Factory direct?

[Xiao Kui]

It doesn't take long for a foreigner who lives in China to discover the irony of the following:

In your home country almost everything is made in China, but when you come to China you can't find many of these items.

So there's a factory in China making things strictly for export, so now, though you're closer than ever to the source of these products you took for granted in your home country, you no longer have access to them.

If you go to alibaba.com, which connects retailers and wholesalers with factories, you can find the names of the Chinese factories that make these products. My question is, does anyone here who lives in China have experience ordering items directly from Chinese factories for personal use? How much do you have to buy? Do they even give you the time of day if you just want a few or a carton of something or do they have bigger fish to fry. Is my best bet still hoping to find something that Chinese people don't buy in my local pifa shichang? Thanks in advance for your input!

[owen]

I experienced this directly when i ordered an apple powerbook while living in Taiwan. What i had to do was get my friend to pick it up from my mothers house, where it was delivered to in Edmonton, Canada, from Cupertino or wherever in California, to where it had been shipped a short bus ride away from me, where i was living in Taiwan, and bring it to me in Taiwan. Did you follow that? Obviously, it had to do the Taiwan - USA journey or they wouldn't have been able to justify the drastic increase in retail cost.When i tried to get one direct i discovered that it was indeed illegal. I heard of some black market kind of stuff but didn't feel like going on a mission and i knew a friend who was planning to come anyways.

It certainly does boggle the mind though, especially since the concept of efficiency is supposedly beloved by the architects of the new world economic order.

Love that globalisation!!!!!

[djwebb2004]

Many of the ads on alibaba do specify minimum quantities. I doubt they would want to bothered with someone who just wanted one of something - unless you actually live around the corner from the factory and can turn up in person and ask for something.