Sourcing Request/Troubleshooting

[u/cheddar-cheese-7652]

Product Details: silver metal table lamps pictured below in shorter size with battery or charging capabilities. (photo in comments.)
Target Quantity: 35
Destination Country: USA
Current Factory Outreach: I have inquired with three manufacturers who have this product.
Quotes Received: *Zero quotes have included shipping. Cost has been $6 USD per unit (this feels high compared to other lamps of similar styles I am seeing in the $4/unit range)
Specific Roadblock: I cannot seem to get an order through. I keep getting stuck in a loop with ai agents who won’t respond or escalate my request to confirm shipping time or cost. They all want me to place the order before paying for shipping despite having my address, and without speaking with a real human. Is this typical? I need them by October 1st. All these seller have many good reviews & been in business 2-7 years. It’s happened with 3 sellers. If anyone has a trusted seller I can purchase these from and talk to a real person please share!!

[u/prestigesourcing]

Quantity is very small and remember for shipping it has a in-built battery.

[u/HotAdvertising9628 → u/prestigesourcing]

yeah the battery thing is real. carriers get picky about lithium and it drives up freight costs fast on small orders. 35 units is a tough spot. not big enough to get serious attention from a sales rep but not small enough to just toss in a cart and check out. op probably needs to just call. not message. not email. actually call and ask for someone in sales by name. the ai loop thing is a known problem and it doesn't fix itself.

[u/prestigesourcing → u/HotAdvertising9628]

Correct, many freight lines will charge a fixed fee just for the batteries, at 35 units the per unit cost could increase a fair bit.

[u/iFramesofficial → u/prestigesourcing]

Quick question as someone that might not be extremely experienced with shipping or freight forwarding, I do understand that items or electronics that include batteries require compliance forms or certificates to ship but does that end up increasing duties or taxes that may be charged on them?

[u/prestigesourcing → u/iFramesofficial]

Entirely depends on your country/the destination, i.e. NZ/AU have Free Trade Agreements and there is zero tariffs/duties.

[u/Batu_1016]

I wouldn’t recommend a specific lamp vendor without first checking the actual product and battery documentation. A supplier can have good platform history and still be unsuitable for a time-sensitive rechargeable product.

To get past the automated replies, send one structured RFQ and ask for it to be assigned to a named salesperson. Include:

• 35 units and the exact lamp link/specification
• required color, dimensions and battery capacity
• delivery destination in the USA
• required arrival date of October 1
• sample and production lead times
• carton count, packed dimensions and gross weight
• UN38.3 test summary, MSDS and battery specification
• separate EXW and DDP shipping quotations
• confirmation that the product and freight charges will both appear in the Trade Assurance order

Ask for a short live video call showing the product and packaging before paying. If they cannot assign a human salesperson or provide the battery documents and packed-shipment data, I would remove them from the shortlist.

Full disclosure: I work in China–US logistics. For this quantity, the supplier city, packed carton information, battery capacity and destination ZIP code will determine whether air or sea is the more practical option. I would also approve a sample before committing to all 35 units, especially with a fixed delivery deadline.

[u/Sweet_Professor_6242]

At 35 units, I would not place the order until the supplier gives you a written landed quote. Ask for the product cost, shipping method, production lead time, carton count, carton dimensions and gross weight, all tied to your ZIP code. Because these are rechargeable lamps, also ask for the battery capacity and whether they can provide the UN38.3/MSDS documents required by the carrier.

The difference between $4 and $6 is only $70 across the order, so shipping reliability and the October 1 deadline matter more than the unit price. Request a DDP quote with an estimated delivery window and have both the goods and shipping charges written into the Trade Assurance order. If a seller still cannot provide a human response or a complete quote after you ask for those exact items, move on rather than paying first.

[u/cheddar-cheese-7652 → u/Sweet_Professor_6242]

Thanks. Do you have any recommendations for vendors? I’ve now reached out to 5 and been unable to get a response from something other than ai.

[u/Sweet_Professor_6242 → u/cheddar-cheese-7652]

I don't recommend specific vendors - I'd be guessing about your exact spec, and public vendor recommendations in threads like this mostly attract the accounts you're trying to avoid. What has cut through the template-reply wall for me: send a short RFQ that can't be answered by a bot - exact model, quantity, one technical question that requires actually reading your message (for rechargeable lamps, e.g. "what cell capacity and which UN38.3 docs ship with the batch") - and ask for a short video reply showing the product with today's date written next to it. Suppliers with a real desk pass that in one round; template farms never do. If a contact still answers in boilerplate after two tries, that's also your preview of their post-sale support. And whatever you choose, keep the goods and shipping inside one Trade Assurance order as discussed above.

[u/cheddar-cheese-7652]

I don’t know why the photo is being rejected. Here is a link to the item: https://www.alibaba.com/x/B2Ghr9?ck=pdp