TL;DR
US buyers source the overwhelming majority of consumer trampolines from China- based manufacturers, concentrated in Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces. A clean sourcing run takes 8–14 weeks from first inquiry to delivered container, plus 4–6 extra weeks if you order a sample first. Landed cost on a 14ft round trampoline shipped FOB to a US East Coast warehouse typically lands in the 1.7×–2.6× FOB range once duty (HTS 9506.91.0030 plus Section 301), ocean freight, drayage, and last-mile are added. The three failure modes that wreck most first-time orders are: skipping the sample, accepting “ASTM-aligned” without verifying CPSC/CPC compliance, and underestimating Lunar New Year production gaps. Rocheyard recommends new buyers stage sourcing across two checkpoints — paid sample, then a structured wholesale quote — before committing container-level capital.
Why this guide exists
Most articles about importing from China are written for general e-commerce sellers buying small parcels. Trampolines are not small parcels. A single 14ft round trampoline carton is typically 150 cm long and 25–35 kg, which moves it into LTL freight class, oversize FBA fees on Amazon, and a category of customs documentation that catches first-time importers off guard. This guide is written specifically for US-based buyers — independent retailers, online sellers, and small commercial programs — who are sourcing trampolines for resale. It walks through every step from supplier discovery to landed delivery, with the costs, timelines, and red flags that matter at each stage. Rocheyard is itself a wholesale trampoline supplier serving this exact buyer profile, so we’ll point out where our process fits and where you should reasonably evaluate alternatives. If you are sourcing your first container, read straight through. If you are renegotiating an existing supplier relationship or optimizing landed cost, the table of contents lets you jump in.
1. Decide what you’re actually sourcing before contacting
suppliers The single biggest cause of wasted weeks in trampoline sourcing is starting supplier conversations before you’ve defined your spec. A supplier asked “do you have trampolines?” will quote whatever’s cheapest in their warehouse — which may not be remotely what your buyers want. Before sending the first inquiry, lock these six fields: Field What to specify Why it matters Shape Round / rectangle / oval / inground / kids / fitness rebounder Drives MOQ, container fit, retail positioning Size Frame OD in feet (6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16) or rectangle dimensions Drives carton size and freight class Frame thickness 1.2 mm / 1.4 mm / 1.5 mm / 1.6 mm galvanized steel tube Largest single price driver Spring count and lengthe.g. 96 × 7” springs Drives bounce feel and mat compatibility Net configuration Inner net / outer net / pole count / pole padding Drives net replacement compatibility years later Compliance CPSC compliance and CPC certification (required for US import); ASTM F381/F2225 alignment Required by US customs and most online marketplaces If you’re not sure how to fill these in, our trampoline product specifications guide covers each field in detail. Walking into a supplier conversation with these six values reduces back- and-forth from weeks to days and signals to the supplier that you’re a serious buyer — which materially affects the pricing you’re shown.
2. Where Chinese trampoline manufacturers actually cluster
Chinese trampoline production is geographically concentrated. Knowing the cluster matters because it tells you which port to ship from, which Lunar New Year shutdown calendar applies, and which factory ecosystems share component suppliers (springs, nets, frame tubing). The three primary clusters: Shandong province — Qingdao region. A well-established cluster for export-oriented trampoline production. Closest port: Qingdao (TAO). This is where Rocheyard’s manufacturing partners are based, with a focus on US-spec backyard and kids categories. Zhejiang province — Yongkang, Jinhua, and Ningbo. The largest concentration of trampoline assembly factories overall. Closest port: Ningbo (NGB). Jiangsu province — Suzhou and Wuxi area. Concentration of higher-spec and OEM- capable factories. Closest port: Shanghai (SHA). Often used for premium rectangle and inground projects. The implication for sourcing: a US buyer evaluating two suppliers from two different provinces is comparing two genuinely different ecosystems — not just two factories. Pricing, lead time, and packaging norms differ.
