Frequently asked questions about importing from China

We act as your team on the ground in China. You tell us what you need; we identify and verify suppliers, collect and compare quotations, arrange samples, follow production, run quality inspections, consolidate goods and organise shipping to your country.

You deal with one point of contact instead of managing factories, inspectors and freight forwarders separately.

It depends on how clear the specification is and how specialised the product is. A clear brief with quantities, specifications and a target price lets us shortlist suppliers quickly; custom or certified products take longer because verification and sampling take longer.

We give you an indicative timeline with the first shortlist and update it at every step.

Yes. We coordinate branding, packaging design files, artwork proofs and pre-production samples with the factory, and check the printed result at inspection.

In most cases yes. Sample availability and cost depend on the product and the factory; we arrange the samples, check them before dispatch and ship them to you.

A sourcing agent works for you and is paid by you; a trading company buys the goods itself and resells them to you at its own margin.

The practical difference is whose interest the price serves. An agent shows you the factory, the factory quotation and the comparison behind the recommendation. A trading company does not have to, because the supplier relationship is the asset it is selling.

White label is an existing product that several buyers can put their own name on. Private label is a product made to your specification, and the specification is yours.

White label is quicker and cheaper to start. Private label is what you need when the shape, materials, formula or packaging have to differ from what the factory already sells to everyone else.

Under OEM you bring the design and the factory manufactures it. Under ODM the factory already owns the design and adapts it for you.

The question that follows is who owns the tooling and the drawings. We put that in writing before a mould is cut, because a design you paid for and cannot take to another factory is not really yours.

We check business registration and export licences, production capability, certifications relevant to your product and market, references and, where the project justifies it, an on-site visit. You receive a written verification summary before any deposit is paid.

Depending on the order: pre-production checks of materials and samples, during-production inspections, and a pre-shipment inspection covering quantity, workmanship, packaging and labelling. Each inspection is documented with photos, video where useful, and a defect report so you can approve or hold the shipment with evidence in hand.

We identify which certificates your product and destination market require, check what the supplier holds, and arrange third-party testing when needed. Some markets also require conformity assessment before shipment; we tell you early if this applies.

The business licence says so. A manufacturer’s registered scope covers production; a trading company’s covers wholesale and import and export.

We read the licence, match the registered address to a real production site, and look at whether the range on offer is wider than any single factory could plausibly make. A trading company is not a problem in itself. Being told one is a factory is.

AQL is the agreed limit on how many defective units a batch may contain before it is rejected. The sample size comes from the lot size and the inspection level under ISO 2859-1; the AQL then fixes the accept and reject numbers for that sample, separately for critical, major and minor defects.

We agree the AQL, the inspection level and the defect definitions with you before the first inspection, so the pass or fail decision is arithmetic rather than opinion.

Most of it, yes. Registration, licences, certificates and export history are checked against documents and public records without anyone leaving a desk.

What a remote check cannot confirm is that the production line exists and is running. That is why we go to the premises when the order value or the product risk justifies a visit, and send you the photographs and the video.

Delivered Duty Paid means the goods arrive at your address with export handling, international transport, customs clearance, duties and taxes and last-mile delivery coordinated for you. Availability depends on the product, the destination country and current regulations, which is why we confirm DDP eligibility per shipment.

Air freight, sea freight as LCL (shared container) or FCL (full container), rail and truck where the route exists, and DDP door delivery where available. If you are not sure, tell us the cargo details and the deadline and we will recommend the best balance of speed and cost.

Transit times are indicative and depend on destination, method, carrier schedules, customs and the season. We share the expected range when we quote and keep you informed while the goods are moving. We never promise a fixed date we cannot control.

Yes. Goods from different factories can be collected at our warehouse, checked, repacked or relabelled if needed, and shipped together. Consolidation usually reduces the cost per unit and simplifies customs paperwork.

Under DDP the seller pays the duties and taxes and delivers to your door; under DAP the seller delivers to your address but the import duties and taxes stay with you.

We quote both where they are available so you can compare the landed cost honestly, and we say plainly when DDP is not possible for a product or a destination.

Under DDP the seller carries the import clearance, so the declaration is made by the seller or by a party acting for the seller in the destination country.

This matters, because some countries only allow a locally registered entity to be the importer of record and some goods cannot be cleared that way at all. We confirm the position for your product and your country before we quote, not after the goods arrive.

FCL is a container booked for your cargo alone. LCL is space inside a container shared with other shippers, rated on volume or weight, whichever is greater.

LCL costs less on small volumes but carries extra handling at both ends, so above a certain volume a full container is both cheaper and quicker. We work out where your order sits and tell you which one to book.

Our core markets are the Middle East, North, West and Central Africa, and Central Asia. Shipments to Europe, the United States and Canada are handled where feasible. See the Destinations page for the current list; DDP availability is shown per country.

Yes. Many of our customers are importing for the first time. We explain each step, what documents you need in your country and what to expect at customs, so the process is predictable.

Typically a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill, certificate of origin and any product-specific certificates your country requires. We prepare the shipping documents and advise on the local requirements for your destination.

Regulated products need a shipment certificate of conformity for each consignment, issued through SABER against a product certificate that covers the item itself.

Which standard applies depends on the product, so we establish it before production starts and arrange the certification with the factory and the conformity body, rather than discovering the gap at the port.

Clearing goods in your own name normally requires a registered commercial entity and an importer record. That is the usual reason buyers ask about DDP, where the clearance is arranged on the seller side instead.

DDP is not available for every product or every consignment. We check your specific case before quoting and tell you plainly when the answer is no.

Every project is assessed individually. Minimum order quantities are set by the factories, not by us, and they differ by product. Tell us the quantity you have in mind and we will tell you honestly whether it is workable and which suppliers can accept it.

Every project is quoted individually. Our fee structure is explained transparently before you commit, and shipping costs are quoted separately because they depend on destination, product, weight, volume, method, customs and market conditions.

Payment terms are agreed per project. In every case, deposits are only released after supplier verification, and balance payments are tied to inspection results so that you never pay for goods that have not been checked.

One dedicated contact handles your project end to end, by WhatsApp and email, with regular updates at each step: shortlist, quotation, samples, production, inspection and shipping.

Fees are usually structured in one of three ways: a percentage commission on the order value, a flat fee for a defined project, or a monthly retainer for buyers with continuous volume.

Which one is cheapest depends on how large and how frequent your orders are. We state the structure and what it covers in the quotation so you can compare us with another agent like for like. We publish no rate card, because an honest number depends on the work.