A sourcing agent is not a middleman who adds a percentage for forwarding emails. The value sits in four specific jobs — and you can often buy them individually instead.
Alibaba badges are not verification. A trading company with a gold supplier subscription can look identical to a manufacturer. Verification means checking the business licence, the registered capital and scope, whether the address is a workshop or an office block, and whether the product you saw in the photos is actually made there. A video call walking the production line tells you more than a catalogue.
Getting a sample is easy. Getting a sample that is the same as the production run is the hard part. An agent holds the approved sample, documents the specification, and compares the production batch against it — dimension by dimension, material by material. Without that, “the factory changed the material” is a conversation you have three weeks after the container sails.
Usually an AQL-based inspection after production and before loading: quantity, workmanship, function test, packaging, labelling and carton markings. This is the cheapest insurance in the whole supply chain. Finding a defect in Shenzhen costs a rework; finding it in a UK warehouse costs the freight, the duty, and the stock.
Three suppliers in three cities, three sets of cartons, one shipment. Consolidation means collecting everything into one warehouse, checking counts, repacking for export, and shipping as a single consignment — which is where the freight saving appears, especially in LCL.
| Model | Typical structure | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of order value | 3–10% depending on involvement | Creates an incentive to inflate the unit price |
| Fixed fee per shipment | Flat sourcing or handling fee | Cheapest for large, simple orders |
| Commission from the factory | Paid by the supplier, invisible to you | Conflicts of interest — ask who pays |
| Service-by-service | Inspection fee, consolidation fee, sourcing fee separately | Most transparent; usually our recommendation |
Ask directly: “Are you paid by me, by the factory, or both?” An agent who earns commission from the supplier is not necessarily dishonest, but you should know which side the advice is coming from.
If you already have a factory you have used before, a product you understand, and a freight forwarder you trust, you do not need a full sourcing agent. You need an inspection before loading and a forwarder who will tell you when the carton count does not match the invoice.
The full service earns its fee when you are doing at least one of these: sourcing a product you have never bought, dealing with suppliers you cannot verify, buying from several factories at once, or moving into a category where specification mistakes are expensive — electronics, anything with a battery, anything that must meet UKCA or cosmetic labelling rules.
The standard structure with a new Chinese supplier is 30% deposit, 70% against a passed inspection and pre-shipment photos. Anything else deserves scrutiny:
We run sourcing and inspection alongside the freight, so the goods that get loaded are the goods you approved. If you want a quote for the whole chain — sourcing, inspection, consolidation and delivery to your UK postcode — see the sourcing service or send us the product details.
Check the business licence and its registered scope, ask for a live video walk-through of the production line, and confirm the shipping address matches the registered address. A trading company is not automatically a problem, but you should know which you are buying from.
It is normally a fixed fee per man-day, small relative to the order value. Exact pricing depends on the location and the scope of the inspection.
Some do, some deliberately do not. Using an agent for sourcing and a separate forwarder for freight keeps the two fees transparent, which is usually better for a first order.
30% deposit and 70% after a passed inspection, paid to the company account named on the business licence, with the specification written into the proforma invoice.