Buying alpaca stuffed animals wholesale: a buyer's guide

An alpaca fur stuffed animal is a toy alpaca with a coat of natural alpaca fur over a soft body, made by hand in Peru. What a customer touches is the fur itself, not a synthetic plush that copies it.

At Tubi every piece is made by 10 artisans in Juliaca and Cieneguilla, Peru, down to the face, which is stitched by hand. Each alpaca looks and feels a little different.

Alpaca fur has no lanolin, the wax in sheep's wool that many wool allergies react to. That is why alpaca fur is called hypoallergenic, a question buyers for baby and gift shops often ask.

Before work starts every hide is sorted by shade by hand, so the fur on one alpaca is even and a reorder matches what you sold. Tests and age labels are covered in Are alpaca stuffed animals safe?

Shops stock alpaca toys because they sell on touch: once a shopper holds one, a synthetic toy next to it feels flat. They suit gift and souvenir shops, stores for babies and children, concept stores and webshops, often in several sizes side by side.

Tubi sells four collections of alpaca stuffed animals wholesale (Naturals, Zebra, Rainbow and Untrimmed), plus alpaca fur bears and a few pieces for the home, and all of them can share one order.

• Naturals: natural alpaca fur in at least 9 shades from Ivory White to Cacao, plus 5 two-tone barista variants, in all four sizes.
• Zebra: our specialty. Each stripe is placed and sewn together by hand by expert Peruvian artisans. Available in 4 variations, 23 to 48 cm.
• Rainbow: Violet, Cotton Candy and Baby Blue, for a colourful and diverse display. Mini to Large.
• Untrimmed: long fur left untrimmed, so the alpaca looks like one just before a shearing and even the Mini looks full. Available in 7 variations.
• Alpaca bears: a teddy bear in alpaca fur, in Small and Medium.
• For the home: alpaca fur rugs. They count towards the same minimum.

The alpacas come in four sizes for a customer to collect, from a 15 cm Mini for the till to a 48 cm Large for the window. The table gives each size with the number per export box and the lowest price per piece in that size, across the toy collections, in each tier.

Every shade and size is shown with a photo on the collection page, where you can also start a wishlist.

Wholesale alpaca stuffed animals from Tubi are from $9.30 for a Mini and from $34.30 for a Large, per piece from 500 pieces, in US dollars, ex works. Under 100 pieces you pay the standard price, with a lower price from 100 and from 500.

The toy tier counts toys and accessories together, not per collection or per size. Mix three collections and four sizes, and when they add up to 100 or 500 pieces, the lower price applies to every toy and accessory in the order. Rugs are counted apart: under 30, from 30 and from 100.

As an example, a Medium Naturals alpaca costs $22.00 under 100 pieces, $19.80 from 100 and $18.80 from 500. Over the toy range the 100+ tier is about 5% lower and the 500+ tier about 10% lower.

A small first order adds up like this: 20 Naturals Minis at $11.00 and 10 Naturals Mediums at $22.00 come to $440.00 before shipping. That is above the $350 minimum, so it can go as it is.

The prices on the site are guide prices. The quotation you receive has the firm price and the freight to your address.

The minimum order for wholesale alpaca toys at Tubi is $350 for the whole order, mixed, and an order is ready in 2 to 8 weeks after you confirm the quotation.

• Minimum order: $350 in total, not per item. Any collection, shade and size counts towards it, so a first order can be small and varied.
• Quotation: within 24 hours of your request, with a firm price, a ready date and the shipping options.
• Lead time: 2 to 8 weeks, depending on the size of the order. Pieces that are already made only need your label, so they can leave sooner.
• Payment: half when you confirm the quotation, so production starts, and half before the order ships. There is nothing to pay before you have the quotation.
• Capacity: the workshop makes 1,000 to 1,500 alpacas a month, up to 4,000 in peak season, so a larger order is planned with a fixed ready date when you place it.

Every alpaca toy from Tubi carries the Tubi hang tag as standard, travels in export boxes packed by size, and is shipped DAP to your door or ex works to your own forwarder.

The Tubi tag is included in the price. To sell under your own name, private label (your own hang tag, made to your design) costs $0.20 extra per piece.

The name Tubi comes from the workshop. Peruvian artisans who work with alpaca fur use it for the finest pelts, the ones that are soft and full, and it is the standard every piece is made to.

In the EU, a business that puts its own name or brand on a toy is liable for it, and a toy must carry the CE marking. Every Tubi alpaca is tested for mechanical safety, flammability and metals and passes, and comes with its age label on; the test results can be shown and sent on request before you choose private label. For the US, the CPSIA certificate and the ASTM F963-23 report are available on request, as listed on compliance.

An export box measures 78 × 58 × 78 cm and holds 200 Mini, 90 Small, 40 Medium and 20 Large alpacas. A mixed order is packed by size.

There are two ways to ship:

• DAP (delivered at place): Tubi books the transport to your address. You clear the goods for import at your end.
• Ex works: your forwarder collects the boxes at the workshop in Lima and arranges export and freight.

Either way, the workshop makes out the commercial invoice, the packing list and the certificate of origin. If you import into the EU, ask for the proof of origin with your quotation and it is arranged; see importing alpaca toys from Peru to the EU. Import costs elsewhere can differ or change with recent tariffs, so confirm the current rate with your customs broker before you order.

So far Tubi has shipped to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and South Korea. The steps of an import are in how to import alpaca toys from Peru.

Choose an alpaca toy supplier by asking about the fur and how it is graded, the safety test reports, who issues the export papers, whether reorders match, the ready date and product photos. A good supplier answers each one plainly; put the same questions to us.

1. Which fur, and how is it graded? Ask whether it is real alpaca fur and how the hides are sorted by shade. Without grading, one toy can show two tones and a reorder may not match.
2. Safety tests. Ask which safety tests were done and by whom. Every Tubi alpaca is tested by an independent accredited laboratory for mechanical safety, flammability and metals, for Europe, Asia, the United States and the Middle East, and passes; the results can be shown and sent on request.
3. Export papers in its own name. The invoice and certificate of origin should come from the workshop that makes the toys. Papers in another name mean someone sits between you and the maker.
4. Reorders that match. A shade that sells needs to come back the same. Ask how that is done and what the minimum is for a reorder; at Tubi it is $350, the same as a first order.
5. Capacity and a fixed date. Ask how many pieces the workshop makes a month and get the ready date in writing. For a Christmas or tourist season order, that date matters more than a few cents per piece.
6. Photos for your webshop. Ask whether the supplier can send product photos, so you can list the range before the boxes arrive. Tubi can supply them.

What Tubi offers shops is on the page for retailers; for businesses that supply other shops, see importers.

You place a first wholesale order for alpaca stuffed animals at Tubi by filling a wishlist on the collection page, sending it through the order form, and confirming the quotation you get within 24 hours.

1. Browse the collection and add the shades and sizes you want to your wishlist.
2. Open the order form, which takes over your wishlist. Set the quantities, your label choice and the shipping route.
3. Within 24 hours you get the quotation. Confirm it and pay half, and production starts.
4. After 2 to 8 weeks, pay the second half and the order ships with its invoice, packing list and certificate of origin.

A simple first order is a few natural shades across two or three sizes, with a handful of Zebras or Rainbows to draw the eye. After the first weeks in the shop you know which shade and size to reorder, from the same minimum.

Each step in detail is on how ordering works.