You have found a product in China and received a promising quote. Before paying a deposit, work out who will sell you the goods, what they have agreed to make, how you will check the result and who can import it at the destination. Those four answers matter more than a supplier's website or a low unit price.
This guide is for a business placing its first commercial order with a Chinese supplier. It follows one order from the initial product brief to delivery. Requirements for food, cosmetics, medical products and other regulated goods need product-specific checks; a general sourcing checklist cannot clear them for import.
1. Write down the product and the destination first
Suppliers cannot quote the same job if each has a different idea of what you want. Give every shortlisted supplier one brief covering the material, dimensions, tolerances, colour, packaging, order quantity, intended use and any brand artwork. If you have an approved sample or drawing, identify its version and date.
Also say where the goods will be sold. A product acceptable in one market may need different testing, labels, instructions or documentation in another. Check the rules in your destination market before approving a sample or ordering packaging. For example, an EU importer has duties to check that imported products meet applicable EU requirements; a US importer remains responsible for its customs entry even when it uses a broker. Singapore importers generally need a customs permit before importation. The applicable rules depend on the product and destination.
You do not need to solve every technical question alone. You do need to name the person who will check them: your own product specialist, a qualified testing provider, an importer, a customs broker or another adviser with the relevant expertise. Put any required test report or approval on the order checklist.
2. Know whether you are dealing with a factory, an agent or a trading company
These labels describe different jobs. None is automatically safer or cheaper for your order.
| Route | Usual role | Question to settle before ordering |
|---|---|---|
| Factory direct | Makes the goods and sells them to you | Is this legal entity making the quoted product, and can it handle the agreed export arrangement? |
| Sourcing agent | Finds or manages suppliers for a fee | Does the factory sell to you directly, or does the agent also buy, resell, invoice or receive payment? |
| Trading company | Buys goods and resells them to you | Which company is your seller and is responsible for defects, delays and replacements? |
A trading company can be useful if you need several products or a single party to coordinate different factories. An agent can be useful if you need someone to compare suppliers and follow production on your behalf. Direct factory purchasing gives you a direct relationship, but leaves more work with your team. The practical choice depends on the product, the order and what you can supervise.
Ask for a simple transaction map: buyer → contracting seller → manufacturer → exporter. Add the invoice issuer and each payment recipient. One company may fill several roles. If a proposed agent says it is only arranging the purchase, find out who signs the goods contract and handles a quality claim. Do not assume that paying an agent transfers the factory's obligations to it.
What should a sourcing agent's quote show?
Ask whether the fee is fixed, charged per order or charged as a share of the goods value. If it is a percentage, define the base: goods only, or goods plus freight, tooling and other costs. Ask which tasks are included—supplier search, samples, factory visits, inspection, consolidation, shipping paperwork and claim handling—and which will be billed separately. Require disclosure of any payment or rebate the agent receives from the supplier. Compare the total delivered cost and the work performed, not only the headline fee.
3. Shortlist suppliers, then verify the exact legal entity
Trade fairs, referrals and online marketplaces can all produce leads. Keep at least a few candidates long enough to compare their answers to the same product brief. Ask each one for its Chinese legal name, Unified Social Credit Code, business licence, production location, sample lead time and the entity that will sign the contract.
Search the Chinese name or code in the official National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (GSXT). Compare the live record with the licence and the proposed contract. Check registration status and relevant public notices. Our guide to verifying a Chinese company walks through those fields and explains the limits of a registry check.
A valid registration proves that an entity exists; it does not prove it can make your product well. Ask to see the actual production site where that matters, and check product experience, sample quality and references appropriate to the size of the order. If a factory visit or independent audit is important, agree who will arrange it and what evidence you will receive. A seller that will not identify its contracting company or explain why another company receives payment needs further investigation before any deposit.
4. Compare quotations on the same terms
Put the offers side by side. A cheaper unit price may exclude packaging, testing, tooling or transport that another quote includes.
| Check | Ask the supplier to specify |
|---|---|
| Product | Exact specification, version of the sample or drawing, packaging and labelling |
| Quantity | Minimum order quantity, permitted quantity variance and price for your actual order |
| One-off costs | Sample, mould, artwork, testing and tooling charges; ownership of any tooling |
| Schedule | Sample approval date, production time and what starts the clock |
| Quality | Inspection access, agreed tests, defect criteria and remedy for a failed result |
| Delivery | Incoterms® rule and named place, shipping mode and what is included in the price |
| Payment | Contracting seller, beneficiary, currency, deposit and balance milestones |
Ask what happens if a component becomes unavailable, production runs late or the delivered goods differ from the approved sample. A useful quote makes those questions answerable; it need not be the longest document in your inbox.
5. Approve a sample and turn it into an order specification
Test a sample under the conditions in which you will actually use or sell the product. Record what passed and what needs changing. If you approve a revised sample, give it a clear version number so an earlier version cannot accidentally become the production reference.
