Product Sourcing in China: How We Find and Qualify the Right Factory

Searching a wholesale marketplace tells you what a product costs from a trader. It does not tell you who makes it, what the factory’s own minimum is, or how many times the price has already been marked up on the way to you. Those are the numbers that decide whether a product works.

We source the other way round. We start from the specification and the landed cost you need to hit, find the factories that genuinely produce that item, and come back with a shortlist you can quote against.

What we source

From 2022 to 2025 we helped customers find more than 5,815 kinds of products, across the twelve wholesale categories we work in: hair and wigs, toys, stationery, lighting, wedding and evening wear, kitchenware, pet supplies, sportswear, bags and luggage, beauty and cosmetics, hardware and tools, and furniture. If a product is made in China there is a factory cluster making it, and the work is finding the right one.

• Finished goods bought for resale, sourced to your specification and your packaging
• Private label ranges, where an existing product is adjusted to your brand with matching packaging and artwork
• Custom and tooled items, turning a drawing or a reference sample into something quotable and producible
• Parts and packaging: the components, labels and boxes that hold a product line together
• Second sourcing, where a current supplier is re-quoted against alternatives so you know what the market is

How we find and qualify a factory

1. We write the request in the language factories quote against: material, grade, dimensions, tolerance, packing and target price
2. We send it to factories from our own resources, the 1,500+ stable factory relationships we have built since 2021, filtered to those that make the item rather than trade it
3. We compare the quotations on identical terms. A cheap offer usually omits the carton, the plating, the certification or a second process, so we put every offer on the same basis before you see it
4. We order a sample, check it against the specification, photograph it, and list where it differs
5. We archive the factory, the specification and the approved sample against that product, so the next order is quoted from the same document

What you get

• A shortlist of factories with comparable quotations on one page
• The factory’s own minimum order quantity, not our estimate of it
• A sample checked against your specification, with photographs and the differences written down
• An archived specification and approved sample for repeat orders
• One contact for the order, the inspection and the shipment instead of one per supplier

Why buyers use us instead of a marketplace

• We are paid by you, so we have no reason to push a particular listing
• We have attended the factory, which is a different thing from reading its storefront
• We hold the paperwork: specification, sample approval, inspection record and packing list
• We can carry the order through inspection and freight, so nothing falls between suppliers

Frequently asked questions

How is sourcing priced?

It is quoted per project, and we set out the basis before the work starts rather than after. What we will not do is hide the factory price and mark it up without telling you.

Can you source from a photo or a marketplace link?

Yes. Send the photo or the link and we will tell you what the item appears to be, what it realistically costs, and whether the features in the picture are achievable at that price.

What is your minimum order quantity?

One piece. We accept orders from a single unit, so you can test a product with almost no commitment. The factory itself may ask for a higher minimum on moulded or printed items, and we tell you that figure up front, then work out the smallest workable run for your budget.

Send a sourcing request

Tell us the product, the quantity you are considering and the price you need to hit. We come back with what is available and what it costs.