How I collected 500 Chinese suppliers

This started when Trump banned TikTok and hit China with tariffs. I joined **RedNote** like everyone else, just to see what the hype was about. Wasn't planning to build anything, just doom scrolling. I love good furniture, so I searched for that first. Found this account showing amazing pieces for crazy affordable prices. I DMed them. They replied right away with WhatsApp, WeChat, and their whole catalog. That's when I learned something: legit suppliers and factory reps don't play games. Every video I watched kept mentioning one place: **Yiwu.** >*"Stop using Aribaba! You onry meet middlemen who raise prices to the sky. If you're buying from China, you need to know Yiwu!"* My feed was full of this stuff. They'd give you everything, which streets, which buildings, which booths. I watched 10 videos straight with crazy details. It was gold, but also way too much and I got so overwhelmed consuming that much information. I needed a plan. I googled Yiwu. Turns out it's the world's biggest market for small stuff. Huge place with five main areas, each selling different things. Want clothes from **Shein?** Go to **Yiwu Hangyuan Apparel Market**. So I started writing everything down. First I tried getting 30-50 suppliers at once. Burned out fast. I made a simple rule: I just collect 10 reliable suppliers that I vet and verify **manually,** daily for the next 7 weeks. By week two, I knew what to look for. It was slow but doable. No stress and I was cruising so well. After 7 weeks plus and extra day, I had 500 suppliers. Felt amazing. I kept track of everything in a simple spreadsheet. Seeing the numbers grow kept me going. **Here's what I learned:** * Ask for samples first - don't commit to **MOQ** without testing product quality and demand, especially for dropshipping, Amazon FBA or Shopify. * Suppliers for big store brands are in Yiwu i.e. Disney, Victoria’s Secret, Target. * MOQ is negotiable it is not set in stone. * Focus on one supplier specialty, if they do car parts, stick to car parts, not general merchandise. * Move at your own pace please. Lastly just start. You'll figure it out as you go!