Entrepreneurs can find themselves hitting a brick wall when it comes to sourcing products. Whether you plan to manufacture something of your own or find suppliers to purchase from wholesale, good products aren&#;t always easy to identify.
Sourcing a supplier for your next project includes finding a manufacturer, deciding whether it&#;s better to work with manufacturers near you or abroad, and evaluating if a manufacturer is legitimate. It&#;s also essential to ask suppliers certain questions when developing a product for your ecommerce business.
A manufacturer is any business that produces finished goods from raw materials. They sell these goods to consumers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and other manufacturers wanting to create more complex items.
Manufacturers typically stick to one type of product. For example, you could work with a glassware manufacturer who creates glass bottles and jars. You could work with one manufacturer for cardboard boxes and another for plastic or natural products.
Retailers often work with multiple manufacturers at once to create an inventory for their store.
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Find the perfect production partner to build inventory for your ecommerce store with our free sourcing and manufacturing outreach template.
Learn MoreSuppliers refer to anyone who can provide you with products and inventory. This encompasses manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors.
There are a ton of helpful resources online that you can find through Google. But before you begin, there are a few things you need to know and decide.
You should figure out what type of supplier you&#;re looking for, which could depend on your ecommerce business model. This will help determine the terminology you need to use in your research. There are several supplier options, the most common being:
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Explore Shopify CollectiveIf you plan to manufacture or wholesale, when looking for suppliers you&#;ll need to decide whether you want to source domestically or from abroad.
It&#;s a good idea to secure two manufacturers: one domestic and one foreign. Your local manufacturer can be used as a backup. If international orders are late or incorrect, you can fall back on your local supplier. Domestic suppliers are often more expensive, but it&#;s better to keep products stocked and customers happy instead of waiting for delayed shipments.
It&#;s often cheaper to source your products overseas, especially in Asian countries, like India, China, and Vietnam, which ranked as the three countries with the cheapest manufacturing costs, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Manufacturers can make your product ideas a reality. Follow these six steps to find the best manufacturers and suppliers for your business.
Finding the right manufacturer for your product is crucial to your success. Manufacturers can play a role in determining your product&#;s cost, quality, packaging, and shipping. You can use tools to help you find suppliers:
To find manufacturers near you, do a Google search for &#;manufacturers near me.&#; Check out their websites, customer reviews, and product specialties.
Google can help you find local manufacturing options.Many suppliers&#; websites are old, sparse on information, and have poor search engine optimization. This means you may have to use a variety of search terms to find what you&#;re looking for. For example, words such as &#;wholesale,&#; &#;supplier,&#; and &#;distributor&#; may be used interchangeably, so you should search for all of them.
Make yourself familiar with Google's advanced search features to improve the quality of your results.
Use different search terms to find new options.Some of the best leads can come from referrals. Ask your professional networks if they have supplier recommendations or if they know someone who might. Look for individuals who&#;ve found success in an area you&#;d like to pursue and see if they&#;re willing to share their contacts. Join Facebook groups and other online ecommerce communities to see if there are helpful reviews.
Even if a supplier isn&#;t the right fit for you, ask them if they can point you in the right direction. Being in the industry means they&#;ll likely have contacts to refer you to that could be better fits.
Another way to look for product suppliers is searching for your products by their code in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
The NAICS classifies manufacturers and products with codes, making some manufacturers and suppliers easier to find, especially in professional directories. Here&#;s the link for the United States&#; NAICS code and the link for Canada&#;s NAICS code.
You&#;ll need to vet your potential manufacturer. Once you&#;ve narrowed it down to a few possibilities, continue your research to make sure they&#;re credible. Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if there have been any complaints filed and browse the manufacturer&#;s customer reviews.
Alibaba connects you with manufacturers from China. It&#;s a popular marketplace to find existing products, but you can also use Alibaba to connect with manufacturers to create custom products. Search for the products you&#;re looking for and browse through the various suppliers and manufacturers.
Alibaba is a great way to connect with manufacturers for custom products.It&#;s easy to safely buy from Alibaba. The marketplace lets you vet manufacturers upfront to get the best products at a fair price. When researching manufacturers on Alibaba, make sure they have the following qualifications:
You can continue to search by applying filters. You can sort by certifications (such as SA, which ensures humane working conditions) to find a manufacturer that aligns with your business values.
You can also make sure your manufacturer is not a trading company. A trading company is a liaison and won&#;t be able to produce your products.
Another place to research manufacturers is in an online supplier directory. These directories act as manufacturer catalogs that contain profiles for thousands of manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers. A few of the most popular ones for domestic and international suppliers are:
Once you&#;ve got a few manufacturers on your radar, you&#;ll want to get quotes. Aim to get a minimum of three quotes to compare options. For local manufacturers, you can also reach out to organize a tour of their facility or a visit to their office.
