How to Find a Supplier in China: 6 Channels and How to Filter Out Middlemen

Finding a supplier in China is easy: 1688, Alibaba and trade fairs list tens of thousands of them. What is hard is finding one that actually manufactures the product, holds the price and does not vanish after the deposit. This article is for entrepreneurs and property owners in Thailand, the UAE, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia who buy furniture, tile, sanitaryware or finishing materials from $15,000 per batch and do not want to pay a trader’s markup on goods he buys from the factory next door.

A short definition: a supplier in China is a legal entity that sells you goods. It can be a factory (produces itself), a trading company (buys from factories and resells) or an agent (takes a commission for intermediation). The type determines price, quality control and liability. What follows is not “what it is” but how to choose a channel and verify the result.

Factory, trader or agent: who did you find

Decide who you need before you search. There is no universal answer; it depends on volume and assortment.

One important detail: many traders call themselves a “factory” in their profile. A business licence (营业执照) and a video call from the workshop show reality faster than any assurances. For checks after you have chosen, see how to verify a supplier in China.

6 channels for finding a supplier in China

1. 1688.com — the domestic wholesale marketplace

1688 belongs to Alibaba Group but targets the domestic market: prices in yuan and lower minimums than on international Alibaba. You have to search in Chinese and by photo. Downsides: a Chinese-language interface, and many sellers are traders. See the comparison 1688, Alibaba or the factory. It is useful for gauging market price: if 1688 shows a range of $42–55 per item and you are quoted $80, you can see the markup.

2. Alibaba.com — good for contacts, not for price

The English-language international version. The Verified Supplier filter and Gold Supplier badge mean a paid subscription, not quality. Use it as a catalogue: collect 10–15 contacts, then verify each one separately.

3. Trade fairs and the Canton Fair

The Canton Fair (Guangzhou, held twice a year, in spring and autumn; schedule on the official site) and specialised shows in Foshan, Shanghai and Yiwu let you see samples in person. Pros: you can touch the material and compare 10 stands at once. Cons: the same traders staff many stands, prices are “show prices”, and a ticket and flight cost $1,500–3,000 per person. A fair works best as a screening stage, not as the place to close a deal.

4. Wholesale markets and factory clusters

Chinese production is grouped by city. Furniture and ceramics: Foshan (Guangdong); lighting: Zhongshan; sanitaryware: Nan’an (Fujian) and Zhejiang; textiles: Shaoxing and Shengzhou. In a cluster you meet producers next to traders and can visit 8–10 workshops in a week. It is the most reliable channel and the most time-consuming.

5. Referrals and a sourcing partner on the ground

Referrals from business owners in your region give you a supplier with a track record, but not necessarily in your category. A sourcing partner on the ground, like Dream View, saves months: from 20+ candidates, 3–5 vetted factories remain, already under contract and with shipping history. When this beats searching alone is covered in sourcing agent or DIY.

6. Social media and messengers: WeChat, Douyin, Xiaohongshu

Factories show production in short videos, and the main correspondence happens in WeChat. It is a good channel for verification: live workshop video, machines, shipments. Without personal licence checks it is also the main source of fraudsters who copy other people’s footage.

Table: what each channel gives you

How to filter out middlemen: 7 checks

This is where most money is lost. A trader is not bad in itself; the problem is a trader posing as a factory, charging a 20% markup with no quality control. Check:

1. Business licence 营业执照. The scope of business should list manufacturing (制造 / 生产), not just trade (销售 / 贸易). Details can be cross-checked in China’s national enterprise register.
2. Video call from the workshop. Not a presentation but a live feed: ask them to show a machine, the raw material store and the packing of your own order. Traders will not do “filming tomorrow”.
3. Production address. A factory names the workshop address and accepts a visit or an inspector. A trader answers “we’re downtown, the warehouse is far”.
4. Assortment. If one seller offers sofas, tile and lamps, it is a trader. Factories are narrowly specialised.
5. Certificates and export history. Request material documents and a list of past export shipments to your country.
6. Price comparison. Three quotes from different channels. If one supplier is 40% cheaper than the rest, look for the catch in the material instead of celebrating the discount.
7. Sample. A sample at $100–500 per item and a golden sample that fixes the standard. More in samples from China before ordering.

Mini-case: how a Phuket hotel filtered out a “factory”

The owner of a boutique hotel in Phuket was sourcing furniture for 24 rooms with a $48,000 budget. On Alibaba they found a “manufacturer” 15% cheaper than the others. A video call showed a showroom with samples, while the workshop was “in another district”. The business licence turned out to be a trading one. A check against 1688 showed the same set from a real factory in Shunde costing 18% less than the trader’s price.

The order went directly to the factory: the sample confirmed 40 kg/m³ PU foam density and Blum hardware, and a pre-shipment inspection by AQL (ISO 2859-1) was done before dispatch. The difference against the “Alibaba factory” was about $8,600 on the batch, and sea delivery after production fit within 30–45 days.

How many candidates you need and when to stop

The Dream View funnel works like this: 20+ candidates from 2–3 channels; after the first filter (licence, assortment, price) 8–10 remain; after video calls 5–6; after samples 3; after a visit or inspection 1–2 for the contract. Fewer than five quotes do not give a sense of market price.

