Retail and small-lot resale. USTR's 2025 Notorious Markets review says resellers "use the platform to purchase counterfeit goods wholesale," and DHgate sells ready stock, not production orders.
Is DHgate legit, and who are you buying from?
DHgate is a real company, but it is a poor channel for sourcing from manufacturers: DHgate.com is a cross-border marketplace where Chinese sellers offer ready-made stock in small lots, and the US Trade Representative names it as a notorious market for counterfeits. It was founded in Beijing in August 2004 by Diane Wang, its founder and CEO, and launched in 2005.
The USTR's 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (published 2026) describes DHgate as "a leading business-to-business, cross-border e-commerce platform in China that primarily serves purchasers outside of the country." The same review adds: "As DHgate has increased its popularity with consumers, resellers continue to use the platform to purchase counterfeit goods wholesale from China." Three groups appear in that picture. Retailers are small shops and online stores buying stock to sell on. Resellers are buyers of any size who resell what they buy. Consumers are individuals buying for their own use. Counterfeit goods are products bearing a trademark without the owner's authorization.
None of those buyers is placing a manufacturing order. DHgate sells existing stock, which is why this page carries the "retail / small-lot resale" verdict. Using DHgate to source a private-label product is a poor fit: it is a small-lot resale channel, and USTR's 2025 Notorious Markets review names it.
How DHgate works
Sellers on DHgate, mainly Chinese small and medium-sized businesses that include both makers and resellers, list ready-made goods in small lots. Buyers pay through the platform, and goods ship by postal or express channels.
There is no factory-direct custom-manufacturing workflow comparable to the RFQ (request for quotation) process and production contracts found on B2B sourcing platforms such as Alibaba.com. A buyer chooses from what is listed. No primary source describing a private-label or OEM program on DHgate was found.
DHgate is independent. It is a Beijing company and not part of Alibaba Group, though it is often mentioned alongside AliExpress, Alibaba's consumer retail platform. Its scale on record is dated: Wikipedia cites 31 million registered buyers and 2.2 million sellers as of 30 June 2020, both company figures. No current buyer or seller counts, ownership structure or stock listing could be found, and no primary-source description of DHgate's current buyer-protection terms was located.
The USTR Notorious Markets listing
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes an annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, naming online and physical markets that stakeholders report as significant sources of infringing goods. The 2025 review (published 2026) names DHgate (dhgate.com and its app) among online markets, on pages 27–28. It also names Taobao, Alibaba Group's Chinese consumer platform. AliExpress does not appear in the document.
The review is balanced, and both sides of it matter. USTR records improvements at DHgate:
- AI-based proactive screening of listings;
- vendor verification;
- a permanent intellectual property enforcement program;
- a guide for law enforcement.
It also records continuing stakeholder concerns: that DHgate remains "a significant source of counterfeits that remain easily accessible through search results," that deterrence of repeat infringers is weak, and that sellers evade filters with misspelled brand names and blurred logos.
The list reflects stakeholder nominations and USTR's review of them. It is not a legal finding that DHgate or any particular seller has infringed. For a buyer, its practical meaning is narrower and more useful: branded goods on DHgate carry a documented counterfeit risk.
The April 2025 app surge and "same factory" claims
In April 2025 DHgate rose from No. 352 on 11 April to No. 3 on 14 April among free iPhone apps in the US, according to Appfigures data reported by TechCrunch on 14 April 2025. The jump followed TikTok videos that promoted DHgate as a source of goods allegedly made in the same factories as luxury brands, at a time of US tariff increases on Chinese goods.
No source supports the "same factory" claim as a general fact. Even where a product resembles a branded one, a reseller's listing is not evidence of where or by whom it was made, and goods bearing another company's trademark without authorization are counterfeits whatever their origin.
Duties, de minimis and seizure risk
DHgate's model depends on small parcels, and US rules for small parcels have changed. Duty-free de minimis treatment (the Section 321 exemption for shipments valued at 800 US dollars or less) ended for China and Hong Kong in May 2025 and was suspended for all countries from August 2025. As of October 2026, CBP's interim final rules published 24 June 2026 suspend de minimis in all modes, regardless of value, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21) repeals the exemption by statute effective 1 July 2027, per CBP's postal interim final rule (FR Doc. 2026-12669). Small parcels bought on DHgate now pay applicable duties, including Section 301 duties on Chinese goods. Alibaba Group's May 2026 annual report flags the same change as a risk for cross-border platforms generally.
