How To Import Stage Lighting From China: A Step-by-Step Guide

Importing stage lights from China is a great way to save money on your next production as China is the main supplier for this product.

It’s not always easy to import stage lights, but with a few tips and tricks you’ll be able to get the best deals without any risk!

In this blog post, we will go over how to import stage lighting from China step-by-step. We’ll also cover what things you should know before importing in order to avoid common mistakes that could cost you time or money.

Step 1: What stage lighting should I choose?

There are many different types of stage light in the market, with different effects such as led stage lights, moving head lights, led par lights, wall washer lights, studio lights and different special effects lights.

You need to choose different lights depending on your demand and your budget and your entertainment industry.

A. How to Choose as a dealship/wholesaler starter?

As a dealership/wholesaler starter, you need to do a thorough market research first.

Which stage light are the most popular in your country? Generally speaking, for an event indispensable are beam and wash lights.

In the last few years, there is no more popular beam than the 230W SHARPY. If you have a budget and your target market is more high-end, you can choose a better light than the 230W SHARPY, like 300W beam or 470W hybrid.

If your target market is smaller such as some entertainment venues, you can focus on smaller lights such as 30 or 50W LED moving head beam, which are cheaper and a good choice for a smaller budget investment at the start.

B. How to choose as the stage lighting rental company？

As a rental firm, you still have the option based on your target market since there are numerous events that need rented lights.

Concerts, for example, which can accommodate thousands or tens of thousands of people, are certainly a major event. Because the attendees at these events are celebrities, the cost for such occasions is adequate, and organizers demand a high level of quality in order not to upset any surprises. And you should select something with branding and worldwide recognition of the lights.

However, if your target market for the lights is weddings or smaller gatherings where money is tight, they will not be able to afford some international branded lights and will choose something less expensive.

C. How to choose as a show/perform company?

As a show company or entertainer, you’ll need lights that are appropriate for your needs. As a gigging business, you will have your own technical team and lighting design team, as well as a financial limit.

However, with any expenditure, there is a trade-off to be made between price and the lights’ performance. There’s a balance to be struck between cost and light performance when selecting the most expensive lights on the market. Thus you must achieve a proper balance between various suppliers and compare them before making a selection.

D. How to choose as a Bar/hotel/theme park investor?

You may not be familiar with stage lighting as an investor, so this is the time to defer to a professional staff. They’ll make a suggestion based on your budget. They will generally start by creating a design for you, including the floor plan and effect motion video design. You will then need to locate the correct fixtures following approval of the design.

E. How to choose as a DJ？

DJ booths generally have a small stage and a small audience, so the lights are generally a good idea to choose lights with low power but cool effects for the best results. 

Step 2. Where could I find the proper stage lighting supplier?

When looking for a lighting supplier, it’s vital to find one with a high degree of quality. Looking for businesses with excellent evaluations on the internet or asking for referrals from other companies are two great strategies to discover a reputable supplier. It’s also crucial to verify that the vendor is trustworthy and can fulfill orders on time. The following are some rundowns of where you may locate suppliers:

A.Google search

Because Google is the most popular search engine on the planet, you may find exactly what you want by Googling it. You can search for whatever you need after selecting the stage light you want to purchase. Thousands of information about the light will appear in your Google search if you type its description into the bar.

If you’re searching for a moving head, try these keywords: MOVING HEAD or power modifier to narrow down your search and make it more precise.

For example, you may transform the SPOT or BEAM function into a search for either SPOT MOVING HEAD or BEAM MOVING HEAD, which will make your search results more precise. Because you’re importing stage lighting from China, of course you can use this range in your search, such as Chinese stage lighting. You may now look for more Chinese stage lighting manufacturers in this way.

You will undoubtedly discover a plethora of firms, so how do you choose from such a vast selection? In general, you must verify whether they have their own unique items, if they possess research and development resources, and whether they have appropriate reference cases.

B. Alibaba or Made-in-China

Alibaba is a large B2B search engine, and you may discover a lof of stage lighting manufacturers on it. Alibaba has a huge number of suppliers as well as products.

If you search for “led stage lighting,” you may discover over 30,000 results. One of the drawbacks of Alibaba is that because each factory must pay to join Alibaba, their costs are also steep, thus the photos are beautiful and the descriptions are excellent, but as a B2B platform, Alibaba’s ranking is also dependent on how much they charge per keyword; so each keyword on Alibaba is sold at a different plus 10 in front rank. As a result, bad quality factories are easy to find on Alibaba.