3. How to find suppliers (and the order to use them)
There are three paths most US buyers take, with very different signal-to-noise ratios: Alibaba and Made-in-China.com. High volume, high noise. Useful for initial market scanning and price benchmarking, but the top-ranked listings are often trading companies, not manufacturers. Filter by “Verified Supplier” and “Trade Assurance” at minimum, and assume you’ll need to disqualify 70–80% of listings during vetting. Trade shows. The Canton Fair (April and October) and the China Sourcing Fair are the highest-density way to see twenty trampoline factories in two days. Travel cost is real, but for buyers planning to source $100k+ annually, the ROI is usually clear after one trip. Sourcing agents and verified wholesalers. Pre-vetted, English-fluent contact, often with US-side warranty and parts support. Higher unit cost than going direct, but materially lower risk and time-to-first-order. This is the category Rocheyard sits in. For buyers who want a single accountable counterparty rather than ten Alibaba conversations, our quote process collapses supplier discovery into a structured inquiry. For first-time importers, Rocheyard recommends starting with a verified wholesaler or sourcing agent for the first one or two orders — the time and risk savings dominate the unit- price difference — then evaluating direct factory relationships only once you understand the product category, the typical defect rates, and the freight math.
4. Vetting a supplier: a 12-point checklist
Once you have 3–5 candidate suppliers, vet them before requesting a quote. This step is non-optional. The questions below are written so a “no” or evasive answer is itself the signal.
1. Can you share your business license and export license? (Both are real documents; ask
for both.)
2. Are you a manufacturer or a trading company? (Either can work, but the answer affects
pricing transparency.)
3. What is your factory address and can I see it on Google Maps satellite view? (A real
factory has a real footprint.)
4. Which trampoline categories do you specialize in? (Generalists who claim to do every
category at top quality usually don’t.)
5. Do you hold CPSC compliance documentation and CPC (Children’s Product
Certificate) testing for US-bound product? Can you share a sample? (This is a hard US import requirement, not a marketing claim.)
6. Are products designed to align with ASTM F381 (components) and ASTM F2225
(enclosure) standards? Test reports are a plus but not always available — design alignment plus CPSC documentation is the real US-market floor.
7. What is your MOQ and is it negotiable?
8. What is your typical lead time post-deposit?
9. What payment terms do you offer? (T/T 30/70 is standard. Wire-only with no LC option
is a yellow flag for first orders.)
10. Can I order a paid sample? (A factory that refuses paid samples for a serious buyer is
signalling something.)
11. Who is your QC contact and can they share recent inspection photos for an unrelated
client?
12. Can you supply replacement parts (mats, nets, springs, pads) for the same model 12+
months after my order? (Many factories rotate models seasonally; replacement-parts continuity is not automatic and is one of the most common post-arrival surprises.) If you’d like a printable version of this checklist, our supplier-comparison guide expands each point with the supporting context. A note on certifications: the US-market truth is that CPSC compliance and CPC certification are the hard floor — they’re required by US Customs and Consumer Product Safety Commission rules to legally import and sell trampolines in the US. ASTM F381 and F2225 are the engineering design standards the industry references; full third-party test reports are a premium add-on, but a supplier without CPSC/CPC paperwork should not be on your shortlist regardless of how impressive their factory photos look. Rocheyard holds CPSC compliance and CPC certification on shipped product and designs to ASTM F381 / F2225 alignment.
5. The sample stage: when to spend $200–500 to save
$20,000 A trampoline sample typically costs $150–500 plus express shipping ($150–300) — call it $300–800 all-in. For an order of 100+ units, that’s a rounding error in your landed cost. For a first order, it’s the cheapest insurance you’ll buy. Order a sample when: This is your first order with a supplier, regardless of how good their factory looks online You’re committing to private-label packaging or branding (you must touch the carton before the printer goes to plate) The price quoted is materially below the rest of your quote spread (anomalously low pricing usually indicates a spec mismatch, not a discovery) You’re moving into a new size or shape category with this supplier Skip the sample when: You’re reordering a SKU you’ve sold successfully before from the same supplier The supplier is one you’ve personally visited within the past 12 months Order quantity is small enough (~20 units of a known size) that pre-shipment inspection on the bulk order is more cost-effective When the sample arrives, evaluate against your spec sheet, not against your gut. Weigh the carton. Measure frame tube wall thickness with calipers. Count springs. Photograph everything for your supplier file. If anything is off-spec, raise it in writing before paying the bulk deposit. Rocheyard’s sample orders process is structured this way for first-time buyers, with sample fees partially creditable against subsequent bulk orders.
