Factory checks before you commit, inspection before you pay

The checks every factory goes through

1. Business licence

We look the company up on China's official company register, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at gsxt.gov.cn, and check that its name, registration and business scope match the factory we're talking to.

2. A real factory

We make sure you're dealing with the actual manufacturer (工厂), not a trading company (贸易公司) that buys from a factory and adds a markup.

3. Certificates that check out

Test reports and certificates can be forged, or belong to a different product. We check each one with the lab that issued it, and that it covers your product.

4. Seen with our own eyes

Before the first order, we visit the factory in person, or run a guided video audit in which the factory walks us through its production line, warehouse and quality checks.

5. Bank details confirmed

Changed bank details are a common route for payment fraud. A factory that changes its bank details without confirming the change by voice or video is dropped.

When we drop a factory

• It changes its bank details without confirming the change by voice or video.
• It sends fake or altered documents.
• It fails inspections, or has quality failures, more than once.
• It is repeatedly late without warning.

Inspection before you pay the balance

We follow production and can inspect your goods before you pay the balance. We check them against the approved sample and your specification, and look at quantities, workmanship, labels, markings and packaging, so problems are found while the factory can still fix them.

Whether to inspect is your decision, order by order.

Who does the checks

We do the checks and inspections ourselves, working with freelance inspectors where we can't be there in person.

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