Amazon sellers
Spec lock, logo and carton marks, FBA prep, and a QC pass before the shipment books.
Wholesale Sourced
Independent Guides to Sourcing Wholesale from China
Practical guides for importers: how to compare suppliers, check a factory before you pay, plan inspection and shipping, and estimate landed cost.
Sourcing guidesBuyer guides for comparing suppliers, understanding fees, and planning imports.
Guides by buyer type
Start from how you buy
Dropshipping
Factory-direct cost, mixed replenishment, and photos when a SKU is actually in the warehouse.
Retailers
Many SKUs, one consolidator, and a calendar that survives Chinese New Year.
Startups
Prototype to first run without pretending a 5,000-piece MOQ is the only option.
WHO DOES WHAT
A factory makes the goods. A sourcing agent can compare suppliers and follow the order. The buyer still approves the specification, the sample, and whether the lot ships. These pages explain those roles.
What each type of sourcing provider should do
Product Sourcing
How a shortlist, comparable quotes, and a locked spec should come together before any deposit.
Supplier Verification
License checks and site evidence that show who you are paying.
Quality Inspection
What an AQL sampling plan, photos, and a fail report should show before the balance is released.
Warehouse & Transport
How goods from several suppliers are received, held, and shipped as one load.
Private Label & OEM
Logo, packaging, and the sample loop from prototype to first run.
Amazon FBA Prep
Labels, carton marks, and a booking that matches Seller Central.
Where to read next
Start from the stage, or from the risk
By sourcing stage
Write the spec
RFQ fields that make two quotes comparable.
Check the company
License, registry, and bank beneficiary before a deposit.
Inspect the lot
Timing, evidence, and a release record you keep.
Price the shipment
Goods, freight, duty, and destination charges in one worksheet.
By product risk
Amazon barcodes
FBA and FBM handoffs, and who chooses the unit barcode.
Many SKUs
One schedule, late factories, and incomplete kits.
Dropship stock
Per-order shipping, China stock, or destination replenishment.
Tooling and packs
Existing designs, changes, and a new mold, in that order.
If you are comparing a China sourcing agent, read how the role works and the fee comparison guide. Fee examples there are ways to read someone else's quote. They are not a price from this site. Worked buying notes, when a page labels them as examples, live under case studies. They are not orders this publisher fulfilled.
How an order runs
From product idea to delivered cargo
Plan your import
Follow the buying process from supplier research through inspection and shipping.
Read the sourcing guideStart small
How a first order starts
If you plan to hire a China sourcing agent, a small first order is a practical way to test it on your own product before you scale. Reviews describe other buyers' files; a small file shows how that agent handles yours. Keep the brief in your own file. This site does not take product, quantity, or destination details as an order, and it does not pay factories, prep FBA cartons, or charge a commission.
- Write the brief. Product, quantity, destination, required date, and any 1688, marketplace, or factory links. A photo or link can start the conversation, but it is not yet a purchase specification.
- Get the quoted scope in writing. Ask which tasks the quote covers, such as supplier search, quote comparison, samples, inspection, consolidation, and shipping, and which are excluded or charged separately.
- Confirm the fee and any trial terms. Ask whether any first-order or trial terms apply to your file and what they include. Agree the fee before you authorize paid work, a purchase, or a supplier deposit.
- Approve the sample. Accept or reject a physical sample before the bulk deposit moves.
- Inspect before the balance. Read the inspection report and make the release decision while the balance can still be held.
- Consolidate and ship. Confirm how the goods will be consolidated, documented, and booked by sea, air, or courier.
Already found the supplier? Ask whether the first file can cover only the steps you need, such as inspection or shipping. If you are new to agents, how a China sourcing agent works covers what the agent does at each stage and what stays with the buyer.
When the fee is confirmed
Before you authorize any paid work, ask for a written quote that states the fee, what it includes, and what it excludes. If a first-order or trial offer is mentioned, confirm in that quote whether it applies to your file and exactly what it covers; do not assume it applies until it is written down. Ask how work that only some orders need, such as laboratory testing, a repeat inspection after a failed lot, custom packaging, extra storage, and freight, will be quoted before it is ordered.
Product categories
Buying notes for eight categories
The questions you may have
Payment, a failed inspection, and minimum orders are on the sourcing FAQ.
How do China sourcing agents charge?
Common models are a percentage of goods value, a flat fee per task, or a margin built into the product price. Ask any agent to state the fee base, what it includes, and which costs are billed separately before you authorize work.
Can an agent buy from 1688 or a factory I already found?
Many agents can. Before you hand over a supplier, confirm in writing who pays the supplier and through which channel, which checks are included, and what happens if a check raises a problem.
What should an Amazon seller check before cargo leaves China?
That each unit carries the barcode your Seller Central settings require, every carton has its own box ID label, box contents match the shipment, and the lot passed inspection against the approved sample. The FBA guide lists the evidence to request.
What documents should I verify before paying a factory deposit?
Verify the Chinese business license (Unified Social Credit Code), matching bank beneficiary name, itemized quotation on a stated Incoterm, and signed tooling or NNN terms where custom molds apply.
Playbook
Import from China: the practical playbook
How to find suppliers, get a quote you can compare, inspect before the balance, and pick freight that matches the calendar.
Learn more about importing from China
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Buyer resources
Plan your next sourcing decision
Compare sourcing agent fees, prepare supplier questions, and estimate your landed cost.