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Originally Posted by Rodney |  | | | | | | | | | That would be great. Feel free to post the information here in the forums. | |  | |  | |
I would be more than happy to. It's my gesture as saying thanks to all those here that support each other everyday. I will be posting it as a separate thread.
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Originally Posted by Rodney | | | | | | | | | | It would also be interesting to read how you ended up finding this company. I know it can sometimes be challenging knowing which international company to deal with. Did someone refer you to them? | | | | | | |
I actually spent a couple days doing research on international trade. I don't know how many people have heard about Alibaba (
Alibaba Manufacturer Directory - Suppliers, Manufacturers, Exporters & Importers), but it's a global trade site that puts buyers together with sellers. I've known about it for a while but never really used because every company I contacted wanted HUGE minimum orders. It's been around for quite some time and is a fairly well-known company. I would consider it as the ebay of the global trade market. The basics of Alibaba are simple. Pretty much, a company posts a thread (almost like a message board) on what products they offer, what they manufacture, etc. Buyers (companies or individuals) search the companies through different categories. You can find anything from apparel manufacturing, to tvs and dvd players, to farming equipment. All you have to do is sign up for a free account so that you can access their contact info.
On a side note, only search for companies that are GOLD SUPPLIER MEMBERS or TRUST PASS MEMBERS. This is important because GOLD MEMBERS are companies who are paid members that have passed screening tests before being approved by Alibaba. I would be hesitant to deal with an "Free Members" as that opens the door to possible scams/fradulent sellers
Excerpt from Alibaba:
All "Gold Suppliers" have satisfied the payment requirements for "Gold Suppliers" membership.
You can find background information on "Gold Suppliers" at Alibaba.com, such as their company profile, product listings, contact information, management, certificates and video introductions.
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Originally Posted by Rodney | | | | | | | | | | How has it been working with them? Communication, turnaround times, samples, payments, etc? | | | | | | |
Working with them has been as easy as working with a supplier/printer here in the US. Communication is never a problem. Alibaba has a program called TradeManager which is their version of Instant Messager so that you can talk to them directly instead of waiting for an email response. The company that manufactures my hats are rarely on TradeManager, but they email me back everyday and constantly keep me updated on how everything is going.
Turnaround times are bit on the slower end, but not by much. For my order of 300 from the start of manufacture to me actually receiving the product will be about 25 days. Not too bad at all in my opinion. Reason why turnaround is a bit longer is because most companies ship via cargo boat as it's the least expensive form of shipping. Samples usually take about 15 days and are usually sent by DHL/FEDEX express mail.
There usually is a sample fee. I believe they charged me $65 for 10 hat samples. Some companies charge a bit more, but don't hesitate to do it because they usually consider it as a deposit for when you place a large order. This is an example of my shirt supplier: They charged me $150 bucks for a 2 shirt sample, but will take that $150 I paid for the sampling fee and credited towards my larger order.
Payments for sample fees are usually done by Western Union. I know many people are weary about using Western Union, but it's by far the quickest way to get our samples/orders going. They do also accept checks, money orders, etc.
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Originally Posted by Rodney | | | | | | | | | | So that was just 300 total hats minimum? You could mix and match hat colors and the embroidered designs on the hats? | | | | | | |
The best advice I can give everyone here is to always negotiate as much as possible with these companies. Once they know you are interested in their company to provide products for a US-based company, they'll always give in. They love working with US companies because of the discrepancy between the two currencies as it becomes very beneficial for them.
Yea that's why I was glad I found them. We ordered 150 black hats with black 3D embroidery and red outline as well as 150 blue hats with white 3D embroidery and gold outline. As long as you keep the same design, you can change the hat color and embroidery color as many times as you want without out being charged extra(at least from what I'm told). If you change the design, then it would be considered a separate style which is obviously understandable.
They also provide custom made labels, hang tags, hologram stickers for the hats. All you have to do is create them, email them the artwork, and they'll take care of the rest. All this usually comes with the order, but some companies may charge $.05 - $.10 extra which is nothing at all.
They also can do whatever type of design you want. They can do all-over printing, flat or 3D embroidery, pinstripes...Anything you design, they can do. I know they have done some hats for Sean John.
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Originally Posted by Rodney | | | | | | | | | | Did you find the info in another thread here in the forums? Was it basically the same stuff that's required for t-shirts? | | | | | | |
I actually did use the infamous "search" feature
It's pretty much the same as labeling for shirts. I had some New Era hats and noticed that they double stitch their labels so that they can tuck their RN labels under the brim of the hat.
All you need to correctly label hats are:
RN Number or Legal Business Name
Product Origin
Product Material - What the product is made of (ex: 80% acrylic 20% wool)
To be safe, I added the care garment icons of "Do Not Bleach" and "Do Not Iron" on the label to be on the safe side. You can find the care garment icons @
Care Label Symbols
Anyway, I hope all this info is helpful. I know it's alot, but definitely worth the read. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to answer. I'm not a globabl trade expert by any means, but I've been getting more of an understanding of how things work as the days progress
-Chris
Labeling for fitted hats - getting garments custom made from international manufacturers (China) 
Re: Labeling for fitted hats