6. MOQ, pricing, and the quote you should expect
MOQ in the trampoline category is usually expressed in two ways: per-SKU minimum, and per-container minimum (since shipping a half-empty container destroys the unit economics). Across the Chinese trampoline export market in 2026, typical MOQ patterns: Category Typical per-SKU minimum Notes Round backyard 12–14ft 200–300 units A 40HQ container fits roughly this many Round 15–16ft100–200 units Larger frame, fewer per container Rectangle 100–200 units Premium positioning, smaller market Kids 10–12ft 250–350 units A 40HQ fits approximately 290–320 units depending on carton Kids ≤8ft 300–500 units Lower per-unit price, factories need volume Fitness rebounders 300–600 units Smallest unit, factories optimize for high- volume runs Inground 30–80 units Project-business norms, often custom These are typical industry ranges, not Rocheyard quotes. Negotiability depends on payment terms, packaging requirements, mixed-SKU willingness, and whether you’re buying in season or off-season. Rocheyard’s approach for first-time US buyers is structured around three flexibility points that are unusual in the China-direct market: Round 12–16ft backyard trampolines start at one 40HQ container, which fits approximately 260 units depending on the specific size mix. Mixed-SKU 40HQ containers are supported down to 30 units per SKU, which lets a buyer test 3–5 different models in a single container instead of committing one full container to a single SKU. This is the single biggest difference between sourcing through Rocheyard vs. negotiating directly with a factory, where mixed-SKU at this granularity is rarely on the table. Multi-container orders ship in a staged cadence — the first 40HQ delivers approximately 30 days after deposit, with each subsequent container shipping at roughly 8-day intervals. This matters for cash flow and for landing inventory in seasonal windows. Final terms — including specific MOQ negotiability for repeat buyers — are confirmed during quote review. Share your buyer profile through the quote form and we’ll confirm fit within one US business day. A wholesale quote you should accept will include, at minimum: Unit FOB price by SKU Origin port (Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai) Lead time post-deposit Carton dimensions and weight per unit Cartons per 20ft / 40ft / 40HQ container Payment terms (typically 30% T/T deposit, 70% against B/L copy) Validity period (most quotes are valid 15–30 days) Required compliance documents (CPSC, CPC at minimum) A quote that’s missing any of these — especially carton dimensions and container math — is a quote written for a customer the supplier doesn’t take seriously. Push back, or move on.
7. Freight: from FOB China to your US warehouse
Once you accept a quote, three logistics layers stack between you and your warehouse: Ocean freight. A 40HQ container from Qingdao or Ningbo to Los Angeles or Long Beach typically takes 14–18 days transit; to New York/New Jersey via the Panama Canal, 28–35 days. Freight rates fluctuate with season, fuel surcharges, and carrier capacity — a 40HQ from North China to the US West Coast in 2026 has commonly quoted in the $2,500– $5,500 range, with Lunar New Year (late January / early February) and the pre-Christmas rush (September–October) tightening capacity and raising rates by 30–60%. Customs clearance. Trampolines classify under HTS 9506.91.0030 (“Other articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics or athletics; parts and accessories thereof”). The base general duty rate is currently 4.6%. Chinese-origin trampolines are also subject to Section 301 tariffs, which add an additional duty on top of the base rate. The Section 301 rate has been adjusted multiple times since 2018 and continues to change with US trade policy. Always verify the current rate at the USITC HTS database or with your licensed customs broker before pricing your order. A landed-cost model built on last year’s tariff rate is one of the most common — and most expensive — mistakes Rocheyard sees in first-time buyers. You’ll also pay Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF, 0.3464% with min/max caps) and Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF, 0.125%). A licensed customs broker handles the filing for $80–200 per entry; do not attempt your first import without one. Drayage and last-mile. Drayage (port-to-warehouse trucking) for a 40HQ runs $400–900 within 100 miles of the port, more for chassis fees and dwell time. If you’re shipping LTL to multiple destinations from the port, expect freight class 200–250 for trampolines depending on density.
