分类： China Procurement

If you’re sourcing rechargeable desk fans for Amazon or your home goods store, you probably want to know: what’s the real margin on this product? In this breakdown, we take a close look at the portable quiet desktop fan with USB charging — one of the most consistent summer products on Amazon. We compare materials, Amazon pricing, and real factory quotes from verified Chinese manufacturers, so you know exactly what to expect before placing your order.

What Is a Rechargeable Desk Fan?

A rechargeable desk fan is a small, portable fan that runs on a built-in battery. The upgraded versions come with 3-4 speed settings, quiet operation (under 30dB), USB-C charging, and adjustable tilt. They’re used for desks, bedrooms, offices, and travel.

This is one of the most consistent summer products on Amazon. Demand spikes from April through September, but it’s also sold year-round for home offices and bedrooms. It’s a high-volume, repeat-purchase product.

Material Breakdown: What’s Inside a $25 Desk Fan?

Before comparing prices, it helps to know what you’re paying for. Here’s the typical bill of materials for a mid-range rechargeable desk fan:

• Shell: ABS plastic (matte finish, premium feel)
• Blades: 5-7 soft blades (safe, quiet airflow)
• Motor: Brushless DC motor (long life, low noise)
• Battery: 2000-4000mAh Li-polymer (4-10 hours playtime)
• Charging: USB-C or Micro USB (2-3 hours full charge)
• Features: 3 speed settings, adjustable tilt, LED indicator

The biggest quality difference is in motor noise and battery life. Cheap fans are loud, or the battery dies after 2 hours. Always test noise level and battery life before bulk ordering.

Amazon Price Analysis: What Are People Actually Paying?

We tracked the top 20 desk fan listings on Amazon US. Here’s the price range you’ll see:

The sweet spot for a new seller is $22.99 – $24.99. It’s low enough to beat the premium brands, but high enough to leave room for PPC ads and still make good profit.

China Factory Price Breakdown

Now for the number everyone cares about: what does it actually cost to get this product made in China? We collected quotes from 12 verified factories in Shenzhen and Dongguan.

Why Don’t Most Sellers Buy Directly From Factories?

Because motor noise and battery life vary wildly between factories. Some cheap fans are as loud as a hair dryer, or the battery dies after 2 hours. A good sourcing agent tests every sample, checks noise level and battery life, and verifies build quality before bulk production — saving you from 1-star reviews about “too loud” or “battery dies fast.”

Profit Margin Calculation: Is It Worth It?

Let’s do the math for a realistic first order. You buy 500 units directly from the factory at $6.50 each, sell on Amazon for $23.99.

That’s after all Amazon fees, shipping, and PPC ads. This is a seasonal product with strong summer demand. Once you build reviews to 2,000+, you can raise the price to $26.99 and margins improve even more.

Sourcing Tips for Desk Fans

Based on working with 15+ fan factories, here are the biggest mistakes new sellers make:

• Noise test. Turn on the fan. If it’s over 40dB on low speed, customers will complain. Good fans are under 30dB.
• Battery life test. Run it on medium speed. If it dies before 4 hours, the battery is small.
• Airflow test. Hold a tissue in front. If it doesn’t blow, the motor is weak.
• Charging speed. Time how long it takes to fully charge. If it’s over 4 hours, customers will complain.
• Build quality. Tilt the fan. If it wiggles or feels cheap, the plastic is thin.

Is This Product Worth Selling in 2026?

Yes, but it’s competitive. The low-hanging fruit is gone for basic fans. To stand out, you need one of these differentiators:

• Ultra quiet operation (under 30dB, marketed as “whisper quiet”)
• Long battery life (10+ hours on a single charge)
• USB-C fast charging (modern feature, customers expect it)
• Unique design/colors (pastel colors, sleek modern design)

Want a Custom Quote for Your Desk Fan Order?

We help Amazon sellers and brand owners source rechargeable desk fans directly from Chinese factories. We handle factory vetting, noise level testing, battery life checks, and shipping to Amazon FBA. Tell us your target price, features, and quantity — we’ll send you 3 factory quotes within 24 hours.

👉 Get a Free Desk Fan Sourcing Quote →

Disclaimer: Pricing data is based on October 2026 Amazon US listings and verified Chinese factory quotes. Actual costs vary by order quantity, customization level, and shipping method. This article is for informational purposes only.

