Chinese New Year

Officially, Chinese New Year in 2023 is from January 22 to February 7 (Note: this is general and not applicable to suppliers/factories/transport companies). The arrival of the new SP platform allows us to use multiple suppliers. This is also a great advantage during Chinese New Year. We have created a clear sheet that lists all suppliers, including the holiday dates. This way you can check for yourself when a supplier goes on holiday and when he is back at work. PLEASE NOTE: this may still be adjusted due to the increase in Covid in China, so keep a close eye on this sheet, or ask your SP account manager for updates! Here is the sheet with the exact holiday dates. It also indicates when we (per supplier) recommend stopping sales, as the processing time must also be taken into account (if you have stocked up, you do not have to take this into account!).

Link to the sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L5ds4Za_U8utmX87yGc-yyopYNW-67lGJNhScaakI1k/edit?usp=sharing

Yes, you can definitely resell. There are various options to simply resell during Chinese New Year. We also have a solution for adding tracking codes during Chinese New Year. They are listed below:

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1. Purchasing stock and storing it at one of the suppliers in their warehouse.‍

It is advisable to purchase your Best Sellers in a timely manner. Factories often stop producing new products a few days before Chinese New Year (especially now with Covid!). They don't want to be left with too much stock during Chinese New Year. It is therefore STRONGLY recommended to purchase your Best Sellers as soon as possible and store them with one of the suppliers. In this way, your products are sent until the last day that the supplier is at work. The orders for which stock has been purchased for Chinese New Year can then also be sent out more quickly after the holidays (even then they have a shorter processing time). Keep in mind that there may be a backlog with some suppliers after the holidays.

In China, each factory decides for itself exactly how long they will spend their holidays. It is therefore impossible to say in advance how long a specific factory will remain closed. Of course, we will contact the factories for all Best Sellers to ask exactly what period they celebrate their holiday. You can request these holiday periods from your SP account manager.

2. Purchasing stock and storing it in our Dutch warehouse.

If you purchase and store stock in the Netherlands, your orders can be shipped continuously. There will not be a day's delay, provided you purchase on time. You can request a quote from your SP account manager for purchasing, shipping to NL and the fulfillment fee. Of course very competitively priced. This is also possible if you dropship VAT-free! However, you do pay VAT, but you can easily keep that separate for this period. We take care of the import (costs) completely, so you don't have to worry about that. We can also ship worldwide from the Netherlands.
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NOTE OPTION 1&2:

In some cases, agreements can be made with the factory that the remaining stock can be bought back. Discuss this with your SP account manager to see if this applies to your product(s).

3. Continue selling as always in combination with clear communication (in advance) towards the consumer.

If you clearly communicate on your site that the product has a long delivery time, this is also an opportunity to resell during Chinese New Year. It is very important that you communicate this to the consumer in different ways. You can indicate that your goods are produced in China where there is currently a low occupancy due to many Covid infections or that a factory/production error has occurred that has caused shipping delays.

Click here for various examples of how you can communicate this to consumers.

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NOTE OPTION 3

We advise every SP member who currently has a negative balance sheet/cash flow problems and chooses option 3, not to scale faster than the cash flow allows. The consequence of a longer delivery time is often a hold. You can then have disputes and your money is tied up. The result of this is that you no longer have the money to pay for the purchase of the goods and so you only end up deeper in a negative spiral. Of course, it remains super important to mention the delays in the emails and possibly on the product page. Fast and clear communication to your customer is KEY during this period! Adjust your customer service accordingly.

• Communicate on your product page that you work with pre-orders. Production will take place soon and these customers will be the first to receive the product.
  

• Communicate in the order confirmation email that the production process of the ordered product has been delayed because Covid has been detected in your producer's company. If necessary, offer them a discount code on a next order.
  

• Communicate as standard in your order confirmation email that delivery times have increased enormously due to Covid/production errors and that you kindly ask the customer to be patient for a while. You can also offer a discount code on a next order to avoid the long wait.
  

• Make sure you clearly state on the product page that there may have been delays in the delivery process due to Covid/production error. Place this at the bottom/top of your product description in a striking font. Your customer service can always fall back on this.
  

• Temporarily adjust the delivery conditions on your site. Please indicate that due to the current Covid situation (or production error) there may be delays in the delivery process and that these are also unforeseeable circumstances for you. Unfortunately we have no influence on this.

Yes! We have implemented a new update on the SP platform especially for Chinese New Year. We can add tracking numbers for any SP member (who wishes) throughout the holiday period. Regardless of whether the suppliers in question are on holiday. If you decide to resell and the supplier you like to work with is on vacation, we can still add tracking codes. We do this every 2 hours 24/7. This of course helps against holds at payment providers and often gives the customer a more reassuring feeling. When the relevant suppliers then start processing the orders, the same tracking codes are activated.

We also have the option to disable the automatic “shipping confirmation mail” from Shopify, because of course nothing is being sent yet. You can also adjust this and still send it, whatever you want.

• Consult your SP account manager in a timely and clear manner about how you want to approach Chinese New Year and which option you choose
  

• Communicate preventively with your SP account manager about the holiday periods of the factories of your Best Sellers
  

• Make sure you free up cash flow to purchase products
  

• Adjust your email flows/product pages/delivery conditions in time and avoid a lot of nagging customers
  

• Make sure your customer service is on point
  

• Make sure that any disputes are addressed daily and prevent holds
  

• Don't scale too hard, try to get through the Chinese New Year sustainably with your Best Sellers
  

• Don't run behind the facts, arrange your affairs on time!
  

Let us know in time which option you want to go for, so we can draw up a plan together. You in collaboration with your own SP account manager. This way we can continue without worries during Chinese New Year! 💪🚀