You see what the factory charged. Every order.
We send you the original factory invoice for every purchase, so the price the factory set and the fee you pay us stay two separate, visible numbers. Our fee is the only money we take on your order. Nothing reaches us from the factory side, and that is written into the contract you sign.
Sourcing feasibility check
Free.
One product brief and a short written reply.
Term. One brief. One short written response within two business days.
What's included
- One product brief, one destination, and an indicative order value.
Limits
- One per new brief.
Not included
- No supplier search, audit certificate, legal opinion, or binding cost quote.
Add-ons
- None.
First-order supplier search
$350.
Up to three suppliers for one product brief.
Term. One product brief. Target 10 working days, excluding supplier and sample delay. If the same order proceeds to full management within 60 days, this fee is credited once.
What's included
- One product category and specification. Up to three supplier candidates.
- Desktop business-license and capability checks. Up to three quote requests.
- One comparison sheet, one sample-coordination round, and one 30-minute call.
- An English report plus Chinese supplier coordination. One specification revision.
Limits
- Three supplier candidates. Three quote requests.
Not included
- Physical audit, lab testing, purchasing, production management, and freight.
Add-ons
- An extra product brief: $250.
- If the same order proceeds to full management within 60 days, this search fee is credited once.
Full sourcing management
5% of goods value, $1,200 minimum.
One purchase order. The fee is the higher of 5% and the minimum.
Term. One purchase order. The fee is the greater of 5% and the $1,200 minimum, not both added together. Eligible goods value is the net supplier goods invoice after documented discounts, excluding freight, duties, tax, tooling, samples, and refunded or cancelled goods.
What's included
- One product category, five SKUs, two suppliers, one purchase order, and one shipment-readiness cycle.
- Supplier comparison, one sample round, three production-status checks, coordination of one pre-shipment inspection, one shipment-document handoff, and one landed-cost sheet.
- Up to two hours of supplier claim coordination within 30 days of delivery.
- One revised specification before samples. Weekly status. Routine acknowledgment within one business day.
- English client report and Chinese supplier coordination.
Limits
- Five SKUs. Two suppliers. One purchase order. One shipment-readiness cycle.
- At $10,000 or $20,000 of goods, the pilot fee is $1,200. At $30,000 it is $1,500.
Not included
- Inspection labor, third-party inspection fees, on-site visits, loading supervision, laboratory work, travel, and freight are extra, and quoted before booking.
Add-ons
- A second purchase order has its own minimum.
- On a small order, offer the supplier search instead of full service.
China representation
$1,200/month + 3% of managed goods.
A monthly retainer plus 3% once per managed order.
Term. Three-month initial term. Minimum retainer across three months is $3,600, plus the 3% once per order. The 3% is charged only once on each unique purchase order or invoiced goods amount. No additional 5% fee on the same managed orders.
What's included
- Monthly caps: two new product briefs, six supplier candidates in total, three active purchase orders, three suppliers, 10 active SKUs, and one consolidation plan.
- One monthly 45-minute call and weekly reports.
- One half-day factory visit within Guangzhou when scheduled. Travel costs are approved separately.
- Up to two specification revisions in total per month.
- Four-business-hour acknowledgment. English and Chinese coordination.
Limits
- Example: $20,000 of newly fee-eligible managed goods in a month costs $1,800 in that month's service fees.
- A later month with the same order still open, and no new fee-eligible goods, incurs only the retainer.
Not included
- Visits elsewhere, or further days, are quoted.
- Unlimited supplier searches are not offered.
Add-ons
- An extra product brief uses the supplier-search add-on.
- Excess orders or site visits need a capacity-backed quote.
Commercial sourcing document check
$300. Defined commercial review scope; legal advice excluded.
One agreement, reviewed commercially, not as legal advice.
Term. One agreement. Within five working days.
What's included
- One agreement of up to 10 pages, one language, one risk checklist, one 30-minute call, and one factual-correction round.
- The focus is operational gaps: product specification, inspection checkpoints, delivery evidence, and decision responsibilities.
Limits
- One agreement of up to 10 pages. Five working days.
Not included
- No legal opinion, enforceability assurance, certified translation, or redline drafted as legal counsel.
- Anything that needs legal advice is referred to a qualified lawyer under a separate engagement.
Add-ons
- None. Legal work is a separate engagement.
Negotiation preparation
$600. Defined commercial review scope; legal advice excluded.
One supplier, one order, and two discussion rounds.
Term. One supplier negotiation. Within 10 working days, excluding supplier delay. The client approves positions.
What's included
- One supplier, one order, and one existing agreement.
