Every importer we talk to has heard the same story, or lived it themselves: money sent to a supplier in China, then silence. A factory that turns out to be a trading company. Goods that show up nothing like the sample. By the time you realize something is wrong, your money is gone and there is no one to call.
This is not bad luck. It is what happens when verification only happens after a problem, instead of before a payment. Here is what we actually check before any client of ours sends money to a supplier – the same process our team runs in Guangzhou, every time.
1. Confirm the Business License Is Real
Every legitimate company in China has a registered business license with a unique registration number. This can be checked against the national company registry. A supplier who cannot produce this, or whose license does not match the company name on your invoice, is the first red flag – and it ends the conversation before it goes any further.
2. Visit the Factory in Person
Photos and video calls can be staged. A trading company can rent a corner of someone else’s factory floor for a single video call and disappear the moment the call ends. The only way to know a factory is real is to physically walk through it: see the production line running, see the raw materials in storage, see the workers actually making your product. This is the single step most buyers skip, and the single step that matters most.
3. Match the Sample to the Production Line
A supplier showing you an excellent sample proves nothing about what ships in bulk. We check whether the sample we are shown was actually pulled from the same line as the goods being prepared for your order – not a separate, higher-quality batch kept aside to win the deal.
4. Check Their Trade History
How long has this supplier been exporting, and to where? A factory with years of export history to multiple countries carries very different risk than one that appeared six months ago with no track record. This does not rule out newer suppliers, but it changes how much verification weight you put on the other steps.
5. Never Pay Before Verification Is Complete
This is the rule everything else depends on. Money should move only after the factory is confirmed real, the goods are confirmed to match the sample, and the terms are confirmed in writing – never on the promise that verification will happen “after the deposit.” Once money leaves your country, your leverage to ask questions disappears with it.
What This Looks Like in Practice
This is not a theoretical checklist for us. Our team is based in Guangzhou and runs exactly this process before any client sends payment – we visit the factory, check the license, inspect the goods against the sample, and only then confirm the order is safe to proceed. If something looks wrong, we tell the client before they pay, even if that means losing the order.
If you are about to send money to a supplier you have never met in person, send us the details first. We will tell you honestly what we find.