No matter you are an experienced purchasing expert or 0 experienced purchasing newbie, we have a professional sourcing agent to provide you with one-to-one service.
Our goal is to help you reduce unnecessary trouble in the process of importing from China and save your purchasing cost, including time and money.
A lot of my friends, including our foreign customers and Chinese suppliers, do not prefer doing toy business because there are countless types of toy products, and they have no idea about what to sell. Another reason is that many countries have lots of rules about importing toys, which will certainly cause many troubles in this process.
However, to be honest, it is not such complicated as you thought to import toys from China. What you need to do is to choose some good products and find the right suppliers.
Toy Categories and Toy Manufacturers in China
So far with my experience, importers from different countries prefer importing classic toys such as balls, cars, plush animals. That’s because all these classic toys have large and stable demand every year. As a result, it’s not necessary to worry about the sale of these kinds of toys as there are always customers who want them.
Besides, there are usually hot selling toys each year in the world, such as loom bands during 2013-2014, kinetic sand and balancing scooter during 2014-2015, fidget spinner during 2017-2018, finger monkey during 2017-2018.
If you can discover the potential of the above-mentioned products and import them earlier than your competitors, then you will already make money when other people start to sell. At that time, you can start to find the next product.
In addition, toys made in China have lots of categories, and I divide them in the following form by types and manufacturing areas.
Classification of Toys Produced in China:
| Toy Category | Toys | Manufacture Areas in China |
| Remote control toys | RC Helicopter, Cars, Boats, Quadrocopter | Chenghai, Shenzhen |
| Diecasts & Toy Vehicles | Cars,Trucks, Car Models | Chenghai |
| Toy Figures | Lego Toys, Animation Figures | Chenghai |
| Doll& Stuffed Toys | Toy animals, Puppets, Mascot, Costume | Mainly in Yangzhou and Qingdao, but there are also some in Yiwu, Shenzhen and other cities |
| Classic Toys | Yoyo, Balloon, Balls, Kaleidospce | Chenghai, Yiwu, and other cities depending on products. |
| Learning & Education Toys | Toy Musical Instrument | Yunhe(Zhejiang Province) for wood made toys |
| Outdoor & Playground Toys | Kid’s Slide, Seesaw | Yongjia (a small town of Wenzhou), the capital of playground toys in China |
| Models & Building Toys | Building Blocks | Chenghai, Yiwu |
| Baby Toys | Baby Rattles, Baby Walker | No specified cities, but mainly in Zhejiang and Guangdong Province. |
| Puzzles & DIY Toys | Puzzles, Magic Cube | High quality Puzzles mainly produced in Chenghai. DIY craft toys mainly produced in Yiwu. |
4 Channels to Find Chinese Toy Wholesale Suppliers
Quick List
1. Chinese Wholesale Websites – the easiest way to search for china toy suppliers online
Sourcing China wholesale toy suppliers online is the easiest and most convenient way to search for China toy suppliers. In detail, there are also different online channels you can try, which include:
- B2B Platforms
- Sourcing Companies
B2B Platforms
You can go to wholesale websites such as Alibaba, AliExpress, DHgate, or Made in China. And you can choose different websites depending on your order quantity, specialized toy niche, and other factors.
If you have never purchased toys from China before and can only afford a relatively small MOQ, you can try AliExpress and DHgate. These two websites are friendlier to small businesses and those who buy for self-use purposes.
If your budget is high enough for hundreds or thousands of pieces of products or you need customization, then you can try to pay a visit to bigger Chinese online wholesale markets such as Alibaba and Made-in-China.
Additionally, there are all kinds of toy suppliers including original factories, trading companies, and other small to medium-sized suppliers on many wholesale sites as big as Alibaba and Made-in-China.
Sourcing company
Apart from these China wholesale websites, the other simple and popular way to find China toy suppliers is to find a sourcing company. Then, they can do the hard work and take care of everything including factory searching, production following, quality inspection, international shipping, and customs clearance for you.
Normally, sourcing companies are located in Yiwu and other major industrial clusters in China, which gives them access to abundant supplier resources. Plus, sourcing products would be much more convenient for the company located near the local wholesale markets –just like our company, located in front of the Yiwu International Trade City, the largest distribution center of small commodities.