Every successful China sourcing order begins with a sample — not a mass production run. Yet too many first-time importers either skip sampling entirely (and get burned on a 5,000-piece shipment) or waste weeks and hundreds of dollars on samples that never turn into production orders. Understanding how product sampling in China actually works — the different sample types, what they cost, how long they take, and who should pay for them — is one of the highest-return skills you can build as an importer. This guide lays out the full sample journey from first prototype to pre-production approval, so you can move fast without blowing your budget.

1. The Three Types of Samples You Will Encounter

Chinese factories distinguish between three sample stages. Each serves a different purpose, carries a different cost, and demands a different level of detail from you as the buyer.

• Prototype / engineering sample (打样, dǎyàng): Built to validate your design, fit, function, or material choice. Used when you have a new product idea, a custom mold, or significant design changes. This sample often comes from hand-making, CNC machining, 3D printing, or soft-tool molding — not from the final production line.
• Pre-production sample (产前样, chǎnqián yàng): Made on the actual production line using the actual materials, tooling, and packaging that will be used for bulk order. This is the gold standard — once you approve it, the factory should replicate it exactly in mass production.
• Production / shipment sample (大货样, dàhuò yàng): Pulled from the first batch of finished goods, often sent to you before container loading. Confirms that mass production matches the approved pre-production sample and catches QC drift before the ship sails.

Mix-ups between these stages are a common source of conflict. A hand-made prototype, for example, will always look better than a mass-produced unit — do not approve a bulk order based on prototype quality alone. Always insist on a pre-production sample from the real line.

2. Sample Costs and Typical Timelines

Sample pricing in China is transparent once you know the range. Costs are driven by materials, tooling, labor hours, and express shipping — not by arbitrary factory pricing.

• Existing-product customization (logo, packaging, slight color change): US$30–US$150 per sample, usually shipped via DHL/FedEx at US$30–US$60. Lead time: 3–7 days.
• Prototype with new tooling (injection mold, die cut, custom packaging): US$150–US$800+ for the sample itself, plus mold/tooling cost of US$300–US$5,000 depending on complexity. Lead time: 10–25 days.
• Electronics or PCB prototypes: US$100–US$500 per sample; SMT stencil adds US$50–US$150. Lead time: 7–15 days for PCBA assembly, plus 1–2 days for shipping.
• Apparel samples: US$50–US$200 per style, depending on fabric and complexity; lead time 5–10 days for a single garment sample.
• Express shipping to US/EU/Australia: Budget US$30–US$80 via DHL/FedEx/UPS for a small parcel (0.5–2 kg); heavier samples cost more. Many factories will quote “sample free, freight collect” — you pay shipping, they absorb the product cost.

A realistic prototype timeline from first RFQ to approved pre-production sample is 3–6 weeks for simple products, and 8–12 weeks for custom-designed electronics, molded plastic goods, or branded apparel with new packaging.

3. Who Pays for Samples — and How to Get Fees Waived

The question of who covers sample cost is one of the earliest negotiations in any supplier relationship. The norms are well established; knowing them keeps you from overpaying or burning bridges.

• You pay for prototypes on a new, unproven design. This is standard. Factories will not absorb R&D risk for a buyer with no order history.
• Sample cost is often refundable against your bulk order. Many factories will deduct the sample fee from your production invoice once your order reaches a certain value (typically US$2,000–US$5,000). Ask this explicitly — it is almost always negotiable.
• Existing-product samples are frequently free; you only pay freight. If the factory already makes the product and you are only adding a logo, they have no incremental cost. Push back politely if they charge US$100 for an off-the-shelf sample.
• Never pay sample fees to a personal Western Union account. Legitimate factories invoice samples to the same corporate account they use for production. A payment-method mismatch is an early warning sign.
• Budget 2–3 sample iterations in your plan. Very few buyers approve the first sample. Allowing for revisions — fit, color, packaging, labeling — is part of a realistic sampling budget.

4. The Sample Approval Process That Protects Your Bulk Order

Receiving a sample is only half the job. How you inspect, document, and approve it determines whether your 5,000-piece order will match what you held in your hand.

