Inspite of large demand in side China, many factories and companies in China rely on international trade for their business. Even during this worldwide economical bad period, many Chinese exporting business still see a growth on the exporting business, particularly in small size transactions. If you are a small retailer in Britain, you can directly purchase some products from China at bargaining prices.  You will receive the products in a week and flip them quickly before purchasing more. This is the international fast trading market which grew rapidly in the last severl years.

There are two ways to purchase wholesale items from China.  Buy off a B2C merchant or buy off a wholesale marketplace.  There are tons of B2C wholesale websites in China shipping products internatinally. Many of them sell products at really low prices. The key is to find the reputable seller who sells decent products. You should double check whether the website is professional, if it offers secured transaction and good returning policy. When you browse product information, you need to be very careful.  Make sure you know if you are buying the authentic, refurbished, or counterfeit item. Just don't get too emotional with the surprising low price and make quick irrational decision. Besides many merchant websites, you also can consider some big wholesale marketplace. Platform websites usually provide rating and reviews of merchants. Acting like the third party with free escrow service, they are usually the safer place to shop for the first time.

China wholesale shopping tips:
1. For international trade, you should understand that certain items have strict regulation, which might have many trouble during delivery and custom. Thus be careful when you are thinking about purchasing food and perishable items.  

2. Do your analysis before ordering from any new international b2c websites. Spend some time on search engine to dig any potential bad ratings about the website. Another thing to look at is how many years the website has been up running.  If it's been running for many years already, then they are probably not fraud.

3. When the product price is unreasonably low, it is for sure fake items. China does have low labor cost, but not low enough to offer products at 5% of the authentic price. By the way, it is illegal to import counterfeit items.

4. Start small. Many websites allow sample product and accept minimal order of 1 piece. You might not save on the shipping fee for sample product, but it is always safer to try it before purchasing bulk.  If the seller doesn't sell sample product, just choose another one. There are a lot of websites from China offering the same merchadise.  

5. Secured transaction is a must. Many scams are involved in international transaction. It is safer to use PayPal or credit card, but never use bank wire to any new merchant. If the merchant site doesn't earn your trust, just buy from the marketplace with free escrow service.  

Importing wholesale products directly from China is a wise way for small stores to compete with big competitors like Costco and Target. There are always tricks inside each industry, but no need to be panic.  Be careful and start small, you will see lots of chances