For buyers
Toy Retailers
A retailer buys the shelf, not the container. The questions that decide a toy retail order are practical: does the carton fit the stockroom, can one member of staff carry it, will a built house sell the range on the shop floor, and can a missing figure be replaced without a refund? This page sets out those points for wooden dollhouses and room pieces, plus the delivery windows that matter for the gift quarter and the spring season, and the parts policy that sits behind a retail sale.
What this buyer needs from the range
- Carton dimensions and gross weight per model, so the stockroom plan and the carry weight are known before the order rather than after the first delivery.
- One display house per store, either built by staff from a flat-pack carton or quoted assembled, chosen so that the doll fit and the room layout can be seen at child height.
- A retail-ready carton or a plain carton with a printed label, agreed before production, because a marketplace-style plain box is a weak shop-floor item.
- A delivery window that matches the season: gift-quarter stock leaving production by September, spring stock by March, with the production slot confirmed at order placement.
- A small spares allowance behind the sale: figures, loose furniture pieces and hinges, packed with the next delivery rather than shipped separately.
How we supply it
- A shelf plan built model by model, with the assembled size and the piece count in the photograph so staff can answer the first two customer questions.
- Cartons under about 90 cm on the long side wherever the model allows it, which keeps a stockroom workable and a home delivery cheap.
- A room-set and doll-family add-on line that turns a single house sale into a gift purchase and a repeat purchase.
- Replacement figures and fittings quoted per model and packed with the next delivery.
FAQ
How many display houses should a shop order?
One per store is the usual plan, and a larger store may want one built house plus one built room set so customers can see how the range combines. The display unit is quoted with the order and is either packed so it can go straight to the floor or built by staff from a flat-pack carton in 30-90 minutes depending on the storeys. We confirm the assembly state and the carton before the order, because a display house that arrives flat is a staff-cost surprise in the week before the season starts. For a shop with no assembly capacity, ask for the assembled format on the display model only and flat-pack for the stock behind it.
What delivery window should a retailer plan for?
For the gift quarter, stock should leave production by September so it clears freight and reaches the shelf before the season; for spring ranges the window is February to March. Production takes 25-45 days after sample sign-off, so a September shipping date means an order placed and signed off by late July. The 2027 Chinese New Year falls on 6 February, which closes the workshops for roughly two to three weeks around that date, so a January order runs into the holiday rather than through it. We confirm the window against the production slot when the order is placed rather than promising a date from an average.
Can a shop reorder the same colour later?
Yes, if the colour is held as a stocked finish and the reorder lands within the same batch window. Paint batches vary slightly between runs, so a second house ordered months later can be a shade off the first, and the difference shows when two houses stand side by side on the same shelf. Ask for the colour reference and the batch reference on the first order and note it on the reorder. We confirm whether a finish is stocked, made to order or being discontinued before the reorder is quoted, and we say so if the answer is that it is changing.
Send the shortlist
Send the models or the range you are planning, the destination market and the quantity shape; we return the confirmed specification and packing data.
Need a specification pack?
Ask for the model list and packing data for the categories you are reviewing.