• Document every detail in writing: dimensions, materials, Pantone colors, logo placement, packaging, labeling, barcodes, and any functional test results. A sample approval should be a signed PDF or email, not a verbal “looks good.”
• Test the sample under real conditions — drop it, run it, wash it, open it the way your customers will. Functional failure in hand is far cheaper than functional failure after Amazon returns.
• Keep the approved sample (and ideally a second sealed copy) as your golden sample for production comparison. When mass production arrives, a third-party inspector can compare the bulk goods against this reference.
• Confirm in writing that the factory will replicate the approved sample exactly — same materials, same factory, same production line — and that any deviation requires your prior written approval.
• Request a production sample pulled from the first batch before container loading. If it differs from your golden sample, you have time to fix it before the goods ship.

Sampling Smart, Scaling Confidently

Samples are where good importers save money and bad importers lose it. By treating sampling as a structured process — prototype, pre-production, then production sample — with clear approval criteria and documented standards, you eliminate most of the risk hidden in a 5,000-piece blind order. The small upfront investment in samples always pays back many times over in defect reduction, brand consistency, and fewer post-sale headaches. To build the rest of your sourcing workflow — supplier verification, Incoterms selection, and MOQ negotiation — read our China procurement guides and get a complete playbook for importing from China with confidence.

When you ask a Chinese factory for a price, the first number they almost always quote after the unit price is the MOQ — the Minimum Order Quantity. “MOQ 1,000 pieces,” “MOQ 500 sets,” “MOQ 5 cartons.” For first-time importers, an MOQ that feels too high is often the single biggest blocker to launching a product. The good news is that China MOQ is rarely a fixed wall — it is a starting point shaped by material costs, setup time, and negotiation. This guide explains what MOQ really means, why factories set it, typical values by industry, and the exact negotiation tactics experienced buyers use to land smaller, risk-tested first orders.

1. What Is MOQ and Why Do Chinese Factories Set It?

MOQ is the smallest batch a factory is willing to produce for a single order at the quoted unit price. It is not arbitrary — it reflects real economic constraints on the production floor.

• Material procurement: Factories buy raw materials (fabric, plastic resin, PCB boards, packaging film) in bulk from their own suppliers. A dye lot, a resin pallet, or a fabric roll often comes in fixed quantities below which their suppliers will not sell at a usable price.
• Machine setup / changeover time: Injection molding, screen printing, embroidery, heat stamping, and SMT line setup all cost time and money. A 2-hour setup run for 50 units makes each unit prohibitively expensive; running 1,000 units amortizes that setup across many pieces.
• Labor efficiency: Operators, QC staff, and packers are paid by the day, not by the piece. A 100-unit order that takes the same handling time as a 1,000-unit order is not profitable for the factory.
• Fixed tooling or mold investment: Custom molds, die cuts, and printing screens are one-time costs. Factories want a guaranteed volume before they commit to cutting a new tool.
• Administrative overhead: Purchase orders, customs documents, invoicing, and shipping coordination carry a floor cost regardless of batch size.

Understanding these drivers is the key to negotiation: you are not “arguing for a discount,” you are proposing an arrangement that still makes economic sense for the factory.

2. Typical MOQ Values by Industry

MOQ ranges vary wildly by product category. These are ballpark figures for established Chinese manufacturers at mid-sized factories; small workshops and trading companies may quote lower, while brand-name OEMs will quote higher.

• Apparel & textiles: 100–500 pieces per style/color; blank t-shirts can go as low as 50 pieces, custom-printed or embroidered garments often start at 200+.
• Hard goods & consumer electronics (existing tooling): 500–2,000 units; a simple Bluetooth speaker in an existing mold may accept 300, while a custom-PCB device starts around 1,000.
• Custom injection-molded parts: 1,000–5,000+ pieces once a new mold is cut; prototype samples are separate from production MOQ.
• Promotional items, packaging, printed materials: 500–2,000 units; custom boxes, bags, and labels often start at 1,000.
• Jewelry, accessories, small hardware: 100–500 pieces; many small factories will accept 50–100 with a small unit-price premium.
• Furniture, large appliances, industrial goods: 50–200 units, or even single units, because each unit carries high value and long production time.

If a factory quotes an MOQ far above these ranges for a standard product, they may be a trading company passing through a larger factory’s minimum, or they may simply be filtering out small buyers they don’t want to serve.

3. Proven Negotiation Strategies for Lower MOQs

Experienced importers do not accept the first MOQ number. These are the tactics that consistently produce results, ordered by how likely the factory is to agree.