8. Worked landed-cost example: a 40HQ of 14ft round
trampolines Let’s run the math on a representative order to show how the layers stack. The numbers below are illustrative, not Rocheyard quotes — your actual numbers will differ. Assume: 14ft round trampoline with safety enclosure Quoted FOB North China port: $95/unit (illustrative) Carton size approximately 156 × 41 × 31 cm, ~36 kg per unit Roughly 88 units fit in a 40HQ on this carton spec Destination: a 3PL warehouse in Long Beach, CA Cost layer Amount Notes FOB unit cost $95.00 $8,360 for 88 units Ocean freight (40HQ → LA) $4,000 $45.45 per unit at 88 units Marine insurance $80 ~1% of cargo value US duty: 4.6% base + current Section 301 Verify at USITC before pricingApply combined rate to declared FOB value MPF + HMF ~$60 total Combined federal fees Customs broker $150 Per entry Drayage to Long Beach 3PL $650 Single 40HQ delivery 3PL receiving + putaway ~$5/unit $440 for 88 units Landed cost per unit (excluding duty) ~$157 About 1.65× FOB before any duty With duty appliedAdd current HTS rate × FOB Section 301 has historically swung this multiplier into the 1.9×–2.6× FOB range Three takeaways from this math:
1. Ocean freight per unit drops dramatically with full container loading. An LCL (less-
than-container-load) shipment of the same 14ft trampolines at half-volume often costs $90–120/unit in freight alone — almost 3× the FCL rate. If you can’t fill a 40HQ on a single SKU, mix SKUs in one container before resorting to LCL. This is exactly why mixed-SKU container support (mentioned in section 6) matters: it’s the difference between FCL economics and punishing LCL rates.
2. Duty is the swing factor. Buyers who built their pricing models in 2018 and haven’t
recalculated are routinely 15–25% off on landed cost. Recalculate every time tariff policy moves.
3. The cheapest FOB quote is rarely the lowest landed cost. A $5 difference at the
factory becomes a rounding error after freight, duty, drayage, and 3PL receiving are stacked on. Spec quality and shipping reliability matter far more.
9. Common mistakes that cost first-time importers real money
Working with US trampoline buyers who switched suppliers, these patterns come up repeatedly: Skipping the sample on order #1. Costs 4–6 weeks of pre-deposit time but saves 2–3 months of post-arrival firefighting when something is wrong. Confusing “ASTM-aligned” with “CPSC-compliant”. ASTM is a design standard; CPSC + CPC is the legal requirement to import and sell in the US. Always confirm CPSC/CPC documentation; treat ASTM test reports as a premium plus. Ordering for spring delivery in January. Lunar New Year shuts most factories for roughly 4 weeks late January through mid-February. To land inventory in March, deposit must be paid by October–early November of the previous year. Underestimating drayage and detention. A container that sits at the port for 5 days because your 3PL had no receiving slot can cost $800+ in detention/per-diem fees. Forgetting replacement-parts continuity. A buyer who sells 200 units in year one will face 30–60 parts requests in years 2–3. If the supplier has rotated to a new model in the meantime, those requests become refunds. Confirm parts availability commitment in writing — Rocheyard’s standard is to support replacement parts for the same SKU for at least 12 months after order delivery. Not budgeting for damaged units. Trampoline cartons are oversized; LTL damage rates of 2–5% are normal. Plan replacement-unit reserves into your first order, not after the first damaged claim.
10. How Rocheyard’s process maps to this guide
Most of this guide describes the work of finding and vetting an unfamiliar supplier from scratch. If that’s the job you want to do, the framework above is the same one we’d recommend regardless of where you ultimately source. If you’d rather collapse the discovery and vetting stages, the Rocheyard wholesale process is designed to handle them on your behalf. The four steps are:
1. Inquiry. You share buyer type, target products, and quantity range through the quote
form. We reply within one US business day.
2. Review. We confirm product fit, lead time, and the right next path.
3. Sample or private-label discussion. For first-time buyers, we’ll usually recommend a
sample before bulk; for repeat buyers or known SKUs, we move directly to quote. Sample fees are partially creditable against your subsequent bulk order.
4. Order planning. Quantity, packaging, destination, and after-sales support are
confirmed. Multi-container orders are planned with our staged cadence (first container ~30 days post-deposit, subsequent containers at ~8-day intervals). For context on scale: Rocheyard’s parent company has over a decade of experience in the outdoor and garden product space, with the team holding 6+ years of focused trampoline industry experience. The Rocheyard wholesale brand has shipped 800+ 40HQ-equivalent containers and 200,000+ trampoline units, serving 20+ active US wholesale clients with a pure US-market focus. Whether you go direct or through a wholesaler, the principles in this guide — spec discipline, sample-first for new suppliers, real CPSC/CPC documentation, full landed-cost math, and Lunar New Year planning — apply identically.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it actually take to get trampolines from a Chinese supplier to
my US warehouse?
