# How to Verify a Chinese Supplier Before You Pay a Deposit

> How to verify a Chinese factory before paying a deposit: registration checks, main-business evidence, export records and the interview questions that matter.

Source: https://luressource.com/insights/how-to-verify-a-chinese-supplier/

Paying a deposit is a decision about evidence. This guide sets out the four checks worth doing, in the order that eliminates the most risk for the least effort. 1. Check the legal entity, not the brand Ask for the legal company name and the unified social credit code, then confirm the entity is active and how long it has operated. Check the insured employee count: a factory claiming thousands of units of monthly capacity with a handful of insured employees is telling you something. 2. Confirm the main business is what you are buying A valid registration does not mean the company makes your product. Look for the product line on the factory's own materials, the machinery visible in production footage, and certifications relevant to your category. 3. Ask for export evidence The question "do you export?" is answered yes by everyone. The better question is where to, how often, and under which Incoterm. Import records and customs data answer it for you. 4. Interview, then sample Interview questions that produce checkable answers: What is the monthly capacity for this exact specification, not in general? What is the MOQ, and is it set by setup cost or by material? What is the lead time for a repeat order versus a first order? Which certifications apply to this product, and can I see the certificate? What is the price basis — FOB which port, or EXW? Then ask for a sample from the production line, and if the order is large enough, a during-production inspection. What to do with the answers Score them honestly. A supplier who says "I do not know yet, I will confirm by Thursday" is more useful than one who produces a confident number on the spot. Uncertainty you can plan around; invention you cannot. The four checks and what each one proves Each check removes a different failure mode. None of them alone is enough. Check What it proves What it does not prove Legal entity match The company exists and trades under the name in the quote That it makes your product Main business evidence Its registered scope covers what you are buying Capacity or colour consistency Customs export records It has shipped, and to which markets That it shipped for a buyer like you Direct interview plus a production-line sample Capacity, MOQ, lead time and the price basis, confirmed by the factory That the next order will match this one What do you check, in what order? The order matters: each step is cheap, and each one can end the process before you spend money on the next. Match the legal name in the quotation against the registration lookup —a trading name that maps to no entity ends it here. Check the registered scope covers what you are buying, not just "machinery" or "import and export". Ask for customs export records and read the destination markets, not the headline volume. Interview for capacity, MOQ and lead time against the reference bands below. Take the sample from the production line that will run your order, never from the showroom. Write the price basis and the order quantity into the quotation, or the next quote is not comparable. What are the reference bands for the products you are checking? Reference price bands by sub-category, aggregated from 62 sampled listings. Basis must be confirmed per quotation (FOB port or EXW factory). Sub-category Sample size Reference price band (US$ / unit) Median low MOQ band (pcs) Category Fishhook 9 0.07 – 2.40 / piece 0.65 100 – 2,000 Fishing Accessories Spoon & Spinner 6 0.31 – 6.00 / piece 1.25 50 – 500 Fishing Lures Other Hard Lure 6 0.56 – 12.04 / piece 2.95 20 – 500 Fishing Lures Soft Lure 6 0.20 – 3.85 / piece 1.55 50 – 1,000 Fishing Lures Hard Lure 6 1.85 – 3.20 / piece 2.60 100 – 100 Fishing Lures VIB 6 0.24 – 2.50 / piece 1.39 100 – 500 Fishing Lures Minnow 6 0.37 – 3.17 / piece 1.40 50 – 500 Fishing Lures Metal Jig 5 0.97 – 2.01 / piece 1.39 100 – 200 Fishing Lures Fishing Rod 3 9.15 – 132.55 / piece 28.05 20 – 100 Fishing Rods Crankbait 3 0.30 – 0.85 / piece 0.66 200 – 500 Fishing Lures Octopus Skirt 3 0.08 – 2.80 / piece 0.98 100 – 2,000 Fishing Lures Fishing Accessory 3 0.62 – 60.00 / pack 9.62 5 – 200 Fishing Accessories What ends the process at each step? Step 1 ends it if the legal name matches no registration record. Step 2 ends it if the registered scope does not cover fishing tackle. Step 3 ends it if there is no customs export history, or the markets contradict the claim. Step 4 ends it if capacity, MOQ or lead time cannot be stated as numbers. After step 4 the factory can be quoted against; before it, a price is only an opinion. What does each document prove, and what does it not? A registration record proves the entity exists; it says nothing about 2 shifts or 1. A scope listing proves the business line; it does not prove 90% of revenue comes from it. Customs records prove shipments happened; they do not prove the 4 verification gates were re-run this year. A certificate proves a test was passed on a date; it does not prove the next 5,000 pcs will match. What does a record worth trusting look like? It carries a reviewed date inside the last 90 days. It states MOQ in pcs and price per unit, never a bare number. It names the price basis: FOB with a port, or EXW factory. It links at least 1 piece of evidence you can open yourself. It states 3 fields or more for capacity, not the word "large". Frequently asked questions What is the fastest way to spot a trading company pretending to be a factory? Ask a manufacturing question that a trading desk cannot answer quickly: which machine runs the lamination, what the changeover time is between colourways, or what the scrap rate is on the smallest format they quoted. A maker answers with numbers and constraints; a middleman answers with reassurance. Is a factory visit necessary? Not always, but something has to substitute for it. A supplier that cannot show a filled sample, a production video of the actual line, and a documented capacity figure has not given you anything you can verify. Should I use an inspection service? For a first order, yes, on the production line rather than at the end. Pre-shipment inspection catches problems after the money is spent; during-production inspection is where you can still influence the outcome.