With the current trends in the business environment, online sourcing as well has become the main way to access products and services for many companies looking to find suppliers from China. Choosing the right B2B platform can help both startups and large companies to expand their supply chain, reduce sourcing costs, and improve product quality. Some of the more well-known B2B platforms available today are Alibaba, Global Sources, Made-in-China and TradeIndia.
Method 1. Finding online suppliers through B2B platforms
Each of these platforms has different characteristics and is suitable for different types of buyers. Alibaba is suitable for bulk purchases, Global Sources focuses more on high-quality supplier selection, Made-in-China usually attracts SMEs, and TradeIndia focuses on trade between India and China.
What are the B2B platforms?
1. Alibaba
- Supplier services: Alibaba provides users with a variety of services, including online chat, inquiry management and supplier background check. Suppliers on the platform usually respond to buyers’ inquiries within a short period of time.
- Number of Purchased Products: Alibaba is the largest B2B platform with more than 1.5 million suppliers and an extremely wide range of products covering almost all industries.
- Price: Prices are transparent, quotes provided by suppliers are usually directly comparable, and users can get more competitive prices by requesting quotations. Discount options for bulk purchases are also available on the platform.
- Supplier types: There are a variety of supplier types, including large manufacturers, small factories and trading companies, suitable for buyers of all sizes.
2. Global Sources (Made-in-China)
- Supplier Services: Global Sources specializes in high quality suppliers, providing detailed company and product information, and users can also request samples to verify product quality. Customer service is responsive and can provide professional sourcing support.
- Number of Sourcing Products: Despite the rich product range, the number of suppliers is around 100,000 compared to Alibaba, mainly focusing on electronics, machinery, fashion and home furnishings.
- Price: Prices are relatively high, but usually reflect higher product quality and service levels. Buyers may have to pay extra for quality assurance on price.
- Supplier type: Most of Global Sources’ suppliers are high-quality manufacturers who have been strictly screened, which is suitable for customers who demand high product quality, such as brand owners and large retailers.
3. Made in China (MIC)
- Supplier services: Made in China provides comprehensive supplier information and product catalogs, and supports online inquiry. The platform also allows buyers to view suppliers’ certifications and qualifications to enhance trust.
- Number of Products Sourced: There are about 500,000 suppliers covering a wide range of industries, which is suitable for SMEs looking for customized and small-volume products.
- Price: Prices are usually relatively moderate, suitable for customers purchasing in small quantities. Buyers can communicate directly with suppliers to negotiate prices.
- Supplier type: mainly includes small and medium-sized manufacturers and trading companies, suitable for price-sensitive buyers or customers who need customized products.
Summarize and Compare
| Platform | Supplier Services | Quantity of Products | Purchased Price | Supplier Type |
| Alibaba | Online chat, background check | 1.5 million+ | Transparent and competitive Large manufacturers | small factories, trading companies |
| Global Sources | High-quality supplier screening | 100,000+ | High, quality assurance Strictly | screened high-quality manufacturers |
| Made in China | Detailed information | online inquiry 500,000+ | Moderate Small and medium-sized | manufacturers, trading companies |
Which platform you choose depends on your specific needs. If you are a buyer for large purchases, Alibaba may be the best choice; if you focus on product quality, Global Sources is a good choice; and for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small-volume purchases, Made in China would be more suitable.
Main types of suppliers on Alibaba
On Alibaba, buyers often encounter two main types of suppliers: traders and manufacturers (vendors).
1. Traders
Essential Difference: Traders are intermediaries between producers and buyers, who usually do not produce goods directly, but rather purchase goods from multiple manufacturers and resell them to customers.
Advantage:
- Purchase Order Volume: Traders can usually handle small to medium volume orders to meet diverse customer needs. Order sizes typically range from 500 to 2,000 pieces, depending on the type of product.
- Price range: Because traders are able to purchase from multiple sources, they are often able to offer more flexible pricing. Generally, prices can range from $5 to $50 per piece, depending on product type and quality.
- Quality: Traders usually choose reputable manufacturers to work with to ensure product quality. When choosing a trader, buyers should be careful to check their supplier’s evaluations and customer feedback to ensure quality assurance.
2. Manufacturers (suppliers)
Essential Difference: Manufacturers produce goods directly, they control the entire production process, from raw material procurement to product manufacturing and packaging.
