Christmas Lighting Buying Guide for Importers

Ask Whether They Produce or Only Trade

A supplier who buys finished goods on the market can quote anything and control nothing. Ask directly whether the production line is theirs, and ask what happens if a batch has to be corrected. A factory with its own line can stop and rework; a trader can only ask someone else to.

Ask for the Specification in Writing

Decorative lighting is sold on photographs, and photographs hide length, LED count, light colour and power option. Before you compare two quotations, make sure both are quoting the same specification. If one is cheaper, it is usually shorter, thinner or supplied with a different power option.

Check the Power Option Against Your Market

Plug type, voltage and approvals differ by market and are not a detail you can settle after production. Tell the factory which country the goods are sold in at the first quotation and get the power option confirmed for that market in writing.

Ask What Happens to the Tooling

If you pay for a custom figure or a custom mould, agree at the start who owns it and where it stays. This conversation is uncomfortable once the product is selling.

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Test the Sample the Way a Customer Will

Hang the sample at full length rather than looking at it coiled. Switch it on in a dark room, not in a lit office. Handle the figures the way a shopper does on a shelf. Most quality problems in decorative lighting show up in the first minute of being used properly.

Judge the Factory on Its Answers Not Its Adjectives

A factory that tells you a design will not work, or that your shelf date is not reachable, is more useful than one that agrees to everything. The second answer costs you a season.