Besides the above, sourcing companies also have built long-term partnerships with many freight forwarders, which allows them to get lower discounts for shipping.
Why you can choose a sourcing agent?
I know some people might ask: If a sourcing company plays the role of a middleman, wouldn’t it charge me an extra service fee and commission fee, and therefore, increase my purchase cost?
The truth is, even if you add all the fees charged by your sourcing agent to the total cost, you may still find the price is lower than what you can get directly from your supplier. That’s because the sourcing companies have much stronger bargaining power than most personal buyers.
With the minimum cost, you can transfer most of the work and risks in your purchase process to the sourcing agent, and it’s more likely to find a supplier that meets your expectation for the price and quality in the most time-effective way.
This is why sourcing agents are so popular among importers on all scales. The importers see the sourcing agent as their purchase department that saves their time and energy and maximizes their efficiency.
Tips for sourcing suppliers online
When you are searching for suitable suppliers online, remember don’t be too obsessed with the lower prices, and don’t believe any meaningless content on Google. The only principle that you have to adhere to is that “The one that suits your situation is the best”.
For example, the supplier who serves for a client purchasing over tens of millions or even hundreds of millions annually might not be a good supplier for you. That’s because you can’t purchase in that large a quantity, that is to say, you can’t get a price as competitive as that of the said purchaser.
One of the most practical strategies to find the most suitable supplier for you is including 3 to 5 suppliers into a candidate group and working with them in smaller orders. During this process, you can evaluate the suppliers through details like products, services, and communication.
For most of the necessary qualities a supplier should have, you can’t just confirm them through the Internet. You have to feel those qualities yourself by observing the supplier’s working behaviors, which above all is the most practical method to identify whether the supplier is reliable.
2. Chinese Toy Clusters
If you can come to China, you must go to toy industry clusters to find original toy factories. Check the following production areas in China.
Chenghai in Guangdong Province
Being the Capital of Toys, Chenghai features many different toy categories including plastic toys, electronic toys, and high-tech toys. Here lies a highly complete and efficient manufacturing chain of toys.
If you are specialized in the toy business and have a constant demand for wholesale toys from China in large quantities, make sure to pay a visit here.
Yiwu in Zhejiang Province
The world’s biggest small commodities wholesale market is located in Yiwu, so, Yiwu features all kinds of low-value and small toys and crafts. Many China toy factories have set their store in Yiwu’s biggest wholesale market named The International Trade City, you can easily find China toy factories you are interested in there.
Yangzhou & Qingdao
These two areas are focused on plush and stuffed toys. Compared with other areas, the plush and stuffed toy factories here have a larger scale and manufacturing capacity. If you are specialized in this particular toy niche, you can try to find your long-term supplier here.
Tips to find toy suppliers in the industry clusters
If you are wondering where to find your toy supplier when you have arrived at those industry clusters, I’ll give you some practical answers here.
First, if you have the chance, do make a plan. You can prepare a list of the suppliers or factories you want to visit by searching for their addresses and other related information on Alibaba. When you arrived at toy industry clusters, you can visit the suppliers on your list one by one to find the most suitable one.
If you are just walking around without any plan, you can just go directly to the toy wholesale markets in the industry clusters. In China, every industry cluster has a main wholesale market where many local suppliers are gathered. For example, the wholesale center of Zhejiang Province is Yiwu International Trade City.
While the toy wholesale markets are concentrated in one giant building in Yiwu, the wholesale markets in Guangzhou are scattered in different buildings. According to different quality levels and types of toys, the wholesale markets are gathered in several different areas.
So, before going to Guangzhou, you’d better figure out what kind of toys you want and make a detailed plan so you won’t get completely lost in there.
3. Chinese Toys Wholesale Market
Besides visiting the toy factories in those clusters directly, you can go to the wholesale markets to find more suppliers to choose from. There are so many toy wholesale markets in China. Here, I’ll list several for your reference.
Yiwu international Trading Market (District 1)
Without doubts, this is the largest distribution center of small commodities. Many toy factories in China have set their store there. And there are more than 1000 toy suppliers in this Yiwu market.
