Many of our inquiries have come to me and told me about their experiences buying wholesale. Most of them have told me stories about wholesalers not responding to any questions, poor quality in their products, to even stories about missing shipments. Most of them probably thought that buying wholesale would be cheaper than having a product made.
What’s the difference Between Wholesale Buying and Product Manufacturing?
Wholesale buying involves contacting a company that is manufacturing an existing product line that they will either stock or make to order. Because of the existing tooling and experience used to make the product, at first glance it appears cheaper than making your own product.
Many wholesalers such as Alibaba or HK Trading advertise pre-existing product lines on their websites.
Sometimes wholesaling can be good for your situation, but you should consider the following points.
- Some wholesalers will use a picture of a brand name product to advertise a product, but will be really selling a knockoff of it.
- Communication with wholesalers overseas can be difficult. Long response times and cultural differences can cause problems.
- You really have no idea if the factory on the wholesale website is legitimate. They could be scammers or ill equipped to handle your order.
- Wholesaling is generally ideal when buying parts where the quality or aesthetics aren’t crucial
How do I start sourcing my own product manufacturing?
Design your Product
You’ll need to have engineer files and prototypes made of your product. If you don’t already have those, we can help you get those made. The more information you can give about your product – how you want it to perform, what materials you want it made of, the finish and appearance of the product, will make the process go by a lot quicker. It’s important to note that factories in China work need files in .stp format and 2D PDFs with dimensions and call outs.
Sometimes you’ll need to go through more than one iteration of prototyping before the design is finalized. It’s much cheaper by a large margin to get all the kinks worked out of your product before you try and get it manufactured. A few more hours of engineering and prototyping is almost always less expensive than having to get new molds made or replace defective shipments due to design flaws.
Sourcing your Product for Manufacturing
With a finalized set of engineering files and prototype, you are now ready to get your product manufactured. One of the most cost efficient and reliable ways to have your product manufactured is to have it sourced.
If you are looking to source your product manufacturing, we can help contact us.
We’d need you to provide the engineering files and possibly a sample to get it quoted. We’d also need to know what certifications or standards that you need the parts to be in compliant with.
Our partners in China would then provide you a quote from our verified network of factories. We can arrange freight and customs brokers to clear the shipment.
Learn more – Customer’s Guide: The Process of Sourcing your Own Products from China
Get Started
Our clients end up saving a lot of time and frustration having their own products manufactured. Having clearly defined specifications and dimensions helps ensure quality control and simplifies communication. This in turn leads to a much smaller chance of shipments not measuring up to your standards of quality.
If you’d like to see if sourcing would be right for your situation, contact us.