The timelines are realistic: 3–4 weeks for search and vetting, another 2–3 weeks for samples. Do not rush the stage: a mistake here costs tens of times more than a week’s delay. Also factor in China holidays: during Chinese New Year factories stand idle for 3–5 weeks, so start searching early.

How to write an RFQ that produces comparable quotes

Half of the price spread comes not from factories but from sending each one a different description. A single 1–2 page request fixes this. Include:

• Item number and photos with dimensions in mm, material and finish (e.g. solid oak, veneer, MDF with PU paint).
• Technical thresholds: PU foam density 35–45 kg/m³, fabric abrasion resistance from 50,000 Martindale cycles, formaldehyde emission class, glaze or stone thickness.
• Quantity and schedule: total volume, split by stages and the desired shipping date.
• Delivery terms: Incoterms (FOB Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Ningbo) and the destination country.
• Packing: crating, plywood boxes, corner protection, marking.
• Document requirements: invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, material certificates.

Send the request to 8–10 candidates at once and allow 3–5 working days for replies. A factory that replies with questions about material and tolerances is usually stronger than one that instantly sends a price without asking anything. A fast answer with no questions often means the price is a “reconnaissance quote” that will be adjusted later.

Where to look by category: which cluster for what

Clusters tell you where to look first. Guidelines for the main categories:

Decide in advance which categories you need: one supplier rarely covers more than one or two. A turnkey project (villa, hotel) is bought from 8–15 factories, and controlling them without a consolidator is hard. That is why, for properties from 100 m², owners choose full fit-out from China through a single sourcing partner.

What to ask on the first call

Do not discuss price first. Start with questions a trader cannot answer confidently:

1. How many people work in the workshop and how many lines are running?
2. Which materials do you buy yourselves, and what do you subcontract?
3. What is your minimum order and production time for my volume?
4. Name your last two export orders to my country; can you provide contacts?
5. Who is responsible for defects and how are claims handled?
6. What deposit percentage do you require and in whose name is the invoice?

Confident, specific answers with numbers point to a manufacturer. General phrases such as “we have excellent quality and many clients” signal that you are speaking with a salesperson.

Red flags: when to walk away

• They ask for 100% prepayment to a personal card or to a company account with a different name.
• They refuse a sample or send a “photo of the sample” instead of a physical item.
• The price is 30–40% below market for the same stated materials.
• Technical questions go unanswered and are replaced by “today only” discounts.
• The video call keeps being postponed, and the video does not show your item in production.
• They offer a “simplified invoice” with an understated value: that creates problems at your own customs, see common sourcing mistakes.

Two matches from this list are enough to cross a supplier off, even if the price is attractive. A lost deposit of $10,000–30,000 is out of proportion to a week spent on a repeat search.

Destination-country specifics

Duty and VAT depend on the destination country, so choose the supplier with documents in mind. In Thailand VAT is 7%, in the UAE 5% plus 5% duty, in Indonesia 11%, and in EU countries the rate varies. For Kazakhstan and the EAEU, HS codes and conformity certificates matter. A supplier that can prepare export documents and a certificate of origin saves you time at customs. Ask whether they have shipped to your destination and request sample invoices and packing lists.

What to put in the contract once you choose

Once the factory is chosen, fix:

• A specification with tolerances (e.g. ±2 mm on furniture dimensions) and materials.
• Incoterms 2020: FOB, CIF or EXW, so the point where liability transfers is clear (see ICC Incoterms 2020).
• Staged payment: typically a 30% deposit and 70% after inspection before shipment.
• Pre-shipment inspection by AQL: acceptance before dispatch, not after the goods cross the PRC border.
• A late-delivery penalty and the claims procedure.

For drafting details, see contract with a Chinese supplier.

Common mistakes in the search

• Fixating on price. The cheapest quote is often the most expensive once you count defects and repeat orders.
• Trusting badges. Gold Supplier and Verified mean a paid account.
• Paying 100% upfront. Never transfer the full amount before a sample and a contract.
• Not checking the legal entity. The name on the website and the name on the invoice need not match, and that is a red flag.
• Ignoring seasonality. An order placed before the New Year joins a queue that lasts months.

Final strategy

1. Collect 15–20 contacts from 1688, Alibaba and trade fairs.
2. Filter by licence and assortment.
3. Hold video calls from the workshop and request samples.
4. Compare landed cost, not just the factory price: how to calculate sourcing profitability.
5. Sign the contract and run a pre-shipment inspection.

Keep the cost of the search itself in mind. Doing it alone costs 4–6 weeks of your time, $2,000–4,000 for a cluster trip, and the risk of a mistake on the first batch. With a sourcing partner this stage is included in the 10% commission, and responsibility for factory verification sits with them. For a one-off purchase under $15,000 it is more sensible to buy from a proven trader and accept the markup; for regular supply and properties from 100 m², the factory directly is almost always cheaper.

Need help with the search?

Dream View finds and vets factories for you: from 20+ candidates you get 3–5 verified ones with factory prices and a contract. The commission is fixed at 10% of the order value, with a minimum order from $100,000 a year. Write to orders@dreamviewchina.com, on Telegram t.me/dreamviewchina or call +66 80 942 2230 for a free estimate of your task and timeline.