Your purchase order or sales contract should then identify the parties and the product; attach the specification, approved sample version, quantity, price, delivery schedule, packaging and any required test documents. State who may approve substitutions. Agree what will happen if goods fail an inspection: rework, replacement, reinspection, price adjustment or another agreed remedy. For custom designs, spell out who owns the artwork and tooling and what the supplier may do with them.
If you use a sourcing agent, keep its service agreement distinct from the goods contract. Both can be short, but together they should show who owes you the product and who owes you the sourcing service.
6. Choose delivery terms that fit the actual shipment
Incoterms® 2020 allocate certain delivery duties, costs and risks between buyer and seller. Write the chosen rule and a named place in the contract. Then ask your freight forwarder or broker to confirm that the proposed route works in practice.
Do not use “FOB China” as a catch-all. FOB is intended for sea or inland-waterway transport and needs a named port. FCA can be used with different transport modes. EXW places more of the export process on the buyer, so check who can actually arrange pickup and export clearance before accepting it. The right term depends on the shipment, the seller's capabilities and your own arrangements.
Incoterms do not replace the sales contract. They do not settle your product specification, payment milestones or what happens when goods fail inspection. The invoice, packing list, transport documents and customs declaration should also describe a consistent transaction. If an export company appears in the paperwork but not in your earlier transaction map, ask why before shipment.
7. Inspect before releasing the agreed balance
An approved sample is a reference, not proof that the full production run will match it. Decide in advance whether you need a check during production, a pre-shipment inspection, laboratory testing or several of these. The answer depends on product risk and what could still be fixed before dispatch.
Give the inspector the approved specification, sample version, quantities, packaging requirements and defect categories. If you use an acceptance sampling plan, have someone qualified specify the plan and its acceptance criteria. ISO 2859-1:2026 describes AQL-indexed sampling schemes; a sample-based inspection does not guarantee that every item in a shipment is defect-free.
Arrange for the report to reach you directly. If it identifies a problem, get photographs, quantities and the supplier's proposed remedy in writing. Confirm rework and any reinspection before the balance becomes due under your contract. A fixed deposit/balance split is not a substitute for clear milestones and evidence.
8. Check the payment path before sending money
Match the bank beneficiary to the company named in the sales contract and invoice. Where the money must go to another entity, ask for the legal and commercial explanation in writing and check with your bank whether the payment can be made on that basis. Verify any last-minute bank-detail change through a contact method you already trust, not by replying to the change request.
Keep the purchase order, invoice, supplier bank instructions, inspection record and payment advice together. For a Singapore business paying a mainland supplier in RMB, our payment guide covers the bank route, receiving details and paperwork to check before a deposit. Buyers elsewhere should confirm the accepted payment route with their own bank or provider.
9. Plan the destination import—and the claim file
Before the goods leave China, confirm who is the importer in the destination country, which permits or product approvals are needed, the tariff classification, and who will prepare the customs entry. A supplier, freight forwarder or broker can handle tasks for you, but that arrangement does not automatically remove the importer's legal responsibilities. Keep the commercial invoice, packing list, transport record and product documents your destination requires.
When the shipment arrives, inspect it promptly against the contract and record shortages, damage or nonconformity with dated photographs and counts. Preserve packaging and transport documents if a carrier or insurance claim may follow. Tell the seller what failed and refer to the remedy agreed in the order; a vague complaint is hard to resolve.
Do you need a company in China to source there?
Buying goods from a Chinese seller for import into your home market does not, by itself, require you to open a Chinese company. The question changes when you plan to employ a local purchasing team, hold inventory through your own Chinese entity, buy and sell domestically or run your own import-export operation in China. Our trading WFOE guide explains what that operating model needs beyond company registration.
For a first order, establish a workable supplier, contract, inspection and import process. If the purchasing operation grows, you can compare an agent, a trading partner and your own China entity using your actual costs and control needs.
Your first-order checklist
Before paying a deposit, make sure you can answer these questions:
- What exact product version and destination-market requirements are we ordering against?
- Which legal entity sells the goods, which makes them, and which receives payment?
- Have we checked the seller's live Chinese registration and investigated relevant inconsistencies?
- Are samples, specifications, inspection access and remedies written into the order?
- Does the delivery term name a place and fit the shipping mode and export arrangements?
- Who checks the goods before the balance is due, and what happens if they fail?
- Who will import the goods at the destination, and which permits and documents will they need?
If any answer is still “the supplier will handle it,” ask which company, under which document, and how you will confirm it was done.
Official sources
- State Administration for Market Regulation: official enterprise-information search services
- General Administration of Customs of China: goods declaration guide
- International Chamber of Commerce: Incoterms® 2020
- International Organization for Standardization: ISO 2859-1:2026
- US Customs and Border Protection: importer and customs broker responsibilities
- European Union: general product compliance and importer duties
- Singapore Customs: import procedures overview
Sources checked on 23 October 2026. Product and destination rules can change; confirm the current requirements for your shipment before ordering.
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