In an article published on the Huffington Post in 2013, Jillian Berman points out the startling fact that 94 percent of American flags are imported from China, which can immediately make anyone think that the large numbers are due to the convenience of transporting flags. The more startling truth is that there is a marked increase in the number of products imported into the U.S. from China. We are seeing a large number of Chinese products flooding into the US market creating a mostly positive impact on small to medium size businesses. We believe this is due, in part, to the exorbitant prices for similar goods produced in the U.S. A good number of retailers simply can't afford to buy the quantity necessary to get enough of a discount to compete, forcing many of them to turn to China for supply.

More and more business owners and entrepreneurs are learning that importing Chinese products can constitute the gold mine they want for their business and create more product choices for their customers. It is astounding to see the huge variety of products available from overseas. Retailers can choose from just about any type of product to import, including; clothing, canned food, pet accessories, and electronic devices-all sold at a fraction of the U.S. prices. However, knowing how the buying process works in China can make the experience more rewarding and eliminate potential problems.

While buying products from China can be one of the key decisions in changing the landscape of any small to medium size business, it does not come without risk.

China is a notorious hot spot for selling fake and low quality products. Of course, this does not apply to all suppliers, but it's important to know how to spot the unscrupulous ones. Aside from this, there is also the language barrier, time zone and culture difference. But the biggest obstacle may be not being able to regularly visit suppliers in order to audit their operation and product quality.

So to limit your risk exposure, it is imperative that businesses work with professional sourcing agents to locate and purchase the right products. As a retail business operating in the USA, it will be a key decision to partner with an agent who can work directly with manufacturers and suppliers to locate and negotiate great wholesale and retail deals for them in China. Aside from the problem issues mentioned above that many business owners have to overcome to make deals with manufacturers in China, there are other aspects of the business that a competent sourcing agent can also handle more efficiently, such as finding the best supplier, checking out their reputation, handling product QC and doing the grunt work to ensure that products are shipped according to purchase agreements.

With the right sourcing agent working from China, start-up and existing retail businesses can make a lot of profit in the U.S. market selling imported products from China.