1. Decide what you are buying — and for whom
Start from your sales channel, not from the factory. A pet shop needs a broad range in small quantities; an Amazon seller needs a few products with a defensible brand; a wholesaler needs volume and repeatability. Write down for each product the target retail price, the quantity you can sell in three months and the market where you sell — that determines the label languages and the documents you need.
2. Find manufacturers, not just listings
B2B platforms show thousands of identical offers. Many are trading companies reselling the same factory product with a mark-up. Ask for the business licence, check the company age and export history, and request factory photos or a video call from the production floor. For anything you plan to brand, you want the manufacturer.
3. Compare quotes like for like
Quotes differ because specifications differ: fabric weight, foam density, steel grade, packaging. Send every supplier the same specification and ask for price per piece, MOQ, packaging, carton size and weight, and production time. Carton data matters: a cheap bed that ships in a huge carton can end up the most expensive one delivered.
4. Order samples — and test them
Never skip samples. Check materials, smell, seams, zips and sizes; wash the washable items; let a dog chew the chew toy. Keep one approved sample as the “golden sample” — it becomes the reference for production and inspection.
5. Agree payment and production terms
Typical terms are a 30 % deposit and 70 % before shipment. Put the specification, packaging, labelling, delivery date and quality standard in writing. If you add your logo, approve a pre-production sample before mass production starts.
6. Inspect before the goods leave China
Once the goods are in Europe, fixing problems is slow and expensive. A pre-shipment inspection checks quantity, workmanship, function, packaging and labels on a statistical sample (AQL). Pay the balance only after the inspection report.
7. Choose the transport mode
Rail from China to Poland takes about 20–30 days door to door and suits most mixed orders. Sea freight takes 35–45 days and is cheapest for bulky goods such as beds and carriers. Air takes 7–12 days and is for samples and urgent reorders.
8. Customs, duty and VAT
The importer of record files the import declaration, pays customs duty according to the tariff code and import VAT. Most pet accessories carry duty rates between 0 and 12 %. A VAT-registered business can normally recover import VAT. You also need an EORI number.
9. Make the product legal to sell
Since December 2024 the GPSR requires every consumer product sold in the EU to have an economic operator in the EU, traceability information and safety information. Food-contact items, electronics and textiles have extra rules. Marketplaces enforce this and delist products without GPSR data.
The shortcut
If you would rather not be the importer, buy through an EU importer: you receive an EU invoice, inspected goods and GPSR documentation, and the price is delivered to your door. That is what we do at PetsIQ — send us your product list and compare.