Counterfeit risk is a customs risk as well as a commercial one. Importing goods that bear an infringing trademark can lead to CBP seizure and penalties. CBP's own statistics show how central small parcels were to enforcement: in FY2024, 97% of intellectual property seizures in the cargo environment were in de minimis shipments. A buyer importing branded goods from any marketplace seller carries that exposure as the importer.
This is a summary of the legal position, not customs advice; a licensed customs broker can confirm how a particular shipment will be entered.
Who DHgate suits, and who it does not
DHgate fits a narrow use: buying small quantities of existing, unbranded goods where the buyer accepts that the seller may be a reseller, that quality is whatever the listing delivers, and that duties apply on arrival.
It does not fit:
- Private label or OEM. There is no RFQ and production-contract workflow, and no primary source describes a private-label program.
- Branded goods for resale. USTR documents counterfeit concerns, and the importer carries the seizure risk.
- Finding a manufacturer. A DHgate seller may or may not make what it lists. USTR notes that DHgate has introduced vendor verification, but that is not evidence of manufacturing, and it is no substitute for a factory audit.
How DHgate compares with other channels
| Channel | What you buy | Who you buy from | Notorious Markets 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHgate | Ready stock, small lots | Makers and resellers | Named |
| AliExpress | Retail units | Manufacturers and distributors (company description) | Not named |
| Alibaba.com | Wholesale and production orders | Manufacturers and trading companies | Not named |
The comparison that matters is between buying stock and placing an order. DHgate and AliExpress sell what already exists. B2B platforms such as Alibaba.com and Made-in-China.com are where buyers request quotations, negotiate specifications and contract for production, with the vetting work that entails.
Frequently asked questions
Is DHgate legit?
DHgate is a real company, founded in Beijing in 2004, but USTR's 2025 Review of Notorious Markets names it as a market for counterfeits while also noting its IP-protection improvements. Buying unbranded stock there is a different matter from buying branded goods, which carry documented counterfeit risk and possible CBP seizure. It is not a channel for finding a manufacturer.
Is DHgate wholesale or retail?
Both, in practice. USTR describes DHgate as a business-to-business cross-border platform that primarily serves purchasers outside China, but notes its growing popularity with consumers. Its buyers are small retailers, resellers and consumers buying ready-made stock in small lots, not companies placing manufacturing orders.
Is DHgate the same as Alibaba?
No. DHgate is an independent company founded in Beijing in 2004 by Diane Wang, and it is not part of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group operates Alibaba.com, 1688.com and AliExpress. In USTR's 2025 Notorious Markets review, DHgate and Alibaba's Taobao are named; Alibaba.com and AliExpress are not.
Why did DHgate trend in April 2025?
TikTok videos promoting DHgate as a source of goods allegedly made in the same factories as luxury brands, amid US tariff increases on Chinese goods, pushed its app from No. 352 on 11 April to No. 3 on 14 April 2025 among free US iPhone apps, per Appfigures data reported by TechCrunch. No source supports the same-factory claim.
Can I use DHgate for private label?
It is a poor fit. DHgate sells ready-made stock in small lots and has no RFQ and production-contract workflow of the kind B2B sourcing platforms provide, and no primary source describing a private-label program on DHgate was found. Private-label work needs a manufacturer, a specification and a contract, which DHgate is not built to supply.
Do I pay import duty on DHgate orders?
Yes, in the United States. As of October 2026 duty-free de minimis treatment is suspended for all countries under CBP interim final rules published 24 June 2026, and a statutory repeal takes effect 1 July 2027. Small parcels from DHgate pay applicable duties, including Section 301 duties on Chinese goods.
Sources
- Office of the United States Trade Representative — 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy
- Alibaba Group / U.S. SEC EDGAR — Alibaba Group Form 20-F, FY2026
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (DHS) — CBP Interim Final Rule, 91 FR 37801 (citing Pub. L. 119-21)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DHgate.com
- techcrunch.com/2025/04/14/chinese-marketplace-dhgate-becomes-a-top-us-app-as…