How can a Chinese factory find overseas distributors without Alibaba?
Reevi team · Updated
Start with channels where you choose the country and the company yourself: trade fairs in the target market, customs import records, and buyer-finding agents that return named importers. Use the Canton Fair, Global Sources and Made-in-China.com for inbound enquiries, where the buyer starts the conversation. Then check each importer's records for distributor signals (several related product codes, several suppliers, regular shipments), and sell to it under your own factory name.
Reevi returns named companies that buy plastic household goods in the United States, each with the reason it fits; searching is free and needs no account.
Six channels, sorted by who speaks first
What each channel gives a factory. Costs are shown only where a source states them.
| Channel | Direction | What you get | Who starts the conversation | What it costs you | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair, Guangzhou) | Buyers come to you | Booth meetings with overseas buyers who travel to Guangzhou each spring and autumn. The fair leans to export trade. | The buyer | Quote-based: ask China Foreign Trade Centre, the organiser, for booth terms | You have samples and catalogues ready and want many first meetings without leaving China |
| Global Sources (Hong Kong) | Buyers come to you | Sourcing fairs in Hong Kong. Online marketplaces where buyers contact manufacturers directly. Private sourcing events where pre-selected suppliers meet buyers from retail chains. | The buyer | Quote-based | Your range suits retail chains: ask about the private sourcing events |
| Made-in-China.com | Buyers come to you | A listing on a B2B marketplace of Chinese manufacturers, and enquiries from buyers who search it | The buyer | Quote-based | You want a second online source of enquiries next to Alibaba while you build distributors |
| Trade fair in the target market | You go to named buyers | Meetings with local distributors in their own market. You can walk the hall and see which brands each one carries. Germany alone plans more than 320 fairs in 2026, 166 of them leading national or international fairs (AUMA, the German trade fair industry association). In 2025, AUMA counted 17,990 Chinese companies exhibiting at German national and international fairs. | You | Quote-based: each organiser sets its own stand price | You have chosen one country and want to meet its distributors in person |
| Customs and trade data tools | You go to named buyers | Names of companies that imported your HS code, with shipment counts, origins and suppliers. See how customs and Bill of Lading data works and Volza, ImportGenius and Panjiva alternatives. | You | Quote-based: ask each provider for a price for one country and one HS code | You want to see who already imports your product, and from which countries |
| Buyer-finding agent (Reevi) | You go to named buyers | Named companies with a reason each one fits, a first message drafted in the buyer's language, and introductions sent by email after you approve them | You (the agent sends the introduction you approve) | Free to search, no account. Paid plans from $9.90 a month. | Your team has no full-time English writer and needs a shortlist for one country this week |
Distributor, agent or trading company: what to check in the records
Distributor and agent signals restated from Topease's guide to finding distributors with trade data. The last row reads the same signals in reverse.
| Type | In import records? | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Distributor: buys, holds stock, resells in its territory | Yes, as importer | Several related HS codes (for example plastic storage boxes, hangers and kitchen tools), several overseas suppliers, regular monthly or quarterly shipments |
| Agent: finds customers for a commission | Usually not | Company research and local checks, and whether your category actually enters that country (Topease) |
| One-off or single-line importer | Yes, as importer | The distributor signals are missing: one product code, one supplier, or irregular shipments |
A trading company that stocks goods can show the same signals as a distributor in the records; questions 3 and 4 on the first call separate them. Ignite Consulting describes the old pattern: an overseas trading agent puts its own name on the relationship, and the buyer never learns where the goods came from. Sell to the distributor directly, under your factory's name, so the reorder comes to you. Territory, exclusivity and minimum purchase terms are covered in finding distributors abroad.
Who already imports five factory categories into the United States and the United Kingdom
The counts below come from import records filed in the destination country. These pages show counts only. Company names come from a customs data tool, or from the buyer search described below, which shows the top 5 names free without an account. To choose one country, open the product page (for example plastic household goods), which lists every tracked market by region. Compare pool sizes, and start where your Alibaba enquiries already come from. For hardware, see door locks, taps and valves and spanners and wrenches. For anything else, use the importer directory and finding importers by HS code.