Made in China, like Alibaba, is a B2B platform with a lot of factories and goods. Made in China is also adopting Alibaba’s approach of selling rankings for hot keywords to earn money by auctioning and charging for them, which means that the factories that are ranked in front may not be top-notch either.

C. Amazon, aliexpress and DHgate

You can also find B2C stage lights on these B2C sites. These platforms, unlike Alibaba, are focused on the B2C model and are more likely to individual consumers. As a result, the items available on these sites are not inexpensive and are for personal use rather than professional purchasers.

D. Professional exhibitions

Exhibitions are the most effective method for business owners to meet buyers and vendors. There are numerous trade fairs every year in a variety of cities. You may meet manufacturers face-to-face at trade shows, as well as try out the newest goods firsthand. Many purchasers have been conducting negotiations with their suppliers over the internet for an extended period of time, so why not go to a trade show and talk? If you feel it too costly to go to China, you may check whether there are similar events in your countries. The table below lists some of the more well-known professional shows in recent years. These professional displays usually include sound, Led display, and Truss. Of course, these goods are all important for the stage and you can see how everything you’ll need for the stage is displayed at one event.

Attending these exhibitions will require you to make visa, flight, and hotel reservations, all of which will cost you money.

However, at the show, you can and your experts can test the lighting equipment yourself. You also have the opportunity to negotiate a better price face-to-face.

Furthermore, when Chinese manufacturers display their newest and greatest prototypes at an exhibition, they don’t usually choose to ship them back home due to the high expwnse; rather, they typically opt to leave them locally or sell them at a discount to local consumers. As a result, you may buy prototypes for less than usual.

Step 3. On-Site-Visit to the stage lighting supplier

As a stage lighting importer, in order to buy the best quality lights from China, you can visit the supplier’s factory to check the manufacturing process. A reliable company should have a large scale factory and warehouse and should have the certificates such as ce, rohs and ISO.

A. About the origin of the stage lighting

In China, 95% of the stage lighting firms are concentrated in the city of Guangzhou. So if you plan to visit China in person, the destination should be Guangzhou City.

Guangzhou is the third-largest city in China and a significant industrial center. Factories are generally found in the outskirts of cities like as Huadu district, Baiyun district, and Panyu districts.

You can also find stalls for stage lighting in the central city, for example in some electronics trading markets in Dashatou. These are generally businesses involved in buying and selling, not professional goods.

Shijing is also a hazardous location to avoid. Although Shijing is a tiny village, it is likely that there are hundreds of stage lighting production companies located there. Due to the cheap rent for factory buildings in this region, some individuals rent a 100 square foot house and establish stage lighting manufacturing and assembly plants. They generally make some led par lights and tiny moving head lights without the aid of any specialists. That’s why they’re inexpensive, but the quality is low. As a result, if you’re looking for expert stage lighting manufacturers, keep away from these locations as much as possible.

B. Showroom

The showroom is where sellers may showcase their newest goods to customers. It’s also a popular destination for folks to come in and examine the items up close. Manufacturers generally produce lighting shows using a variety of lights. You could also see how all of the lightings are classified and discover which ones are their greatest items.

C. Production Area

A factory with enough supply capacity necessitates a minimum of 1500 square feet of premises, which may accommodate at least 20-40 manufacturing lines. Those are mainly assembly lines, with testing and assembly taking place there. The construction of modules, such as moving head bases, function modules.

The most important phase is the aging. Each function is fully checked during finetuning, such as beam, gobo, gobo rotation, prisms and pan and tilt rotation. An upside down test is also performed after the assembly line test is completed. The ageing test should generally last for at least 24 hours uninterrupted.

D. Research and Development

For stage lighting manufacturers, having independent R&D capability is critical. The main R&D team is composed of 3-5 people, it is essential that new lighting equipment are released on a yearly basis. The ability to conduct independent research is also an indication of after-sales competence. These issues can’t be simply resolved without an engineering staff.

