4Partners: One of the exclusive few with Official Poizon API Access

4Partners is one of the exclusive few to have been granted official API access by Poizon, a leading Chinese online marketplace. This API unlocks Poizon Global’s full catalog, providing the latest product information and enabling the sale of authentic items from top global brands without the need for intermediaries.
In this article, we’ll explore how you can profit by selling Poizon products, the challenges that come with these business models, and the solutions 4Partners provides to overcome them.

Contents:
What is Poizon?
Why are prices on Poizon so low?
How to order products from Poizon
How to sell products from Poizon
How 4Partners collaborates with Poizon
Conclusion

While Poizon primarily operates through its Dewu mobile app, tailored for the Chinese market, international customers can browse the Poizon website. However, to complete an order, purchasing must still be done via the app.

What sets Poizon apart from other marketplaces is its authentication system. All products sold by vendors are manually verified for authenticity, ensuring buyers receive nothing but genuine items.

For a deep dive into how Poizon authenticates its products, check out our article here

One of Poizon’s standout features is its low prices. On the marketplace, you can sometimes find products 40-50% cheaper than in stores worldwide. For example, the New Balance 574 Grey White sneakers cost $86 on Poizon, while they are priced at $130 on ASOS.

Several factors contribute to the low prices on Poizon:

1. Resellers: Suppliers on Poizon include official brands and resellers worldwide. These resellers often need to clear inventory quickly, offering products at lower prices.

2. Auctions: Poizon utilizes an auction-based pricing mechanism where suppliers lower prices to make their listings more visible, showing customers only the best deals.

3. Local Manufacturing: Many global brands, such as Adidas and Nike, have factories in China, cutting international logistics and customs duties.

4. Automation: With over 300 million monthly users, Poizon relies on full automation and robotics, reducing labor costs and operational expenses.

5. Special Offers: Poizon regularly runs promotional sales, with discounts reaching up to 70%, especially during Black Friday.

Officially, Poizon does not offer international shipping. The platform is designed exclusively for the Chinese domestic market, and both the Dewu app and website are in Chinese with no option for overseas delivery.

Currently, there are only two ways to order from Poizon: you can either learn to use the app on your own, find a way to ship the package from China, and pay with a Chinese card, or use the services of intermediaries.

To make a purchase on Poizon by yourself, you will need:

• A Chinese payment card (AliPay Global, UnionPay, or PayMe),
• a Chinese phone number,
• a local delivery address in China,
• a logistics company to ship the package from China to your country.

These issues can be handled through various delivery services operating in China. However, they won’t take responsibility for any issues during the purchase process — risks stay on you.

Despite the challenges with purchasing and shipping, many customers are willing to wait and pay third-party services for assistance. The demand for products from Poizon is high, as for many buyers, it represents a guarantee of quality at a low price.

Currently, there are several ways to sell and profit from Poizon products:

Since Poizon is based in China, you’ll need a local intermediary with Chinese citizenship to operate on the platform. There are a few ways to earn: from delivery fees, faster shipping options, price markups, and commissions from other services. However, this path is complicated and may not always be the most profitable.

It’s essential to keep in mind the risks involved, especially when it comes to the costs of running a business. Sellers will need to invest in developing a website for processing orders, paying staff salaries, renting a warehouse (if sales volume is high), and managing logistics.

On top of that, competition has become fierce, so it’s easy to get lost in the crowd unless you have something unique to offer. To stand out, sellers will need to either lower prices for customers or go the extra mile to provide exceptional service.

✅ Pros:

• High demand
• Potentially large customer base
• Opportunity for business expansion

❌ Cons:

• Complex logistics
• Need to pay customs duties
• Requirement to certify products
• High competition
• Currency exchange rate fluctuations

At first glance, this method seems simple: the seller finds an intermediary, establishes contact with the customer, sells the product, purchases it from the intermediary, and makes a profit. Essentially, it’s a classic "buy-sell" model. However, in practice, there are many nuances that can complicate the process.

For example, delivery times, customer uncertainty, and lack of knowledge about the product can create difficulties. Often, buyers make requests without clearly knowing what they want or without setting a budget, which can complicate interactions.

