china- how to speak to a supplier

Alibaba.com is a great place to buy resale items, group buys and samples.

What is a sample? A sample is one of anything.
 Even if the company isn't selling samples young can still buy them if you know how to speak with a business.

Tips.
Always say hello and I look forward to your reply.
Always speak in a simple way so the sales person can understands you (most don't speak very good English so unless you speak mandarin Chinese speak simple.

I recently spoke with a company that sells gaming laptops on alibaba .
they immediately wanted to know how many I wanted to buy.
 This didn't work for me since if I was going to buy for resale I wanted to actually judge the quality of a sample.

First i ask so it's a conversation not a demand.

"Hi, can I order a sample to see if it meets my standards."

Then I tell them that they decided to allow a sample by asking not if but how much. Specific questions and no "the" because it doesn't exist in Chinese.

"How much will laptop cost?
How much will shipping cost?"

bottom line
Sometimes you can get a free sample but most of the time you will have to buy it and pay for the shipping.
The sample will cost less then store price but more then wholesale.

good luck!

An easy but risky way to make money

First get a reseller certificate (shouldn't be more then $50)

Find a company that will buy a large amount of a cheap but good product.

Set up a deal with the product company and store

Get the company to trust you

Get the payment

order and send product

Your earnings are based on the amount of product you sell and the difference between the wholesale price and the store buying price.

One variation of this business is getting the reseller certificate, getting a loan, buying the product and selling on Amazon, you will have to advertise on other sites for to work.