Buying from China for companies that import
Buying from China is not a click on Alibaba and a wait for a parcel. For a European firm it means you know who you pay, what you order, the minimum order quantity (MOQ), how the deposit works, and what happens if the goods miss the sample. Papillon runs buying from China as a Hong Kong Limited with a team on the ground: factory, terms, sample and quality control (QC), then shipment.
How to buy goods from China
Steps for buying from China as a B2B firm, from brief to shipment, before duty and delivery.
Define what you buy
Write the product, material, quantity, target price, packing and date. Without a brief, buying from China becomes a guess from a photo.
Make a shortlist, not one chat
Compare 3–5 offers from Alibaba, 1688, fairs or direct contacts. One cheap bid often hides a trader or a different quality.
Check who you pay
A visit, a check or a documented review separates a factory from a trader. For serious buying from China you do not pay an account you cannot locate.
Sample, MOQ and purchase order
Approve the sample in writing. Agree MOQ, lead time, Incoterms and payment. The purchase order must hold spec, packing and the QC criterion.
Deposit, production and QC
The deposit follows a clear purchase order. Do QC before shipment. Tie the balance to an approved report and papers, not a WeChat promise.
Buying from China is not the same as import from China
Buying from China is the purchase: who gets the money, what you order, under which terms. Import from China is the next layer: freight, customs, the Serbia-China FTA where it applies, a certificate of origin (COO) and landed cost to the warehouse. If you buy well and plan import poorly, the goods still stall or rise at customs.
That is why these pages sit apart. Here is how you buy. The import guide is how the goods enter.
How to order from China: Alibaba, 1688 or factory
How to order from China for a firm: Alibaba is a catalogue. You see price range, MOQ and photos. 1688 is closer to Chinese wholesale, often cheaper, with more language and more traders. Neither platform proves the account is a factory, nor that an order is already an import.
Direct buying from a factory makes sense when quantity, private label or a repeat order justify verification. Papillon checks lines, capacity and who actually issues the invoice.
- Alibaba
- fast research and first contact
- 1688
- lower prices, more traders, you need local language
- Factory
- worth it when MOQ and quality must hold
How payment works when buying from China
The usual B2B model is a deposit (often 30%) after a signed purchase order, the rest before shipment or against the B/L. 100% in advance to an unverified supplier is the most common way buying from China becomes a loss.
Papillon as a Hong Kong Limited can sit in a B2B payment structure where that makes sense. The exact model (direct to you, through us, Trade Assurance) is agreed before the deposit, not after.
MOQ and a small buy from China
MOQ (minimum order quantity) exists because the line has a setup cost. A trial run can often go lower if you have a next-order plan. A tiny buy (a few cartons) more often goes through a trader or a courier, at a higher unit price.
If you need small quantities from several suppliers, consolidation in China joins them into one LCL shipment. You buy from several places and pay one freight.
Where buying from China usually breaks
Buying from China fails in three places: the wrong supplier, a vague spec, and shipment without QC. A trader presents as a factory. Colour, weight or packing never made the purchase order. The goods arrive and you see the defect then.
A team on the ground reduces that: a visit, a written sample, QC before shipment. A claim in Ningbo is cheaper than a claim in Belgrade or an EU warehouse.
How Papillon runs the buy
You send a brief. We run the shortlist, check, talks, sample and purchase order. In an agreed sourcing-execution scope, buying from China moves into import: QC, papers, freight and customs to the address. Supplier selection or sourcing execution without freight stops at a verified supplier, and you run the move.
The fee is a separate line. We do not hide a markup in the goods you buy.
Često postavljana pitanja
Check the line, the address and who issues the invoice. Factories in China are not proven by a platform badge. Papillon visits or checks before the deposit. See Factories in China and China suppliers.
No. The team on the ground runs the shortlist, visits and samples. A personal trip makes sense for a fair or a strategic category, not as a condition of the first buy.
Brief, shortlist of 3–5 suppliers, factory check, sample, purchase order, deposit, production, QC, balance and shipment. Papillon runs those steps on the ground. Customs and delivery are import. See Import from China.
The same as buying from China: brief, shortlist, check who you pay, sample, purchase order, deposit, QC, balance and shipment. Order from Alibaba is only first contact, not the end of the job.
You can place an order, but Alibaba is not import. You still need a factory or trader invoice, freight, customs and, for the FTA, a COO. The platform does not replace verification or landed cost.
Factory price plus everything to the warehouse. The only honest figure is landed cost. The same $8 offer can fall apart on LCL, duty and delay. Send a brief for an outline.
Sometimes, if MOQ and courier or LCL math work. For a few pieces, local is often cheaper. For cartons and wholesale quantity, buying from China usually wins, if QC and papers hold.
Typically a deposit after the purchase order, the rest before shipment. Avoid 100% in advance to an unverified account. Trade Assurance, TT and an HK Ltd structure depend on amount and risk. Agree before you send money.
If you are choosing a supplier and payment, stay here. If you care about duty, FTA, LCL or FCL and time to warehouse, open Import from China. Most firms need both.
Next step
Send the request: category, quantity, and date. You get a reply within 24 hours, with an outline of the total cost to destination where we can price it.