E. Raw materials and warehouses

When assessing the quality of a lighting product, it’s critical to find out whether the materials used are high-quality. For example, is the housing for the moving head thick enough? Is there any flame retardant in it? What brand is the lightbulb? Is it Osram, Philips, or Yodn, or some other unfamiliar brand? Led stage lighting are with led source of Osram, Edison, Luminus or Tianxin?These are all utilized as a basis for quality assessments. In many situations, lights from various manufacturers appear to have similar features and criteria, yet the prices can differ greatly.

However, the difference in price is significant, because good factories invest more in better and more consistent quality parts.

Tips:

You may also hire some agents to visit the factory for you if you can’t make it there in person. The agent will capture the videos and photographs you require according to your instructions, so that you can fairly evaluate the overall quality of this factory.

Step 4: Nogetiate the price with Chiense stage lighting factory

The next stage is to negotiate the price if you have followed the first few steps and selected the lighting products you require as well as a few suppliers.

In general, the higher the quantity, the cheaper the price. When you have made a year’s purchase plan to bargain with the factory as a professional buyer, you can get an the most competitive price.

Then, if you don’t have a large quantity and can’t get a good deal, get quotations from multiple manufacturers and evaluate them. However, keep in mind that there is never a lowest price on the market. Factories will frequently provide ridiculously low quotes for things to be acquired before an order is placed, received, and then switched to less expensive materials during manufacturing.

Tips:

If your factory won’t give you a better price, request them to send some important spare parts, such as power supplies or motherboards. This will help you to save time and money on future maintenance.

Step 5: Sample order

Samples are a fantastic approach to reduce the risk of purchasing.Because it’s difficult to be certain of the quality of the product you’re looking for, whether it’s a vendor you meet online or at an exhibition, or a product you see in person at the factory due to time constraints.

Purchase one or two units of lights to test out. You’ll have plenty of time to experiment with the lights once you receive them, and you may disassemble the light’s casing and thoroughly examine the manufacturing process inside, including parts, or the product structure (because for professional stage lighting, heat dissipation is a significant technological challenge). You can also advise your modifications to the factory when there is a need for the product.

Step 6: Bulk order and customer demand

A. Product customization

Product customization is a crucial part of the ordering process and customers must be aware in order to make an informed decision. You could customize the effect like customer gobo, or logo printing on product or package. Product customization enables customers to have their own vision incorporated into their purchase to get exactly what they want. The supplier should be asked about the maximum number of configurations allowed so that it’s possible to get precise details before finalizing purchase. It’s not necessarily impossible for companies to customize products after an order has been placed, but there are costs associated with this process which may be passed on to the customer.

B. Deposit

When you’re ready to make your purchase, you’ll need to pay a deposit. The amount of the deposit will vary depending on the supplier, but it’s typically around 30-50% of the total cost. You can pay the deposit by wire transfer or credit card.

C. Production Process Supervision

During the production, you could require your supplier to send photos or videos of the production process. This is to ensure that every product goes through a high-quality manufacturing process, and is completed in accordance with your order requirements.

D.Final Payment

The final payment should made until the product is finished and ready for shipment. This will help you to avoid any potential scams, delays, or additional costs which may be passed on to you by the supplier.

Step 7: Import stage lighting from China to your country

There are 3 ways of delivery your goods from China to your hand.

A. Express

You may choose express delivery if you have a small quantity to deliver quickly. This is a door-to-door service and the time it takes to complete the journey is minimal. DHL, UPS, or Fedex are all possible options. The only disadvantage is that the cost is somewhat expensive.

B. Air shipment

Air shipment transport is a rapid delivery method, which requires the recipient to be at the airport. However, it’s just to an airport. You must claim your items at the airport and complete customs clearance on your own.

C Sea freight

Sea freight is the most common way for shipment for bulk order. It usually takes around 1 month on the ocean and customer would need to claim their items at the receiving port.

Customs clearance is a crucial part of importing products into your country which you need to be aware. If your order arrives in one container, it will have all the customs documents attached so that you can easily complete this process yourself without any trouble. It’s important to ensure that all taxes and charges are paid before releasing goods from China so as not to incur fines or penalties on delivery day.

Step 8: Warranty and after service

When you buy stage lighting products from a Chinese supplier, you will generally receive a warranty for the products. This warranty will protect you in case of any defects or problems with the product.Warranty is usually one year for most factories.

If you still have any questions or need more information regarding importing stage lighting from China, please contact us at sales@aolait.com and we will be glad to assist you with our professional experience.