Advantage:
- Purchase Order Volume: Manufacturers are able to handle large orders, typically ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 pieces, making them suitable for buyers who purchase on a large scale.
- Price range: With direct control over production, manufacturers often offer more competitive pricing, especially when purchasing in large quantities, where unit prices can be as low as $3 per unit. This makes manufacturers ideal for cost-sensitive customers.
- Quality: Manufacturers often implement more stringent quality control processes that can ensure product stability and consistency. Many manufacturers also offer product certifications and quality assurance, adding to customer trust.
Traders and manufacturers each have their own strengths and are suited to different types of sourcing needs. Traders are suited to small-volume purchases that require flexibility and diversified products, while manufacturers are better suited to bulk purchases, offering more competitive pricing and reliable quality. When selecting suppliers, buyers should choose the most appropriate type of supplier based on their needs, budget and quality requirements to ensure a successful procurement.
Method 2.Use social media to find suppliers
Social media platforms are a great resource when looking for Chinese suppliers, and many buyers have successfully found suitable suppliers on these platforms, especially professional business social networks and some industry-related groups.
Recommended Social Media Platforms
- LinkedIn: a globally recognized professional social platform, LinkedIn is home to a large number of industry professionals and companies. It has a powerful search function that allows you to find potential suppliers based on industry, region and company type, perfect for B2B transactions. You can search for keywords like “Chinese suppliers”, “manufacturers in China”, “China sourcing”, etc. which can help you find potential suppliers by industry, region and company type. Keywords such as “Chinese suppliers”, “manufacturers in China”, “China sourcing”, etc. can help you find Chinese suppliers in the corresponding industries.LinkedIn is a professional business social platform, and most of the users are professionals in the industry, with a high degree of specialization.
- Facebook: Facebook has a wealth of business groups and industry company pages where many Chinese suppliers showcase their products and interact with customers. By participating in industry groups, buyers can connect directly with suppliers and get the latest product information and offers. Try searching for keywords such as “China suppliers”, “wholesale products China” or “importers from China”. keywords such as “China suppliers”, “wholesale products China” or “importers from China” to find relevant groups and business pages.Users can share and comment to get more information, which helps to understand the supplier’s reputation and product quality.
- WhatsApp and WeChat: These two apps are highly utilized by the community of people doing foreign trade in China, and many suppliers use these tools to stay in touch with their customers. Buyers can access supplier information by joining relevant industry groups or seeking recommendations. Search for “China import groups” and “Chinese supplier contacts” to join relevant discussion groups.Both platforms offer fast messaging capabilities where buyers can quickly connect with suppliers.
Method 3. Find suppliers from DHgate and yiwugo
Introduction
DHgate, founded in 2004, is a globally oriented online wholesale marketplace offering a wide range of goods, including electronics, clothing, accessories, etc., suitable for bulk purchases and micro-wholesale.
YiwuGo is an online marketplace originating from Yiwu, China, specializing in products from the Yiwu Small Commodity Market. Yiwu is known as the “World’s Supermarket” and YiwuGo specializes in providing a wide selection of small commodities, including consumer goods, handicrafts, toys and more.
Product Range
DHgate, with a wide range of products covering a variety of industries, such as electronics, home furnishings, apparel, jewelry, etc., is suitable for a wide range of purchasing needs. DHgate provides buyer protection mechanisms, including payment security, dispute resolution and refund guarantee, to reduce transaction risks.DHgate supports a variety of shipping methods, including express, air and sea freight.
Shipping costs vary depending on the supplier’s choice and the buyer’s destination. Although DHgate offers a variety of logistics options, the shipping speed and logistics processing efficiency of some suppliers may not be timely enough, resulting in longer delivery times. Generally speaking, the shipping cost for small items ranges from $5 to $20, while ocean freight for large items may be cheaper but requires a longer shipping time.
The minimum order quantity on DHgate is usually 1 piece, and the price for bulk purchases can be as low as $5-$10 per piece, depending on the product and supplier. Due to the many different suppliers on DHgate, product quality may vary. Sometimes buyers may encounter quality that does not meet their expectations and need to spend time screening reputable suppliers.
