Buying home goods in Yiwu, with our agent
Our strongest operational presence is in Yiwu. Kitchen and bath, hardware and electrical goods are in District 2, daily necessities in District 4, decorations and artificial flowers in District 1, and bedding and home textiles in District 5. The floor layout changes, so our agents confirm it before you arrive.
General stores, homeware shops, online sellers and wholesalers supplying village shops buy small quantities of many items. One order therefore often takes in several buildings of the Yiwu market and many of its shops. The range is wide: pots, pans and utensils, plates, cups and glasses, storage boxes and baskets, bathroom accessories, mops, brooms and brushes, wooden articles and hangers, vases and frames, small furniture and small appliances. You choose in person: we organise a Yiwu buying trip on which our agent goes through the districts with you, translates, conducts the negotiations and records the orders.
What we check on home goods
Suppliers deliver the goods to our warehouse in Yiwu, where we check quantity and quality:
- Glass and ceramics. Breakage, cracked glaze, plates that do not sit flat. We check piece by piece, on sample cartons.
- Steel. Thickness and grade against the sample, and the weight per piece. Cheap "stainless" steel can rust after the first wash, so we ask the supplier for a declaration for the material.
- Plastic. Walls thinner than the sample, lids that do not close, a strong smell.
- Mops and brushes. A handle thread that does not fit, bristles that fall out.
- Wood. Mould, if the wood was damp when packed.
- Small appliances. Plug type, voltage label and the CE, LVD, EMC and RoHS documents.
- Match with the sample. Colour, finish, size and the number of pieces in the set.
For a full container at a factory in another city, the agent carries out the check at the factory, anywhere in China. In both cases you receive a photo and video report before loading. The check does not replace laboratory testing. Read more on the page quality control in China.
Food contact
Pots, glasses, food containers and kitchen utensils are food-contact materials, which are subject to specific rules. The supplier provides a declaration for the material. A trading company at the market often does not have one, so we ask the factory for it, before the deposit is paid. Confirm the requirements for your product and market before importing.
Packing and cartons
- Divided cartons for glass and ceramics, marked as fragile. A carton of glasses has to withstand a drop during manual loading.
- Nesting. Buckets and bins nested inside one another take up a fraction of the space.
- Long cartons. Mops and brooms are packed in long cartons, which are hard to stack.
For breakables we write the packing into the order: individual wrapping, dividers and a carton weight limit.
Example: a consolidated order from five market shops
The dimensions are taken from the packing lists.
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| Item | Carton (cm) | CBM per carton | Cartons | Total CBM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic storage boxes (3924) | 60 × 40 × 45 | 0.108 | 40 | 4.32 |
| Steel racks (7323) | 50 × 30 × 30 | 0.045 | 20 | 0.9 |
| Drinking glasses (7013) | 50 × 35 × 35 | 0.061 | 30 | 1.84 |
| Mops and brushes (9603) | 80 × 40 × 40 | 0.128 | 25 | 3.2 |
| Wooden decor (4421) | 50 × 40 × 40 | 0.08 | 15 | 1.2 |
| Total | 130 | about 11.5 |
The volume is far below the practical capacity of a 20' container (about 30 CBM, 33 m³ internal). For a volume like this we look at LCL consolidation: we collect the cartons from the five suppliers in our warehouse and send them as one shipment. LCL is charged per CBM, with a minimum of 1 CBM, and we choose the transport together with you, according to the weight and type of goods. You can work out your own list in the CBM calculator.
Lead times and season
Home goods sell all year, with peaks before summer (garden, outdoor, storage) and before the holidays (gift sets, tableware, decor). Once the goods are ready in China, allow 60 to 75 days via Suez or 70 to 90 days around Africa for delivery to your warehouse. Transit times are approximate. We confirm the exact time and route for each shipment, based on the current situation on the sea lanes.
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| Goods in your warehouse | Order deadline (via Suez) | Order deadline (around Africa) |
|---|---|---|
| early May | early January | mid-December |
| early October | early June | mid-May |
The deadlines assume 45 days of production. Factories close for weeks around Chinese New Year and restart slowly, so orders that overlap with the holiday are confirmed earlier. Avoid buying trips around that holiday and from 1 to 8 October, China's National Day holiday (Golden Week).
Tariff number and customs
Typical headings: 3924 plastic household articles, 6911 and 6912 ceramic tableware, 7013 glassware, 7323 steel table and kitchen articles, 9603 brooms, brushes and mops, 4421 wooden articles and hangers, 9403 plastic and metal furniture, 8509 and 8516 small appliances. The forwarder confirms the exact code. For Serbia, some goods carry a lower duty under the China-Serbia free trade agreement. The forwarder confirms whether it applies, and we ask the supplier for the proof of origin when the order is placed.
We do not carry out customs clearance. A forwarder handles clearance, duty and VAT, your own or one we recommend. We deliver the goods to the customs warehouse and hand over the documents. Read more in the guide customs duty and VAT on goods from China.
How we work together
One of our clients is a wholesaler of gifts, decor, plates and boxes, with more than 15 containers a year, while smaller buyers start with consolidated shipments. Four agents employed by Transcont work for you in China, and we collect and check the goods in our own warehouses in Yiwu and Ningbo.
Send us a list or photos of the items, the quantities and the destination and, if you plan a trip, the approximate dates. For plastic goods in particular, see packaging and plastics from China.
