Sourcing notes
What happens on the factory floor.
Working notes from buying in China: how to check a supplier before money moves, where a quotation actually comes from, and what an inspection report is telling you. Written after the fact, from orders we ran.
How to check a Chinese supplier before you send a deposit
The deposit is the moment your risk starts. Three public records — the licence, its credit code, and any court judgments — settle most of it in ten minutes; a factory visit is $299 and only worth it after those come back clean.
30 Oct 20266 min readPricingEXW, FOB or DDP: which China price is actually cheaper
The same tile quoted EXW at USD 6.80 and DDP at USD 11.20 is not a 65% price difference, it is two different scopes. Compare landed cost per unit at your door, or nothing has been compared yet.
24 Oct 20265 min readPricingWhat a China sourcing agent’s 2–8% actually pays for
A 2–8% sourcing fee on a USD 30,000 order is USD 1,500, which is USD 45–60 an hour for the 25–35 hours the job takes. A fee charged on the saving cannot be checked before you commit.
16 Oct 20264 min readQualityAQL 2.5 in plain numbers, and what it lets through
AQL 2.5 does not mean 2.5% defects are acceptable. It means something narrower and more useful, and once you can read the table you can tell whether your inspection report is real.
8 Oct 20265 min readMaterialsTurkey or China: where the marble price difference comes from
The stone was quarried in Turkey and bought in Australia. It was cut in a town in Fujian that most buyers have never heard of, and that is where most of the 86% came from.
30 Sep 20265 min readVerificationWhat the Alibaba Gold Supplier badge actually proves
Gold Supplier verifies that a company exists, not that it owns a plant. A trader quote carries 8–20% over the plant, and the badge does not tell you which one you are talking to.
18 Sep 20264 min read