China Sourcing Guide: practical guides to sourcing from China — OEM vs ODM, factory verification, MOQ negotiation, AQL inspection, Incoterms, payments, and certifications — written from the factory floor.https://sourcing.aitech8.com/enhttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/aql-level-ii/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/aql-level-ii/General Inspection Level II is the default in almost every pre-shipment inspection — but few buyers know what it actually buys them. Learn how Level II sample sizes are set, when Level I or III (or the special S-levels) is the right call, and how to write it into your order.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTQuality & Inspectionhttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/aql-sampling/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/aql-sampling/AQL sampling is the ISO 2859-1 system behind nearly every pre-shipment inspection report from China. Learn how sample sizes, code letters, and accept/reject numbers work — with a worked example for a 5,000-unit order — so you can read an inspection report and write the right standard into your purchase order.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTQuality & Inspectionhttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/ce-rohs-certification/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/ce-rohs-certification/CE marking is a legal declaration, not a quality mark — and there is no such thing as a RoHS certificate. Learn which directives apply to your electronics, the documents to demand from your supplier, and how to spot a fake certificate before your goods reach EU customs.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTQuality & Inspectionhttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/fob-vs-ddp/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/fob-vs-ddp/FOB gives you control and transparent costs; DDP gives you one landed price and hides the customs risk. This guide compares them as a small importer's decision — with the landed-cost math, the importer-of-record trap, and when each one actually makes sense.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTShipping & Incotermshttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/how-to-pay-chinese-suppliers/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/how-to-pay-chinese-suppliers/The standard first-order structure is 30% deposit and 70% balance by T/T — but the protection is in how you stage it, not the method itself. Compare T/T, letter of credit, escrow, and open account by order size, cost, and risk.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTPaymentshttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/how-to-verify-chinese-supplier/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/how-to-verify-chinese-supplier/Documents prove a company exists — they do not prove it owns a single machine. Verify a Chinese supplier in three layers: the legal entity, the capability, and hard-to-fake evidence, before the deposit moves.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTSourcing Guideshttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/minimum-order-quantity/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/minimum-order-quantity/An MOQ is not a rule — it is the factory's cost math. Learn the four cost drivers behind the number, the margin calculation that decides whether a small order works, and the tactics that get a 5,000-unit minimum down to a trial run without destroying the deal.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTSourcing Guideshttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/oem-vs-odm/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/oem-vs-odm/OEM means you bring the design and the factory builds it; ODM means the factory brings the design and you brand it. The choice decides who owns the IP, who pays for tooling, and how fast you can ship — here is how to decide, with the contract clauses that actually protect you.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTSourcing Guideshttps://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/sourcing-from-china/https://sourcing.aitech8.com/posts/sourcing-from-china/A practical path from first idea to goods in your warehouse: write the spec, shortlist suppliers on Alibaba and 1688, verify the factory, order samples, and inspect before you pay the balance. Built for small budgets and first orders.Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTSourcing Guides