I Tried ImportYeti to Find Furniture Suppliers: The Results

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Cutting out the middleman in the shopping process is typically a smart idea, as costs and markups tend to decrease the fewer hands a product passes through. Furniture and home decor are no different. For this reason, I shop wholesale regularly because it allows me to access better pricing than traditional retail.

However, wholesale does not necessarily mean buying directly from the manufacturer. Wholesalers are vendors that sell exclusively to the trade or to businesses. While this usually means better pricing, it doesn’t always mean you’re getting the best possible price.

Purchasing directly from the manufacturer is often how businesses avoid additional markups and secure the lowest costs. This is one reason platforms like Alibaba and AliExpress have become so popular. People want to save money and work directly with suppliers whenever possible.

Can ImportYeti Find Furniture Suppliers?

ImportYeti is a tool that claims to help users identify the manufacturers that companies use to produce their products. In theory, this means you can find the contact information of the supplier behind a product or brand you’re interested in and potentially order directly from the manufacturer, completely cutting out the middleman.

As an interior designer who frequently sources furniture—and often faces the challenge of finding products that fit within a client’s budget—I wanted to test ImportYeti for myself. I was curious to see whether it was actually a worthwhile tool for homeowners looking to furnish their homes or for designers like me who are constantly sourcing furniture for projects.

Could ImportYeti really help uncover direct suppliers and save money, or is it more complicated than it sounds? I decided to find out.

I subscribed to ImportYeti’s Premium plan to find out.

Manufacturer Search with ImportYeti

Currently, I am in the midst of sourcing for several projects that require everything from rugs and sofas to coffee tables, lighting fixtures, and more.

Typically, I source directly through my trusted wholesalers, which include Surya, Renwil, Sunpan, Daniel House Club, and occasionally retailers such as Wayfair when I’m looking for a particularly budget-friendly solution.

To begin my test, I went ahead and started sourcing as I normally would, creating shortlists of potential products across multiple categories for my clients.

Once I had a selection of products in mind, I began testing the capabilities of ImportYeti.

The question was simple: could I use ImportYeti to find the exact manufacturers behind the products I was sourcing?

I started by using ImportYeti’s company search tool and typed in “Surya.”

A few profiles came up, so I clicked on Surya Carpet.

The platform pulled up the company’s profile, which included an overview of its shipping data.

It also provided a manufacturer list that could be downloaded, and I was able to click into individual manufacturers to view additional information and shipping statistics.

I began combing through the data and reviewing the manufacturer profiles. Some included websites and contact information, while others only provided a company name and location.

Wayfair’s Suppliers

I also wanted to see how much information could be pulled on one of the largest furniture retailers out there—and one that I rely on heavily when working with remote clients or clients on a tighter budget: Wayfair.

Of course, ImportYeti had several different profiles associated with Wayfair, so I selected the U.S. profile to explore further.

Here is the overview page:

The manufacturer list was quite extensive, which was impressive. However, given the nature of how I source products, I was less interested in receiving a long list of potential manufacturers and more interested in finding the manufacturer behind a specific product.

As a designer, I’m not usually looking for just any supplier that produces rugs or furniture. I’m trying to identify the source of an exact item I’ve already selected. So while the company search provided plenty of information, it didn’t immediately answer the question I was really trying to solve: could I find the manufacturer behind a specific product?

Product Search Feature

As a designer, I am typically looking for specific products to source for my clients. Because of this, I need a tool that can identify the exact manufacturer behind a particular product—not just provide a list of possible suppliers.

So, let’s put that to the test.

I decided to see whether I could use ImportYeti to find the manufacturer behind a specific rug that I wanted to suggest to a client.

This is the rug I wanted to trace back to its manufacturer:

The rug is from Surya, and based on the information available on the Surya website, I was able to determine that its country of origin was Turkey.

Before using ImportYeti, I also tried conducting a Google search to see if I could trace the origins of the rug on my own. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck. The only results I found were other retailers selling the exact same rug.

ImportYeti offers a “Product Search” feature.

But, the platform actually recommends keeping your searches fairly broad and generic.

This immediately raised a concern for me because it meant I couldn’t simply search for the exact product I was looking for.

And honestly, this was a huge disappointment.

When I searched for the specific product name and product code, no relevant results appeared.

Instead, I broadened my search to “rug” and filtered the results to Turkey. This did provide me with a list of Turkish manufacturers that Surya sources from.

While that information was interesting, it didn’t solve my problem.

To identify the exact manufacturer behind the rug, I would have needed to manually dig through each manufacturer, review their products, and essentially play detective until I hopefully found a match.

At that point, the process became far more time-consuming than I had anticipated.

Is ImportYeti Worth It for Furniture Sourcing?

I went into this experiment hoping that ImportYeti would help me identify manufacturers behind specific furniture and decor pieces so that I could potentially source products directly and save my clients money.

Unfortunately, my experience was somewhat disappointing.

The inability to easily trace a specific product back to its manufacturer was frustrating and ultimately made the platform less useful for the way I source products. As a designer, I don’t need a list of possible manufacturers—I need the manufacturer behind a specific item I’ve already selected.

For most interior designers, the amount of time required to research and track down each individual product would likely outweigh the potential savings.

Who I Think ImportYeti Is Most Useful For

That said, I don’t think ImportYeti is a bad tool.

In fact, I can see it being extremely valuable for people who are less concerned with sourcing a specific item and are more interested in connecting directly with manufacturers in a particular category.

For example, homeowners undertaking a large furnishing project may find value in using ImportYeti to locate suppliers and compare options. Similarly, larger interior design firms with high-volume furniture sales or inventory programs may have the resources and purchasing power to benefit from sourcing directly from manufacturers.

It’s also important to remember that finding a manufacturer is only the first step. Once you’ve identified a supplier, it’s still up to you to contact them, negotiate pricing, understand minimum order quantities, coordinate shipping, and manage the purchasing process yourself.

So, while ImportYeti can certainly help uncover potential suppliers, it doesn’t eliminate much of the legwork involved in purchasing directly from furniture manufacturers.

For me, the platform wasn’t quite the shortcut to direct sourcing that I had hoped it would be. However, for the right type of buyer, it may still be a useful tool worth exploring.