B2B·Wholesale Marketplace

How to Import Toys from China

How to Import Toys from China — Step by Step, with Real Numbers

Six steps, two decision points, and the two mistakes that cost the most.

385,341 items in stock 5,233 factories 1 carton minimum order $0.84/kg freight from
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Open prices per unit and per carton. No registration, no sales rep, minimum order total 2,000 CNY (≈ $313), no company required — you can buy as an individual. Both prices — per unit and per carton — are open before you order.

Six steps: pick models from a catalogue where the price and carton size are published; we buy from the factories; production runs 15–30 days, up to 45 in peak; goods from several factories come to one warehouse; the batch is inspected with photo and video before the cartons are taped; then freight — air 1–15 days, rail 12–25 where a rail link exists, sea 2–45, with ranges published for 62 destinations. The minimum is one factory carton of one model; minimum order total 2,000 CNY (≈ $313). Duty is yours and depends on your country and commodity code; under DDP it is already inside our price.
Six stepsThe costTwo pathsThe calendarWhere money is lostWho we areFAQ

Most guides to importing from China are written by people selling freight, so they start at the port. The expensive decisions happen earlier — in what you order and in what shape.

This is the whole path in order, with the numbers we actually measured, and the two places where a first order loses money.

The path

What Actually Happens, in Order

1. Choosing. From a catalogue where the price per piece, the price per carton and the carton quantity are published, so the order can be costed before it exists. 385,341 items from 5,233 factories, open without registration.

2. Buying. We buy from the factories. That is the step that removes one payment, one minimum and one shipment per factory from your side.

3. Production. 15–30 days to order, up to 45 in peak season.

4. Consolidation. Goods from several factories into one shipment, 3–5 days.

5. Acceptance inspection. The batch checked line by line with photo and video before the cartons are taped. What is wrong goes back to the factory while it is still in China.

6. Freight. Air 1–15 days, rail 12–25 where a rail link exists, sea 2–45. Ranges for 62 destinations are on our shipping and transit times page.

Three parts

Goods, Freight, Duty — and Only One Is Ours

Goods. Median ¥9.30 a piece across the catalogue, median carton 84 pieces. A test carton of a median item is about ¥781, roughly $122. 52% of items are under ¥10 and 92% under ¥50.

Freight. Depends on mode, lane and volumetric weight — and volumetric weight is where the surprise lives. Measured on our own cartons: beach and pool goods run 2.61 times their real weight on air freight, dolls 2.42, plush 2.20, against 1.09 for keychains. The calculator does it for your own carton.

Duty. Yours. It depends on your country and on the commodity code of the specific item, and we do not publish rate tables, because a wrong rate here becomes your landed-cost calculation and your loss. Under DDP the duty is already inside the price we quote.

The decision

DDP or Clear It Yourself

DDP. You never deal with customs. One price, goods arrive at your address, duty and clearance inside it. Simplest, and the right choice for a first order or a small one.

Self-clearing. You are the importer of record, you see every line of cost, and you can reclaim what your system lets you reclaim. Cheaper at volume, and it needs a broker and a company in your country.

We do both and we are not pushing either. The honest comparison, including where each one bites, is on our documents and customs page.

Timing

Two Dates That Beat Any Freight Mode

Chinese New Year, 6 February 2027. About six weeks of disrupted output around it: lines stop, staff travel, and the restart is slow. An order placed just before it inherits the whole delay.

Golden Week, 1–7 October. A full week of closed factories in the middle of the autumn run-up.

Neither can be bought back with air freight, because the goods do not exist yet. The production calendar has the rest of the year.

Honestly

The Two Mistakes That Cost the Most

Ordering deep instead of broad. A first order of three cartons of one model tells you almost nothing and leaves you holding whatever did not sell. Twenty models at one carton each is a valid order with us, and it answers the only question a first order should ask: what moves off your shelf.

Ignoring volumetric weight. People cost the goods and then discover the freight. Anything inflatable or bulky pays closer to its volume than its weight — 2.61 times for beach and pool goods on air. Choosing the mode before doing that arithmetic is how a cheap order becomes an expensive one.

About us

Who Is Writing This

OPTTOYSCHINA is a wholesale platform operated by OPTTOYSCHINA LLP, Kazakhstan: catalog, requests and product selection. The seller — invoice, payment, export, documents and claims — is our manufacturing partner Yifeng Group, China. The catalogue holds 385,341 items from 5,233 factories, with the price published per piece and per carton, the carton quantity and the box dimensions stated, and the maker named on every card. The minimum is one factory carton of one model; minimum order total 2,000 CNY (≈ $313).

Our manufacturing partner is Yifeng Group (艺丰集团) in Chenghai, Shantou. The group has worked in Chenghai since 1992; its first plant, Shifeng Culture Development Co., Ltd, dates from that year and runs more than 35,000 m² of production area with an annual output of USD 60 M. AJT Testing Services Limited, founded in 2007, is historically linked with the group’s founding family and works in the same Chenghai ecosystem; the group keeps a permanent 15,000 m² showroom in Shantou with more than 500,000 toy samples. See our factory partner page.

