Yiwu market guide for buyers

Yiwu is where buyers go for small, low-cost products, and lots of them. You can fill a container with dozens of different items from dozens of sellers in a few days. That makes it ideal for general traders, discount stores, gift shops and e-commerce sellers testing many products.

It's less suited to custom products, technical goods or very large single-product orders. For those, going to the factory directly usually gives you a better price and more control.

The market opens every day, roughly from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, and many booths open gradually after 10. It closes for about a month around Chinese New Year, and it's quieter in the weeks before and after, as sellers and workers travel.

Allow at least two or three days if you're buying across several categories. One district can easily take a full day.

• From Shanghai, high-speed trains from Shanghai Hongqiao station take about one and a half to two hours.
• From Hangzhou, the train takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
• Yiwu railway station is about 10 km from the International Trade City, around 20 minutes by taxi.
• Yiwu also has its own airport with domestic flights.

Many Yiwu sellers will accept orders of a few hundred pieces per item, sometimes less, especially for stock products. Prices are usually quoted per piece or per carton, ex-booth, so packing, transport to the warehouse and export are extra.

Typically you place orders at several booths, pay a deposit, and the goods are delivered to a consolidation warehouse, where they're checked and loaded into one container. Most buyers use a Yiwu agent or a sourcing agent to manage this, because keeping track of dozens of small orders is a lot of work.

• Many booths are traders, not factories. That's normal in Yiwu, but quality can vary between batches.
• Take photos of each product, the booth number and the seller's card, and write down the agreed price and MOQ.
• Get the order details in writing, including packaging and labels.
• Have the goods checked before they're loaded. A quick pre-shipment inspection catches wrong items, short counts and damaged packaging.
• Check what your market needs, such as safety marks and test reports for toys and electrical goods. Many Yiwu products are made for markets with different rules.

We can go to Yiwu with you, translate and keep track of every order, or buy for you from your list. We check the goods as they arrive at the warehouse, combine them into one shipment, and arrange freight. If you're planning a visit, see our business trips page.