4 steps
Verification checklist
6 red flags
When not to pay
from $270
On-site inspection
The most expensive losses in China sourcing are not in logistics. Logistics can be calculated. What costs money is the supplier: an intermediary posing as a factory, quality that does not match the sample, full prepayment with no leverage.
Step 1. Does the company actually exist
Verification runs against the Chinese legal name of the company, not the store name on the platform — these are different things. We check registration validity, export licence, years in operation, ownership and whether the company appears on problem registers.
Red flag: the seller avoids giving the legal company name and asks for payment to a personal account.
Step 2. Factory or intermediary
Many sellers on 1688 and Alibaba present themselves as manufacturers and turn out to be trading companies. The practical difference: an intermediary adds 5–20% and cannot answer for quality because it does not control it. A factory gives better pricing at volume and can modify the product.
Step 3. Reputation and shipping history
Years in operation, order volumes, and what Chinese buyers write — their reviews are more informative than international ones because there are more of them and they are specific. We also look at whether there were disputes and how they were resolved.
Step 4. Sample and on-site check
A sample is essential even at an absurd unit price — it shows whether the factory can actually make what it promises. An on-site visit with photos and video of the workshop, equipment and warehouse answers whether the production exists at all. Inspection starts at $270, which is nothing against the value of a batch.
Six reasons not to start
- Demands 100% prepayment and refuses inspection of the finished goods
- Price is far below market for the same specification — the saving always comes from somewhere
- Asks for payment to a personal account instead of the company account
- Will not send photos of its own production, or sends images found elsewhere
- Changes terms after the deposit: price, lead time, minimum order
- Company registered recently with no shipping history
How to pay correctly
Standard practice is a 30% deposit with the balance after inspection of the finished batch. This is not a buyer's whim but the norm: until the balance is paid, the supplier has a reason to fix defects. After full payment and shipment there is almost no leverage left.
Send us the weight, volume and pickup city on WhatsApp +996 700 11 1688 — we reply with a quote within an hour.
