Alibaba is the most widely used platform for sourcing from China. If you can’t find the product you’re looking for you are not searching correctly or the product isn’t available on Alibaba. This will be the case if you are searching for a new product.

Below we provide 3 tips on what to do if you can’t find the product you are looking for.

1. Search for suppliers that make similar products

By similar products we mean products that utilise the same key components or materials. If a supplier is capable of producing a similar product, and as long as you have enough budget for tooling and the MOQ, they should be willing to develop the new product for you.

2. Look for suppliers of the key components

For example, if you have designed a new electronic product which uses a particular electronic motor or chipset you could try talking to suppliers of that key component first. See if they can connect you with an assembly factory that could build out the rest of the product.

3. Source the components individually and do your own assembly

This is not the most practical option for most, but if you have invested in a new product design and want to protect it longer term, this is the safest option. It requires more time and money to do, so it needs to be part of a longer-term plan with an appropriate level of investment and commitment to support.

To get started, be sure to follow our step-by-step guide to sourcing from Alibaba to ensure you are following best search practices. If you do not have the time to do that, Checkpoint can do an initial search for you via our Supplier Search service. If we cannot find the exact product you are looking for, we will find suppliers of similar products instead.