1. Start from your channel and your season
A garden centre needs breadth across watering, tools, lighting and BBQ in modest quantities. A DIY store needs depth in fast lines such as hoses, bit sets and fasteners. An online seller needs a few products under one brand. A hotel or beer garden needs a fixed number of furniture sets and parasols. Write down the retail price you aim for, the quantity you can sell in one season and the countries you sell in.
Then check the calendar. Garden sell-through peaks from March to June, BBQ and furniture from April to August, while tools, fasteners and storage sell all year. Imported spring programmes must be ordered by October–November. Our how it works page shows the order dates that follow from this.
2. Find manufacturers, not only listings
Factory marketplaces show many near-identical offers, and plenty come from trading companies. Ask for the business licence, the company’s age and export history, and a video call from the production floor. If you plan to put your brand on a drill, a grill lid or a hose reel, you want the factory that makes it.
Specialisation matters. A plant that builds cordless motors is rarely the right source for cast-aluminium furniture, and a greenhouse frame maker does not mould hose fittings. Expect to work with several partner factories for a full garden and DIY range.
3. Compare quotes on delivered cost
Send each supplier the same specification and ask for the following:
- price per piece, set or pack, and the MOQ for each model;
- voltage, battery capacity, motor type and the key performance figures;
- packaging type, inner pack quantity and carton size;
- gross weight per carton and units per pallet;
- production time and payment terms.
Carton data matters more than the unit price. Greenhouses, grills, furniture sets and ladders pay for space, not weight. Fasteners and hand tools are dense and heavy. The lowest unit price can turn into the highest delivered cost once freight is added, which is why we quote bulky goods delivered.
4. Sample the way your customers will use the product
Drive a box of screws into hardwood with the drill and watch the clutch. Run the grinder with the stated disc and check the guard. Connect the hose at mains pressure and leave it overnight. Assemble the greenhouse from the instructions alone. Light the grill and check the paint near the firebox. Sit on the chair and lean back.
Keep one approved sample as the reference for production and inspection. Sample costs are usually credited against the order.
5. Agree terms in writing
The contract should hold the specification, packaging, labels, manual languages, delivery date and quality standard. If your logo goes on a battery pack, tool housing or carton, approve a pre-production sample before mass production. A typical split is a deposit of 30–50 % with the balance before shipment.
6. Inspect before the goods leave
Fixing a problem after arrival is slow and costly. A pre-shipment inspection checks quantity, workmanship, function, packaging and labels on a statistical sample (AQL). For this category that means run tests on power tools, rating plates and CE marks, leak checks on hose fittings, weld and coating quality on grills and frames, and complete fixings in furniture and greenhouse kits. Pay the balance after you have seen the report. More detail is on our quality page.
7. Choose the transport
Sea freight usually suits bulky goods such as greenhouses, grills and furniture. Rail is a middle route for mixed orders, and air is for samples and urgent light goods. Planning figures are 25–45 days by rail or sea to Poland and 7–12 days by air. Lithium battery packs ship as dangerous goods, so not every route and carrier takes them. Allow for the factory holidays in late January–February, which stop production for several weeks.
8. Customs, duty and VAT
The importer of record files the import declaration, pays duty according to the tariff code and pays import VAT. You also need an EORI number. Duty differs between power tools, hand tools, furniture, lights and plastic garden goods, so check the code for each item before you calculate your margin.
9. Make the product legal to sell
Under the GPSR (Regulation (EU) 2023/988) every consumer product needs an EU economic operator, a name, postal and e-mail address on the product or packaging, a type or batch reference and instructions in the language of the country of sale. Beyond that:
- power tools and electric garden tools need CE marking based on the manufacturer’s declaration under the Machinery Directive, EMC and RoHS, and mowers and trimmers carry a guaranteed sound power level;
- cordless tools and solar lights fall under the Batteries Regulation, and electrical products under WEEE, with producer registration in each country of sale;
- gas grills need the manufacturer’s EU type-examination under the Gas Appliances Regulation;
- grill grates, griddles and tongs need a food-contact declaration;
- ladders should come with EN 131 test data;
- packaging needs EPR registration, such as LUCID in Germany or BDO in Poland.
Common mistakes buyers make
- Ordering by the photo. Two cordless drills with the same listing can differ in motor, battery cells, chuck and gearbox. Ask for voltage, battery capacity, torque and no-load speed.
- Ignoring pack units. Screws priced per thousand and per box of 200 are easy to confuse. Write the unit into every comparison.
- Skipping the language question. Manuals and warnings must be in the language of the country of sale. A store group selling in Germany, Poland and France needs three sets.
- Ordering spring goods in February. By then factories are closing or restarting. New programmes ordered after November usually land after the peak.
- Forgetting registration. A battery tool sold without WEEE and battery registration in that country can be pulled from a marketplace.
10. The alternative: buy through an EU importer
If you would rather not be the importer, buy through one. You get an EU invoice, inspected goods, a delivered price and the documents for each product. That is what we do at GardeniQ sourcing. Send us your product list and compare our offer with your own calculation.
