3D Printed Circuit Boards What They Are & How Fast They're Made

Did you know that printed circuit boards (PCBs) may also be created via 3D printing? 3D printing has transformed the production of a vast array of goods, from toys and household goods to medical gadgets and aerospace components, and it’s … Continue reading

ISTA Standards for Testing Packaging Reliability [Podcast]

Sofeast’s head of New Product Development, Andrew Amirnovin, talks about ISTA standards for testing packaging like shipping cartons. Any importer shipping product from country to country by road, rail, air, or sea needs to consider the impact that transit will … Continue reading

Disputes With Chinese Suppliers Volume 21

This dispute is a really serious situation that importers outsourcing manufacturing to Chinese suppliers pray that they never get into. This company (who became our client when asking us for help), unfortunately, paid a large downpayment on goods which, over … Continue reading

Inventors: When to get a patent for your new product

Inventors with a new product concept are rightly concerned with IP protection. They sometimes ask if they should invest in a patent for their new idea ASAP. Renaud and Andrew join Adrian to cover this topic here. You’ll learn about … Continue reading

HS vs HTS Codes How to Find the Right Code for your Product (incl. Links to Official Sources)

Importers who outsource manufacturing in Asia need to ship their goods around the world to where they’re being sold. Understanding the difference between HS vs HTS codes could be the difference between paying higher or lower import duties, fees, and … Continue reading

11 Questions to Answer when Sourcing Chinese Contract Manufacturers for Electronics

When sourcing a new contract manufacturer in China, what are the main questions buyers need to answer before agreeing to work together? Renaud and Adrian cover 11 questions for buyers in this episode, especially those making electronic products (although much … Continue reading

sofeast china raw materials price indices

Here’s the monthly update from Sofeast’s sourcing team who has been tracking the costs of commonly used raw materials from China since January 2021 to help you understand where the market is right now. If you or your supplier are … Continue reading

7 Tests You SHOULD Be Doing On Your Hard Goods! [Podcast]

One of Sofeast’s senior engineers, Paul Adams, guides you through 7 key tests that he’s done time after time over the years on the materials or components of new hard goods (typically metal and/or plastic products) in order to check … Continue reading

Why UL Certification for Product Safety is so Important for some Importers [Podcast]

Our head of New Product Development and resident product reliability expert, Andrew Amirnovin, joins Adrian in this bonus episode to introduce and talk about UL compliance. Andrew shares his experience to answer these questions: What is the UL certification? Who … Continue reading

Product Tooling: Possible To Avoid Paying for it in Full

Getting product tooling for molded plastic parts and enclosures designed and fabricated is a large investment for most companies, often running into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Once you are coming to the close of the … Continue reading