Every batch is checked line by line with photo and video before the cartons are taped, and transit ranges are published for 62 destinations.

Browse all 385,341 items →

Selected Categories, Live Counts

Cars & Vehicles52,801Building Sets & Blocks29,238Plush & Soft Toys9,278Board Games & Puzzles17,097Birthday & Party Supplies2,869

Counts are pulled live from the catalogue on every page load — not a fixed figure typed in by hand.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the CN code for exporting toys?
Toys sit in heading 9503 of the Harmonised System — tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls’ carriages; dolls; other toys; reduced-size models; puzzles. Inside it the subheadings split by kind: wheeled toys and dolls’ carriages, dolls representing human beings, plastic construction sets, stuffed toys representing animals, toy musical instruments, wooden puzzles, plastic toys incorporating a motor, toy weapons, die-cast metal miniatures, and portable electronic educational devices. The exact eight- or ten-digit code depends on your own country’s tariff, and the duty rate follows from it — which is why we publish the heading and not a rate table.
What are the common challenges in importing toys from China and how to overcome them?
Four, in the order they usually bite. The minimum per factory — solved by buying through one party that consolidates, so the minimum becomes one carton per model, order total from 2,000 CNY instead of a production run per factory. Volumetric weight — solved by doing the arithmetic before choosing the mode, because inflatable goods run 2.61 times their real weight on air. The factory calendar — solved by counting backwards from the date the shelf has to be full, past Chinese New Year on 6 February 2027 and Golden Week on 1–7 October. And finding out about defects after the goods have landed — solved by inspecting the batch in China with photo and video before the cartons are taped.
What are the standard MOQs for toy orders in China?
Straight from a factory, the minimum is usually a production run — often several thousand pieces of one model, because the line has to be set up for it. Through us it is one factory carton of one model; minimum order total 2,000 CNY (≈ $313). The median carton in our catalogue is 84 pieces and the common sizes are 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 and 120, so twenty models at one carton each is a valid order.
How to get toys made in China with my own brand?
Most of what people mean by own brand needs no new mould: a printed box around a stock toy, colour within the factory palette, what goes in the set, pad printing and carton contents all change without one. A mould is cut only when the shape itself has to be yours. Our partner group in Chenghai has three production sites and its own engineering department, which is where that work actually happens; AJT, an ISO/IEC 17025 testing laboratory historically linked with the group’s founding family, works in the same Chenghai ecosystem.
How do I import toys from China?
In practice it is six steps. One: pick models where the price per piece and the carton quantity are published, so the order can be costed before it exists. Two: we buy from the factories — that removes one relationship per factory from your side. Three: production, 15–30 days and up to 45 in peak season. Four: consolidation of goods from several factories into one shipment, 3–5 days. Five: acceptance inspection in China with photo and video, before the cartons are taped, because that is the last place a problem is cheap. Six: freight on your chosen lane.
Do I need a company to import toys from China?
Not to order from us, and not to see prices. Whether you need one to clear customs at your end depends on your country and on whether you self-clear or take DDP. Under DDP you never deal with customs and there is nothing to register; self-clearing needs an importer of record in your country, which is usually a company.
How much does it cost to import toys from China?
Three parts, and only the first is ours. Goods: the median in our catalogue is ¥9.30 a piece and the median carton 84 pieces, so a test carton of a median item is about ¥781 — roughly $122. Freight: depends on mode, lane and volumetric weight, and inflatable goods run 2.61 times their real weight on air against 1.09 for keychains. Duty: yours, set by your country and the commodity code — we do not quote rates we have not verified, and under DDP it is inside our price.
Is there duty on toys imported from China?
Almost always, and the rate depends on your country and on the commodity code of the specific item. We deliberately do not publish rate tables: a wrong number here becomes your landed-cost calculation and your loss. Under DDP the duty is already in the price we quote you; if you self-clear, your broker gives you the rate for your code.
How long does the whole thing take?
Production to order 15–30 days, up to 45 in peak season, then 3–5 days for consolidation and acceptance inspection. Freight after that: air 1–15 days, rail 12–25 where a rail link exists, sea 2–45. Ranges for the 62 destinations are published, so you can count backwards from the date the shelf has to be full rather than forwards from the order.
What is the smallest order worth importing?
One factory carton of one model; minimum order total 2,000 CNY (≈ $313). That is what makes a first order useful: twenty models at one carton each tells you what sells, and three cartons of one model tells you almost nothing. The median carton is 84 pieces; common sizes are 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 and 120.
What documents come with the shipment?
Every consignment ships with a commercial invoice and a packing list, with no request needed. Lab reports and manufacturer certificates are sent for the items where the factory holds them — 44,336 items of 385,341 carry at least one, and the product card shows which. The full list and the DDP-versus-self-clearing comparison are on our documents and customs page.
When should I not place the order?
Straight into a factory shutdown. Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027 with about six weeks of disrupted output around it, and Golden Week closes factories 1–7 October. An order placed just before either one inherits the whole delay, and no freight mode buys that time back.

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