Alibaba wholesale network is located in the online procurement wholesale market, helping factories, brands, and first-class wholesalers to introduce a large number of buyers, including 100000 Taobao online shopkeepers, millions of offline urban entity shopkeepers, and tens of millions of existing wholesale market buyers, providing a series of trading tools to create the world’s largest wholesale market.
From this point of view, Alibaba is the most convenient and reliable wholesaler in China to contact toy manufacturers. The company has rich products and high-quality services and enjoys a good reputation all over the world. It can be said that 80% of foreign businessmen understand and buy through Alibaba.
But if you are a businessman, you may not know how to find the most suitable toy manufacturer and buy safer on Alibaba. In this article, I will gradually tell you how Alibaba wholesales Chinese toys. I hope this guide can help you~
1.What is Alibaba?
Alibaba is a large B2B wholesale website with a wide range of products. It is an online trading platform that connects foreign buyers with Chinese suppliers. (Alibaba already has foreign suppliers).
Unlike Amazon’s B2C e-commerce platform, Alibaba’s goal is to help consumers quickly and reliably find suitable suppliers. It provides a good way for small and medium-sized toy manufacturers to export overseas.
2.How can you find a suitable toy manufacturer on Alibaba?
2.1How can I find Alibaba toys?
Before contacting the merchant, you must first identify the toy you want. There are three main sources,
(1) Keyword Search
Before searching, prepare 2-3 keywords for each toy to avoid incomplete keywords. Put your keywords in a search box and thousands of results will appear.
(2) Image retrieval
A set of toys with a wide variety. Generally speaking, it is difficult to name a toy accurately. So, if you have photos, I highly recommend you go for them. Click the camera icon to the right of the search box, then upload a photo, and there will be many similar toys.
(3) classification search
If you don’t know, I recommend you look at the toy classification first. Alibaba has many kinds of toys, and the types of displays are also very rich. You can choose to buy in the “toys and interests” category.
2.2 Alibaba’s toy manufacturers.
If you like the toy, please click on the picture, you can enter the product page. On this page, you can easily understand the product details, company profile, and business. On the company profile page, you can also see the relevant testing and certification of the product. It is convenient for you to choose according to the needs of your market.
Alibaba divides suppliers into gold and certified according to the annual membership fee.
(1) Gold Suppliers
Gold suppliers are paid members of Alibaba, paying 29,800 yuan per year. All qualified companies, as long as they have a Chinese business license, regardless of their size or annual value, can become Alibaba’s gold suppliers by paying membership fees.
This is not to say that all gold suppliers are small businesses and export very few each year. For example, some big companies like to use Alibaba as a showcase rather than to attract customers. If so, they choose “gold suppliers” to cut cost
(2) Qualified suppliers
Joining a certified supplier is more constrained than a gold supplier. First of all, certified suppliers must conduct on-site confirmation in world-renowned testing institutions such as Rheinland, Germany. Second, there must be SGS’s video and factory inspection report.
In addition, companies with more than $500,000 per year can apply to join Verified Supplier. In addition, the membership fee is also high, the annual fee is 80,000 yuan.
Therefore, we can regard certified suppliers as powerful enterprises. They were able to pay huge advertising dollars for Alibaba. Therefore, it is easy to find that most of the suppliers on Alibaba’s homepage are certified.
2.3 Differences between toy manufacturers
We can see the types of businesses in the “Company Overview” section. Generally, you will find three kinds of information: Trading Company, Manufacturer, Trading Company, and Manufacturer. The first two are easy to understand, but the last one will confuse you.
Generally speaking, both trading companies and producers refer to companies that have their own trading companies and factories. This may be true. But you can also say that this company has close cooperation with our factory.
Currently, we cannot tell from their business type whether they are manufacturers or trading companies. The easiest way to find a toy manufacturer is to look at their varieties.
Ordinary factories can’t produce at the same time because of the production line. So some companies that do business with the factory.
Many of Alibaba’s suppliers are in business. So, there is no need to entangle with the type of business. Especially beginners in the toy industry should pay more attention to the quality and service of products.
2.4 Alibaba RFQ to Establish Contact with Toy Manufacturers
RFQ is “Inquiry for Quote,” and it’s a great tool when you’re looking for the right supplier. With this software, you can wait for bids from suppliers. Here are 3 procedures to submit an RFQ
Step 1: Go to Alibaba’s RFQ webpage
Step 2: Fill in the necessary information marked in red (*).
Step 3: Submit the bid and wait for the quotation.
Generally, you will get an offer within an hour. Comprehensively compare the quotation and select three suppliers for further communication
3.How do Alibaba toy suppliers negotiate?
3.1 Contact Manufacturer
The main methods of contacting suppliers are as follows,
(1)Send a message. Scroll down to the bottom of the product page, or click the “Contact supplier” button, and you will see an information box. To save time, I suggest you send a detailed email and make a special request.
For example, include the name of the toy manufacturer, your name, your company name, the minimum order quantity, price, delivery time and packaging information, item number, and additional services required.
(2) Click the “chat now” button. You can see the “chat now” icon above the company name. This is a kind of instant conversation, which can communicate with toy manufacturers quickly and directly.
3. Use social software. WeChat, WhatsApp/Skype. Almost all Chinese people have a WeChat account, and every foreign trade salesperson has a WhatsApp account. You can simplify communication by connecting toy makers and these apps.
3.2 Negotiating pricing for toy manufacturers
Before negotiating, make sure you have adequately compared all offers. Then, pick the toy manufacturer you are most comfortable with and negotiate more with it.
Usually, you just buy a small number of cartons and you won’t have much room for bargaining. Generally, price negotiation is based on a large number of toys of average size, with a minimum of 500. If your offer is much higher than you expected, you can ask the supplier why it is so expensive.