The toy suppliers are located on floor one. And the toy categories mainly include classic toys, electric toys, inflatable toys, plush toys, wooden crafts, etc.
Onelink International Plaza
Onelink Plaza is a large wholesale market, especially for toys, home decorations, jewelry, etc. The toy suppliers in Onelink are mainly situated on -the 1st floor to the 6th.
These suppliers in Wanlin plaza mainly support wholesale businesses. Some of them can also provide retailing services. The more you can buy, the lower the prices will be.
Guangzhou Yide International Toy Plaza
This market is the largest and most high-end toy and stationery wholesale market in southern China. In addition to the traditional plush toys, cars, aircraft models, and more, there are also many novelty toys with foreign brands.
Sungang Stationery Toy Gift Wholesale Market
This market is the largest toy and stationery wholesale market in Shenzhen. It focuses on wholesaling toys, stationery, and gifts. Moreover, the factories and trading companies are mainly from Guangzhou, Hongkong, Macao, Shanghai, etc.
Shenyang Wuai Market
Wuai Market is a comprehensive wholesale market for different products. The toy area is on the 1st and 2nd floors. And the suppliers there mostly sell plush toys.
4. China Trade Fairs
There are many toy fairs in China, I’ll list the most recommended 2 of them here:
- Canton Fair (The China Import and Export Fair)
This is one of the biggest Trade Fairs in China. It is a comprehensive trade fair feature in all product categories, and in the toy category, there are more than 50,000 products listed on their official website. Many professional toy suppliers will attend this fair. This fair is usually held in October, the specific date varies every year, you should check the notice published on the official website.
- China Toy Expo (The China International Toy Fair)
As the largest toy trade show in China, the CTE has been successfully held 19 sessions in China. There are more than 17 toy categories in the fair. They include wooden toys, soft toys, smart toys, educational toys, electronic and remote control toys. This show is also held in October, you can go to Shanghai after visiting Canton Fair in Guangdong.
6 Problems You May run into when import toys from China
1. Toy Safety Regulations and Certificates
Certificate and safety are the biggest ones among all problems, and different countries have different required standards for imported toys. Here’s some certification required by US and EU for toy products.
The United States Toy Safety Regulations
- The first three tests of ASTM F963: Mechanical/Physical Testing, Flammability testing, and Chemical testing.
- The other one is CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act): lead and phthalates test, and labeling test.
European Union Toy Safety Regulations
- Toys exported to Europe have to pass Toy Safety Directive (EN 71 — 1,2,3) and have a CE mark.
If you are importing a large number of toys, you’d better do all the required tests. But if your quantity is small, then the costs of all these tests are very high. The best way is to ask your suppliers to offer these test reports which they had done before, in order to make sure their products are meet the safety standards. If the suppliers cannot offer you, then you have to change to another who can offer test reports.
Suppliers in China usually won’t do all these tests, most of them do parts 1, 2, and 3 of the EN 71 test and Phthalates test. When you get the EN 71 test report from them, be careful to check whether it includes EN71 part 3, which is the most important part, it can prove the hazardous substance in products is under required limits. Some suppliers will not test part 3, because they are afraid that the test may fail.
Besides, there are many companies that can do CE tests in China, so you also need to check which testing lab the report is from. A famous institution such as SGS, ITS, and TUV will be the best. Some suppliers may offer reports from small Chinese testing labs to save money, but they may not be admitted by importing countries.
2. Inspection Required by China Customs
The toys exported from China are subject to an inspection of China Customs. When applying for inspection of exported toys, you will have to fill out a declaration form for outbound goods and submit other documents required by the China customs, of course, you may ask your supplier or a sourcing agent to do this for you.
When applying for inspection, a declaration of product quality and safety compliance is also required. According to China Customs published requirements, a test report issued by a toy laboratory will also be needed for the first-time inspection.
3. Design Infringement
Toy copycats are very commonly seen in China. Many suppliers would just simply copy the designs from big overseas toy brands and manufacture their own products.
If you want to import toys from China, you have to be very careful about the designs of your products. Otherwise, even if you successfully shipped the toys into your country, you may find yourself under an accusation of design infringement, which may cause great losses to your business.