In addition to pricing information, you&#;ll want answers to the following questions:
If you&#;re looking for a supplier for the first time, you&#;re going to quickly learn about MOQs. It&#;s not uncommon for a manufacturer to require a commitment to purchase hundreds or even thousands of units for your first order, depending on the product and manufacturer.
MOQs make it difficult when you have limited funds or want to start small and test the market before making larger purchases. MOQs are almost always negotiable.
Before you negotiate, understand why the supplier has imposed a minimum. Is it because there&#;s a lot of work upfront? Is it because they prefer to work with larger buyers? Understanding the reasons for the minimum will help you better understand their position and allow you to negotiate and propose the best counter offer.
Many suppliers will require new businesses to pay for a full order upfront. This is important to know, since inventory is a major cost for ecommerce businesses. You should also ask if they provide payment terms on future orders.
Suppliers get bombarded with quote requests all the time from flaky buyers, so it&#;s not unusual for suppliers to ignore your request. Suppliers&#; lack of responsiveness is a common complaint from new ecommerce entrepreneurs.
So how do you ensure you&#;re not ignored? There are a few things you should do when you reach out to suppliers for the first time:
Many good manufacturing suppliers will be open to negotiating payment terms. One payment strategy you could propose would be to pay for 50% upfront and 50% after you receive the shipment. This holds both parties responsible for the order and doesn&#;t leave too much risk on either side.
Chances are you won&#;t use a manufacturing manager when starting your online business. You&#;ll have to communicate with suppliers on your own. You can do this via , , or text. When working with local manufacturers, you can also do in-person meetings.
Look for companies that are responsive and eager to work with you. If someone is slow to respond to emails and send samples, you may not want to trust them with your business.
Once you talk with a potential manufacturer, ask if they can create your design. Some manufacturers have a product development process with prototyping and 3D modeling&#;but it can get expensive.
As an alternative, communicate your ideas with them through:
If they don&#;t do design, you can use Fiverr or Upwork to find freelancers to create drawings for you. Look to hire:
Another option is finding a local designer. You can work with them to develop prototypes and custom molds. It could be more affordable than going through a manufacturer.
Get samples to test before going into production. Once the sample is to your standard, you should date and sign the sample. Save one or two for yourself. These are called your control samples: forensic samples used to assure quality and get consistent consumer products.
For example, you open a package from a manufacturer and find your products&#; colors are completely wrong. You can reference the control sample to indicate the products you received are not what was previously agreed upon.
Between the time you get a sample and when you place your order, it&#;s still possible to negotiate terms on payment or MOQ. When negotiating, put yourself in the manufacturer&#;s shoes. The goal isn&#;t to exploit your manufacturing partner to get the best price. It&#;s to work together so both parties profit and are happy. It&#;s the only way to build a long-term, healthy relationship.
After completing a quality control check to make sure every product meets your standards, you can place your order and get the production process started.
Sourcing suppliers and manufacturers is one of the costs of starting a business. Partnering with suppliers that are good fits is a critical decision for your new business, and they aren&#;t always easy to find.
It&#;s easy to get frustrated when you hit dead ends or brick walls, but in most cases, it just requires a little more patience and perseverance to find the perfect partner for your new venture.
Illustration by Pete Ryan
Manufacturing refers to turning raw materials into finished products through tools, labor, and machinery. It&#;s an industrial process that allows for the mass production of goods using advanced technologies and assembly processes.
Types of manufacturing include:
The clothing industry has many different manufacturing processes. For example, a clothing manufacturer&#;s process could include fabrics receiving and relaxing, form layout, laying, marketing, cutting, screen printing, sewing, and quality checks before creating a single garment.
You can find a manufacturer via the directories and suppliers listed above. Some of the most common places to find manufacturers include:
Alibaba is one of the biggest internet companies in the world and is widely considered to be the gold standard of all the wholesale websites operating in China. Before Alibaba, it was extremely difficult for international buyers to connect with Chinese suppliers, but Alibaba has now made it easy to meet suppliers, source quality products, and build long-lasting relationships.
Product types
Everything from electronics to clothing, to vehicles. There is almost nothing that you can imagine that isn&#;t for sale on the website as it is one of the biggest wholesale markets online.
Supplier types
There are three main types of suppliers on Alibaba: factories, trading companies & wholesalers.
Buyer safety
Buyers are offered the option of &#;Trade Assurance&#; whereby any order which is not delivered on time or to the standard expected is fully refunded.
Quality assurance
Alibaba provides independent product inspection which can happen at various stages of the production to ensure that everything is up to scratch.
Minimum order sizes
There is no set minimum order size but it is up to the seller how few items they are willing to sell. The majority of trade done on the website is wholesale and most sellers will expect you to buy in bulk.
