Guides to getting your product made

Alibaba.com alternatives and sites like Alibaba: going direct to a factory, a trading company, a sourcing agent, other B2B directories, and US options.

Alibaba Trade Assurance from its own rules: what it covers, what buyers pay, dispute deadlines, the evidence a claim needs, and where its protection stops.

Alibaba.com vs AliExpress for brands: who each serves, how each makes money, when AliExpress still helps, and the US import rules that now apply to both.

Garment District NYC for clothing brands: what the Midtown district still offers, how zoning changed it, and the state rules for hiring a sewing contractor.

How to find a clothing manufacturer: choose full package or a CMT contractor, where apparel factories find brands, the fabric and labor checks, and samples.

How to find a manufacturer for your product: where factories list themselves, what to send, how to tell a plant from a trader, and how to build a shortlist.

How to find a manufacturer in China: where to search, how to tell a factory from a trading company, protecting your trademark, forced-labor rules and samples.

How to find who makes a product: read its label, look up an RN, check tracking marks and US import records, ask the brand, then confirm the name you find.

How to import from China to the US: forced-labor checks, the duty layers on Chinese goods, bonds, the security filing, the entry and a landed cost example.

How to make a product prototype: prove the idea cheaply, build looks-like and works-like models, write a spec, then sample and plan a small first run.

How to manufacture a product: protect and prototype it, write a spec factories can price, compare EXW and FOB quotes landed, ship and clear US customs.

How to order from Alibaba.com: message suppliers, get samples, lock the terms, pay via Trade Assurance, then handle freight, US customs and duties yourself.

How to start a candle business: pour or outsource, the lead wick ban, net weight and warning labels, and the duty order on petroleum wax candles from China.

How to start a clothing brand or clothing line: pick a niche, write tech packs, pick blanks, private label or cut and sew, get it made, label and land it.

How to start a fitness clothing line: pick a hero product, spec the performance knit, wear-test samples, keep odor and compression claims legal, price landed.

How to start a jewelry business: decide whether to make pieces or have them made, pick metals you can describe legally, stamp them right and price the run.

How to start a makeup line: build a shade range a lab can make, use only colors allowed for each use, label the shades correctly and price the first order.

How to start a shoe brand: pick a construction, get lasts and a size run made, budget sole moulds, wear test samples, and choose materials with duty in mind.

How to start a skincare line: decide cosmetic or drug, pick a stock or custom formula, source a lab overseas, list with FDA under MoCRA, price it landed.

How to start a supplement company: choose a formula, write specs, source a CGMP factory overseas, meet FDA label and import rules, and price it landed.

Work out US import duty from the HTS code, origin and customs value, add Section 301 duties and entry fees, and compare China, Vietnam, India and Mexico.

Importing from India into the US: check the exporter, add the extra duties on Indian goods to the normal rate, file on time and compare quotes on landed cost.

Alibaba.com is a real B2B platform, but each supplier on it is a separate risk. What its terms say about protection, badges and disputes, and how to vet.

The LA garment district is now called the Fashion District: what brands can source there, how much sewing is left, and California garment law for contractors.

Mexico vs China manufacturing for US brands: the Section 301 duty on each, what a USMCA claim needs, getting goods to the US, and how to compare the quotes.

Nearshoring vs offshoring for US product brands: Mexico against China and Vietnam on duty, USMCA, speed and unit price, with a landed cost example for each.

Overseas manufacturing pros and cons for product brands: where offshore factories win, when a US maker is the better call, and how to compare the two landed.

Quality control in manufacturing for brands that buy from factories: the written standard, checks by stage, the legal testing floor and handling a failed lot.

A free RFQ template for brands asking factories for prices, plus what to include so that the quotes you get back can be compared line by line.

Small batch manufacturing for new brands: ways under a factory's MOQ, the path from sample to first run, customs on small shipments, and the true unit cost.

What a sourcing agent does, how it is paid, how customs treats its fee, and when buying direct or getting matched with named manufacturers fits better.

A tech pack is the spec a factory prices, samples and sews from. What it contains, the US label rules it must carry, and how to write one for apparel.

How to make a toy prototype a factory can build: set the age grade, design out small parts, pick materials that pass lab tests, then certify the first run.

Why so much is made in China: factory scale, supplier depth, ports, wages and WTO timing, plus how Vietnam, India and Mexico now compare on US tariffs.