4. Shipping Toys from China
Shipping is one of the key parts of your importing process. You have to pay attention to many details. First of all, when you are asking for a quote from your freight forwarder or supplier, you have to choose the right Incoterm. The most commonly used Incoterm is FOB, short for Free On Board, which covers all the cost for delivering the goods from the factory to the ship or aircraft in the seaport or airport appointed by you.
Secondly, you have to make sure the shipping solution you choose is suitable for your cargo. If you purchased toys more than 2 CBM, then shipping them by sea freight (LCL or FCL) will be a very cost-effective option. If your order quantity is rather small, you can try international express. If the size of your toys is small but the value is relatively high, then you may consider shipping them by air freight.
5. Import Taxes for Toys
When you import toys from China, you should check the customs tariff and calculate it in your cost. The import tariff varies from different types of toys and importing countries. And before checking the duty rate, you should know the HS code of certain products, which you can get from your freight forwarder or search on the official websites.
For instance, if you want to calculate the duty rate when importing toys to the US, you can search the HS code on U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (USITC). The HS code of toys is 9503.00.00 based on USITC. And the current US duty for toys, in general, is free.
6. Required Documents for Toys in China
In addition to different product certificates, there are also many necessary customs documents to ship the products successfully. Certainly, the required documents vary from different importing countries.
However, there are some general documents in common for most shipments. Here, I’ll list some for you:
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of lading
- Packing list
- Sales contract
- Insurance policy
- Proforma invoice
- Certificate of Origin
- Customs declaration
- Inspection certificate
Trendy and Interesting Types of Toys to Wholesale from China
In this part, I’ll list some toys that are popular among importers these days according to our sourcing database.
1. Solar-powered fluttering butterfly
Wholesale Price: $2 -$7
This butterfly toy is solar-powered. With the spike on it, it can be easily inserted into the ground. It is not just a children’s toy, but also a durable and eye-catching decoration in gardens and house plants.
2. Paper cartoon animal drawing toy
Wholesale Price: $5-$10
Paper toy is one of the most eco-friendly and healthy types of toy. This paper cartoon animal drawing set is highly customizable, and its manufacturer also has all the needed certifications including EN71, ROHS, and ENS.
3. Cheese spoof game toy
Wholesale Price: $3.5-$6
A very interesting and joyful game to play by family members. This toy is certificated under EN71, it weighs 0.5kg and sizes in 29×10×29.
4. Cute reversible octopus plush toy
Wholesale Price: $1.5-$5
This is a very cute eco-friendly plush toy that has a reversible feature. The size, color, and logo of this product are all customizable.
5. 3D magnetic building blocks
Wholesale Price: $8 – $15
These little blocks are made of food ABS plastic. Designed for the development of younger children’s motor skills and imagination, this set of blocks meets all safety requirements and can be used by even one-year-old children under the instruction included in the product’s package.
6. Electronic plastic educational robot toy
Wholesale Price: $5-$10
This toy is suitable for children more than 5 years old. Its working mechanism is very straightforward, you draw a random line on a piece of paper and place the robot on the line, it’ll move by following that line exactly.
7. Flying spinner toys
Wholesale Price: $13-$18
If not the coolest, it is definitely one of the most playable toys among children and teenagers. The mechanism is kind of like a boomerang, but there are many more wild tricks that a player can master given time.
8. Led drawing board
Wholesale Price: $3.5-$7.5
This toy is made of PVC and LED, the drawing and writings on this board can stay glowing in the dark for more than 30 minutes.
9. Intelligent gesture control flying quadcopter
Wholesale Price: $14 – $20
This is a rather high-tech toy, basically a low-value version of drones. It weighs 120g and is double the weight of the package is included. With 50 minutes of charging time, it can continuously fly up to 10 minutes.
10. Assembled wooden house toy
Wholesale Price: $10-$15
Compared with plastic toys, wooden toys will make more sense in conveying a conception of environmental harmony to the children. This beautiful and durable wooden house weighs 1.6kg and sizes in 28×27×9.
Final Words
Thanks for reading, if you have any problem with importing toys from China, let me know by leaving a comment below or feel free to CONTACT US directly.
We are the leading sourcing company in China, and our office is just in front of the Yiwu wholesale market. So if you come to Yiwu next time, you are super welcome to visit us.
