China sourcing guide, from brief to landed cost

Without a clear brief you get incomparable offers. Include: technical description, materials, tolerances, packing, target price, quantity (trial and annual), date and any certificates (CE, RoHS, and others by category).

Add a photo or drawing, or a competitor product. The more precise the brief, the faster and cheaper the RFQ.

The goal is not 50 contacts, it is 3–5 serious candidates. Compare EXW or FOB, MOQ, lead time, payment terms and whether it is a factory or a trader.

On-the-ground verification (visit or check) lowers risk before you pay a deposit. The Papillon team does those visits for you.

Approve the sample in writing. The purchase order must hold price, quantity, Incoterms, date, QC criteria and packing. Agreed steps (project start, mid production, before shipment) give visibility.

Tie payments to agreed points, not to almost done messages without proof.

Independent quality control checks a sample of the lot against AQL. For orders above 2,000 USD Papillon treats it as standard in an agreed sourcing-execution scope.

If QC fails, you agree a rework or refuse shipment. A fix in China is cheaper than a claim at home.

Choose LCL, FCL, air or rail by volume and urgency. The pre-shipment list includes commercial invoice (CI), packing list (PL), certificate of origin (COO) for the FTA and bill of lading (B/L).

Ask for full landed cost before you confirm: goods, freight, duty, VAT and fees. The FTA can lower duty only when HS code and COO allow it. Without papers, the standard rate stays.

If you buy from several plants below a full container, consolidation in Yiwu, Shenzhen, Guangzhou or Shanghai joins the goods into one LCL. You pay your CBM and cut the number of customs procedures.

A China sourcing guide is not a list of tools. Each step closes one decision before you pay the next. The brief closes what the factory may change. The shortlist closes whether the account is a factory or a trader. The sample closes the standard. The purchase order closes price, quantity, packing and inspection. Quality control (QC) closes whether the lot may board.

MOQ in an offer is the line quantity, not a negotiation target at any cost. If it is far from the first run, the guide says stop or cut the number of models. That is an outcome, not a failure. Research takes 1–3 weeks. Sample another 2–5. Sea about 35–52 days. The sum is not a promised date until the plant confirms the calendar.

On sourcing execution above 2,000 USD independent inspection is standard before shipment. Below that amount you still open a carton when scrap is costlier than a report. Sample approval is written. A WeChat message is not a purchase order.

EXW is the price at the factory gate. FOB is the price to the load port. Incoterms only say how far that price holds. Landed cost adds freight, duty, VAT and fees. LCL charges cubic metres (CBM) and makes sense below a full container. FCL makes sense when you near 20 or 40 feet.

The Serbia China FTA holds from 1 July 2024. The sheet uses two scenarios: with a certificate of origin (COO) and without it. The tariff code (HS) must be the same on the invoice and in the entry. COO is requested before loading. Zero duty is not a step in this guide. It is an outcome of code and paper.

If you buy from several plants below a full container, consolidation into one LCL only makes sense when each shipper has their own invoice and packing list. Mixing goods without that paper breaks both inspection and origin. The operational frame is on the import process page.