Mainland China Sourcing

Let’s just get Alibaba out of the way. Alibaba was founded in 1999 and has since become China’s largest publicly traded company. While it has expanded into everything into payment systems, cloud computing, and venture capital, its core business is still online sales via is the main website. Alibaba has a presence in over 200 Countries and is the largest retailer in the world, surprising Amazon, eBay and Walmart combined. Alibaba isn’t limited to just China, If you are looking to source from another country then use the country filters in the search.

DHgate differentiates themselves from other platforms by having an online payment system that only pays the seller once the buyer has received the goods. Escrow systems like this are very well liked by foreign buyers. The website also tends to have smaller MOQs (Minimum order quantities) than other platforms.

Made In China: https://www.made-in-china.com/

Made in China, like Alibaba is a platform in which supplier can create a profile. However, it does not have as big of a selection and the quality control could be better.

OFweek focuses on Electronics, tech and other high tech goods. OFweek has a nice design that is easier to navigate than most Chinese website. Almost all goods sold on this website are finished goods, however, you may be able to get in direct touch with the manufacturer to make some basic customization of your products.

AliExpress, founded in 2010 and like its big brother Alibaba, allows international buyers to buy directly from Chinese sellers. However, the big difference between the two is that Aliexpress is made up of small shops that sell much smaller quantities than on Alibaba. On AliExpress almost everyone you are dealing with is a Trading company or a wholesaler and you are very rarely dealing with actual manufacturers. However many people prefer buying from AliExpress over Alibaba due to the smaller MOQs, and the fact payments and shipping are integrated into the platform.

AliExpress also has an affiliate marketing program that is very popular with Drop Shippers. If you are looking at starting a dropshipping business, or sourcing products for Dropshipping, I would recommend starting with AliExpress.

Yet another website in Alibaba’s massive arsenal. 1688.com is a Chinese language site that is geared only towards the Chinese market. Regardless, it is one of the three sites (along with Alibaba and Global Sources) that we use for almost every project. Its main appeal is that the companies listed are of much higher quality and you’re are much more likely to get in touch directly with a manufacturer than if you were using Alibaba. However, the website is only available in Mandarin Chinese with no English language options.

DIY Trade http://diytrade.com/

Features over 5 Million products one a clean, English language website. While DIY Trade does not have much to differentiate itself from others it is good to check out to get more names on your list.

Seeks to be a more full-service sourcing provider than most and provide additional services such as logistics. They claim to focus on creating more long-term trade relationship than other platforms. While that claim isn’t fully realized I do appreciate the effort and The website does have several good resources beyond finding suppliers.

Make Polo http://en.makepolo.com/

Yet another large Chinese directory. They claim that they have a more advanced search engine to find factories. Their revenue model is a pay per click business model in which the factory pays them every time you click on a link.

EC Plaza http://ecplaza.net/

Started in 1996, EC Plaza has over 1,000,000 members and operates a B2B website, EDI service, and Trade Consulting, as well as offline services for SMEs.

Gong Chang http://gongchang.com/

Gong Chang specializes in heavy machinery and industrial equipment. If you are looking at setting up your own manufacturing then this is a good resource to use to get equipment.

Doba has several similarities to Alibaba but is specifically focused on drop-shipping. The way you find suppliers is basically the same as Alibaba or any other database, but what is different is the way the ordering works. Doba allows drop shippers to list products on your drop-shipping store, and when you make a sale, you order from the supplier with your customer's information and Doba will handle the payments and shipping for you. Another cool feature is that Doba lets you keep the difference in Price. It should be noted that Doba is a paid service with a very limited free trial.