After understanding the reason, you can consult the supplier to see if you can reduce some quality, use cheap raw materials, or cheap colored boxes. Several strategies can help suppliers reduce prices.
Remember, though, never compromise quality or use harmful substances to reach your target price. The quality of the product is the cornerstone of developing the market, and it is very important to ensure the quality of the product
3.3 negotiate with toy manufacturers on the minimum order quantity
The good news is that Alibaba is now encouraging its suppliers to reduce MOQ (minimum order). Alibaba’s suppliers used to order $10000. Now, due to the rise of B2C platforms such as Amazon and eBay, Alibaba has changed its support for small wholesalers.
Therefore, if the supplier you contact cannot provide low-cost orders, then don’t hesitate. Alibaba has a large number of suppliers, so there is no need to worry about finding suitable suppliers.
4.How can Alibaba buy wholesale toys?
(1) can I buy from Alibaba without the company?
Yes, as long as you only buy a small part and then fly it by air, you don’t have to open a company to buy it in Alibaba. However, in some countries, if you want to purchase a large number of toys by sea, you need to obtain an import license. Therefore, before you import toys, you should understand the relevant regulations of your country.
(2) can I buy Amazon products from Alibaba?
Yes, foreign importers often buy toys from Alibaba suppliers and then sell FBA on Alibaba. However, if you want to make an express delivery, I suggest that expressly not use Alibaba. Alibaba is a wholesaler, and its minimum order quantity is at least 1 box.
(3) can I buy a separate toy on Alibaba?
Yes, but negotiate with your supplier. You can buy a separate toy if the supplier agrees to send it. If you want a sample, they will be happy to send it to you, because they want to make it in large quantities in the future. However, if it is a toy, usually the manufacturer will choose not to respond, or not respond at all.
Alibaba is a wholesale platform that provides a large supply. Therefore, I recommend you sell a cheap and convenient toy on the B2C website as soon as possible.
4.4 Alibaba’s Toy Manufacturers Procurement Wholesale
(1) Sample before order
Getting a sample is an important job because it will prevent you from being deceived. Often we can’t tell how good or bad a toy is from the photos and the seller’s words. Because using Photoshop to modify photos is very beautiful manufacturers will tell them that their products are very easy to buy.
If you are shipping by air, then your sample shipping costs will be high, which will prevent your customers from requesting your samples. Usually, some suppliers will provide your samples for free, and the shipping cost is your responsibility. Doing so can reduce your costs to some extent.
(2) Confirmation and ordering
After confirming all product details, you can finalize your order. Before ordering, please be sure to confirm with the supplier whether the product is the same as the sample. If it is not confirmed, you will end up with a product of lower quality than normal. Also, determine the delivery time to avoid delays.
(3) Alibaba’s Toy Manufacturers
There are 5 main payment methods as below.
Alibaba’s Commercial Guarantee: An excellent payment method that maximizes the buyer’s rights, especially for newbies. As a third party, it can assist in resolving issues between sellers and buyers. If there is a problem with the product quality or delivery, you can request a return.
Transfer: Generally speaking, Chinese toy manufacturers tend to use T/T in advance. That is a 30% deposit and 70% order or bill of lading. You can take this payment condition into account when you are working with your supplier for the second time.
PayPal: For Chinese toy makers, PayPal’s high commissions are already a headache. However, no one can deny its convenience and safety. This payment method is only valid for small orders of less than 1,000 yuan. So, if you’re ordering small quantities, this would be a great option.
Letter of Credit: A letter of credit issued by your bank guaranteeing payment to your supplier. In foreign trade, it is regarded as the most troublesome payment method. Foreign banks are always able to find out the supplier’s fault on a contract basis and deduct illegal costs from the balance. A lot of sellers are complaining. So if you don’t have a big order over $50,000, it’s not worth it.
Western Union Money Transfer: This is a convenient payment method that is popular with providers. But if this is your first order, don’t use it. You can be easily fooled because you cannot ask for a refund under any circumstances. Work with toy manufacturers with whom you have strong ties.
5.Is Alibaba safe? How can I avoid being fooled by Alibaba?
With Alibaba’s toy makers, you can use Alibaba’s transaction insurance with confidence. The question is, how do you avoid getting scammed without taking advantage of Alibaba’s transaction security. Here are a few suggestions.
5.1 place large orders for qualified suppliers
As I said before, behind those proven signs, there are often powerful companies. If you place an order with a reliable supplier, the probability of fraud is very low. Generally speaking, when your order quantity is large, the supplier will treat you as a VIP and attach great importance to your order. In the whole process of import, you don’t have to worry, they will try to help you solve the problem.
5.2 confirmation of samples before mass orders
Again, I mentioned it above. The sample fee can be refunded when a large order is placed. Therefore, if you want to import, don’t save on the cost of samples. You should not only order samples but also have your products tested for quality, especially the products you want to order.
5.3 Entrust QC for inspection
If it is a custom order, this step is important because no one expects to receive a defective product. Although doing so will increase your import bills, imagine that you will suffer huge losses due to poor quality. An online search for keywords such as “best third-party testing company” is easy to find.
Epilogue
Thank you for coming with me here. Hope this article can provide you with the best toy manufacturers on Alibaba. It’s not easy to get a lot of toys in China, and it takes a lot of time and effort. Anyway, Alibaba is a very good platform that can help you save money on travel and easily find good toy providers for you.
Please click this blog to learn how to buy from 1688. In addition, if you want to know more about the Chinese toy factory, you can come here. It’s your turn. If you have any questions, please contact us and let us know your opinion.