Payment options
Multiple payment methods are available including bank transfers, credit cards, e-checking, Western Union, and the website&#;s own AliPay system. A &#;Secure Payment&#; feature is also offered so the seller doesn&#;t receive the money until the order has been delivered and checked.
Shipping Options
Various shipping methods are available through Alibaba&#;s own logistics service such as FedEx, DHL, and many others. Buyers can also discuss using their own shipping agent or the supplier&#;s shipping agents.
One downside of Alibaba is that many people find that the website&#;s interface is not very user-friendly. There are also issues with prices not being promptly updated.
Everyone who is looking to buy products in bulk from reputable suppliers and beginner buyers who are nervous about the process.
AliExpress is part of the Alibaba group which puts an emphasis on smaller orders of products from China. It is a very safe and fast China wholesale website. All buyers need to do is add products to their cart and then checkout just like they would with Amazon.
Product types
Aliexpress mostly deals with end consumer products such as shoes, bags, clothing, and other items. Unlike other wholesale websites, there are few big industrial products available on Aliexpress.
Supplier types
Aliexpress has four main types of suppliers: manufacturers, traders, distributors/wholesalers, and dropshippers/retailers.
Buyer safety
Aliexpress ensures buyer safety with their two-year Extra Warranty, and with a Refund Guarantee service. If your products do not arrive on time or are not of good quality, buyers are given their money back.
Quality assurance
Aliexpress is predominantly a marketplace, however, buyers are able to see customer reviews and ratings for all sellers on the website.
Minimum order sizes
Most sellers have no minimum order quantity and there is a tiered pricing system in place. The price of each unit decreases the more volume is purchased but the prices at Aliexpress are not competitive for large wholesale orders.
Payment options
There are various payment methods available on Aliexpress including Western Union, Paypal, and wire transfer. Aliexpress also uses its own Aliexpress pocket which is a gift card system for payments.
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Shipping Options
Affordable shipping through China post which will take anywhere between 15 days and 50 days. Buyers can alternatively use ePacket or Aliexpress Shipping which takes around 15 days or pay for express shipping through UPS, DHL or FedEx.
Aliexpress has a very quick and easy ordering process. With worldwide delivery and a built-in shopping cart, it is a winner for anyone looking to make smaller orders from China.
Many sellers on AliExpress offer dropshipping which makes AliExpress the number one choice for small businesses and startups looking to sell products online without having their own warehouse.
DHgate acts as a middle man between wholesalers and buyers. It has had some problems in the past with product quality and delivery and communication issues. DHgate has made some positive steps to address some of the problems and it can now be a very good website to use as long as you do your due diligence.
Product types
DHgate has more than 30 million Chinese products available on its website, from electronics to jewelry to clothing. It is very important to remember that the vast majority of branded items are going to be fakes. This may be what you are looking for but remember that it is illegal in many countries to import counterfeits.
Supplier types
Suppliers are predominantly manufacturers which enables the prices to stay super low.
Buyer safety
DHgate uses an Escrow Payment Model so the money is not given to the seller until the buyer has confirmed receipt. Some suppliers have previously just used stock photos so the item that was delivered was not right. DHgate will give you a refund in this situation.
Quality assurance
Buyers can request a full refund if the quality of the products is not up to scratch or get a partial if they decide to keep the items.
Minimum order sizes
Similar to Aliexpress, DHgate uses a tiered pricing system with no set minimum quantity of orders. The more items are purchased, the cheaper each unit becomes.
Payment options
Multiple payment methods are available on DHgate including bank transfer (from certain countries), credit card, Paypal, Western Union, and more.
Shipping methods
Delivery time can be very slow from DHgate unless you pay for express delivery. One positive development is the launch of DHStorage, with DHgate warehouses now in the US and UK storing products for purchase. Buyers in these countries can usually expect orders coming from these websites in 2-5 working days.
When buying on DHgate, due diligence is needed. Make sure you check the credentials and reviews of suppliers before you deal with them. One issue which is regularly flagged by users is the poor search algorithm which can make finding products difficult.
Customers looking for the cheapest possible items who know how to do the required checks on products and suppliers.
.com is not only a site which offers individual buyers a huge range of quality products, it is also where the other wholesale companies do their shopping. With some of the cheapest prices anywhere in the world, it is an incredible source of products.
Product types
has an enormous range of every type of product available for a great price which is why so many other wholesale companies buy from this website.
Supplier types
has a collection of almost all suppliers in China, both manufacturers, and wholesalers. One downside to is that much of the trade is done between Chinese sellers and buyers and so there may be language issues for international buyers.
Buyer safety
All sellers require a business license from the government before they can sell on . Buyers can check these licenses on the website.
Quality assurance
International buyers can pay agents within China to inspect their products before they are shipped.
Minimum order sizes
There is no minimum order size and many sellers will allow you to just buy one or two units. This can be a good way to check the quality of the products and reliability of the seller before you make a bigger order.