• Ask for “trial order” pricing: Frame your first order as a trial run. Most factories will accept 30–50% of their standard MOQ for the first batch, often at 5–10% higher unit price, in exchange for a committed repeat order volume.
• Combine SKUs under one MOQ: If you want 3 styles × 100 pieces, ask whether the factory can apply the MOQ to the combined total (300 pieces) rather than per style. Many mid-sized factories accept this, especially for color/print variations.
• Use existing tooling or semi-custom designs: Skip custom molds, custom packaging, or unique colors initially. Using an existing factory mold with only logo printing cuts MOQ dramatically — often from 5,000 to 300 units.
• Pay a higher unit price in exchange for lower MOQ: The factory’s real constraint is margin per batch, not units per se. Offering 10–20% higher unit price for a 500-piece first order is often a win-win: you test the market, they recover setup cost.
• Propose staged / rolling orders: Offer a signed forecast (e.g., 2,000 pieces over 6 months) while taking delivery of 500 now. Factories love committed pipeline volume, and this is how many long-term buyer-supplier relationships start.
• Leverage sample-first validation: If the factory has already earned sample fees and you have approved production samples, they are more likely to be flexible on the first production run because they’ve already recouped early development cost.

4. MOQ Red Flags and When to Walk Away

Negotiation skills only work when the counterparty is a legitimate manufacturer. Watch for these signals.

• A supplier who agrees to any MOQ, including 1 piece, for a heavily custom product with new tooling. Real factories need mold amortization; a “yes” here usually means they are a reseller who will outsource your order elsewhere.
• An MOQ that jumps from “50” on Alibaba to “2,000” in direct email — a classic trading-company pattern where the Alibaba listing is bait and the real factory’s minimum is disclosed later.
• Refusal to quote any price for quantities below MOQ, even as a price list. A confident factory can always give you a higher unit price for a small run; complete refusal means they don’t want small orders at all.
• Pressure to pay the full amount up front for your first order, with no sample, no inspection, and no phased payment. This is not standard MOQ negotiation — it’s a credit-risk pattern.

Negotiate MOQ Like a Seasoned Importer

MOQ is one of the most controllable variables in China sourcing — once you understand the economics behind it, you can structure first orders that fit your cash flow and your market-testing goals, without sacrificing quality or factory commitment. Whether you are launching your first Amazon FBA product, testing a private-label line, or scaling an existing brand, the right MOQ strategy is what turns “too expensive to start” into “we can pilot this month.” To put these tactics into practice alongside supplier verification, sampling, and Incoterms planning, browse our full China procurement article series and build a sourcing process that protects both your margin and your momentum.

The supplier quoted you USD 3.50 per unit FOB. The freight forwarder quoted USD 2,800 for a 40ft container. So your unit cost is… USD 4.10? Not even close. China import duty, MPF, HMF, VAT, Section 301 tariffs, broker fees and last-mile trucking all land on top of the quoted price. This guide explains how import duty is calculated, how the HS/HTS code drives everything, and how to build a true landed cost model — plus the difference between DDP and DDU that catches new importers out.

1. How Import Duty Is Actually Calculated

Duty is not charged on your retail price or even on your total shipping cost. It is calculated on the customs value, which is usually the FOB value of the goods as shown on the commercial invoice. The formula is simple:

Duty = Customs value (FOB) × duty rate from the HTS code.

Example: you import 5,000 wireless earbuds at USD 4.00 FOB each. Customs value = USD 20,000. If the HTS duty rate is 4.2% (base) plus 25% Section 301 (China-origin), total duty = USD 20,000 × 29.2% = USD 5,840. That is USD 1.17 extra per unit — before broker fees and freight.

On top of duty, US customs adds:

• Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF): ~0.3464% of customs value, minimum USD 31.67, maximum USD 612 per entry.
• Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF): 0.125% of customs value for sea shipments (air shipments exempt).
• Excise taxes: only on specific goods (alcohol, tobacco, certain fuels).

For EU importers, on top of duty you pay import VAT (typically 19–27% depending on the member state) on the duty-inclusive value, recoverable later if you are VAT-registered. UK importers pay UK VAT (20%) similarly. GST applies in Australia (10%) and Canada (5% federal plus provincial). Confirm the rules for your destination country before pricing your product.

2. The HS/HTS Code: The Single Most Important Number

The Harmonized System (HS) is a 6-digit international product classification agreed by over 200 countries. The US extends it to a 10-digit HTS code; the EU uses a 8-digit CN code; China uses a 10-digit declaration code. The same product can carry different duty rates depending on how it is classified — and choosing the wrong code is one of the most common causes of customs audits.