YiwuGo, with a wealth of logistics options, is able to provide efficient international transportation services, mainly by taking advantage of Yiwu’s logistics. Cooperation with local logistics companies is emphasized to ensure fast shipments. It is more suitable for merchants focusing on small commodity sourcing, especially retailers, vendors and e-commerce sellers looking for low-priced and diversified products.The minimum order quantity of YiwuGo is usually 5-10 pieces, and the price range is between $1-$5/piece.
If you want to source yoga mats from China, DHgate has a more diversified selection of yoga mats, from beginner to high-end mats, with a wide range of materials, brands and specifications. If you need specific materials (e.g. TPE, PVC, rubber, etc.) or have high requirements on brand and quality, DHgate can better meet the needs. yoga mats from YiwuGo are relatively small in variety, mostly of general small goods type, suitable for simple and regular yoga mats needs.
If you need yoga mats with low prices and no branding requirements, YiwuGo’s selection will be more affordable, but with a smaller selection of high-end products. When you’re purchasing in bulk, DHgate offers more volume discounts, with unit prices usually ranging from $5-$30, or possibly less. However, for small purchase orders, DHgate’s prices can be relatively high.YiwuGo’s yoga mats are much lower in price, usually between $1-$10, which is perfect for smaller buyers on a budget. However, YiwuGo usually requires a minimum order, usually in the range of 5-10 pieces, which makes the single piece price attractive, but not as flexible as DHgate for small purchases.
Method 4.Use Google to search for suppliers
alibaba is one of the larger B2B online platforms in China, and they invest heavily in Google, including Google AdWords, to naturally optimize their rankings so as to reach a global audience. in 2019, their total digital advertising revenue was approximately $30.5 billion. From these figures it is clear that Google is very important for alibaba’s international reach. Now more and more suppliers in China start to do promotion on Google to show the products of their enterprises as well as their development history, hoping that foreign buyers will search for them through Google in the first time and make cooperative transactions.
Search Methods
To find Chinese suppliers on google, you can add some specific keywords such as to directly enter “[product name] + China supplier” or “[product name] + manufacturer in China “. This basic format will help you find a large number of results related to China suppliers, such as “yoga mat China supplier” or “electric scooter manufacturer in China “.
Long-tail keywords with product characteristics can also be used to provide search precision, e.g., “custom logo yoga mat supplier China” to find suppliers offering customized services; “low MOQ electronics manufacturer China” to find suppliers that accept low MOQ.
It is also possible to combine industry terms such as “OEM”, “ODM” or “wholesale”. In China, different cities specialize in different industries. For example, search combinations such as “Shenzhen electronics supplier” or “Yiwu toy factory” can be used to find suppliers that specialize in specific industry clusters. For example, a search combination such as “Shenzhen electronics supplier” or “Yiwu toy factory” can be used to find suppliers that specialize in a particular industry cluster.
How to evaluate vendors found on Google
After finding a potential supplier, there is no platform to evaluate the supplier after the cooperation between you need to pay special attention, here are several ways for you to evaluate the supplier.
- Checking website credentials: When visiting a vendor’s website, you can check the domain name’s registration age with the help of a tool. Generally speaking, websites that have been around for many years are more reliable, as companies that have been around for a long time are usually more stable and experienced. Using a “whois” tool, you can check the domain name registration information of a website to understand the credentials of the supplier.
- Reference to Alibaba store years: If the supplier also operates a store on Alibaba, you can further confirm by checking the seniority and years of experience information on Alibaba. Alibaba has a more detailed display of the supplier’s years of experience, reputation and certification information, making it easier for buyers to determine their history and credibility.
- Customer testimonials and third-party certifications: Look out for supplier customer testimonials, business certifications and other information in Google search results. Through Google Business Profile, Trustpilot and other evaluation platforms, you can further understand the supplier’s customer feedback and service level.
Cooperation Notes
When cooperating for the first time, it is recommended to use third-party payment methods or trade guarantees to avoid potential risks, and try to clarify product quality, delivery time and other terms through written contracts. Before purchasing in large quantities, samples can be requested for confirmation to ensure quality. During the purchasing process, ensure that there is a formal contract to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, including product quality, delivery time, after-sales service and other terms.
Finally!
Thank you for your reading. I hope my indirect can help you find reliable Chinese suppliers online. If you have any ideas , please feel free to share them below. Let’s discuss and help you find the best solution for your sourcing needs.
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