Tips for Import Toys from China

Smart Sourcing

Some foreign clients and Chinese suppliers do not like to do toy business because of the wide range of toy products, the unknown of what to sell, and many countries have many regulations on imported toys, which will certainly cause a lot of trouble. But in fact imported toys are not as complicated as you think, you only need to select some good products and suitable suppliers.

This article provides an overview of how to import toys from China, including some common questions on how to choose a product, how to find the right supplier, and how to solve the problem.

1.What kind of toys will bring you business?

In my experience, importers of different countries most like to import classic toys, such as balls, cars, stuffed animals, etc., as these classic toys have large and stable demands every year. There is no need to worry about sales because there are always customers who want them.

In addition, hot toys are commonly sold every year in the world, such as looms for 2013-2014, power sand and balance scooters for 2014-2015. If you can spot the potential of these products and import them earlier than your competitors, you’ve made a lot of money when others start selling. At that time, you can start to find the next product.

2.What kind of toys will bring you business?

There are many categories of toys made in China, which I categorize by type and manufacturing.

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.

3. How to search toy suppliers online from China

Do not be fooled by online Chinese suppliers because they will tell you they are factories and can produce any kind of toy you love. In fact, most of the providers that you can contact on the Internet are trading companies. Since many Chinese toy factories are usually small in size, most of their orders come from trading companies. Some toy factories also have stores in Alibaba, but seldom receive orders from foreign buyers.

You can also find many large-scale professional toy factory in the Canton Fair, Universal Resource Show and other toy show.
Searching for suppliers online is the only way you do not come to China. I suggest you use the Alibaba website. To find out how to find a good supplier in Alibaba, check out another blog: 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Find Factories in China?

4. Problems that may be encountered when importing toys from China

Toy products are often used by , so many countries have strict rules and requirements on toys. In addition, there are other problems with toy products that make them more complicated than other products, which are some of the major issues that you may encounter when importing toys from China.

a. Compliance and safety issues
Certificates and safety are the biggest of all issues, with different countries requiring different standards for imported toys. This is some of the certification required by the United States and the European Union for toy products.

b. Commodity inspection required by Chinese customs
Toys need to be inspected for goods when they are exported to other countries. The cost of a container is $ 200- $ 300. If you ship through LCL, the cost depends on the material and size of the toy, usually over $ 100.

c. Designing infringement issues
Many factories like to print well-known animated characters in their toy products, and some make them the same shape. For example, two school bags, one with a handkerchief and one with a handkerchief, while the other is not, the former can be sold more than the latter, and people still prefer to buy the former.

If the supplier is not authorized by the animation company, then all of these toys with animated characters may be infringed. Your product will be censored by Chinese customs and foreigners. Once they find that you are not authorized, they will destroy them. Even if you are fortunate enough to escape customary inspections, you will encounter the same problem when selling these unauthorized toys.

So if you want to import toys with well-known animated characters, you need to determine if your vendor is authorized. If not, you can change to another supplier, or you must give up the product in case it may ruin your business.

d. The problem of transporting toys from China
Shipping is the most economical way to transport toys, because the weight of toys is usually very light, but the product size is very large. If you intend to import fewer than 3 CBM toys at a time, you are better off buying from the local market rather than importing directly from China. Because the average cost per toy product will be very high, including shipping and commodity inspection.