Payment methods
Most suppliers will only deal with local payment methods so international buyers will need to enlist a buying agency to help them make purchases.
Shipping methods
Shipping has to be arranged between buyer and seller. Most sellers do not have the necessary export license because they do the majority of their trade domestically. You will, therefore, need to hire a buying agent to help arrange the import from China.
The language barrier and the necessity for buying agents mean that is not the easiest website for international customers to use.
Experienced buyers, those with Chinese language abilities, and buyers who already have strong relationships with buying agents.
Formed in , Made-In-China is one the oldest Chinese wholesale websites which connects Chinese suppliers and manufacturers with buyers around the world. Made-in-China.com is a supplier directory which is similar to Alibaba but is smaller in both supplier numbers and services.
Product types
Made-in-China provides buyers access to a huge range of products. There is a particular focus on machinery and industrial parts.
Supplier types
Manufacturers and big trading companies selling their products directly. Few small traders as they cannot compete for price.
Buyer safety
A big advantage of Made-in-China is the Online Sourcing Meeting which allows buyers to talk to sellers over video chat.
Quality assurance
Made-in-China offers various products which have won an MEI (manufacturing excellence and innovation) award. These awards are categorized as gold, silver, and bronze.
Minimum order quantity
Buyers are usually required to order hundreds of units on Made-in-China.
Payment methods
Paypal is usually best for small orders but large goods are best paid for through Western Union, bank wire, or L/C.
Shipping methods
Suppliers will usually recommend buyers ship by sea and this can take weeks. For a faster delivery time, buyers can use DHL, FedEx, or another courier.
This is not the easiest website to buy China wholesale goods and in general, does not have a great user rating. This is partly due to the language barrier and cultural differences.
Buyers with experience on China wholesale websites as well as those ordering industrial and construction products in bulk.
Global Market is another major website which connects manufacturers with businesses and buyers. Like Made-in-China, many of the suppliers are factories and major suppliers looking to sell their products in bulk.
Product types
A huge range of China wholesale products available for purchase with extensive supplier listings in certain industries such as children&#;s products and electronics.
Supplier types
Global Sources host many of the world&#;s top trade shows in the Asia World Expo in Hong Kong. You will find many of the same suppliers at the trade shows selling on the website.
Buyer safety
Global Sources has 8 strict benchmark tests which every supplier and business must pass to obtain their Global Manufacturer Certificate (GMC). These include quality control, manufacturing facility inspections, and environmental responsibility.
Quality assurance
The GMC assures the quality of the products on the Global Sources website.
Minimum order quantity
The minimum requirements for orders on Global Sources are around $1,000 t0 $5,000.
Payment methods
Payment methods can be agreed upon between buyer and seller. Paypal is best for small orders and Western Union, L/C, and T/T for larger goods.
Shipping methods
There are no well-defined shipping channels available on the Global Sources Platform. You will need to agree on a shipping method with the supplier.
Global Sources website is very easy to use and the focus it puts on exhibitions and trade shows has made it very successful. The lack of well-defined shipping and payment channels, however, means that many beginners may struggle with making purchases on the platform.
Experts in buying Chinese wholesale products and those who are looking for big orders.
Hong Kong Trade Development Council is a highly respected Chinese wholesale website based in Hong Kong. HKTDC provides both an online marketplace and a platform for Hong Kong traders to progress.
Product types
Every kind of product from electronics to jewelry and textiles, premium items, gifts, and much much more.
Supplier types
A mixture of large and small suppliers offering products to buy wholesale. Many suppliers are Hong Kong entrepreneurs looking to connect with international buyers.
Buyer safety
HKTDC awards top suppliers a Premium Advertiser title so buyers can choose the most reputable sellers.
Quality assurance
To become a Premium Advertiser, suppliers pass various benchmark tests such as providing photos and videos of factories and submitting products for testing.
Minimum order sizes
HKTDC has no minimum order size so it is ideal for small wholesale buyers.
Payment methods
There is no payment portal on the HKTDC website so buyer protection can be a problem. Buyers should discuss the payment method with the supplier to agree on a safe, reliable method for both.
Shipping methods
No direct logistics offered by HKTDC. All shipping will have to be arranged between the buyer and the supplier so the delivery time will vary.
The buying and logistics process is not the easiest because they are not provided by the website itself. Large orders in particular can be difficult to arrange and will need to be agreed upon between the buyer and seller.
Buyers looking to make frequent small China wholesale orders. Also, experienced buyers who already have well-established logistical arrangements.
Choosing the right Chinese wholesale website can be a major factor in building a successful eCommerce or drop shipping business. The most important thing is to check the reputation of every seller and to make sure that payment and logistical arrangements are safe and reliable. Referring to this guide of the top 7 Chinese wholesale websites will help international buyers find the online marketplace to help take their business to another level.
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