The person behind this story
Let's call him "Mr. Hoang" for convenience. A foreign national working in Japan — by day a factory worker, by night spending his time on a side business, an entirely ordinary worker. The trigger for starting China imports was, surprisingly, "a favour from his family".
30s
Factory worker
- Profile
- From Vietnam, in his 30s, working at a factory in Japan
- Starting point
- Employee (by day) + side business (by night). Zero China-import knowledge, zero Chinese
- Initial capital
- About ¥80K (scraped together by cutting living expenses)
- Result after 11 months
- ¥23M in monthly sales, running his own EC site, 20+ suppliers
The turning point: meeting China sourcing
It started when his family back home asked him to "send us some products from China". He searched Taobao and 1688 for items and shipped them to his family via Japan. At that moment he thought, "won't these sell in Japan too?" — and that was the beginning of everything.
He started by reselling on Japanese flea-market apps. He got to about ¥50K a month in side income. But then he hit a wall.
- Communicating with suppliers in Chinese ate up several hours every night
- As orders grew, the work of inspection, packing and shipping swallowed his sleep
- "I can't handle this alone anymore" — so he decided to find a partner on the China side
That's how he found allallbuy, a China import proxy and logistics service.
The 11-month growth timeline
Here is the path from when he started using allallbuy to reaching ¥23M in monthly sales.
Month 1
Feeling his way into a side business
Started reselling on flea-market apps. Did all the sourcing and shipping himself; days of not having enough time.
Brought in allallbuy purchasing + inspection
Outsourced sourcing, inspection and shipping. Work time dropped sharply, letting him focus on product research.
Pinpointed winners and expanded sourcing
Used data to narrow down "products that sell" and moved to stock-based selling. Consolidated international logistics with allallbuy too.
Developed original products via OEM
OEM-produced his own brand of best-sellers. Successfully differentiated from other stores and raised unit prices.
Launched his own EC site
Broke free from relying on external marketplaces. Built stable sales on his own site and completed one whole phase.
The 5 ways allallbuy supported him
These are the 5 services Mr. Hoang actually used. Every one is available from a single item, at ¥0 monthly.
Purchasing proxy
We handle ordering and payment on Chinese EC like Taobao and 1688, plus all communication with suppliers, in Japanese. Just send a product URL to start.
Inspection support
We check in advance for damage, breakage, quantity errors and counterfeit risk. Prevents "it was defective" after delivery.
International logistics
We deliver to Japan by the best method — air, sea or ECMS. Shipping is at actual cost, itemized and fully transparent.
OEM / ODM
End-to-end support for planning and producing your own products. Popular with solo operators who want to stand out from other stores.
Own-site & EC operations support
From building your own EC site to designing your customer funnel and payment setup. You can have "your own shop".
What he did vs. what allallbuy did
The key to scaling up as an individual is splitting "what you do yourself" from "what you outsource". The actual division of roles was like this.
| Item | Mr. Hoang handled | allallbuy handled |
|---|---|---|
| Product research | Analysing winners, selecting suppliers | — |
| Sourcing | Just sends the product URL | Ordering, payment, Chinese communication |
| Quality control | — | Inspection, quantity checks, return negotiation for defects |
| Shipping | — | Packing, international delivery, tracking |
| Selling | Pricing, listing pages, customer support | — |
| Branding | Concept and design | OEM production, own-site build support |
There are only 4 things you do
Mr. Hoang's case is reproducible even without special skills or connections. All individual customers have to do are these 4 things.
Decide what you want to sell
Research is up to you. If you're unsure, ask allallbuy and we'll also tell you the trends in what's selling.
Send the URL of the product you want to source
Just send the Taobao or 1688 product page URL. We handle the quote, order and payment.
Leave inspection and shipping to us
We receive, inspect and repack in China, then ship to Japan. We also keep you posted on the status until arrival.
Sell the items you receive
Sell on flea-market apps, marketplaces or your own EC site. Reinvest your sales into the next sourcing to grow.
The costs and the real numbers
"¥23M in monthly sales" sounds distant, but the entry point is smaller than you imagine, and the costs are transparent.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | ¥0 (pay-as-you-go, only for what you use) |
| Purchasing proxy | Item price + commission (you can get an instant quote from the product URL) |
| Inspection | Optional. Added according to contents (costs stated in advance) |
| International logistics | Shipping at actual cost, itemized. Choose from air, sea or ECMS |
| Typical upfront cost | In this case, started from about ¥80K |
3 pitfalls beginners often fall into
Mr. Hoang didn't get it right from the start either. Here are common failures and how to prevent them.
Defective goods arrive without inspection
With direct shipping from China, damaged, counterfeit or wrong-quantity items can arrive as-is.
Tip: use allallbuy's inspection support to check & negotiate returns before it reaches Japan.Shipping eats your margin
"I sourced it cheap" — only for shipping to blow away the profit, a classic beginner mistake.
Tip: pick a shipping method that fits the item size, and lower per-item cost by consolidating shipments.Trouble with suppliers
Negotiating and handling returns in Chinese is often too hard for an individual to resolve alone, due to the language barrier.
Tip: allallbuy handles all supplier communication in Japanese. One window even when problems arise.FAQ
Why not start with a free consultation, from just one item?
"What products sell?" "How much is shipping?" — your questions about personal import can be solved in a free consultation.