For decades importers have relied on annual sourcing shows in China and other parts of the world to identify new products, meet suppliers, negotiate prices and plan their purchasing.  In recent years, the Internet has given importers new options for carrying out these fundamental sourcing activities, and many new entrants have thrived without ever meeting their suppliers in person.  Nonetheless, the trade show business is thriving, and tens of thousands of American importers still flock to conventions across Asia, South America and Europe each year in search of the next hot product for their line.  The most famous of these shows is the Canton Fair. Held each April and October in Guangzhou, China, the show boasts a huge range of consumer products.  If you want to import a new product, chances are you’ll find a supplier at the fair.  Sourcing fairs exist for virtually every category of product, however, so many importers prefer conventions more tightly focused around their specific product niche.  Regardless of what type of fair you’re attending, you can benefit from having access to the Import Genius global trade intelligence service before, during and after the event. By collecting the ocean freight shipping manifest for every shipment entering the United States and making those documents fully searchable through our web application, Import Genius makes it simple to understand the true shipping histories of the suppliers attending these shows.  Anybody whose attended the Canton Fair in recent years can testify to the number of “fake” factories attending the show. These trading companies who act as though they are manufacturers when in fact they are just middlemen marking the price up from the actual factories for re-sale to unwitting American buyers just in town for the week.  By searching for a supplier’s name in the Import Genius web application, you’ll be able to quickly gauge the company’s true exporting history to find out who they’ve been selling to in the U.S., what they’ve sold, how much volume they’ve done, and how long they’ve been operating.  With plans starting at just $99 per month, you’d be crazy to spend thousands of dollars attending a trade show in China without having access to this basic data about the companies you’ll meet over there.  In fact, many of our clients have found our data to be so useful in finding new sources that they can cancel their overseas trips altogether, secure in the knowledge that they’re working with a reliable source who already supplies major American brands with high quality merchandise.