Most Serbian firms do not lose money because a trading company is a “scam”. They lose because the trading company said it was a factory. The difference must sit in the quote, not in a marketing sentence on WeChat.
Base: China suppliers.
Factory
Controls the line. Holds repeat quality and OEM better. Often higher MOQ, slower reply, smaller catalogue.
Makes sense when you run your own brand, reorder, and when a QC fail must be fixed on the line, not at a third middleman.
Trading company
Wider catalogue, lower MOQ, faster sample. Less control when a component or colour “quietly” drops. Price often includes their margin, which is not a sin if it is visible.
Makes sense for an assortment test, Yiwu small goods, mixed SKUs, and when you will not lock a tool or mould.
Mix
Many accounts run their own SKUs and resell others. Ask for each article: where is it produced. One PO can join both worlds. Consolidation mixes it further. That is why QC runs by SKU, not “by supplier”.
How to ask without insult
- Where is production of this SKU?
- Can we visit the line before deposit?
- Who issues the commercial invoice?
- If QC fails, who does rework?
If they cannot book a visit, treat them as a trading company. Alibaba or factory covers the platform. Here is the entity type.
What to put in the contract or PO
Regardless of type, the order should state: production address by SKU, quality tolerances, who pays rework after a QC fail, and who issues the commercial invoice and COO where FTA applies.
If a third party (trader) signs and a factory produces, write both. Otherwise QC and a claim easily sit “between chairs”.
Papillon prefers verified factory sources for repeating commercial orders. We label a trader as a trader. We do not sell you a story that every account is OEM.
Deposit goes after a clear type, a sample and a PO. Not before. FTA from 1 July 2024 still needs the exporter on the invoice to match the entity that can issue COO. Contact.
Next step
Send the request: category, quantity, and date. You get a reply within 24 hours, with an outline of the total cost to destination where we can price it.
