How do I verify a Chinese supplier?

Check the business license (registered address vs factory address), export licence for your HS code, years in operation, and — decisively — a physical factory audit. Trading companies posing as factories are the most common trap.

What payment terms should I accept for a first order?

Never 100% advance. Standard is 30% deposit by TT, 70% against copy of Bill of Lading, with escrow for first engagements. LC at sight becomes practical for larger, repeat orders.

China Sourcing Guide: From Alibaba Listing to Verified Supplier

Short answer: treat sourcing as a verification pipeline, not a shopping trip — audit the factory, inspect at 20%/80% of production, structure payments 30/70, and get the India compliance stack (HS code, BIS/WPC) ready before goods ship. Do that and China sourcing is a superpower; skip it and it’s a donation.

Step 1: Build the candidate list properly

Alibaba and Canton Fair contacts are candidates, not suppliers. Filter by: manufacturer vs trading company (license scope), product-category match, export history to India, certifications claimed. Aim for 5–8 candidates, then narrow to 2–3 for sampling.

Step 2: Audit before you negotiate

A one-day factory audit answers questions no certificate can: does the registered address match the plant, what’s the real capacity, whose machines are those, how do they handle QC today. Cost is trivial against a bad container. Our Guangzhou desk runs audits with photo-video reports, typically turned around within 72 hours.

Step 3: Sample like it’s a contract (it is)

Golden samples should be dated, signed, sealed in triplicate — factory, you, inspector. Every later dispute resolves against that sample, plus a bilingual spec sheet: materials, tolerances, colours (Pantone), packaging, markings, test standards.

Step 4: Production with gates

~20% checkpoint: line setup correct? materials as specified? first-piece approvals?
~80% checkpoint: full AQL sampling (Acceptable Quality Limit) against the spec
Pre-shipment: container loading supervision — right goods, right count, right seal

Each gate produces a report before further money moves.

Step 5: The money structure

Milestone	Payment	Why
Order confirmation	30% deposit	Covers materials; never 100%
Pre-shipment inspection pass	balance prep	Evidence in hand
Against B/L copy	70% balance	Goods provably on the water

LC at sight suits established, larger orders. Escrow platforms suit first engagements. Pay universities and suppliers only into corporate accounts — never personal ones.

Step 6: India compliance before the ship sails

HS classification — determines duty, restrictions, licensing
BIS (CRS) for notified electronics; WPC for anything wireless
CDSCO for medical devices, FSSAI for food-contact goods
Customs valuation & documentation — invoice, packing list, B/L, COO, test reports

Paperwork built during production clears in days; paperwork built after arrival costs demurrage.

Step 7: Logistics choice

LCL (shared container) for trials up to ~12–15 CBM
FCL 20ft/40ft at scale; sea 18–25 days to Indian west coast ports
Air 3–7 days at 5–8× cost — for launches, spares, high-value density goods

Where we come in

This entire pipeline — shortlist, audit, sampling, gates, customs, freight — is our standard operating procedure for trade clients, on a success fee tied to shipped value. Bring us a product idea and a target price; we’ll come back with a landed-cost picture.