The biggest challenge, however, is building customer trust. This can take time and money: initially, the seller might need to offer discounts or promotions, potentially operating at a loss. Over time, as a base of loyal customers forms, the business can break even and start profiting through word-of-mouth.

Another risk of this business model is the reliability of intermediaries. There are two main types of fraud in this area: delivering counterfeit products and delays or complete loss of orders.

The first issue is hard to avoid, as product authenticity can only be verified upon receipt. For the second issue, many logistics companies offer insurance for the goods. If the item is lost, the seller may be reimbursed for the product but not for the shipping costs.
Some dishonest companies may use tricks, claiming that the item was lost due to various reasons (e.g., "it sank" or "it burned in a fire"), refunding only the product cost and keeping the delivery fee. It’s important to remember that such actions may be classified as fraud prosecuted under the law.

✅ Pros:

• High demand
• Low startup capital
• No need for inventory storage

❌ Cons:

• High competition
• Fraud risks
• Advertising costs
• Dependency on the intermediary
• Issues with returns and warranties

Another scenario: sellers create online store websites featuring Poizon’s product catalog. Customers visit the website, select a product, and either provide the product code to the seller or place the order themselves. The seller then uses intermediaries in China to purchase the item from the official Poizon website and ship it to the customer’s location.

Order processing and catalog updates are handled manually. Through the Dewu mobile app, managers gather information about product prices, quantities, and sizes, and upload descriptions and photos to the catalog. Since there can be thousands of items in the online store, it’s impossible to manually process such a large volume. As a result, catalogs often remain outdated, with prices updated only once every two to three weeks.

Until recently, it was impossible to automate order processing and catalog updates because Poizon did not provide an official API for data transfer. Now, automation is possible, but most online stores are still not technically equipped for this – they require servers to store a large database.

In addition, sellers must independently handle logistics, customs duties, and product certification. To ship an order from Poizon to another country, it first needs to be delivered somewhere within China – either to an individual or a warehouse. In some cases, logistics costs can exceed the value of the order itself.

✅ Pros:

• High demand
• Wide product selection
• No need for inventory storage

❌ Cons:

• Manual order processing
• Outdated catalogs
• Logistical challenges
• Technical limitations

In any case, working with Poizon without Chinese intermediaries is impossible. Someone needs to purchase the products from the marketplace and ship them. Even if this issue is resolved, problems with payment systems, adding new products, and keeping the catalog updated still remain.

4Partners is one the few services with official Poizon API access, which offers several advantages:

• Access to Poizon Global’s Full Catalog: Over three million unique products and 50 million variations (sizes, colors, configurations) are now available in the 4Partners Store. This includes footwear, clothing, cosmetics, accessories, home goods, bags, and watches.

• Real-Time Catalog Updates: With the API, we update product information daily, ensuring that our product listings are always current with real-time stock and pricing.

• Direct Order Fulfillment: 4Partners has a warehouse in China, enabling direct order fulfillment from Poizon to customers worldwide. Payment processing and order handling are fully automated, so our partners don’t have to manage anything manually.

This means our partners can sell products from Poizon directly to customers without intermediaries. We handle everything from catalog updates to logistics, allowing you to focus on marketing and growing your store.

How Intermediaries Sell:


1. Manually gather product information from the Poizon catalog.

2. Add outdated product listings to the website.

3. Drive traffic to the website.

4. Upon customer request, locate the product in the official Poizon catalog.

5. Purchase the product through an intermediary in China for delivery to a private address or warehouse.

6. Arrange shipping from China to the selected country.

7. Coordinate local delivery within the selected country.

8. Earn revenue from markup or additional services, while losing part of the profit to intermediary fees.

How 4Partners’ Partners Sell:


1. Automatically add up-to-date product listings to the store.

2. Attract customers to the site.

3. Sell products directly.

4. Earn through markup.

4Partners handles order processing, payments, customs, logistics, and delivery.

With 4Partners, you can focus on marketing and scaling your online store while we handle all the complex processes. Your success is our priority.