Import records filed in the destination country.
| Product (HS code) | Market | Importers on record | Shipments | Declared value | Largest origin in these records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic household goods (392490) | United States | 2,303 | 57,775 | $371M | Vietnam, about 69% of shipments |
| Ceramic tiles (690721, 690722, 690723) | United States | 1,736 | 36,492 | $168M | Mexico, about 21% of shipments |
| Rubber gloves (401519) | United States | 691 | 10,944 | $308M | Vietnam, about 47% of shipments |
| Stainless steel kitchenware (732393) | United Kingdom | 288 | 5,016 | $10.8M | India, about 85% of shipments |
| Wooden furniture (940360) | United Kingdom | 1,199 | 39,972 | $126M | Vietnam, about 58% of shipments |
Questions for the first distributor call
1. Which brands do you carry in kitchenware, and from which countries do you buy them now? 2. Which territory do you cover: the whole country, one region, or several countries? 3. Do you hold stock in your own warehouse, or do you order only after your customer orders? 4. Which channels do you sell through: retail chains, independent shops, online, or projects? 5. What is your usual first order with a new supplier: a full container, a mixed container, or a trial order?
Running a Reevi search from a Chinese factory
- 1
Describe the product and the buyer type
Open Find buyers. The interface works in Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Enter the product, the certifications, whether you offer OEM, the target countries, and the buyer type, for example "distributors and importers". If you make for other brands, ask for private-label buyers in plain words, then refine the list the same way. Reevi asks for your company name or website first. If you have neither, it searches without them.
- 2
Read the reason next to each company
Without giving an email address, and with no account and no card, you see the top 5 companies by name, each with a short line on why it fits. A free account, no card, shows all results and gives 5 buyers a month with contacts, research and outreach. Paid plans are on the pricing page.
- 3
Draft the first message
The free Message Writer drafts the first message in the buyer's business language, with a version in your language so you can check what it says. To write it yourself, see the first email to an importer.
- 4
Approve the introductions
Reevi sends the introductions you approve to each buyer by email, and replies come back to you. The same search also runs on WhatsApp.
One live search: 1,072 results, top 5 shown, each rated Strong fit
Search: “LED lamps and LED tubes made in China (Zhongshan), CE and RoHS certified, OEM available. Distributors and importers in Mexico.” · Run on 2026-11-11
| Buyer (name removed) | Country | Why Reevi matched it |
|---|---|---|
| Importer and distributor of electrical material | Mexico | Imports and distributes electrical material and lighting with nationwide reach. |
| LED lighting importer | Mexico | Imports high-efficiency LED lamps, panels and tubes and ships across Mexico. |
| LED lighting distributor | Mexico | Sells and distributes interior, exterior and industrial LED lighting. |
| Industrial LED lighting brand with a dealer network | Mexico | Sells through a large network of authorized distributors, a channel for LED tubes and lamps. |
| Online LED lighting retailer | Mexico | Sells LED bulbs, panels and reflectors online with shipping across Mexico. |
Company names were removed for publication only; your own search shows them. One request returned four routes to market: a wholesaler, an importer, a distributor and an online retailer. It also returned a brand that sells through its own dealers. For an OEM factory, that brand is a private-label prospect, not a reseller. Sort your own list by route before you write to anyone.
Before you offer credit terms to a new distributor
- Credit and insurance. Sinosure (China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, 中国出口信用保险公司) is the state-owned export credit insurer. Its website lists short-term export credit insurance (短期出口贸易险) and a credit information service (资信服务). Ask for a credit report on the distributor, and ask whether this buyer can be covered. Customer service: 95387.
- Is the company real and active? The free Check a Lead tool checks whether a buyer company is real and active, in about 30 seconds. The full process is in how to verify a foreign buyer. The terms themselves are covered in payment terms for a new export buyer.
Questions exporters ask
Is a fair in Germany useful if my target market is another European country?
It can be. AUMA reports that 2.78 million visitors from abroad attended Germany's 158 national and international fairs in 2025. The largest groups came from the Netherlands, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Before you book a stand, ask the organiser of your category's fair for its visitor figures by country.
How do I know an importer in these counts is still buying?
The counts alone cannot tell you. The data provider does not state the period its records cover, so a company on record may not have bought recently. Treat each company as one to qualify, not as a confirmed distributor. Reevi checks that each company it suggests has a working website. Before you write, look for current stock of your category on that website, and on the call ask when the company last imported the category.
Can a small factory use Sinosure, or is it only for large exporters?
Sinosure has covered small and medium-sized exporters since 2005, including companies that export less than 2 million dollars a year (per its Wikipedia entry). Ask its customer service to confirm current terms for your export volume and buyer country.