Is branded merchandise cheaper direct from China?
Often, for custom or large runs: buying direct removes a reseller's margin, and a Chinese factory can make exactly what you specify. For small runs of catalogue items, a UK supplier holding stock can cost less once samples, print set-up, freight, duty and your own time are added. Compare the landed cost per unit and the delivery date, not the factory price.
When buying branded merchandise direct from China beats a UK promotional supplier, and when it does not: landed cost, fixed costs, duty and lead time.
Compare landed cost, not the factory price
A factory price from China and a UK supplier's price are not the same thing. The UK price usually includes delivery, UK stock, the supplier's handling of problems and its own margin; the factory price includes none of those. To compare them, build the landed cost per unit: the product, printing or embroidery, samples, freight, duty, clearance, UK delivery and the time you spend managing it. Our landed price guide sets this out.
“A price that looks too low usually is. Going straight to a factory is cheapest on paper, but you pay for it in communication, time zones and trial and error. What you pay a good intermediary for is the service.” — Bono Xu, Cambridge China Bridge
When direct from China usually wins
Direct buying tends to win on custom products (your own shape, colour or packaging rather than a catalogue item), on runs of several hundred units or more, on repeat orders where set-up is already paid, and on products where the factory is the only real source of the item anyway.
It also gives you control: you choose the factory, see the samples and can inspect before shipment, rather than relying on a catalogue description.
When a UK supplier usually wins
A UK promotional supplier often wins on small runs of standard items, on very short deadlines where the stock is already in the UK, and when you want one invoice for many different items without managing several factories. When a UK supplier imports, it also carries the importer's product safety duties; when you buy direct, those duties move to you, as our promotional merchandise guide explains.
Duty differs item by item
Merchandise ranges mix many products, and the duty is set line by line. Umbrellas carry 4% on every line of heading 6601, while ceramic mugs carry duty plus anti-dumping duty on Chinese ceramic tableware, as our mugs guide shows. Check each item's commodity code before pricing the range.
Worked duty example
An invented example rather than a quote: 500 logo golf umbrellas with woven fabric covers under 6601 99 20 00, at £3,500 free on board with £400 of freight and insurance, so the customs value is £3,900. Duty at 4% is £156, and import VAT at 20% of £4,056 is £811.20, which a VAT-registered business normally reclaims. Before comparing that with a UK supplier's price per umbrella, add the costs that do not scale with quantity, such as the sample, the print set-up and the clearance fee, and divide by 500; on 50 umbrellas the same fixed costs would weigh ten times as much per unit. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.
How to get a fair comparison
Ask the UK supplier and the factory to quote the same specification, quantity and delivery date, then add every cost to reach a landed price per unit on both sides. If you already have a quote from a Chinese factory, we can check it before you pay; if you already import merchandise, our cost review compares what you pay with a like-for-like landed price.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to buy branded merchandise direct from China than from a UK supplier?
Often for custom products and runs of several hundred or more; for small runs of catalogue items a UK supplier holding stock can cost less once all costs are added.
What costs do people forget when buying merchandise direct?
Samples, print set-up, freight, duty, clearance, UK delivery and their own time, which weigh most on small runs.
Who is responsible for product safety on imported merchandise?
The importer. Buying direct makes that you; buying from a UK supplier that imports leaves it with them.
Does the duty vary across a merchandise range?
Yes. Each item has its own line; umbrellas are 4%, while Chinese ceramic mugs also carry anti-dumping duty.