in China (seized) and one arrived by mistake to their store with drugs still inside (they called police in). Federal Police impound container and all inside gets seized.. Its surprisingly simple. A inside guy at a freight company just redirects a legit container to a Chinese warehouse where good are added to shipment. Then sent to ship as if that person. On arrival to Sydney container is directed to a third party warehouse...Unpacked and then onsent to the final customer who has no idea and they blame customs for broken seals. All paperwork is made to look like the legit customer is the importer to the fake warehouse. The client now has a special process to ensure all containers are traced and untampered. This was recommended by Federal Police as it "common"for legit importers with small loads to have their container "jacked". A much larger version of a boogie bag.

 

Manufacturers from Italy team up with Chinese companies only way they can do business in China.
I got the real deal quality Italian tiles at a fraction of cost

As I mentioned in previous post anyone can buy rubbish in China, key is networking/buying from right suppliers

My g/friends product she imports meets Australian standards, and guarantees etc has too

On another note we purchased all our pool lights from China, JP Lighting, met Australian standards. Paying in US$, still way cheaper and quality excellent

Friends purchased wrought iron gates for around $8k, in Oz around $30k, if you have time and make the effort you can save big $

 

Where do you think our building materials come from? A lot are manufactured in China and the quality is fine.

That said, there is a lot of poor quality stuff coming out of China. Those cables that burn down houses are from China. But then so are the "good" cables.

I think the point is that quality can range from great to terrible, so if you don't know what you are doing it could end very badly.

 

And we had a very minor fire at home once. As part of their safety review after any fire the Fireys inspect whole property with care....Fireys took all the powerboards and of the five we had they considered three were dubious and likely had fake AS markings. (referred to images in a folder) They recommended large reputable brand names sold by specialist electrical wholesalers at minimum...eg HPM/LeGrand ..."We dont normally see electrical fires in those".....

He offered to take and destroy the dubious ones. They also tested our meter board and (thankfully) went up in roof to review brand and markings on cables since its easier to check that inside wall cavities - reported all quality materials and workmanship. They said they see many that arent.

As they said - Only the tested product has met Australian Standards. Not each one made. Its common practice to switch for cheaper parts or buy a test report or just print the AS mark etc on the product. Customs arent there to test for compliance.

Cheap often means ...cheap. Like stainless steel that corrodes, vinyl that wears, tiles with inconsistent thickness / pattern etc, .......

Which would you have in your house and near your kids bedroom ?
Home Security Standalone Smoke Detector Fire Alarm Photoelectric Sensor TG | eBay or
Family First 10-Year Lithium Photoelectric Smoke Alarm
And if someone is so cheap to use the cheapest smoke detector what comprises did they make with using a cheap plumber, sparky and materials ?

 

LOL... who would have thought

 

Just a heads up for anyone interested in going down this road. As mentioned my g/friend has been doing this successful with her own development projects, now she is holding workshops.

Workshops | China Import Directs

 

Friends used to go to the Guangzhou fair annually, sounds like a massive fair and some amazing products, some 1st generation/prototype products look nothing like final results years later

Saw some amazing home products they were going to import, however after 9 years had yet to see a house built using these products, maybe they were too early...

 

Its interesting my g/friend said that many who export from China are buying from wrong suppliers and paying too much

The factories further out from city is where you can source much cheaper product, but you need to be able to understand what is quality and what is junk

She is designing my new kitchen, its all coming from China, probably marble

She is guestimating $25k, i would probably be paying more like 50k+ in Australia