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What are Pantone Colors and Why Should Importers Care?
A number of years ago, one of our customers, a big-box retailer, informed us of a problem they were having with one of their products. As they were looking at the product on the shelf, they realized that some boxes had one shade of their brand’s signature color, while...
5 Recent Product Recalls and What Importers Can Learn From Them
Imagine you’ve just launched a new consumer product. You’ve sold 22,345 units to a major retailer and your product is now on the store shelves. You're exceptionally proud of yourself and all the hard work you’ve put in to get there. And then you get that dreaded call,...
Moving Production Out of China Poses Big Challenges
With the U.S.-China trade war in full swing, many importers are finding themselves negatively impacted and considering their options. And with the recently proposed tariffs on $300 billion worth of consumer goods from China ominously looming overhead, many in the U.S....
New Round of Tariffs on China as the Trade War Continues
On August 1st, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he would be levying a new 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. He stated that the tariffs will go into effect on September 1st. This was a surprise to many, as the United States and...
What Should Importers Know After the Recent Trump-Xi Meeting?
On the sidelines of the recent G20 summit in Osaka, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met to discuss the ongoing US-China trade war. To date, the U.S. has slapped $250 billion worth of tariffs on goods imported from China, while China has...
Insight Employee Spotlight: Kevin Su (Inspection & Sourcing Manager)
At Insight Quality, we take great pride in our employees. We aim to hire great people and always treat them right. Doing so helps us get the best possible results for our customers. Since we have such a great team, we decided to start a periodic feature to help us...
Mobile Phone Quality Inspections: This is How They Work
At Insight Quality, we inspect many types of products. Anything you can find in a retail store, we’ve probably inspected, from electronics to clothing to home furnishings and more. When it comes to electronics, we can’t forget about mobile phones. These devices have...
Want to Reduce Inspection Frequency? What You Should Know
As an importer, you know that product quality inspections are important, but that they come at a cost. It’s natural to want to reduce that cost, and if you’re thinking about doing so, you need to consider how to go about it carefully. You don’t want to give your...
Celebrating 5 Years of Quality Control Excellence
It was in March of 2014 that we began our journey as a company. Now, with 16,139 inspections under our belt and more than 500 factory audits completed, we’re here celebrating our 5th anniversary! Starting out as a one-man team, our founder Andy Church took the leap...
5 Things You Need to Know About the HOLD Inspection Result
Recently, we ran into a sticky situation with one of our customers. They hired us for a product inspection and we returned their inspection report with a HOLD result, rather than a PASS or FAIL. They ended up accepting the shipment from their supplier and when they...
Insight Quality: 2018 Year in Review
As the holidays draw to a close, it is time to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the future. So, what happened this year? 2018 was an interesting year in global politics. The US-China trade war has caused importers to take a careful look at their supply...
Reaching Out to Chinese Manufacturers? Do These Things First
Finding the right manufacturer is a process that every importer has to go through. If you’re new to importing, it can be difficult to know the best steps to follow. And, even when you already have the process figured out, the whole thing can be time-consuming and...
How is the US-China Trade War Affecting Supply Chains?
Back in June, when the first shots were fired in the global trade war, many consumer-product importers didn’t seem to have any major concerns. Although the US had placed significant worldwide tariffs on aluminum and steel, there was no major direct effect on these...
This is Why Product Quality Always Begins With the Buy
If you want to have success as an importer, it’s important that your products live up to the quality standards you set for them. If they don’t, it can lead to low customer satisfaction, excessive customer complaints, and high levels of returns. Quality management is...
What is a Freight Forwarder and Do You Need One?
As an importer working with manufacturers in Asia, you have to think about logistics. How will your product move from a factory across the ocean all the way to its final destination? There are quite a few steps in the process. It involves various shipping companies...
FBA Packaging Tips: How to Avoid Product Damage
As an Amazon seller, you have to be concerned about packaging. Of course, your packaging needs to be in line with Amazon’s guidelines. But, more than that, it needs to survive the journey from your Chinese factory to Amazon’s warehouse. Have you ever watched videos of...
5 Great Resources from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission
If you’ve ever imported consumer products to the United States, you probably know about the Consumer Product Safety Commission (or CPSC), and if you are not familiar with the CPSC, you should be. The CPSC is a government agency that, according to their website, “Works...
Can You Rely on Your Factory for Quality Control?
Ensuring the quality of your products is important. Take this story into account... Recently, a company that sells school supplies in the US had to recall all of their extra-large crayon sets. The reason? Laceration hazard. Let that sink in for a minute. You see, it...