How to Import from China: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide (2026)
Every experienced importer started exactly where you are: staring at a product idea and a browser full of Chinese supplier listings, wondering where the money trap is. This is the guide we wish someone had given our first clients. Eight steps, no jargon, honest about the risks.
Step 1 — Define what you're buying
Not "phone cases" — specs, target unit cost, quantity and quality bar. A supplier quote against vague requirements is a fantasy number. A quote against specs is a contract.
Step 2 — Find suppliers (three sources)
- •Alibaba — easiest start, best for comparing; remember many "manufacturers" are traders
- •1688.com — the domestic Chinese platform where traders themselves buy; cheaper, but Chinese-only and needs an agent
- •A sourcing agent — pays for itself once you're past samples; gets you factory-direct prices and verification in one move
Step 3 — Verify before you pay anything
- •Business license and export record (we check these in minutes)
- •A video call at the factory — watch them walk, not a slideshow
- •References from clients in your country
- •Samples ordered and inspected before mass production
Step 4 — Negotiate like it's normal (because it is)
Everything is negotiable: price, MOQ, lead time, payment terms, tooling. Ask for MOQ reductions on trial orders — factories say yes more often than buyers expect. And always get the agreed specs written into the purchase order.
Step 5 — Pay the safe way: 30/70
The industry standard: 30% deposit starts production, 70% balance after inspection passes. Never pay 100% upfront, no matter the discount offered. If you're nervous, start smaller instead — a $2,000 trial order teaches more than a $20,000 gamble.
Step 6 — Inspect before balance
Pre-shipment inspection against AQL 2.5 standards, with photo reports of every defect class. This is the single highest-ROI step in the entire chain — it converts quality disasters into rework requests the factory pays for.
Step 7 — Ship smart
- •Samples and small parcels: express courier (2–5 days)
- •Under 2 CBM, urgent: air freight
- •0.5–15 CBM: sea LCL (ask for destination fees in writing!)
- •15+ CBM: full container
- •Don't want to touch customs at all: DDP door-to-door
Step 8 — Customs and delivery
Your shipment needs a commercial invoice, packing list and transport document to clear. Under DDP we handle all of it including duties; under FOB your local broker does. Either way, the documents come from the same place — the supplier or your agent — and they should be checked before the goods move.
The beginner's cheat sheet
- •Compare landed cost, never unit price
- •Verify before paying; inspect before balancing
- •30/70 payments, in writing, every time
- •Start small — your second order is where the margin appears