Greg,
There are some other factors to consider before trying the " China Direct" route.
You may be able to get a price quote lower than your local dealer, but it will most likely be higher than what they pay. Just for example, suppose the retail price from the dealer is 2500.00. The Chinese might offer the machine to you for 1200.00 which sounds like a big saving. However, because the dealer buys in container lots he may only pay 1000.00.
Here in USA, banks charge about 300.00 to issue and negotiate an international Letter of Credit. Unless you can do your own customs clearance, a broker will charge about 250.00 to do your entry. LCL freight on a single machine like you are talking about will be in the 6-700.00 range.
Adding the machine, freight, bank fees and import brokerage, you will end up paying around 23-2400.00- almost retail.
The dealer, on the other hand probably orders 10 machines in a 20' container, so his LC fees and import brokerage fees are spread over 10 machines. ( these fees are the same regardless of the size of the order), so each of his machines carry about a 55.00 cost. A 20' container from Shanghai to most US ports costs about 1500.00, so the freight he pays per machine is only around 150.00. Adding the 1000.00 per machine price, the bank, broker and freight fees, he has only about 1200.00 invested. Knowing these basics, in this economy, you could probably walk into his showroom with cash in hand and walk out with a machine for 15-1800.00 and both of you would be happy.
There is a place -where you can research records of all the importers and find where the machines come from, how many they order and the price they pay.
Import Genius : U.S. Customs Database and Competitive Intelligence Tools