The Scam Behind the 'Factory Price'
This is a common story we hear from buyers visiting China’s wholesale markets: everything looks like a bargain—until it isn’t. One of our UK clients placed an order for 1,000 Muslim headscarves at the Yiwu market. The price was incredibly low. He checked a sample and felt like he’d finally found a true factory price.
But when he asked us to run a quality check before shipping, things went sideways. A large number of the scarves had sizing issues. We tried contacting the supplier to help him sort it out, but the factory simply stopped responding. No remake. No refund. And here’s the real headache: most deals in wholesale markets are done without any contract. So if something goes wrong, there’s basically no protection. No signed terms means no clear responsibility. That’s why we always say cheap comes at a much higher cost than you expected.
They Built the Cheapest Sugarcane Cups in China
Not all good prices are scams. If you know your way around China’s supply chain, you can still find reliable factories offering surprisingly good deals. Here’s a great example: a Dutch client came to us looking for a more affordable sugarcane bagasse cups. He told us that, in the Netherlands, plastic cups are taxed now due to environmental regulations. Big chains like Starbucks and Tim Hortons have already switched to sugarcane-based options. But the cost is nearly 4 times more than regular plastic cups.
So our sourcing agent Joe spent a full week researching and contacting dozens of suppliers. Finally, he found one factory that claimed to offer the lowest sugarcane bagasse prices in China and we decided to check it out for ourselves. The production process starts with raw sugarcane waste, which is first compressed into flat sheets to reduce shipping volume. These sheets then go through 10 fully automated production lines, each equipped with robotic arms that handle everything from molding to trimming. They can produce over 100,000 sets of tableware per day.
We were curious how they managed to offer such low prices. With a confident smile, the manager explained they started out by selling machines that process sugarcane pulp. Then the owner spotted an opportunity for eco-friendly tableware, since many small restaurants owners still couldn’t afford the high prices of eco options.
So to cut costs even further, he built two sugarcane farms in Guangxi, the largest sugarcane-producing region in China. From planting the cane to producing the final tableware, they now control the entire supply chain.
Where to Find Suppliers Like Miniso’s
Miniso has been on a hot streak lately. Not just because of their blind boxes, plush toys, or AI-translating earbuds. Their affordable everyday goods also attract massive crowds. We’ve had quite a few clients ask us where to find products that cheap and how to open a store like Miniso in their country.
In China, one city has six Miniso stores on average. If you want open a Miniso store, they will handle all product sourcing for you. That’s the key. Miniso operate like Walmart, by consolidating massive orders across thousands of stores, they can bargain with suppliers and secure incredibly low prices.
A water bottle that sells for $8 probably costs around $2, often from factories in Yongkang, Zhejiang. A $2 stationery set costs about 20 cents. The charging cables and power adapters sold for $10. They’re sourced from Shenzhen for as low as $4. Many of their daily-use items come from Yiwu. Actually, there are plenty of Yiwu suppliers that specialize in “Miniso-style” products priced at just 20 cent. They’ll even help you with store design, product displays, and operations support.
$2,000 Sample Cost?
One of the biggest challenges in sourcing from China is customizing a bunch of different products at once. Last month, a European football team came to us with a special request: they needed a full line of custom gift sets, including water bottles, pens, socks, and shirts. Like many first-time buyers, they started by trying to find suppliers on Alibaba. After contacting dozens of different vendors, the total cost of samples and shipping hit $2,000. On top of that, they need to manage multiple suppliers and wait through long turnaround times.
So they decided to let us handle the entire project. Our sourcing agent, Cecilia, quickly found trusted suppliers through Jingsourcing’s network. Since we’ve worked with them before, we were able to negotiate better prices. Some in-stock items that didn’t require molds were sourced in a week. Custom products are now already in production. All bulk orders will be shipped to our warehouse for unified quality checks. In the end, the total cost was nearly cut in half compared to what they would’ve spent doing it on their own.
For companies that need custom product bundles like this, we always recommend working with one reliable partner. That way, you only have to communicate with one team that keeps an eye on production and step in to resolve any quality issues if needed.
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