- One issue list, one proposal draft, two supplier discussion rounds, and one closing summary.
- Up to five disputed commercial issues. An English client summary and Chinese supplier coordination. One revision round.
Limits
- One supplier. One order. Five disputed issues. Two discussion rounds.
Not included
- No signing, binding acceptance, or legal representation.
Add-ons
- A third discussion round: $150, after approval.
What a visible factory price lets you do.
When you hold the factory invoice, you can do three things you otherwise cannot. You can see whether a price change came from the factory or from somewhere else. You can compare suppliers on the numbers they actually quoted. And you can build a landed cost model where the cost of goods is a figure you have seen rather than one you were told.
How open-book actually works.
We take no payment from any factory, on any order. Not a commission, not a referral fee, not a volume rebate. It is a term of the contract you sign, and the original factory invoice is the evidence.
That means you can audit us. Compare the factory invoice against what we billed you, on any order, at any time.
You also keep the relationship. Supplier contacts, factory details, negotiated terms and production records are yours during the engagement and after it. Ending the engagement costs you nothing but us.
What sourcing actually involves.
Find
Shortlist and verify factories: business license, export record, capability match, production capacity
Price
Negotiate in Mandarin with real market context, and collect competing quotes so the number has a benchmark
Prove
Coordinate samples, then inspect production before it ships rather than after it arrives
Ship
Supervise container loading, quote freight per shipment, and hand you a full landed cost breakdown
Pilot sourcing. Free feasibility check. First-order supplier search $350. Full management is 5% of goods value, $1,200 minimum.
- One product brief.
- One product category and specification
- Up to three supplier candidates, with desktop license and capability checks
- Up to three quote requests
- One comparison sheet and one sample-coordination round
- One 30-minute call
- One purchase order.
- One product category
- Five SKUs and two suppliers
- One purchase order and one shipment-readiness cycle
- Three production-status checks and coordination of one pre-shipment inspection
- One landed-cost sheet
- Three-month initial term.
- Two new product briefs per month
- Six supplier candidates and three active purchase orders
- Three suppliers and 10 active SKUs
- One consolidation plan
- One half-day factory visit in Guangzhou when scheduled. Travel is approved separately.
At $10,000 or $20,000 of goods, the pilot full-management fee is $1,200. At $30,000 it is $1,500. A China representation month with $20,000 of newly fee-eligible goods costs $1,800 in that month's service fees.
Who does what.
You approve every commercial decision: final price, supplier selection, order quantity, payment terms, and shipping method. We negotiate, verify, inspect and coordinate, and we bring you the evidence to decide on. Nothing is committed to a factory without your written approval.
Payment for goods goes to the factory, not through us. Freight is quoted per shipment, separate from the sourcing fee. Inspection, travel, and third-party fees are quoted before booking.
Frequently asked questions.
How should I compare sourcing fees? +
Compare total landed cost. The number that decides your margin is what you pay the factory plus what you pay us, taken together. With the factory invoice in hand you can calculate that exactly. Our fee and the factory invoice stay separate, verifiable line by line on every order.
What if the product turns out not to be viable? +
We say so in the free feasibility check, before you pay anything. A short written response within two business days, including when the product is not a fit for China or the work is not a fit for us.
Do I own the supplier relationship afterwards? +
Yes, completely, during the engagement and after it. Factory contacts, negotiated terms, production records and inspection reports are yours. We don't hold supplier details hostage to keep you subscribed.
What happens if a shipment has quality problems? +
Pre-shipment inspection exists to catch that before it ships, and inspection reports are shared with you before you release final payment. If defects appear after shipping, we run the claim with the factory on your behalf. We can't promise a factory will always agree; we can promise you won't be arguing with them alone in a language you don't speak.
Does sourcing work with your Amazon program? +
It's the same engagement when the destination is your own marketplace brand: sourced in Guangzhou, launched in the USA, one accountable person across both.
Not included, stated up front:
the cost of goods, freight and duties, third-party lab testing and certification fees, customs brokerage, factory visit travel outside Guangdong province, and any guarantee of a specific unit price. We don't quote a fixed unit price a year out, because factory pricing moves with materials, capacity and season, and we would be quoting a number we don't control.
You talk to the person doing the work.
The person walking your factory floor, reading your inspection reports and negotiating your price is the founder, based in Guangzhou since 2011, working in English, Chinese, French and Arabic. No account managers, no handoffs, no message passed through three people before it reaches someone who can decide.
Start with the number, not the pitch.
Send the product and the quantity. Within two business days you get a free feasibility check: whether it can be made, a realistic cost range, and an honest no when the answer is no.