Wholesale Toys from China
The most expensive toy mistake is not a bad shipment. It is a shipment that passes factory quality control and then fails a random customs or retailer compliance check in your market, because the EN71 or ASTM report on file was never real. Fake test reports circulate openly in the toy trade; a factory will hand you a scan that looks perfect and collapses the moment a lab database search returns nothing.
The second costly mistake is age grading. A pull-back car with a detachable wheel sold as suitable for ages 3 and under fails the small parts cylinder test in both the US and EU. The factory will build whatever you order; age grading is the importer’s legal responsibility, and retailers will ask for the documentation.
Select Trade has placed toy programs in Shantou’s Chenghai district and in Dongguan for five years, so the notes below are built around the two questions that decide outcomes here: whether the certification is real, and whether the batch matches the certified sample. Price bands and cluster geography follow.
Where the factories are
Toys concentrate in four clusters, each with a distinct specialty.
| Cluster | City | Strengths | Typical MOQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chenghai toy district | Shantou, Guangdong | Plastic toys, building blocks, remote control, die-cast; the largest plastic toy cluster in China | 300-1,000 pcs |
| Dongguan electronics belt | Dongguan, Guangdong | Battery-operated and electronic toys, drones, RC, higher engineering depth | 500-1,000 pcs |
| Yunhe wooden toy town | Lishui, Zhejiang | Wooden puzzles, blocks, Montessori-style lines | 500-1,000 sets |
| Yangzhou plush belt | Yangzhou, Jiangsu | Plush and stuffed toys, custom mascot runs | 500-2,000 pcs |
Chenghai alone covers most stock plastic toy needs, and its trading floors let you mix SKUs across factories inside one order. For background on how we screen suppliers in these clusters, see our industries page.
Price ranges you should expect
Indicative ex-works bands for stock-mold products; custom tooling changes the math completely.
| Product type | Factory price range | MOQ | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic toy, stock mold | $0.30-2.50 per pc | 300-1,000 pcs | 15-25 days |
| Battery-operated or RC toy | $1.50-8.00 per pc | 500-1,000 pcs | 25-35 days |
| Plush toy, 15-30 cm | $0.80-5.00 per pc | 500-2,000 pcs | 20-30 days |
| Wooden toy set | $0.80-4.00 per set | 500-1,000 sets | 25-35 days |
| Custom mold, new tooling | $3,000-30,000 mold fee | 1-3 sets of tooling | 35-50 days |
These bands assume current resin and labor costs; request a live quotation per SKU before locking retail margins.
Verify the test report, then the lab behind it
For the EU you need EN71-1 (mechanical and physical), EN71-2 (flammability) and EN71-3 (chemical migration). For the US, ASTM F963 plus CPSIA, which requires a Children’s Product Certificate based on testing at a CPSC-accepted lab. Ask which lab did the report; SGS, TÜV, Intertek and BV reports can be verified by report number directly with the lab, and this five-minute check catches most forgeries. If the factory says the report “covers the whole series,” push back: reports are per model and per material set.
Control age grading and small parts yourself
Order a small parts cylinder (the choke tube) for your own office and test every component, including decorations and packaging ties. Specify the age label on the artwork and in the PO. Any toy for under-3s must have no parts that fit the cylinder, and screws on battery compartments need a torque test, because children extract screws that adults cannot.
Settle mold ownership before the deposit
When you pay tooling, the PO should state that the mold belongs to you, sits idle only with your written consent, and can be shipped to another factory on request. This clause costs nothing to agree to at signing and is nearly impossible to negotiate after the factory has your tooling.
Quality risks specific to this category
Batch drift is the core risk: paint heavy metals, phthalates in soft plastic, and small parts that appear after a drop test all vary between production lots, even at the same factory. Recycled resin is the second trap; it cuts $0.10-0.30 per unit and brings unknown contaminants with it. Specify virgin material in the PO, test one random carton per batch, and hold shipments to an AQL of 2.5 major / 4.0 minor. A mid-production check catches paint and assembly drift while there is still time to fix it. More detail is in our toys sourcing guide, and our services page explains how inspections slot into a managed order.
Product lines in this category
One page per product we source here, with its own specifications, minimums and inspection points.
- Plastic toys on stock moulds: ABS and PP builds, custom colourways and packaging, tested before loading
- Battery-operated and RC toys: 2.4GHz radio builds, certified chargers, battery-bay safety checked per lot
- Plush and stuffed toys: named fabrics, pull-tested eyes and noses, seams checked on the bulk lot
- Wooden toy sets: named timber, water-based finish, edges and moisture checked on the bulk lot
- Custom moulds and new tooling: steel grade and cavity count agreed, first-article approval before production
Frequently asked questions
What certificates do I need to sell toys in the US?
ASTM F963 testing plus a CPSIA Children’s Product Certificate, with testing done at a CPSC-accepted lab. Expect $300-800 per model for a full initial test, then less for retests of unchanged models. Amazon will ask for the CPC document at listing time.
How do I check that a factory’s EN71 report is genuine?
Get the report number and the issuing lab, then contact the lab or use its online verification page. Match the product photos, model number and test date to what the factory showed you. A report older than two years, or one without a model photo, deserves extra suspicion.
What MOQ works for a first toy order?
Stock-mold plastic toys usually start at 300-500 pieces, sometimes with a mixed-color allowance. Electronic toys rarely go below 500 because of the motor and PCB batch costs. Wooden and plush sit at 500-1,000 depending on fabric or wood cutting setups.
Why do identical-looking toys differ in price by 30%?
Material grade, motor quality, screw count and paint layers. A $1.20 and a $1.80 pull-back car can share the same mold; the cheaper one likely uses recycled ABS and a thinner axle. Compare bills of material, not photos.
Get a live quotation
Select Trade is a Guangzhou-based sourcing agent with five years of category sourcing work behind these notes. Quotations are free. Our service fee starts at 5% of order value, and it covers supplier screening, sample coordination, factory audits, inline and pre-shipment inspection, and consolidation at our Guangzhou warehouse before container loading. Send your specification sheet, target price and destination market to vivianpi@gzstrade.com, or message WhatsApp +86 13202073761. You can also reach us through the contact page and we will reply within one business day.
Request a quotation
Tell us the product, the target quantity and the port you ship to. Our minimum order is 1 piece, and mixed models are welcome. We come back with factory options, real prices and MOQs within two business days.
