Pet Products: Dog and Cat Toys

Buying wholesale pet toys directly from a manufacturer is a great way to get the best price on products, but it's easier said than done. While these steps will vary depending on what product you're sourcing (as well as how you are delivering products to a supplier), here are some general steps you can follow on how to buy wholesale pet products:

• Find a supplier: You have to find a supplier before you can buy anything! You can find suppliers on platforms like Alibaba, or you can partner with a specialist (like Kanary), to help you find a supplier you can trust. 
• Vet the Supplier: Next, you need to know if you can trust a supplier (which is particularly important for pet products). You'll request samples and inspect their factory operations. If you can't physically visit a factory, you should request videos and pictures. 
• Negotiate: If your initial vetting of a supplier meets your expectations, you'll move to negotiating production terms. This includes price, but also includes lead times, minimum order quantities (MOQs), and even storage options. 

If you are familiar with finding, vetting, and negotiating with factories directly, then a sourcing specialist, like Kanary, may be an excellent resource for you.

While there are a lot of platforms where you can find pet toy suppliers (like Alibaba), finding a supplier you can trust is a bit of a different task. You need to be prepared to vet suppliers once you find potential options, and there's a few tips you should follow:

• Request samples: Requesting samples is one of the most important things you can do to vet a supplier. It gives you a real-world look on their production quality, and it also allows you to see if they can follow production instructions (if you have requested customizations). 
• Inspect factories: Reputable factories allow some measure of inspection, especially taking a look at quality control procedures in place. You should always inspect factories, if possible (and if it's not, you should at least request pictures and videos). ‍
• Partner with a 3rd party: If you don't have the resources or expertise to vet suppliers yourself, you should partner with a 3rd party that offers vetting services, like Kanary.

Yes, it is safe to buy dog toys from China, as long as you have performed your due diligence in finding a factory. It's a myth that you can't trust China manufacturing at all, but there are a lot of factories that:

• Can't communicate well, which will result in a sub-par product
• Will try to cut quality corners if not held accountable
• Use cheaper, less safe materials if they think they can get away with it.

If you don't think you can hold factories accountable to meet your level of expected quality, then you should partner with a sourcing specialist who can, like Kanary.

The best way to buy wholesale cat toys is to partner directly with a factory. However, finding a factory is easier said than done, and there's a few ways to find suppliers:

• Alibaba: Alibaba is the world's largest B2B platform, so you'll find a lot of different suppliers to choose from. You should take care to vet suppliers here, since not all of them will be a good match for your business.
• Trade shows: Trade shows are a good way to connect with specialty suppliers, though you should still take time to vet your choices before signing any kind of contract. 
• Google searches: Most reputable suppliers will have some kind of online presence, which means you could find them through searches and contact them directly. If searching for a China factory, language barriers may present a significant challenge for your business to make initial contact. 
• Sourcing specialists: Sourcing specialists, like Kanary, have expertise in finding suppliers for clients that are an excellent fit. If you aren't familiar with searching for, or vetting potential suppliers, partnering with a sourcing specialist is a great choice.

Buying wholesale pet toys from China is similar to connecting with a domestic factory, though there are some unique challenges and a few extra steps to consider:

• Find a supplier: First, you need to find supplier options, which can be done by using Alibaba, visiting trade shows, or even simple Google searches. 
• Vet the supplier: Vetting a China factory is more challenging than a domestic one. You should physically visit the factory, if possible, to make sure that their quality control procedures are firm and that they follow best practices for manufacturing. If you can't visit in-person, consider asking for photos or videos.
• Ask for samples: Technically part of the vetting process, but it's worth highlighting the sampling step on its own. You must ask for samples before committing to mass production, since it's the only way to see the quality of products being produced. If you are customizing products, it proves that the factory can follow your design instructions. 
• Negotiate: Negotiation with a China factory can be a particular challenge due to language barriers. If you don't have someone bilingual in Mandarin Chinese on your staff, be sure to use simple, straightforward language during negotiations to avoid misunderstandings, if possible. 

Once you sign a contract, you can begin mass production. When your order is complete, you'll have to ship your products overseas (usually via sea freight shipping), and you'll have to make sure your order successfully passes customs. Generally, businesses new to buying large volume orders from China will partner with a sourcing agent, like Kanary, to manage the process on their behalf.

Since there aren't any specific regulations to pet products in the U.S., the most common factor that will cause custom problems is not having the appropriate paperwork. You should have the required paperwork completed well in advance of your orders arriving at customs, and you should not rely on your supplier to handle the paperwork on your behalf.

There are no specific safety regulations regarding the importation of pet toys, but that doesn't mean you should willingly sell unsafe toys. Today's pet owners care deeply about their pets, and a product that proves unsafe can crater your entire brand. Most successful pet supply brands have their own internal safety measures to make sure their products are safe. 

If you aren't sure how to make products safe, you should partner with a 3rd partner that can find a trustworthy factory and a partner that can enforce quality control protocols, like Kanary.

What you look for in a wholesale dog supplier will somewhat vary depending on what specific kind of service you're looking for. If you are looking for a factory that sells products for white labeling services, you should:

• Make sure you are speaking with a factory and not a trade company: A trade company acts as a middleman between you and a factory, unnecessarily inflating your per unit price. While trade companies aren't always bad, most businesses are looking to buy directly from factories for either the best pricing and/or for the option to customize products, which trade companies struggle with. 
• Note how well they communicate: Suppliers that struggle with clear, straightforward communication should be avoided. You are going to talk to your factory a lot, including during the vetting steps, negotiation steps, and during production. If you struggle to talk with them at the beginning, then it will be a huge challenge when production problems emerge. 
• Consider engineering capabilities for customizations or prototypes: Not all factories can customize products or develop prototypes. If you're interested in either of these services, you need to make sure a factory is willing to do so and what experience they have doing so. 
• Make sure you can enforce quality control: Quality of any product is important, but it's especially true of pet toys. This is an extremely competitive product niche, and not only do your toys need to be good, they need to be safe. 

If you are unsure of your ability to do any of the above, you may want to consider a sourcing specialist, like Kanary, to take the reins of finding, vetting, and managing factory partners.

You do not have to use sea freight shipping. Many of our clients are ecommerce businesses and are interested in non-traditional fulfillment methods. One of the fulfillment strategies that our clients often use is direct from China fulfillment, which is managed by our trusted fulfillment partner, EcommOps. 

In this strategy, products are sent straight from China factories to a China fulfillment warehouse, where customer orders are fulfilled. This cuts out sea freight shipping entirely, and while the price per unit is sometimes higher, the simplicity and flexibility this strategy provides is extremely appealing. Many of our clients incorporate both China fulfillment and traditional sea freight shipping into their overall supply chain strategy.

Catnip toys bought in China can be safe if sourced from a reputable supplier. Kanary specializes in making sure any product bought from China, including cat toys, are trusted and safe. If you aren't confident in your ability to vet suppliers and make sure that pet toys you order from China meet your quality expectations, we would love to connect and see how we can work for you!