• Find your code on hts.usitc.gov (US), ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs (EU), or by asking your customs broker to classify it.
• Read the General Notes and Chapter notes carefully. A “kit” is classified differently from its components; “smart watches” are classified differently from “ordinary watches.”
• Section 301 tariffs: many China-origin goods carry an extra 7.5% or 25% duty under the US Section 301 lists. Check the “Special” sub-column on the HTS lookup to confirm whether your code is on List 1–4.
• First sale rule: if you buy through a trading company, you may be able to declare the lower factory-to-trader price as the customs value — a legal savings your broker can structure.
• Never guess the code. If classification is ambiguous, file a binding ruling request with CBP for certainty before shipment.

3. Build a True Landed Cost Model

Use this worksheet for every SKU. Landed cost per unit is the number that decides whether the product makes money.

• Purchase cost: FOB unit price × quantity.
• International freight: sea FCL/LCL or air, allocated per unit.
• Export / origin charges: pickup, documentation, THC at origin.
• Import duty: FOB value × (base HTS rate + any Section 301 / anti-dumping).
• MPF + HMF + broker fees: typically USD 150–300 per entry plus 0.3–0.5% MPF.
• Customs bond amortization: annual bond (~USD 500–700) spread across all entries.
• Last-mile trucking / drayage: from port to your warehouse or FBA.
• VAT / GST (if not recoverable): for non-VAT-registered importers, this is a real cost.

A practical benchmark: for a typical China-to-US consumer goods shipment, expect total duty-and-fees to add 25–35% on top of FOB cost on products hit by Section 301, and 10–15% on products not on the lists. Build your retail price from this number, not from the supplier’s quote.

4. DDP vs DDU: What Your Supplier Actually Offers

Chinese suppliers love quoting “DDP” because it sounds like one price for everything. But the two terms mean very different things for your risk.

• DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid): the supplier delivers to your door, but you pay duty, taxes and customs brokerage when the goods arrive. This is the transparent option — you see the actual duty bill.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): the supplier handles customs clearance and pays duty on your behalf. The price looks all-in, but you have no visibility into the HTS code they used, and many “DDP” suppliers under-declare value to keep their costs low — putting you at risk of a CBP audit later.
• The catch with China DDP to the US: most cheap DDP lanes use a different importer of record (not you), which means you have no record of legal importation. Amazon and CBP are cracking down on this; goods can be seized and your seller account suspended.
• Recommendation: for any product you plan to sell on Amazon or to corporate buyers, use FOB + your own broker + your own bond. Pay duty transparently under your own EIN. It costs more on paper but protects your business.

5. Legal Ways to Reduce Duty Cost

• Verify your HTS classification with a binding ruling — sometimes a correct classification drops the rate from 25% to 3.9%.
• Use the first-sale rule when buying through intermediaries.
• Explore Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) near major US ports — you can store and even assemble goods duty-free inside the zone, paying duty only when the goods enter domestic commerce.
• De-minimis relief (USD 800 per day per person) applies only to small individual shipments, not to commercial FCL imports — do not plan your business around it.
• Never under-declare invoice value. CBP penalties start at 2× the duty loss and scale up for repeated violations.

Get the Numbers Right Before You Order

The difference between a profitable import and a write-off is usually the landed cost model built before the order, not after. Classify your HTS code, layer in Section 301, add MPF/HMF and broker fees, and compare DDP against FOB-with-your-own-broker before committing. For a complete walk-through of how duty and taxes interact with freight and payment terms, work through our China procurement guides — they cover supplier vetting, shipping modes and the full US import workflow step by step.

When you message a “manufacturer” on Alibaba or Made-in-China, you are often not talking to the factory at all. A surprising share of B2B supplier profiles are actually trading companies — professional sourcing intermediaries that present themselves as direct factories. This is not inherently bad: good trading companies can be useful partners for buyers who need multi-category sourcing or small-batch flexibility. But if you are paying factory prices for a trading company’s service, you are overpaying. This guide explains the real difference between a China trading company vs factory, how to tell which one you are dealing with, and when each type actually makes sense for your sourcing strategy.

1. The Core Difference: What Each One Actually Is

At the most basic level, a factory makes things; a trading company buys things from factories and resells them to you. Understanding how each earns money clarifies why their behavior, pricing, and capabilities differ so much.

