China still accounts for roughly 14% of global merchandise exports, and no other country matches its combination of scale, speed, and supply-chain depth. For a small business, that depth is both the opportunity and the problem: type any product into Alibaba and you get 4,000 results in a second, and a large share of them are not what they claim to be.
This guide is the sequence that works for a small first order — specify, search, qualify, verify, sample, then order. Skip a step and you usually pay for it later.
Step 1: Write the spec before you write to anyone
Factories quote exactly what you send them. Send a photo and a sentence, and you get vague quotes you cannot compare. Send a one-page spec sheet, and you get comparable quotes you can actually rank.
Your spec sheet needs: product name and dimensions, materials, colors, key functions, packaging requirements, target quantity, target price (if you have one), and the certifications you need (CE, RoHS, FCC — see our CE and RoHS guide). If you cannot fill in the material and tolerance lines, you are not ready to source yet — buy samples of competing products first and reverse-engineer them.
Step 2: Find suppliers in more than one channel
No single channel covers the whole market. Use three or four in parallel and cross-check who shows up in more than one.
- Alibaba.com is the export storefront: English listings, dollar pricing, suppliers who handle export documentation, and Trade Assurance, which holds your payment in escrow until you confirm the order. Prices include an export markup — typically 20–30% over the domestic price — and many listings are trading companies. Good for a first shortlist and a first order.
- 1688.com is Alibaba’s domestic wholesale platform: Chinese language only, RMB pricing, domestic shipping only, but factory-direct prices typically 20–40% lower than the same factory’s Alibaba quote. Thousands of sellers accept orders starting from 1 unit. The catch: no export support, and you need an agent in China (or a forwarder) to buy and ship. The hybrid strategy professionals use is to search 1688 to discover the factory and the real price, then validate on Alibaba — check whether the same supplier has an export storefront with credentials and Trade Assurance — and negotiate with the 1688 price as your anchor.
- Trade fairs, above all the Canton Fair in Guangzhou (April and October each year), remain the best place to meet hundreds of factories in one week and handle products physically. Meeting 30 suppliers in a day is normal there.
- A sourcing agent reaches factories that are not on any platform, plus 1688 access, for a fee of roughly 5–8% of order value. Worth it for custom products, multi-supplier orders, or when you cannot be on the ground yourself.
A useful rule: the same factory often lists on Alibaba under an export name and on 1688 under its Chinese name at a lower price. And Chinese manufacturing is organized by city — if you know the cluster (electronics in Shenzhen, lighting in Zhongshan, hardware in Ningbo), search 1688 by city plus product in Chinese and you land directly among the factories instead of the traders in between.
Step 3: Shortlist 5–10 suppliers and send the same RFQ
Send every supplier the same spec and the same questions: unit price at your quantity, MOQ, sample cost and lead time, production lead time, payment terms, and which certifications they already hold for this exact model. Suppliers who answer with specifics are worth a second round; suppliers who answer with “dear friend, best price” and a catalogue PDF are not.
Expect sample costs of roughly $20–$150 per sample plus courier, with the fee usually credited against the first order. Order samples from your top two or three suppliers, not ten — sample fees add up, and comparing three good samples beats skimming ten brochures.
Step 4: Check whether it is a factory or a trading company
This matters because it decides your price and your control — but a trading company is not automatically bad. For a small mixed order, a good trading company that consolidates five factories is exactly what you want. The mistake is paying factory prices to a trader, or expecting factory control from one.
Six checks that take about 20 minutes:
- Business license (营业执照). Ask for it — every legitimate company sends it within minutes. Read the business scope (经营范围): a manufacturer lists production, processing, or manufacturing (生产, 加工, 制造); a trader lists sales, wholesale, or import-export (销售, 批发, 进出口). Check the license against the free national registry at gsxt.gov.cn — company name, legal representative, and status must match.
- Registered capital. Since 2014 this is subscribed, not paid-in, so a large figure is close to meaningless on its own. Do not be impressed by it.
- Live video tour. Ask for a real-time walk of the workshop on a normal weekday — machines running, raw-material store, packing area, a wall calendar or live phone screen to prove it is happening now. A polished promo clip proves nothing.
- Product knowledge. Ask a technical question only a maker would know — which chip, which mold, what happens if you change one dimension. Traders guess; factories answer.
- Export history. Ask for a recent bill of lading or export reference (with sensitive details redacted). A factory that has exported your product category before will have one.
- Price logic. If the quote is far below everyone else’s, something is wrong — cheaper materials, a different product, or a quote that will grow later.
For the full verification sequence, see our supplier verification guide.
Step 5: Order and test samples before any deposit
Ordering samples before bulk production is non-negotiable. Test them the way your customer will: function, fit, finish, packaging, and — for electronics — safety. If the product matters, send one sample to a lab for a basic material or safety check; a third-party inspection company can arrange it.
Get a golden sample signed off before production: the approved sample, kept by both sides, that defines what “correct” means. Every later argument about quality comes back to this sample.
Step 6: Negotiate terms, then place the order
The standard structure for a first order is 30% deposit by T/T before production and 70% balance before shipment — but the safer version pays the balance against a copy of the bill of lading and a passed pre-shipment inspection, not before the goods are packed. Put the Incoterm (FOB is the usual starting point), quantity, specs, and your AQL inspection standard in the contract. See our guides on MOQ negotiation, FOB vs DDP, and paying Chinese suppliers.
A realistic timeline, from spec sheet to goods delivered, is roughly 11–16 weeks for a first order: 1–2 weeks to shortlist and sample, 1–2 weeks for sample approval and terms, 3–6 weeks of production, and 3–5 weeks of shipping and customs. Plan your launch date backwards from that, not forwards from today.
Step 7: Inspect before you pay the balance
Hire a third-party inspector to check the finished, packed goods against your spec and your AQL standard before the balance goes out. A basic pre-shipment inspection costs a few hundred dollars. A failed container costs the whole order. The balance is your only leverage — once it is sent, rework becomes a negotiation you have already lost.
What a first order should cost you (beyond the goods)
Budget for these on top of the unit price: samples ($20–$150 each plus courier), a third-party inspection (a few hundred dollars), international freight and insurance, import duties and taxes, and a customs broker if you are new to importing. Small orders have brutal per-unit logistics — shipping 100 units by air can cost more per unit than the product itself. If the numbers do not work at your quantity, the answer is usually a bigger first order, a simpler product, or a different channel (1688 via an agent), not a cheaper factory.
Sources
- Union Delta, “How to Find a Manufacturer in China (2026 Guide)” — https://union-delta.com/blog/how-to-find-a-manufacturer-in-china/
- SourcingChamp, “How to Find a Manufacturer in China (2026)” — https://www.sourcingchamp.com/blog/how-to-find-a-manufacturer-in-china
- China Factory Sourcing, “How to Source Products from China: 2026 Step-by-Step” — https://www.chinafactorysourcing.com/guides/how-to-source-products-from-china/
- HelloChinaTrip, “How to Source Products from China and Start Your Import Business” — https://hellochinatrip.com/how-to-source-products-from-china-and-start-your-import-business/
- FSG Source, “China Product Sourcing Guide: Step-by-Step Process for Importers & Startups” — https://www.fsgsource.com/news/43.html