Evaluating China sourcing options for a European small business

Short answer. However you buy from China, the same five things decide whether it works: a complete delivered-cost quote, a sample you approved in writing, an inspection before the goods ship, the right import paperwork, and one party who answers when something goes wrong. Evaluate every option against those five, not against the unit price.

The options, briefly

A European small business usually picks one of four routes:

• Direct from a factory. Lowest unit price, highest workload. You handle communication, samples, quality checks, freight and customs yourself.
• A marketplace. Fast to start and fine for off-the-shelf goods. Customisation, quality control and paperwork are limited, and the seller is often a trader, not the factory.
• A sourcing agent. A person who finds factories and negotiates for you, usually paid a percentage. Quality varies widely; ask who inspects the goods and who is responsible if they arrive wrong.
• A sourcing service. A company that quotes the delivered cost, manages the factory, inspects the goods and ships with the paperwork. This is the model we run at Equilinq, so we describe it in detail below.

The five checks that matter

1. A complete quote, not a unit price. A factory quote is one line of a cost sheet with eight or nine lines. Tooling, samples, packaging, freight, duty, import value-added tax and inspection are usually missing. Ask every option for the price per unit delivered to your door, with each line shown separately. Our own quotes show four separate lines for exactly this reason: factory cost, logistics and customs, China operations, and service fee.

2. A sample before bulk. Never let a first order go straight to production. Ask how samples are handled, what they cost and whether changes after the sample are possible. In our process every order includes a sample stage, and production starts only after you approve the sample in writing.

3. An inspection before the goods ship. Once goods leave the factory, fixing problems is slow and expensive. Ask who checks the goods, where, and what you receive as proof. We check orders at our warehouse in China and send you photos before the goods ship.

4. The import paperwork. Goods sold in the European Union may need CE marking, a responsible person named on the label, or a General Product Safety Regulation file. Ask each option who prepares this. If the answer is "you do", price that work in. Our compliance pack is a paid add-on, EUR 250 to 500 per product, for products that need it.

5. One accountable party. When a shipment is late or wrong, you need one party who owns the problem. Ask each option, in writing, what happens if the goods fail inspection or customs stops the shipment.

Questions to ask before you pay

• Can I see the full delivered cost, line by line, before I commit?
• Who checks the goods, and what proof do I get?
• What happens if the sample is wrong?
• Who prepares the CE or safety paperwork, and what does that cost?
• What is the minimum order, and what changes at larger quantities?
• How and when do I pay?

Where Equilinq fits

We are a Hong Kong company run from Amsterdam, with our own team in Shenzhen. You send one request, we compare vetted factories for you, and you see the delivered cost before you pay. Production starts only after you approve the sample. We inspect at our warehouse in China, arrange the customs paperwork for your shipment, and deliver. There is no minimum order. The minimum service fee on a first order is EUR 150.

If that fits your order, submit a request. If you are still comparing, the guides below go deeper on quotes, samples and import costs.