Realistically, 8–14 weeks from your first inquiry to a delivered container, assuming no sample. With a sample stage included, add 4–6 weeks. Lunar New Year (late January through mid-February) extends timelines by 3–6 weeks for any order whose deposit lands in that window. Buyers planning for a March–April backyard sales push should pay deposits by early November of the prior year. Rocheyard’s standard production lead time runs 3–5 weeks depending on customization depth, with multi-container orders shipping in a staged cadence.
What’s the minimum order I can place if I’m a small US retailer?
Across the Chinese trampoline export market, per-SKU MOQs typically run 100–500 units depending on category, and most factories effectively require a full container to make the economics work. For a small US retailer wanting to test a category before committing to a full single-SKU container, a verified wholesaler with mixed-SKU container capability is usually the better path than negotiating with a factory directly. Rocheyard supports mixed- SKU 40HQ containers down to 30 units per SKU, which is specifically designed for this gap most factories don’t serve well.
Can I really trust a Chinese trampoline supplier I find on Alibaba?
Some — yes. Most — proceed cautiously. The 12-point vetting checklist in this guide will eliminate the worst 60–70% of listings on its own. The remaining suppliers fall into three groups: trading companies (fine for some buyers, a problem for others depending on your goals), small-batch factories (often great quality but limited capacity), and large export- oriented manufacturers (usually safe but with rigid MOQs). The “Trade Assurance” badge plus a video factory tour plus genuine CPSC/CPC documentation plus a successful sample is the four-of-four signal you want before placing a bulk order.
What’s the actual import duty on trampolines from China?
Trampolines classify under HTS 9506.91.0030 with a base general duty rate of 4.6%. Chinese-origin trampolines are also subject to Section 301 tariffs, which have been adjusted multiple times since 2018. Verify the current Section 301 rate at the USITC HTS database before pricing your order — this is the single number most likely to be out of date in any guide you read, including this one. Plan for the possibility that rates change again before your container arrives.
Should I order samples from multiple suppliers before deciding?
For a first-time importer evaluating 3–5 finalist suppliers, ordering 2–3 samples in parallel is usually worth the $1,000–2,000 cost. You’ll see real differences in carton quality, frame welds, mat stitching, and net weave that no spec sheet captures. For a repeat buyer working with a known supplier, samples are only needed when changing SKU or packaging.
What’s the difference between CPSC compliance and ASTM F381?
CPSC compliance plus a CPC (Children’s Product Certificate) is the legal requirement to import and sell trampolines in the US — it’s enforced by US Customs and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. ASTM F381 is a technical design standard developed by ASTM International that specifies trampoline component requirements; ASTM F2225 covers safety enclosures. A supplier can design products to ASTM standards without holding a third-party ASTM lab test report, which is common and acceptable for the US market. What you should not accept is a supplier who can’t produce CPSC and CPC documentation, since that paperwork is what your customs broker actually files. Rocheyard ships product with full CPSC compliance and CPC certification, designed to ASTM F381/F2225 alignment. How do I handle warranty claims on a container of trampolines once it’s in
the US?
Build the warranty plan before the container ships, not after. The minimum: the supplier must commit in writing to (a) parts availability for the model for at least 12 months, (b) photo-based defect adjudication (no return-to-China shipping for damaged parts), and (c) a credit-or-replacement policy for confirmed defects within a specified window. Suppliers who balk at these terms are usually signalling that they don’t have the operational maturity to support a US wholesale program — better to learn that before the deposit than after the arrival. What’s the single most expensive mistake first-time trampoline importers
make?
Underestimating duty plus freight in the landed-cost model. A buyer who priced their retail margin off a 1.5×-FOB rule of thumb learned in 2018 will be 20–30% off in 2026. Always recalculate landed cost using current tariff rates and current freight quotes before setting retail prices, and rebuild the model whenever either input moves materially.
Next steps
If you’ve read this far, you have a working framework. The next move depends on where you are: If you’re researching the category before sourcing, read our trampoline product specifications guide and our trampoline sizes guide before requesting any quotes. If you’re ready to compare suppliers, the supplier-comparison guide extends the 12- point checklist in Section 4. If you’d rather skip discovery and start a structured wholesale conversation, request a wholesale quote from Rocheyard. Share your target products, quantity range, and destination; we reply within one US business day. Whichever path you take, the rule that decides whether your first container is profitable or not is set before the deposit — not after the unit arrives. Spec discipline, sample-first, real CPSC/CPC documentation, full landed-cost math, and Lunar New Year planning. Get those right and the rest is execution.