• Manufacturing factory (工厂, gōngchǎng): Owns production equipment, hires line workers, buys raw materials, and physically produces your product. Their profit margin comes from the gap between production cost and selling price — typically 10–30% depending on the category.
• Trading company (贸易公司, màoyì gōngsī): Does not own production lines. They act as intermediaries: they collect your order, outsource it to one or more factories, handle export documentation, and take a margin (often 10–25%) on top of the factory price. Their strength is service, communication, and multi-supplier coordination — not production.
• Hybrid / “factory + trading” companies: Many real factories have a separate trading arm to handle exports. These can be excellent partners, but you need to confirm you are contracting with the factory entity, not the trading shell.
• Neither is “good” or “bad” — the problem is when a trading company claims to be a factory and charges factory-direct pricing without giving you factory-direct transparency.

2. How to Identify Which One You Are Talking To

There is no single bulletproof test — but a combination of document, behavior, and price checks will reveal the truth in 95% of cases.

• Business license business scope (经营范围): Ask for the license and cross-check on gsxt.gov.cn. A factory’s scope includes “生产/制造/加工” (production/manufacturing/processing). A trading company’s scope lists “货物进出口、技术进出口、销售” (import/export, sales) but no production. This is the single most objective test.
• Product range: A real factory usually makes a narrow product line — 5–20 related SKUs. A trading company often offers hundreds of unrelated items (e.g., kitchenware + pet toys + phone accessories) that no single factory could physically produce.
• Pricing transparency: Factories are usually firm on MOQ and unit price because their costs are fixed. Trading companies are more flexible on MOQ and faster to adjust quotes — because they are shopping between factories behind the scenes.
• Video factory tour: Ask for a live video walkthrough. A real factory can show you production lines, equipment, workers, and QC stations immediately. A trading company will offer excuses: “boss is away,” “we can send photos,” “the factory is in another city.”
• Response to customization requests: Ask a specific engineering question — tooling change, material substitution, packaging spec. A real factory engineer will discuss production constraints; a trading company will say “let me check” and come back with a yes/no, showing no deep manufacturing knowledge.
• Price gap: If their quote is significantly higher than comparable Alibaba listings for the same product, and they refuse to explain why, you may be paying a trading markup on top of the factory’s own export price.

3. Pros and Cons: When to Use a Factory vs a Trading Company

The right partner depends on your order profile, not on prejudice. Here is when each type earns its keep.

• Go direct to a factory when: You have a single product category, your order volume is at or above typical MOQ (often 500+ units), you want the lowest unit price, you need custom tooling or heavy customization, and you are comfortable managing QC and communication directly. Direct factory sourcing gives you the best price, the most control over production, and the clearest channel for engineering changes.
• Use a trading company when: You are sourcing multiple product categories from different factories and want one point of contact; your order is small (below most factories’ MOQ); you need help with export documentation, translation, or consolidation; or you are a first-time importer who wants guided support. A good trading company effectively becomes your low-cost China-based sourcing agent.
• The hidden cost of trading companies: Margin markup, less control over production timing, reduced visibility into factory QC, and slower resolution of defects (because the trading company must mediate between you and the real factory).
• The hidden cost of direct factories: Higher MOQ, slower communication for non-English speakers, less flexibility on small orders, and you must handle all logistics, export docs, and compliance yourself.

4. Red Flags That You Are Being Misled

The most common problem is not dealing with a trading company — it is dealing with one that pretends to be a factory. These signs should trigger deeper due diligence.

• Their Alibaba profile says “Manufacturer” but their license scope contains no production keywords.
• They refuse a live video tour or offer to send a pre-recorded video instead of a real-time walkthrough.
• They cannot name the specific factory city where production happens, or keep changing the answer.
• Their quote includes “we” but their emails are vague about production processes, equipment, or factory size questions.
• They pressure you to pay to a personal account or a third-party account with a name that does not match their company license.

Source Smarter, Not Just Cheaper

The goal of supplier verification is not to eliminate trading companies — it is to know exactly who you are paying. Direct factory sourcing delivers the best unit economics for scaled, single-category brands; trading companies deliver valuable service for early-stage, multi-category, or low-volume buyers. Once you can distinguish the two from the license, the product range, and the video tour, you can negotiate with clarity instead of guessing. To build the rest of your China sourcing stack — supplier verification, sampling, Incoterms, and MOQ negotiation — browse our China procurement article series and import with the confidence that you know exactly who is making your product.