Anyone who runs a successful consumer goods business knows that you can’t overpay for manufacturing to keep your margins in the green. As an Amazon seller selling Amazon FBA products, you’re probably familiar with Alibaba, the most popular website for sourcing suppliers. However, if you find that Alibaba doesn’t have what you’re looking for, there are many other ways to find suppliers for your Amazon FBA product. This article will show you the five best ways to source suppliers that will save you both time and money.
Amazon FBA Product Suppliers
Although I use Alibaba for many of the products I sell, sometimes they don’t fit the bill in terms of quality, pricing, or availability. In these cases, I use one of the five websites below to source manufacturers.
Europages.co.uk
Europages is ideal for anyone looking to find a high-quality consumer product from a European manufacturer. Suppose you are selling to an American audience. In that case, they typically prefer skincare and other consumable goods to be made in the USA or Europe, so if the USA isn’t an option, Europages is the next best place to go.
To get started sourcing suppliers, simply type in the product you are looking for in the search bar. You can then filter by country, company type, company size, and more, just like with Alibaba. As usual, I recommend getting 3-5 quotes from suppliers to make sure you are making an informed decision.
Ideal for: Skincare, consumable items, clothing, high-end products
Another way to source products is to use the trusty Google search engine. If you want to sell a product “Made in the USA” you can find a manufacturer by Googling this:
“Made in the USA – [product] – private label manufacturers”
This search phrase will give you a handful of different websites to choose from in your niche. Suppose you want to find a sturdy American-made frying pan, you would search for “Made in the USA – frying pan – private label manufacturers. This search will lead you to direct manufacturers in the US or manufacturer directories that you can browse through. Either way, compile a list of 3-5 and contact them from there.
Ideal for: Made in the USA products
Thomasnet.com | Amazon FBA Product Supplier
The third way to source Amazon FBA products is through a site called Thomasnet. This website is very similar to Alibaba or Europages in terms of functionality; the only difference is that all suppliers are based in the USA. So, if you want to source leather wallets made in Texas, this is the place to do it.
The only drawback here is that since the suppliers are in the USA, they charge more, are less flexible, and are harder to get ahold of. For this reason, I suggest contacting as many manufacturers as you can so that you can hear back with a quote sooner rather than later.
Ideal for: Made in the USA products
1688.com
1688.com is essentially Alibaba for Chinese retailers. They sell clothing, homeware, food, beauty products, appliances, tech products, and much more at ultra-low prices. However, because 1688 is designed for Chinese business owners, you will notice that the website is in Chinese. Not ideal, right? To get around this, simply right-click on your cursor and select “Translate to English” or use the Google Chrome translation extension. To get around this, simply take your search term and use Google to translate it into Chinese (simplified), as shown below. Then, you can type your Chinese word into the search bar and see all of the results.
As with Alibaba, I recommend searching “By supplier” instead of “By product.” Once you have a list of all available suppliers for the product you wish to sell, you will need to apply several filters, which I detail in this article.
Ideal for: Chinese made products at the lowest possible price
Sourcing Agent / Upwork
If you need to find a supplier in a pinch, don’t have time to vet suppliers yourself, or simply want an Amazon FBA product supplier “wingman,” a sourcing agent is the perfect solution. A sourcing agent can find you the best suppliers at the best prices in the location you want. For example, if you want to find a great deal on a product made in China, you would connect with a Chinese sourcing agent who would deliver you the best suppliers on a silver platter.
To find sourcing agents, I use a freelancer website called Upwork. On Upwork, you can post a job for sourcing agents, get proposals, interview, and select the right person for the job. You can also search freelancers using specific criteria and invite them to apply for your posting. You can expect to pay sourcing agents somewhere in the ballpark of $20 per hour on Upwork, though it varies.
Ideal for: Chinese made products at the cheapest possible price
At the end of the day, As an Amazon seller selling Amazon FBA products, you need to find the best suppliers and save money. Although Alibaba is a great way to source manufacturers, sometimes they just won’t have what you’re looking for. When this happens, it’s important to have alternatives like Europages, Thomas, Google, 1688, and Upwork for sourcing agents. I hope this article helped you learn more about how to source suppliers without Alibaba. As always, reach out to me with any questions or leave a comment below.
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