Yiwu Market Manufacturers
“30% manufacturers, 30% distributors, 30% only sample rooms” – this is a well know saying about Yiwu market manufacturers.
Is Yiwu market full of manufacturers?
You may heard about that Yiwu market is a place with “shops in front (In the market), and factories back home”. This mode makes Yiwu products extremely competitive with prices. But according to what we found out, this is not true.
The old saying about Yiwu market is “30% manufacturers, 30% distributors, 30% only sample rooms”. But according to our observation, only less than 15% shops in the market are selling products they manufactured.
For big manufactures like Neoglory for jewelry, Wangbin for photo frames, Langsha and Mengna for socks… You can find they have big showrooms in the market for their own products. This is because they are big enough.
For other hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized factories, they have a shop in the market to sell the products they manufactured, as well as the products they represented. This is smart because they can have a broader product line, at the same time, help buyer’s job easier.
"Are you a manufacturer?"
If you ask the shops inside Yiwu market this question, 99% of the shops will answer you “yes, we’re a factory” or “this is a factory of my brother/my sister/my uncle/my aunt…” The only difference is that some of them may answer very confidently. Some may say it a bit hesitantly.
It’s very interesting. When you see a shop they’re not a single bit look like a factory, but they still tell you they’re a factory, hope you can believe that they can offer you better price and they’re more reliable. So you will need to use your own judgment here in such cases.
How to tell if a shop is a manufacturer?
This job requires a lot of expertise. You can only have better judgment if you know this industry better. Here I would like to share with you what we’ve found out. Of course, it’s not 100% right. And it will not succeed every time.
#1 Can I have a sample?
Nine out ten times, they will not offer a free sample. But if someone can offer a free sample, or they can offer a sample within 5 days or 7 days. This would mean that they're likely a manufacturer or they’re in good relationship with the manufacturers. If you agreed to pay them sample fees and give them a long time to deliver a sample, they still can not cooperate, this means they’re mostly likely not a factory.
#2 Can I have a catalogue?
Manufactures are likely have a big catalogue, no matter how soon they update their products. Big manufacturers regularly update their products and put them in new catalogues. Also if you find different catalogues in a same shop, that means they’re selling products from different factories.
#3 Can I have this customized?
If they’re factories/manufacturers, most likely, they know their product very well and they have strong ability to customize products. If you find someone know their product very little and can not do much customization, most likely, they’re not a manufacturer.
#4 Is this look like a manufacturer?
If you find some shops look like a manufacturer, that means they’re a manufacturer. If you find a shop that just put a few samples of this type of product and a few samples of that type of product. And these products are not likely can be produced by a single manufacturer. This means – they’re not.
#5 Name card address
If you find a supplier with detailed address on the name card, this surely means they’re a manufacturer. The address should be specified to what No. of a street etc. Not xxx industrial zone.
Is it really important only to deal with Yiwu market manufacturers?
Well, this all depends.
If you have an extremely big order, say, full container size orders for a single product. It will worth finding a strong factory directly. If your quantity is not that big yet, better stay with whatever right for you, as factories only interested in big quantities. They have to.
If you’re a wholesaler, distributor for a few products, price is extremely important to your business. You need to squeeze the price to its lowest level. Then you’ll need to find a manufacturer. Again, your quantity has to be big.
If the products on your list are very technical, you need someone who is very professional, and you need to develop some projects with them together. Then you have to go to manufacturers directly as it’s a long term thing. Not a one-shot-off.
This is about what we found out about Yiwu market manufacturers. If you have some saying about Yiwu market manufacturers, share with us.
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