About
About
We are a private trading and import-export company in China. We run the whole order for you, end to end: the factory, production, checks, export, shipping, customs and delivery to your door. You stay hands-off until the goods arrive.
At a glance
End to end
You tell us what you need, where it has to go and when. Everything in between is ours to run, so you can stay hands-off until the goods arrive.
Who can make it, to your specification, and by when.
Quoted next to the production run, when you want one.
We stay on the order from deposit to packing.
Master cartons counted to your pallet and container plan.
Inland to port, export documents and the vessel cut-off.
A full container, or less than a container for a trial quantity.
Filed through our broker, with the tariff line named.
To a port, a rail ramp or your door.
Your specification kept on file for the next order.
The company
We have supplied commercial buyers since 2020. The orders ship by the container and we file our own customs entries, which is where most of what we know about landed cost comes from.
We are a trading and import-export company, not a factory. Which company sends your invoice, how we are paid and what we will not do are set out on how we work and how we make money.
ShuoStar is pronounced SHWOH-star. The Chinese name is 硕星, which means eminent star.
Working with us
Most of what goes wrong in an import order goes wrong at the factory, in a language you do not speak, a long way from your desk. This is the part we take on.
The same people answer for your order from the first message to the delivery. Nobody has to chase a factory sales desk for news.
We go through your drawing or artwork with the factory before production starts, settle the details they would otherwise guess at, and turn a sketch into something they can build.
We visit the factory while your order is made and check the goods against the specification and the sample you approved, before they are packed. If something is off, you hear it from us before anything ships, along with what we are doing about it.
Factories in China work in their own language, their own hours and their own way of saying yes. An American on our team is on the ground there and handles that side: the conversations, the follow-up and the awkward questions. You get straight answers in plain English.
In writing
You should not have to guess at any of this, so none of it is left to a phone call.
The company that will send your invoice is named at the top of the quote, before the first line.
Whether we sell you the goods or buy them on your behalf, and what we earn either way.
The goods, haulage, export clearance, the ocean leg, the customs entry, duty and delivery, each on its own line.
The tariff line we will file under, the rate we quoted against, and who carries a change before the goods land.
Worked back from the day the goods have to be on site, so you can see when the order has to be placed.
The record
We do not publish client names. We do keep the paperwork, and we show it with the names taken out if you ask.
From the record
Custom display structures and lighting consumables over six seasons, several containers a year, with the customs entry filed by us each time.
See the case studiesAvailable redacted, on request
Categories
Two categories are open for quotes today: commercial holiday lighting and displays, and wholesale event goods. We add a category once we have built and shipped enough of it to speak from experience.
Quoted landedC9 bulbs and socket wire, LED mini lights, custom LED displays, giant Christmas trees, Christmas arches, light tunnels, pole-mount decorations, giant ornaments, wreaths and garland for installers, the cities that commission them and the distributors who stock them.
Quoted landedFolding chairs, steel crowd control barricades, outdoor igloos, party and event tents, geodesic dome tents, hologram fan walls, custom flags, dance floors, portable stages and other event goods for rental companies, venues and wholesalers.
Quoted landedKnit beanies with matching scarves and socks, logo blankets, souvenir cups, custom plush, keychains, souvenir magnets, tote bags and lanyards for the gift shops and concession stands of attractions and venues, made to your design: your colours and artwork knitted, woven, printed, sewn, cast or engraved, your mascot or animal as a plush, a keychain or a magnet, a leather patch, and your own labels or retail packs.
Questions
No. We are a trading company. We find the factory that can build what you need, contract with it, follow the order while it is made and ship it to you.
Our own team, from the first message to the delivery. On the factory side that includes an American on the ground in China, who visits the factory and checks the goods in person.
We keep the company private, the same way we keep private the names of our clients and of the factories we buy from. What we put in writing is what matters to an order: which company invoices you, how we are paid, the duty line and the dates. Paperwork from past orders is available with the names removed.
No. We read every request first. If it is not one we can do well, the first reply says so, before anyone spends time on a quote.
Yes. Book an inspector you trust and we will fit the visit around the production schedule and have the goods ready for it.
Yes. If you need to pay a US vendor, say so in your request and we will quote from our US company. The company that will invoice you is named at the top of every quote.
Request a quote
Send the product, the quantity, the destination and the date. We reply within 1 business day and tell you when your landed quote will follow.
We take on the orders we can do well, and we will say so if yours isn't one of them.
Now reviewing requests
Either way, we read every request ourselves.
Everything we need for a landed quote.
Just the basics. We go through the rest together.
Private sourcing and tradingWe take on the orders we can do wellMinimum order value (MOV) US$5,000
Request received
It is recorded, and we are being straight with you: we are not taking new quote requests at the moment, so the usual reply time does not apply. We will still read it, and reply when we reopen. Your reference is below.