Over the past few years, it has become easy and convenient to purchase electronics from China. Even though the entire process has streamlined, there are certain factors you need to know before you make a final purchase decision.
For retail owners across the world, the biggest factor for ordering products from China is the high-cost margin. Even though it’s not about cheap labor anymore, China offers a robust and cost-effective ecosystem of consumer electronics, not found anywhere else in the world.
In this article, we will cover how you can order headphones in bulk from China and get them shipped to any country in the world. But before that let’s first understand the sourcing market in China.
You can easily know about this article from the following points:
Chapter 1: Factors for Purchasing Headphones from China
Chapter 2: Finding Suppliers from China’s Sourcing Marketplace
Chapter 3: Do’s and Dont’s
Chapter 1: Factors for Purchasing Headphones from China
There are two main factors to purchase headphones from China:
High-profit margin: Electronic products like headphones, Bluetooth speakers, etc., have a high product margin. Top-quality headphones from China have solid build quality, excellent features, and pristine sound reproduction which puts them at par with top brands from around the world.
A single pair of high-quality wireless noise-canceling headphones can go up to $40-$50. However, if you order in bulk, you can get a good deal with a decent profit margin when you re-sell it in your country.
Wide range of products: Modern customers are intrigued by hi-tech designs and trendy features. Within the headphones market, noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones are in trend.
While buying from China, you will find a plethora of options in terms of manufacturers, distributors, and wholesale dealers offering you great quality headphones with top features.
Chapter 2: Finding Suppliers from China’s Sourcing Marketplace
When finding headphone suppliers in China, you must check every option you have before making a final deal. Here are the options you have:
eCommerce Stores
The easiest way to start is to look up at Chinese e-commerce websites like Alibaba, GlobalSource, Aliexpress, and DealExtreme.
Alibaba: Alibaba offers a large variety of headphones ranging from $5 to $60 showcased by different suppliers. At times you will find products with similar branding available at different price points.
Even though there are genuine products as well but distinguishing a fake product from the original just by the price tag of the item can be a daunting task for you.
GlobalSource: Just like Alibaba, you will find a good range of suppliers on GlobalSource, although the product range is not as abundant.
However, GlobalSource has a good network of electronic manufacturers that you can contact and discover their product range.
Aliexpress: Aliexpress is part of the Alibaba e-commerce platform. It has a lesser number of products as compared to other Chinese e-commerce platforms. Even though you will find the prices of the headphones a bit higher than other platforms, Aliexpress offers a drop shipping facility if you don’t want to hold stock.
DealExtreme: It has a good range of headphones and offers free shipping for bulk orders to many countries.
Industrial Clusters and Fairs
China is the electronics manufacturing hub of the world, and within the country cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Yiwu are home to independent industries manufacturing top-notch consumer electronics.
The best method to find the right supplier is to start from Shenzhen, which is also the electronics capital of China. If you’re typically trying to find a sourcing market, start from the Huaqiang North area and the Seg Square.
The Huaqiangbei electronic market offers a wide range of electronics products especially if you’re looking for headphones. However, you must know that the sellers at the Huaqiangbei are only the middlemen, which means you can get top-quality headphones from there but there’s no privilege to customize them.
Another factor is that most sellers in the area rent the booths on monthly basis; hence, you can’t expect a stable supply from the same dealer for the long term. It’s recommended to have an agent with you while finding suppliers, as the agent can easily communicate with the locals and find you a better deal.
Electronic Trade Fairs
China is home to a lot of electronics fairs every spring and autumn. Some of the most prominent fairs are Canton Fair and the Hong Kong Electronics Fair.
Guangzhou hosts the Canton fair every year, with a large variety of suppliers, dealers, and purchasers coming from all around the world. While the Hong Kong Electronics Fair is the largest in Asia, it is especially targeted at professional electronics products.
Chapter 3: Do’s and Dont’s
While finding headphone suppliers in China, you will need to consider Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ), rules and regulations, and any pre-requisite conditions of the supplier.
MOQ of suppliers
If you want customized headphones then the minimum order quantity for most suppliers is more than 1,000 units.
Packaging
Most suppliers in China use OPP bags for packaging headphones. If you want customized packaging, an additional cost of $0.3 to $0.5 is charged.
Sample Products
Your supplier can give you a free sample of a particular headphone model if you are looking for a bulk order. While you can also get paid samples shipped to your country before you visit China to ensure the quality of the product depending on the policy of the individual supplier.
Upfront Payment
After finalizing a purchasing order, you have to pay a minimum of 30% of the total payment to the supplier, and the rest of it after the items are packaged and are ready for shipping.
Shipping
Shipping is probably the most important factor when you’re importing headphones or other electronic products from China. Mainly, the products are shipped through two modes of travel: sea and air.
Since modern wireless headphones have inbuilt li-ion batteries, not all freight forwarding companies provide the service of air transport of such products outside of China. Hence, you will not be able to use companies like FedEx, DHL, and UPS for shipping headphones to your country.
When shipping headphones with inbuilt batteries, you will need the provision of MSDS documents and external packaging with electronic tags. Plus, if you’re using a courier service, you will have to pay the surcharge for transporting hazardous substances.
- Express and Air Shipping
Transportation of headphones with batteries by air is highly restricted in China. Although some dealers may choose Hong Kong air services for their easy inspection and fast trade policies.
Still, you will need the battery to pass the UN test with a dangerous goods declaration. Further, the packaging must be strong enough to handle shock and rough handling and to avoid internal short-circuiting.
- Sea Shipping
For shipping through the sea, your supplier will need to visit the Commodity Inspection Bureau with a performance sheet and hazardous characteristics classification identification report (IMI).
After that, you will need an MSDS (Material Safety Data Report) issued by the manufacturer to provide data about the physical and chemical characteristics, methods of storage & disposal, first aid in case of adverse reactions while handling, and spill handling procedures.
A copy of the MSDS will also be placed on board the ship for the cargo officer, with a dangerous package certificate and Report for Safe Transport of Goods issued by the local authority.
Our Recommendation
We recommend you transport headphones without batteries to save any hassles and additional costs in shipping. However, if you’re not able to procure batteries from your domestic suppliers, then sea shipping is the preferred method.
Conclusion
China, being the electronics manufacturing hub of the world attracts retail owners from across the world. With mobile technology reaching its peak, products like headphones, chargers, and Bluetooth speakers are in high demand.
In this article, we have enlisted the entire process of finding the right headphones suppliers in China (e-commerce, trade fairs, and local dealers) along with choosing the best shipping methods (express, air, and sea), which will help you to make a positive buying decision.
